School me on cage tubing!

we use 1.75 X .093 Wall DOM to build the roll cages on all Nascar Race cars and we barrell roll those at 180 mph. Granted the whole car chassis is designed to take the impact, it is NOT the same as just welding a cage on the top of a stock truck frame. But, I think the .093 would be strong enough if your truck is not super heavy. Our cars weigh in at 3500 pounds.
 
Newcomer said:
we use 1.75 X .093 Wall DOM to build the roll cages on all Nascar Race cars and we barrell roll those at 180 mph. Granted the whole car chassis is designed to take the impact, it is NOT the same as just welding a cage on the top of a stock truck frame. But, I think the .093 would be strong enough if your truck is not super heavy. Our cars weigh in at 3500 pounds.
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It's not the fact it will surivre the impact from what I've seen, but the fact of it getting puncutres from rock and scraping without having to be replaced after EVERY said event like the nascar guys. Also there is alot more eng. that goes into a nascar cage than an exo(crunch zones and the such). Also you guys run cromo mostly don't you?
 
Chromoly is against NASCAR rules, and therefore we cannot and do not run it on anything. You are correct about the fact that there is much more structural design behind our cars than just sticking a cage on top of the frame like I mentioned previously. The Roll Cages tie into specific structural points on the chassis and therefore are capable of keeping a driver alive during a high speed rollover. I had not thought about the puncture resistance of the heavier wall tubing, but you are right about that also. A .120 wall tube would resist puncture or denting much better than the lighter stuff, and therefore less replacing of tubes. This guys mentions he is concerned with the weight of the .120 wall. He must be worried about adding weight to the top side of his rig?
 
.120 wall tube dents pretty easy on rocks, I don't see .090 wall holding up worth a damn. Having a cage built, and then having to replace dented up tube all the time sucks.
 
Again, my jeep has a stock drivetrain!

Although I'm planning to upgrade it in the future, I don't plan on putting it in any position to cause a major roll.

I have a good sense of my capabilities, & don't take many serious chances with my DD.

If I decide I need stronger tubing down the road, I wouldn't mind chopping out the light gauge stuff & starting over with stronger stuff. I may even build an offroad only buggy instead.
 
Newcomer said:
Thanks for the link, I actually have a couple pairs already, I was just mad that he didnt know what they were when I asked about them. I guess they arent something that the everyday mechanic would need anyway, but the tool guy should know that stuff, IMO, especially in this area were race teams are abundant. :confused:
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Yeah I would have lost much respect for the guy.

On the other hand, maybe he deals with automotive mechanics only. Not big into hitting the body shops, even still waht kind of tool man doesn't know what a Cleco is???
 
RHSCTJ said:
Thats it. If you are headed out of clover turn left right after the school and then make your first left after the school. I dont know the name of the road but its kinda like a driveway. Follow it around and this guy has a little race car shop behind his house. Hes big with the local dirt-trackers. Good luck finding a strait piece of tubing in a scrap yard. If you go to snipes on celenease give john a hard time at the scales.
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Well Snipes had nothing I could see.

I did stop in at Jackson's, & the nice lady there found me a 9' length of the 1-3/4' stuff. It was $2.20 a foot & just enough to do the front risers, from the floor to the spreaders.

I'm gonna go back & get smaller diameter stuff to do the cross tubes, & two center spreaders.

I also discovered my bottle jack bender makes crappy bends in thin wall tubing. A little kinked, they are gonna have to stay like that, until this recession is over, or i get a better job.

I may make a plate for each riser, to attach them to the torx bolts that hold the dash to the tub, near the speakers.

Thanks to all who helped me out with this, I appreciate it!:beer:
 
that kink doesn't look any worse than the factory Jeep tubing bends

Next time you bend tube in the HF bender, pack the tube full of sand and cap it off. It will help keep the bends from kinking. If you have a couple bends, its good, if you have a whole chassis to build, you'd spend way more time stuffing sand than it would be worth.

braxton357 said:
If you're using an HF bender then go buy some 1.25" sch 40. You're wasting your money buying tubing.
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1.25" Sch 40 = more expensive than 1.75" tube (at least in relation to the tube prices I received this week and the cost of pipe I bought last week)
 
rockcity said:
that kink doesn't look any worse than the factory Jeep tubing bends
Next time you bend tube in the HF bender, pack the tube full of sand and cap it off. It will help keep the bends from kinking. If you have a couple bends, its good, if you have a whole chassis to build, you'd spend way more time stuffing sand than it would be worth.
1.25" Sch 40 = more expensive than 1.75" tube (at least in relation to the tube prices I received this week and the cost of pipe I bought last week)
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Agreed on the factory jeep bends!:shaking: I'm not too ashamed to leave them, since they match pretty well.

I'm still gonna get a real tube bender though, I have plans for much more protection at some point. (after the tire's/axles/lift/SYE/gearing changes)

I knew about the sand trick, but I'm way too lazy for that.

I paid about $2.20 FT. for the thinwall. Nice to be able to get it locally though.
 
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