Frame Material

[igino]

What type of steels are nice frames made of? The rules say "steel tubing'. It seems like some exotic steels could be used - but before going down that route, I wanted to check on the exchange.

Thanks!

[Ed Womer]

I use 1"x2" for front of chassis and 2"x2" for rear of rear roll hoop which is usually 1020 steel. Locally in DC area I can get stock material in 14 guage or 11 guage for both. Some of my earlier cars were made from .065 material that I got from Dillsburg Aeroplane where I get my round tubing from.
Ed

[brian]

You can use mild steel or chrome moly if weight is a big issue. Material thickness is open except for roll bars, cages and braces. Read the GCR carefully to determine your needs. Roll bars now require seamless or DOM material but the diameters have been reduced to recognize the strength improvement over seamed or ERW tubing.

[igino]

Thanks for the pointers - i was leaning towards 4130, but i know there are rules about welding and heat treatments to 4130 because it can be brittle if improperly welded.

[brian]

Unless you weigh over 200# there's no reason to complicate things with moly.