steel rollcage in a aluminium chassis?

[Nortad]

can anyone give me some pointers about a good way to combine a steel rollcage with an aluminium chassis? possible solutions?

i heard that the corvettes gt racers are using the normal steel chassis instead of the zo6 to avoid complications with mating steel with aluminium.

thanks

[trikesrule]

Personally I'd go the other way. Much easier and the R/C is a lot lower. Also the area's of high stress will work harden and have a tendancy for cracking. Having an entire chasiss reheat treated will be costly and a pain in the right cheek pocket..........trikes

[Speedy1]

minumim spec for roll cages are always stated in the rule book
if the vehicle has an aluminum chassis the options for attachment are limited to bonding and bolting / rivet or combination there of
again, acceptable attachment scheme will be in the book

[JohnD]

This seems to be a US conversation, but always willing to help!

The UK Blue Book doesn't mention alloy shell, thoguh the cage must be steel. But it does, in the section on seats, deal with seat supports and the counter plates therefore. "3mm for steel and 5mm for light alloy" So if the steel baseplates of the cage are X thick, then 5/3 times thicker reinforcements in alloy for the shell?
There are coatings that could isolate the two materials, though anodising the shell might not be practical. Otherwise what about a copper plate between them?

John

[Peter Mallett]

You'd still have the bolts to contend with and they'd need to have clearance holes thus would probably need to be torquebolts.

[AU N EGL]

Originally Posted by Nortad

can anyone give me some pointers about a good way to combine a steel rollcage with an aluminum chassis? possible solutions?

i heard that the corvettes gt racers are using the normal steel chassis instead of the zo6 to avoid complications with mating steel with aluminum.

thanks

I can speak to that one, since I race a corvette and own two others.

Yes the C5r and C6Rs use the stock steel frame rails not the aluminum frame rails. There have been many C6Z06s with aluminum frame rails have a steel roll cage installed.

Now on the aluminum frame, a special aluminum plate is welded to the aluminum frame. one plate on each side of the frame where the cage will make contact. so 8 point cage would have 16 plates on the aluminum frame.

a steel plates are bonded with a special glue to the aluminum frame. Now you have an aluminum plate, bonded material, steel plate sandwich. A hole or several holes are now drilled though that sandwich and the frame and special bolts are put though that sandwich and tighten down. Special bolts and nuts are used so again, aluminum and steel do not come in contact with each other

at no point can the aluminum and steel come in contact with each other do to oxidations or some other electroplating that happens when steel and aluminum come in contact with each other.

Now you have 16 steel plates to weld the steel roll cage onto.

The process takes about twice as long and is twice as expesive then installing onto a steel frame.

The other advantage of a steel frame is that in case of an accident the steel frame is much easier to repair of replace part of then an aluminum frame.

the aluminum frame is not a wt saver as it does need to be twice as thick as the steel frame for the same strength.

that is the basic idea of the process

HTH
Tom

[Peter Mallett]

Out of interest, what are these "special" bolts?

[AU N EGL]

Peter

I am looking the the pdf file that Dana Corp published on the roll cage installation guild lines. When I find it I will post it

http://www.dana.com/Automotive_Syste...paceframe.aspx

IIRC the bolts are coated with some compound to the aluminum and steel do not touch. the thread ends and the bolts are steel.

This is why so many ppl use the C5 steel chassis and car as platform to build a race car, and not the C6 nor the C6Z with its aluminum frame, then just put a C6 body over it all.

[AU N EGL]

I wonder if this is also why we dont see any Lotus Elise's racing. Not able to properly install a roll cage to sanctioning body specs.

[bdwoody]

i have some stuff at work called TRI-CLAD which is mild steel fusion welded to aluminium.we use it for super structures on yachts with steel hulls ,sounds to me like it could be of some use on ally chassis cars that need steel rollcages.

[mini1400]

Originally Posted by AU N EGL

I wonder if this is also why we dont see any Lotus Elise's racing. Not able to properly install a roll cage to sanctioning body specs.

errr...
www.elisetrophy.com

[AU N EGL]

Originally Posted by mini1400

errr...
www.elisetrophy.com

Dont see them on this side of the pond. or hardely ever, Cant pass scrutineering for roll cages.

[ger80]

Whats Spyker using in GT2?

[AU N EGL]

Originally Posted by ger80

Whats Spyker using in GT2?

Chassis and suspension

• Aluminium space frame with integrated roll cage
• ATL Safety fuel tank of 90 liter capacity
• Fully adjustable independent suspension
• Moton coil over damper Adjustable shock absorbers with Eibach springs
• CNC machined Upright from solid billets of aluminium

http://www.spykersquadron.com/?pag=58

It passed FIA and ACO Scurtineering then it is OK. Factory or race team installs that pass scurtineering are not the problem. the Problem is the club or semi pro race team attempting to Do It Themselves roll cage install.

Same with the F430.