Quote:
Originally Posted by special-K
I`d think steel would be better.Tubular material will not deteriorate like the "sandwhiched" c-channel can.But for the strength I believe some DOM tube stock would net some slim yet strong arms,then powercoat for pretty.I just think stainless is bit soft for that.But,hey,alot of stainless is going under custom stuff these days.
Either way,I`d like to see it done and made available for a reasonable price.
|
Compared to the stock arms, stainless tube units would be much stronger. 304 grade Stainless has much higher tensile strength vs. mild steel. Stainless is also quite a bit harder than mild steel. By 'DOM' tubing you must mean chrome-moly, such as 4130 DOM tubing. This material is much more expensive (like stainless) than mild steel. It is widely used in dragster chassis, airframes, and other hi-stress applications. Basically, chrome-moly can flex and move around more than stainless or mild steel while maintaining its shape, and without stress-fracturing. chrome-moly would be overkill for these trailing arms, but maybe we'll try a set of those too! The weld joint strength is similar with all three materials here when tig welded with the proper filler rod. Since this is already getting out of control
I think we should do this: Build stainless rectangle and round tube arms, and also a set of each in steel. Steel ones would of course be much more reasonably priced, especially if the stainless units were polished. The pic below is of an engine test stand built of 304 stainless tubing. These things are quite a bit stronger than the steel versions, which are already more than strong enough (rated at 1600 lbs) I think 2" x 3" x 1/8" wall rectangle tubing would lend some killer looks and strength to the trailing arms.