Q: What exactly is the difference between Titanium grade 2 and 5 fasteners?
A: The primary difference is strength. A titanium grade 2 fastener is made of commercially pure titanium where as a grade 5 fastener is a titanium alloy with 6% aluminum and 4% vanadium. This helps to provide Grade 5 added strength as its 2x stronger than grade 2. Grade 5 offers a yield strength of 138ksi versus 50 ksi of grade 2. The additional elements that make up this alloy also give it 60% lower thermal conductivity. In terms of corrosion resistance that both offer exceptional resistance to salt water and all chlorides, though grade 5 is minutely less resistant than grade 2. Due to it’s alloy content, grade 5 is also more expensive than grade 2. In general, grade 2 is the utilized for corrosion related applications, whereas for application requiring high strength, we would recommend grade 5.