seriously thinkin about makeing these and selling them....

[92smokeaccord]

well i have been doing measurements and cost which would only cost me about 90 for parts...

the pieces i would be makeing is 4 point rear strut braces...anybody ever make these?i would love to kno if anybody ever ran into problems...i would also like to kno who would be interested in these cause id make them after ordered if i decide to do this as a side buisness...

i would be using 3/4 in squared hollow bar in aluminum for weight purposes
and useing 1/4 inch flat aluminum for the mounting points and some grade 8 hard ware to mount...and if this all works out ill start on extended top hats..

so what u guys think.who thinks i should try this out?
also if u poll answer it nop please leave a comment on why id love to kno

[ChIoVnIdCa]

I wont comment on your business idea but....


$90 for the raw materials is way to high... You need to find a better supplier.

[cp[mike]]

ESP makes a 4-point rear bar, but I believe they are the only other ones out there.

[92smokeaccord]

I wont comment on your business idea but....


$90 for the raw materials is way to high... You need to find a better supplier.

yeah im workin on that part....imma see if i can get like a holesale thing for materials..and probly sell for like 190 +ship

ESP makes a 4-point rear bar, but I believe they are the only other ones out there.

thats kinda why i wanna make them...cause they are the only one that iv seen make these and there expensive!

[lilb_1979]

Don't know about the rear bar, but I know I for one would be interested in the extended top hats.

[GhostAccord]

What wall thickness aluminum are you planning on using? Will it be as strong and resist bending as much as the steel 4 point units?

Do you have a sample that you can show on what it will look like? The quality of the aluminum and the welds will be the end factor. I'm pretty sure that's why ESP's are on the expensive side.

[deevergote]

ESP's prices are actually extremely reasonable given the cost of materials and the build quality of their products. It would be hard to produce such a thing for enough profit to justify the labor for much less, to be honest.

[92smokeaccord]

What wall thickness aluminum are you planning on using? Will it be as strong and resist bending as much as the steel 4 point units?

Do you have a sample that you can show on what it will look like? The quality of the aluminum and the welds will be the end factor. I'm pretty sure that's why ESP's are on the expensive side.

i was gonna go for a 3mm wall thick ness.and yes it should be as strong as the steel models because the steel models range from 1mm to 2mm thick but there way heavy compared to an aluminum 3mm rod/pipe...i really want to try and get one done soon so i can show u guys..ill post up as soon as i start and give detailed progress as i go.as far as a example..maybe the standerd x style or a h style..really depends on for what...altho the H style will give more room for stuff like fuel cells and what not..tires carry ons and such..maybe ill do bolth. like a road race x style and a H for the street styles.

ESP's prices are actually extremely reasonable given the cost of materials and the build quality of their products. It would be hard to produce such a thing for enough profit to justify the labor for much less, to be honest.

very true but i see as helping the fellow cb7s more than profit...unless i get super swamped on orders that i cant handel.then ill have to hire my welding buddy and split center on profits..and as for the buiold quality..i was thinkin a warrenty of sorts like a 1yr warrenty for bending of the bars if so happens and breaking of the welds if so happens.like i said im thinking of doing this not just gonna dive in and see were it leads me...im gonna make mine first post results and go from there...

[deevergote]

Give it a shot. Just put a little more effort into your welding than you do your spelling!

[92smokeaccord]

Give it a shot. Just put a little more effort into your welding than you do your spelling!

yeah man as you can tell i cant spell for shit but i do try...and to top it off spell check dont work.....but i can deffently weld...i used to work at canton raceing makeing oil pans...
thanks for the support man really apprecait it comeing from u thats alot!

[deevergote]

Any product made by an enthusiast is worth supporting. If you have the skills to design and produce a worthwhile product, and you're willing/able to make it affordable to this relatively poor community (face it, if we all had lots of money, very few of us would stick with the CB platform!) then it's definitely a positive thing!

[stretch JDM]

making parts for yourself is all good . got nothing but love for DIY's. selling and providing for the public is a different story.i have build several roll cages and helped with tube chassies.( my encounters with one off piecies, i'm never satisfied till its perfect , it can cause extra time) Your idea and venture sounds reasonable .As everything else in life , no risk , no reward.

[WilliamW]

I only voted no because I'm not sure of your mechanical engineering capabilities. I'm not saying you can't do it, I'm just skeptical of someone I know nothing about making parts that are designed to stiffen up the chassis.

Granted, I know PSPEC started like that and the quality of his parts were great.

I would immediately lean away from aluminum parts for steel parts. I've owned the ESP 3 point strut bar and it was an absolute beast. I just can't imagine something made of aluminum being as strong.

But other than that, if you do the testing on your parts (stress test, heat test, fitment test, that kind of stuff) and everything goes good I don't see why you wouldn't be able to market them.

[steelbluesleepR]

i was gonna go for a 3mm wall thick ness.and yes it should be as strong as the steel models because the steel models range from 1mm to 2mm thick but there way heavy compared to an aluminum 3mm rod/pipe

what alloy aluminum are you using? have you done any calculations or even look at any material properties tables to come up with this estimate or are you just pulling this estimate out of your ass? also you mentioned an h-shaped version, there is a reason roll-cages and other stiffening braces are constructed with a series of triangles. if you dont x-brace it, there is very little reason to even install it.

[92smokeaccord]

I only voted no because I'm not sure of your mechanical engineering capabilities. I'm not saying you can't do it, I'm just skeptical of someone I know nothing about making parts that are designed to stiffen up the chassis.

Granted, I know PSPEC started like that and the quality of his parts were great.

I would immediately lean away from aluminum parts for steel parts. I've owned the ESP 3 point strut bar and it was an absolute beast. I just can't imagine something made of aluminum being as strong.

But other than that, if you do the testing on your parts (stress test, heat test, fitment test, that kind of stuff) and everything goes good I don't see why you wouldn't be able to market them.

see this is why i want to make one befor i sell them and do some hard testing on video.and some photos of my work...but as for testing do you have any ideas as for what i should do...like run it over or something??lol

what alloy aluminum are you using? have you done any calculations or even look at any material properties tables to come up with this estimate or are you just pulling this estimate out of your ass? also you mentioned an h-shaped version, there is a reason roll-cages and other stiffening braces are constructed with a series of triangles. if you dont x-brace it, there is very little reason to even install it.

well i have been doing some reading on aluminum and steel..and apperently steel would indeffently be the better option.see in aluminum vs steel in these catagorys
elastic modulus
density...,aluminum gets ass raped in this catagory
strain rate
fatigue.steel has a limit as aluminum dosent
Formability.aluminum is 2/3rds of steel..like stamping..its easy to stamp aluminum then steel but that dosent matter here
hardness.this is what ud really want a hard product were aluminum sees to fail in compared to steel
so after a long hard shit load of reading im really thinkin about swaping over so steel instead of aluminum...but then again steel is far cheaper than aluminum so i see this as a win...the less i have to spend to make my first product the better and i have come to find that steel is easyer to weld in my opinion.
im also reading up on the triangle facter that u meantioned