has anyone got a chassis made of this?

does anyone know where to get this from?

what size tube should i use for a ladder chassis?

I used it for my wishbone bushes because I could get a short length with the right ID. I got mine from the US - Aircraft Spruce, but a friend of a friend flies for Virgin, so he brought it back for me. A friend bought enough to make a Piper Cub some years ago, got it shipped from the States. There is a British agent for Aircraft Spruce, I don't know of any other suppliers.

By the way - why? what's wrong with mild steel like the rest of us use? My chassis weighed very little until I welded the floor in

My roll-over bar and back stays are made of it.

I think it's 2.5" x 3mm wall thickness.

It was sponsored by a certain Formula 1 team!



Cheers,
James

... I've just fed the troll haven't I!!!

I had a few decent BMXs years back made of this stuff. Chop a few of them up

is it strength damaged by welding and would you have to use stainless welding wire? I though it was stronger but more brittle than mild steel, which if it was might be dangerous I suppose in a crash.

Most US Sprint cars and old Indy cars were built with it as well as aircraft fusalage.
Some Can -Am cars used it in the suspension, very strong, rollbars can be made with thinner tubing and smaller diameter. I used it in suspension of Datsum 1200 race car, but brazed with nickel bronze rod, no heat problems.
Tig welding is the best, gas welding possible, problem is it has a tendancy to crack along the outer edge of the bead, each weld needs to be crack checked when finished.
CASC and SCCA used to give gauge and diameter sizes for roll bar tubing in both DOM and 4160 (chromoly)

my wishbones are made of it, i got it in the states from a speed shop metal stockist.

Edit
I have Mag Particle Inspected them for cracks following tig welding. Nothing found

[Edited on 18/9/09 by liam.mccaffrey]

My understanding was that chromoly needs heat treating/ stress releiving after welding. Nowadays most motorsport teams use T45, as IIRC it has a higher or similar UTS but does not require stress releiving.

Elmdon metals can supply T45 tube and can probably supply 4130 if you still want it.

Rob

What masty-bob says above.

But at the end of the day its not worth the extra expense for building a whole chassis out of it. It wont be any stiffer, and mild steel is plenty strong enough for a chassis.

David

quote:

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Originally posted by philipcurtis100
has anyone got a chassis made of this?

does anyone know where to get this from?

what size tube should i use for a ladder chassis?

---

dunno yet dont wanna make out of mild steel someone suggested the chromoly he had a westfield made of it
just bought the engine fzr 1000 exup
got the diff and brakes driveshafts etc from a scorpio cosworth so just need to decide on material for chassis then make

Try Chassisshop very reasonable - they will post to uk at reasonable rates. For racing or top end performance (god knows why people bother to get stuck in traffic) I suspect that there are very clear benefits from using higher grade steels. T45 is said to have similar weight saving possibilities and is less prone to cracking (apparently) - hard to find on the interweb thingy.

The biggest weight savings and stiffness gains for a chassis come from the design ie where you put the tubes. Next is the tube size. Whether you use mild steel, T45 or, 4130 will have very little affect on the weight and stiffness compared to these aspects. Weight savings with T45 and 4130 really are limited to the parts of the car that you will be sizing for failure cases (roll structure and wishbones).

The extra cost and potential difficultly in using other materials far outweighs the potential gains unless you are competing at a high level and have exhausted other methods

Concentrate on obtianing strength from the structure, not from the material. You'll probably want to start again when you get half way through building it anyway

Rob

If the chrome moly idea doesn't work out Phillip, what's your next idea, carbon fibre or Titanium?

I'm thinking unobtainium alloy

transparent aluminium

Hmmn, wasn't there a tasty sports racer built in the 60s of Ali with a balsa wood core?

Ahh, there we go:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mallite

what are you guys even on about. you dont know nuffink.

I has a nickel chassis that is the lighterist and fasterist in the world.

it goes 14x faster than your steel ones and thats without an engine.

every1 knows steel is oldfashioned and you may aswell use cottage cheese.

quote:

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Originally posted by liam.mccaffrey
transparent aluminium

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by philipcurtis100

just bought the engine fzr 1000 exup
got the diff and brakes driveshafts etc from a scorpio cosworth so just need to decide on material for chassis then make

---

no i dont like the weight aswell
i havent yet

Just build the bl00dy thing out of mild steel and be done with it.

CrMo is for showing off, it offers NO structural (read STIFFNESS) advantages in chassis construction if the chassis is designed correctly. The only reason to use it is if the chassis is intended to be used in a sport where its highly likely you could be in a huge accident (drag racing etc)

Where it does offer advantages is in roll bars which need STRENGTH. Even then MS is more than adequate and MSA approved!

I would muddy the waters with how to build a light chassis from steel, but the meaning may be lost.

[Edited on 22/9/09 by flak monkey]

Phil - seems like you're more interested in dreaming up a spec that makes for good pub talk than actually building anything. Do you tend to have many project ideas that remain all talk?

Exotic, hard to use materials are only worthwhile if you're building to a demanding spec for an ultra competitive race series where every gram is crucial. Stick to a more modest approach and you might actually achieve something. If it helps the enthusiasm/mate-impressing, promise yourself you'll fit a carbon fibre steering wheel and something made from titanium when it's finished.



Liam

P.S. Uh oh - here comes the titanium chassis thread...

quote:

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Originally posted by James

Ouch! don't like the sounds of all that weight.

---

Here's the answer.




All milled out of solid aluminium. That should take care of the bragging rights down at the pub. Throw in a carbon fibre glovebox lid and a titanium horn button and you've got it all sewn up

What about the Kevlar though? need some of that. Magnesium's pretty tasty, too. Oh and something anodised.

Anodise the whole chassis. Pink.

Where can I get some of this unobtanium, dont Know what it is but I think I need some.

On the other hand. next project (when I finish the 20 zillion Ive got going at the moment) Is an Ali chassis BEC trike and no I'm not welding it, why do that.
Cheers,
Bob