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Aluminium chassis
Kenzie - 8/12/13 at 08:44 PM

Hi all, thought I'd sign up to the forum after lurking for a while.

I recently picked up an mx5 1.6 which is very rotten, ideal donor car as the engine/running gear seems all good. I work as a welder/fabricator and am very experienced in TIG welding, so this brings me onto my idea.....

Has anyone made/looked into making a locost chassis out of aluminium box section instead of steel? Obviously it would be very light weight, I'm just wondering about the strength side of things, any opinions are certainly welcomed.

mookaloid - 8/12/13 at 08:56 PM

Welcome to the forum

This has been discussed many times on here - do a search.

The general consensus is that it isn't a great idea - mainly from a durability point of view but the strength is a major consideration too.

Robin Hood used to make one but it had difficulties getting through the SVA test as it was then so wan't a huge success.

joneh - 8/12/13 at 08:56 PM

Welcome!

Use the search at the top, it's been discussed loads of times but essentially not viable.

Get some steel and start building

Theshed - 8/12/13 at 08:57 PM

This is a topic that raises strong feelings........ Do a search and then put on your crash helmet.

No reason in principle why a welded aluminium chassis would not work - RCR do a welded monocoque of GT40 etc. Many motorbikes survive. However none simply weld together box sections.... there are good reasons for that.

Why not just bond and rivet ...... I did and would probably just choose steel tube next time....

balidey - 8/12/13 at 09:22 PM

Basic engineering knowledge. Don't just swap one material for another. Use the right material for the right job.
Alloy is best used in either sheet to make a monocoque (tried and proven concept) or deep extruded sections (ditto).
Swapping steel box for alloy is just silly.

Kenzie - 10/12/13 at 07:45 PM

quote:
Originally posted by balidey
Basic engineering knowledge. Don't just swap one material for another. Use the right material for the right job.
Alloy is best used in either sheet to make a monocoque (tried and proven concept) or deep extruded sections (ditto).
Swapping steel box for alloy is just silly.


My plan would have been to use a thicker wall ally box, but thinking about it that would be defeating the reason.

Steel it is, thanks for your inputs guys.

britishtrident - 10/12/13 at 08:21 PM

quote:
Originally posted by Kenzie
quote:
Originally posted by balidey
Basic engineering knowledge. Don't just swap one material for another. Use the right material for the right job.
Alloy is best used in either sheet to make a monocoque (tried and proven concept) or deep extruded sections (ditto).
Swapping steel box for alloy is just silly.


My plan would have been to use a thicker wall ally box, but thinking about it that would be defeating the reason.

Steel it is, thanks for your inputs guys.



There is a lot more two than just using thicker section material, in any event the choice of thickness available in standard aluminium alloy extrusions is extremely limited.