ROUND vs SQUARE TUBING

tusk762

Member
Joined
Jun 6, 2007
Location
wilmington
:lol:Ok guys besides the aesthetics of round tubing what is the benifit over square for control arms?I'm going to be 4 linking the front and rear of the cj this month,I was going to use 2" dom .250 wall,but I've got access to (READ FREE) over 120' of 2" square .250 wall,I know Clayton Manufacturing makes there TJ control arms out of square,so is it a looks thing or what,I know one benefit to square is it has a built in wrench flat for adjustment
 
Mechanically speaking, the round would be better to evenly distribute the huge suspension loads; but with the size square you're running, that's a pretty stout size DOM and I wouldn't think twice about it.
Now if you wanna hand out some freebies...:huggy:
 
If you want adjustability, it's not as easy to do as with round tubing.


Other than that, run it..
 
2" square .250 wall is what I made my links out of. From what I understand, it is stronger than 2" .250 dom. That being said, I would use the square for sure, it's free.
 
I have a friend running the square tube, same as you describe. He has beat it to death and it has held strong. I would go with the square since it's free for sure. Another note, if you do bend it, repair would be easy to cut, sleeve and weld back together.
Go for it!
 
OK guys one little goof up on my part,the 2"square i have is 3/16 wall,now what
 
hmmm....
1/16" thinner.

The price is RIGHT BOB!
 
How do you weld the round bungs into square tube? I know that may be a dumb question but still escapes me this morning.
 
MAybe best to take a pc of sq stock that fits the inside of your tube and drill it out to the size of the bungs, cut it say 2" to 3" long and weld it inside your sq tube and then weld your bung in the center where you drilled out.
That will keep it all centered and make it strong or just have someone make you some bungs that are sq to fit your tube.
 
Run the round. I built links for my CJ out of 2 inch square 1/4 wall and bent them on the first trip out. I hit them on the corner which is where they are weakest and bent them. I was dropping down a little ledge and one tire went down first. Slammed the control arm into the rock at an angle.

The round doesn't have this problem. Go ahead and pick up the square though. There is always something you can use it for. If you don't have the DOM get the 2 inch 3/8's wall.
 
The square is stronger in bending unless you hit it on the edge. So keep a flat side down.

The round is stronger torsionally (twisting).

I would think we put more severe bending than twisting forces on our links when wheeling. But maybe not? :confused:
 
the 2" .250 is going to bend....if thous are your two options, i would go with the square for sure. I have install several Claytons kits over the last year and have yet to see one bend. I have seen plenty of round .250 links bend though. I have been putting 2" .5 wall under all the suspension i have been building lately. Just FYI. Cheaper to build it right once...than build to twice.

Seth
 
rocktoy4me said:
the 2" .250 is going to bend....if thous are your two options, i would go with the square for sure. I have install several Claytons kits over the last year and have yet to see one bend. I have seen plenty of round .250 links bend though. I have been putting 2" .5 wall under all the suspension i have been building lately. Just FYI. Cheaper to build it right once...than build to twice.
Seth
Click to expand...


Better yet, sleeve the 2x2 with some 3.5"x 3/8" wall DOM.

What kind of tanks are you guys building to consistently bend 2" DOM?
 
how does sch. 80 pipe compare to 2x2 0.25 square?

I would think we put more severe bending than twisting forces on our links when wheeling.
Click to expand...
definitely... you shouldn't see hardly any rotational forces on your links unless you've got a suspension that binds.
 
well guys square tubing it is,i'll post up pics as the links are made and the four link,thanks for all the advice
 
how about bringing some of that... say... 80 feet of that to danny's so i can build an rti ramp :)
 
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