Well, in order to calculate the stiffness difference, you have to know the
OD and the wall thickness of the parts you are comparing. About the only
way to do that is to either, drill a hole, or cut the hollow bar to measure
it. I have dug through my files, but I don't have that information on the
'99 setup.
Another thing to note, the stiffness on a stabar (or any steel part) is not
dependent on the type of steel used (unless you have something very
exotic -$$$-). Most common steels, 1018, 1020, 1026, 1040, 1045, 1117,
1137, 4130, and 4140 all have the same Modulus of Elasticity, which is an
industry standard rating of how much elasticity a material has. So, they
all behave the same when used as a spring. What makes each of these
materials different is the stress levels each type can take. High alloy
steels typically can take higher stress than a carbon steel. So, you can
subject a bar to a lot higher deflection without having the bar yield.
Also, some of the high alloys respond to heat treatments differently. We've
experimented with heat treatment of stabars, but most of the time, they warp
really badly. I would say, 95% of the applications do not need a high alloy
steel, even with tubular. We use 4130 on some of our really thin wall
applications. Hope this helps!
-Gary Pinkley
ORIGINAL MESSAGE:
>Date: Wed, 30 Jul 2003 18:41:23 -0400
>From: andy levy <andy-dml@levyclan.us>
>Subject: Re: DML: Re: Hollow Sway Bar Design
>A little bit, but the key questions have yet to be answered. Is the
>current tubular design Dodge uses actually better than the previous
>solid ones? I don't have any problem with the idea that a hollow tube
>can be stronger/stiffer than a solid rod, but that's still dependent
>upon the materials used, the diameter of the rod, and the ID and OD of
>the tube.
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