Hi i want to do the extending the top hat trick, but i have alloy top hats with spherical bearings, and want to cut and weld a tube, only im dealing with alloy not steel, just wondering if aluminium weld will handle the weight and force on the front, thanks.

 

anyone

 

A proper weld is just as strong or stronger than the base metal.

The question should be can you weld?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by david@didrace.com &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">A proper weld is just as strong or stronger than the base metal.
</TD></TR></TABLE>

That's not true. In most cases, a weld in an aluminum alloy is weaker, often to a significant degree, than the alloy being welded.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by turbodoug &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

That's not true. In most cases, a weld in an aluminum alloy is weaker, often to a significant degree, than the alloy being welded.</TD></TR></TABLE>

That's not true that that's not true.

Just about every aluminum failure I've seen was because of fatigue around the weld, in the HAZ, not the weld itself. Proper treating of the piece before/after being welded would be a plus.


Modified by david@didrace.com at 7:34 PM 1/15/2007

 

Ok so if it was done would it be strong enough to support a hit from bottoming out, and the weight and forces which will be on them at the font of the car, im not going to do the welding or machining myself getting someone to do it for me, thanks for the replies.

 

Without knowing the alloy(3003,5052,6061,7075,...) and the temper(h14,h18,h34,h38,t4,t6...) it is hard to determine the best procedures with which to weld your project.
It may be difficult to restore the original properties of the base metal.
If it is the 5000 series, the finished product will be nearly as strong as other alloys are as-tempered.(before welding).
Others will not fair as well, and can be reduced as much as 60%.
If you are worried about it, more information would go a long way.

 

Hi thanks this what they look like, dont know the properties though,[IMG][/IMG]

 

also if the design sucks you might get stress risers that would make even a solid part fail.

 

Yeah it seems alot harder than steel, im gonna chat to a fabricator see if he can make me a billet set, thanks

 

Hi im getting billet aluminium ones made with spherical bearings, will post pics when done thanks for the replies.

 

You can just buy extended ones from ground control instead of chopping up your cusco mounts

http://www.ground-control-stor.../CA=5

 

Yeah i know ive been trying for a while to get those, but havnt had any luck, and ground control will not ship to Australia, thats when i decided i gotta try another way , however im getting ones made out of a solid bit of aluminium, using the cusco bearings, later.

 

the piece that your wanting to extend doesnt support the weight of the car, it most likely wont ever break. even if it did whats gonna happen, your shock extends, maybe dents the bottom of your hood?

Marcus

 

Your right there, but its actually the shock body that would hit the hood, alowing the suspension and tyre to travel very high that wouldnt be any good, and if the weld did brake, i would have a destroyed stut top, dinged bonnet, guard and inner fender, and my shock would be damaged, i guess its better to ensure you do properly the first time and info is the key there, later.

 

the shock body wouldnt come up, coilovers right? the spring would still keep the shock body itself down, only the rod itself would come up. the height of your car isnt set by the shock its set by the spring, so your car wouldnt fall to the ground or anything either. go hold a coilover in your hand and visualize what would happen.


Marcus

 

But if the spring was soft enough and compressed alot (which would be a pretty big bump) the shock body travels up hits the bump stop compesses it the weld breaks allows the shock to travel higher (unless the coil is long enough compressed to stop it from going any further), the adjuster would still hit the hood bending it and i would need new top hats and a few hours work to replace, your probaly right it wouldnt be that bad i guess as the spring holds the weight of the car and the shock just controls it, i am gonna get the billet ones done anyway because the welder said he's not sure of the aluminium used in my strut tops and by welding them the alloy might become weak and brittle, thanks for the input, later.