Hi
i was considering using 0.7mm stainless sheets for the inner panels. it will look good and save having to protect from corrosion but this is going to
add weight. has anyone else used stainless and do you have any pics? i am putting a gsxr1000 engine in through a 3.62 diff. i personally dont think
its going to slow it up to much, what do you think?
cheers
Rog
Only way to tell is by making your inner pannels then weighing them
a bit of rough measuring and reference to this: PDF should give you an idea,
Why not use ali panels and powdercoat them, it's a fairly cheap process?
Cheers, Nick
Or just not bother with interior panels.
I painted the inside of the side panels black on my Indy r1, was trying to keep the weight down.
cheers guys
i though of using stainless as it needs little work to keep it looking good and doesnt corroad if left in the garage ect. i will compare the weight
increase against ally.
Hello
just giving an update on the panels.
i have had all the panels made from polished stainless, theres loads of them when you lay them out. the total weight is in the region of 30kg.
compared to using ally panels the total weight of ally would by in the region od 10kg.
20kg saving, sounds alot and it will make a difference. i am using a GSXR1000 engine thru a 3.62 LSD diff. the power to weight ratio is approx
300brake/tonne therefore 20kg increase is a small % increase that i personnaly dont think its going to make a massive difference unless your up
against an identical MK with less mass.
i am going with the stainless it looks good. when i sus out how to put pics on here then i will post some
cheers
Rog
The polished stainless will look very nice, but 20kg's is a hell of a weight for something that's non-essential on a BEC.
Ditch the stainless and add lightness. 
Phil
i know what your saying chaps but it looks the dogs!!
i can always remove it if its a prob for the car.
do you recon its going to make a big difference?
Stainless looks good. I know I work with it. But go ally it's lighter. And if you can get some carbon then use that if possible.
20 kg is way too heavy for a bec
To avoid having to make bits and then weigh them to find the weight difference, the rule of thumb is that ally is one third of the weight of steel for
the same volume.
The other thing to consider is that to achieve a similar resistance to steel the ally part often needs to be physically bigger (thicker in this case)
and the weight difference will obviously be less.
or work it out
Steel: area (in meter square) x thickness (in mm) x 8.06 = kg
Ally: area (in meter square) x thickness (in mm) x 2.73 = kg
Cheers
Fred W B
quote:
Originally posted by MikeCapon
To avoid having to make bits and then weigh them to find the weight difference, the rule of thumb is that ally is one third of the weight of steel for the same volume.
The other thing to consider is that to achieve a similar resistance to steel the ally part often needs to be physically bigger (thicker in this case) and the weight difference will obviously be less.
quote:
Originally posted by scootz
quote:
Originally posted by MikeCapon
To avoid having to make bits and then weigh them to find the weight difference, the rule of thumb is that ally is one third of the weight of steel for the same volume.
The other thing to consider is that to achieve a similar resistance to steel the ally part often needs to be physically bigger (thicker in this case) and the weight difference will obviously be less.
Is there therefore a similar general rule for strength (grades depending)? I.e. would a 0.4mm stainless panel offer approximately the same strength as a 1.2mm ally panel (a third)?
quote:
Originally posted by MikeCapon
Sadly not. The different grades of ally and steel are so varied that there are vast differences in the various qualities of strength, hardness, toughness etc. It's a real 'horses for courses' job and why the choice of material for a particular component is primordial.
There are also other considerations such as the fact that an alloy component will become stronger solely due to the increased thickness that the lower density permits.
Cheers fellas!
If you want to panel the inside why not use the alloy / plastic coated paneling that is used on buildings / garages
that's what i used if you get a 4x10 ft sheet it will do all the paneling
but i do have a proper engine to pull it
Jacko
Aero screen
[Edited on 7/12/11 by jacko]
fare discussion chaps and interesting but whats you opinion on the effect on the car to pull the extra weight? do ya recon 20kg will make a massive difference?
An extra 20kg probably won't make a hugely noticeable difference but it will make a difference. The whole ethos of building a BEC should
(IMHO) be about keeping the vehicle as light as possible within the budget you have available. If you really want stainless steel inner panels though,
then go for it...........
Phil
I'm not sure its as bad as an extra 20kg.
Using the formulae above 10kg of steel is around 5sqm.
Is you work out the mass of 5sqm at 1.4mm thick then you get to 20kg, so you are only adding 10kg.
Are you going to use steel rivets (rather than the alloy headed ones commonly used with alloy panels), just thinking about electrolytic corrosion.
More weight is bad, but shiny is nice. It will still go fast.
It's interesting reading this and seeing someone who actually doesn't mind adding weight to a car. On the Nissan forum I'm on, there are people with big power cars (500-800bhp) who would swap the wheel nuts to titanium or alloy to save grammes in weight. They would cry to know someone added 20kg to a lightweight car. Hey, it's your project though and if you like the look of it, why not.
cheers for the input chaps, i am going to bond and rivet the panels. i will be using stainless rivets. i have taken onboard all the comments and i may
have a comprimise to save weight using some of the stainless and maybe lighter painted panels on less visable areas, a mixture of painted and shiny
panels will look good. i will have a think about that some more.
i am going to try and upload some pics.