Outer Limits 4x4 Board

aluminium hex or 50/20 hollow bar won't rust.
a few guys use this for links, just tap the ends for fittings
david

I find it funny when Aussies get worried about rust.

I'm living in a coastal place which gets around 2.5m of rain a year. Even aluminium corrodes here.

Galvanising is the be-all-and-end-all for rust protection. Anything else is just practise.

uninformed wrote:the whole weight argument really goes out the window if your just making some trailing arms and steering links...

if you were building a race buggy or TT i would totally agree and thats why the space frame chassis are made from cromo and links are fabbed from 4340 and heat treated....but they are trying to achive very high strength and light weight....their designs are very important...

for link material a good cost effective choice that is still easlierly weldable is euro-norm from bolher...

Serg

Serg I disagree. Have you seen the mass difference per meter of the factory NISSAN tubing verses say 50mm OD 7mm wall tubing? It suprised me how much heavier it is. Im trying to not add mass and it all helps.

Also, is it just race buggys that have the expectation that steering and suspension links should have the ability to handle shock loads in the elastic range only? I'd say, clearly not.

modman wrote:aluminium hex or 50/20 hollow bar won't rust.
a few guys use this for links, just tap the ends for fittings
david

Hex is not the strongest shape, circular is better. I guess it could be argued that rectangular might give a better bearing area for the shock load but thats only the case in an ideal situation where the rock hits it at the right angle. If it hits it at the wrong angle its going to be worse than circular links. Plus circular links have a nice free flow and dont have stress raises like other shapes.

Also aluminium alloys have considerably less fatigue capabilities than steel. Have you done any research as to if the aluminium links in steering and suspension will have an inifinite load cycling capability?

KiwiBacon wrote:Galvanising is the be-all-and-end-all for rust protection. Anything else is just practise.

Mate if I did go gal, is it possible to touch it up if it gets scraped?

Thanks for your comments in this thread youve made some insightful suggestions.

nullack wrote:

KiwiBacon wrote:Galvanising is the be-all-and-end-all for rust protection. Anything else is just practise.

Mate if I did go gal, is it possible to touch it up if it gets scraped?

Thanks for your comments in this thread youve made some insightful suggestions.

The greatest thing about galv is it protects small areas of exposed metal. You can touch it up with cold galv (aka zinc spray paint) with often a pretty good colour match.
But there's a huge difference in finish quality. Some galvanisers give you a finish which could be used to sand wood, others get it fine and smooth.

Hot dip galv is best but as mentioned it's not suitable for enclosed parts.
Spray galv (blows molten zinc onto surfaces) isn't quite as good but is suitable for closed in parts.
Cold galv (zinc paints) are a distant third.

Happy to help.

KiwiBacon wrote:

nullack wrote:

KiwiBacon wrote:Galvanising is the be-all-and-end-all for rust protection. Anything else is just practise.

Mate if I did go gal, is it possible to touch it up if it gets scraped?

Thanks for your comments in this thread youve made some insightful suggestions.

The greatest thing about galv is it protects small areas of exposed metal. You can touch it up with cold galv (aka zinc spray paint) with often a pretty good colour match.
But there's a huge difference in finish quality. Some galvanisers give you a finish which could be used to sand wood, others get it fine and smooth.

Hot dip galv is best but as mentioned it's not suitable for enclosed parts.
Spray galv (blows molten zinc onto surfaces) isn't quite as good but is suitable for closed in parts.
Cold galv (zinc paints) are a distant third.

Happy to help.

Bare metal areas up to 6mm diameter still won't rust if the surrounding metal is gal.

There is also zinc electroplating...

ISUZUROVER wrote: There is also zinc electroplating...

That comes with colour options too.

What about ceramic coating??? Like you can get done on extractors etc.

http://www.jet-hot.com.au/products.htm#JET-HOT Sterling

nullack wrote:

uninformed wrote:the whole weight argument really goes out the window if your just making some trailing arms and steering links...

if you were building a race buggy or TT i would totally agree and thats why the space frame chassis are made from cromo and links are fabbed from 4340 and heat treated....but they are trying to achive very high strength and light weight....their designs are very important...

for link material a good cost effective choice that is still easlierly weldable is euro-norm from bolher...

Serg

Serg I disagree. Have you seen the mass difference per meter of the factory NISSAN tubing verses say 50mm OD 7mm wall tubing? It suprised me how much heavier it is. Im trying to not add mass and it all helps.

Also, is it just race buggys that have the expectation that steering and suspension links should have the ability to handle shock loads in the elastic range only? I'd say, clearly not.

yes there is a difference between oem arms and making new ones out of larger OD with thicker wall....thats a given

my point is what percentage of the whole vehicle is it?
a trailing arm is about 50% unsprung mass, same with a panhard or drag link.....

i dont understand your last statement(dont know what elastic range means) but im sure if a stock arm is strong enough for normal duties, some 45/25 euro-norm will be fine....

Serg