Brackets in Mild or 4130 ?

[Garage Dog 65]

Gents,

Getting ready to waterjet my suspension bracket files. Reading a couple chassis books and they recommend that all brackets be made in 4130. I don't doubt that would be a better bracket material for strength and toughness – and I plan on doing it if it makes sense.

Just wondering what welding challenges I’ll face welding those onto mild steel tubing ? Any special filler rods or heat treating process I should be aware of ? Should I stick with mild steel for the brackets too ?

In aviation we do the whole deal in 4130 and heat treat the assy after finish welding. Racing is probably the same, but I don’t plan on doing the rails in 4130.

Your help is ALWAYS greatly appreciated.

Thx, Jim

[68protouring454]

are we talking uca,lca brackets etc? if so mild is more then enough, yeah 4130 is better but not really needed, goodluck

[Garage Dog 65]

Yes, upper, lower, engine, transxl and body mounts. I thought Mild would be more then enough and would eliminate any welding or heat treating issues.

Thanks very much for the guidance and fast responce Jake !

Jim

[TravisB]

Mild steel will do the job just fine

[Musclerodz]

If weight is a concern then use 4130. You will be able to run thinner 4130 plate due to its higher strength

Mike

[rocketman]

If your not doing the chassis in 4130 the brackets don't need to be, If your not gonna racing I wouldn't worry about, many of the circle track cars are just mild steel, and many bracket cars are mild steel.

[jason@gmachine]

4130

we use nothing but 4130 and i would never think twice about using 1020. In fact we stopped ordering 1020 sheet about 9 months ago. I have several full sheets of 4130 in several different thickness in stock for the cnc table.

4130, or nothing at all.
just my 2 cents.

Jason

[ironworks]

Jim< 4130 is great idea if you are doing the rest of the car in 4130. It is actually better to weld 4130 brackets to 4130 tubing, You can get away mixing them. We are starting on a tube chassis car with complete 4130 tubing and plate. It is expensive, but worth it. But it does seem that the price of 4130 has not risen and much as mild steel in the past few years. So if you doing you car in DOM, you might consider just bending it all out of
4130.

Good luck, DAD Rodger

[Silver69Camaro]

4130

i would never think twice about using 1020...4130, or nothing at all.

Jason

And why?

[MarkM66]

Shouldn't thickness of the metal also be put into the equation?

[race-rodz]

Shouldn't thickness of the metal also be put into the equation?

i agree, wouldnt the main reason for goin to 4130 be so that we can use thinner/lighter weight material with the same T/S as the 1020 mild steel?

if the rest of the chassis is mild steel, then i personally would use mild steel to build all the mounting brakets.

[jason@gmachine]

And why?

"4130, or nothing at all" is an off-road saying we have used, kinda like a joke when ever we see anyone wreck.

but here are a few reasons i love to work with 4130.

-not prone to "oval" bolt holes
-cuts great with laser or cnc
-welds very clean
-can be used as thinner material, but we usually use the same thickness
-seen many of 1020 tear, bend, shatter, rip, melt, and overall just not hold up!

its just a preference i have, we have clients that spend the $, so i have no problem using all 4130.

just different strokes for different folks.

Jason

[jason@gmachine]

also im very surprised that HOT vs, Cold rolled has come up or even the "pickeled in oil" metal either.

IF for some reason we were using 1020, it would be at least COLD rolled.

:D
Jason

[race-rodz]

also im very surprised that HOT vs, Cold rolled has come up or even the "pickeled in oil" metal either.

IF for some reason we were using 1020, it would be at least COLD rolled.

:D
Jason


thats a great point, my local supplier doesnt even stock HR sheet, so i often forget about it.

[Garage Dog 65]

Sorry for the lack of response guys - I haven't even been checking this thread lately, so I didn't catch the activity.

I already purchased 200 feet of 1020 1.5 DOM tubing. Then I was reading a couple chassis books and they all recommend 4130 for all stressed brackets. My concern was if it was necessary to use 4130 brackets and what mess I might get into mixing both types when I final weld. I'm not worried about weight as it won't be a full time racer - but I might take it to the track a couple times to see what it will do. My opinion was: do all mild steel - or go all 4130.

Interesting timing as I'm off to the water jet shop tomorrow to get the brackets going.

Also, don't know if it's a bad thing, but due to an ordering error the vendor gave me .250 wall instead of .125 as listed. I didn't catch it until they cut the 24's into 12's so I could get it on my trailer. The crabby dock guy didn't care when I brought it up.....

Thanks for all the guidance - much appreciated !

[68protouring454]

goodluck bending the .250 wall most hydraulic benders max out around .150 wall, hope yours is up to the task, be careful of the dies
jake

[jason@gmachine]

Sorry for the lack of response guys - I haven't even been checking this thread lately, so I didn't catch the activity.

I already purchased 200 feet of 1020 1.5 DOM tubing. Then I was reading a couple chassis books and they all recommend 4130 for all stressed brackets. My concern was if it was necessary to use 4130 brackets and what mess I might get into mixing both types when I final weld. I'm not worried about weight as it won't be a full time racer - but I might take it to the track a couple times to see what it will do. My opinion was: do all mild steel - or go all 4130.

Interesting timing as I'm off to the water jet shop tomorrow to get the brackets going.

Also, don't know if it's a bad thing, but due to an ordering error the vendor gave me .250 wall instead of .125 as listed. I didn't catch it until they cut the 24's into 12's so I could get it on my trailer. The crabby dock guy didn't care when I brought it up.....

Thanks for all the guidance - much appreciated !

return the .250. It will be to heavy. I would get that figured out right away.

its ok to run 4130 tabs on a DOM chassis. It will be just fine if you are going to mig weld it.

Jason

[Garage Dog 65]

Took your advice gents and went with the 4130. Much more expensive though - but it turned out VERY nice. Thanks for everyone's input !!!

:thumbsup:

Jim