I would think that the best type of steel for a frame would be Chromoly steel, lightwight, ulta strong, very minimal flex, I have a seat for my sled made of the stuff and I thought it would bend or break (its so thin and light) but I have literally had the sled land from 30+ feet up right onto it on hard pack without any consequence to the seat.

If I had the money that is what I would built it out of..

 

I think that another factor besides price/weight is that a frame has to be able to give in a collision. If it doesn't then the energy of impact would be transfered more to the body and occupants.

 

Don't be too quick to laugh.
Sometimes 'ya gotta think first.

What weighs more, an oz of lead or an oz of gold ?
Answer that question.




Fred

 

I waiting for CF monocoque to hit off road racing....

My dream is to build a 'glass Gen1 4runner tub with an integeral "cage" as part of the formed body... bolted to OEM ish body mounts... the idea is a survival cell in a crash...

F1 does something similar - the cockpit is designed to be pretty hard - the rest of the car is designed to tear away. Ideally w/o screwing up the survival cell so much that it couldn't be put back together (i.e. the rose joints bolts should shear before the mounting lug.

 

BAd idea...

Two WOrds: Stress Risers

I raced a CF DH bike for one year and it died in what I can only call a catastrophic failure. You'd have to spend so much time engineering a whole "frame Skid" to keep it form failing that you might as well just make a tube frame.

4x4's will and IMO should always rely on Steel for major structural components. Steel's ability to absorb somer frequency vibrations leads to smoother rides and longer life. Not to mention that like Mt. Bikes (I' only ride Steel frames for hard tails although my FS rig is Alu) having something bend rather than break is alot safer.

 

i was being stupid about using gerallium, but i guess somebody had to be stupider and say it wouldnt work!!! hahaha

 

that would be almost 3x as heavy as a steel frame and ever try to weld stainless it sucks.Also coast is a big isue in stainless.

 

TI--sound like a good one--make the crush zones out of steel if need be--or what about TI skid plates--that would be sweet--the sweetest--HHMMMM

 

Which was one of the reasons they are extremely slow. They weigh too much...

 

I work in the steel industry as well as play with it in my hobby. Stainless just isn't the way to go in that application. We could debate the different types all day long but the fact remains that its not the right choice. Some form of chromoly is the ideal steel when talking frames and 4 Wheeling. Currently it is about twice the price of your normal carbon steel. The price of Chromium and Molybdenum have gone through the roof over the past couple years which is in turn making the price of cromoly products skyrocket as well. It is important to understand that chromoly isn't really lighter, but the extra strength provided allows you to use thinner product to achieve the same strength...

 

Still say titanium--once my investment kicks in (lottery), i will be building a TI truck--just because it would last forever and not even need to be painted. Hey what about TI skid plates--they seem easy enough to build?????

 

LOL, sounds pricey. Ti is very difficult to work with as well.

 

Ti fractures easily once knicked or scratched.

can't get much better than a tube chassis. stainless brake drums sound like a good investment (iron linings of course)

 

you know, they should just coat all new frames in bedliner from the factory, then we would never have to worry about rust.