CodySimonson wrote:
it's been 2 years but as someone who's been doing FEA on my own designed chassis which is based off of a donkervoort and book chassis...
Much of my chassis strength has been added by swapping 16ga tubing for 14ga tubing, welded in sheet metal firewalls and floor panels, and 2x1 rectangular tubing vs 1x1.
However, gussets on the edges (not the middle) of tubing (round or otherwise) will be a not insignificant addition to overall chassis rigidity.
That's so good to hear. That's exactly what I did to my chassis. I used the Linton Analysis, Aussie Mods, a great series of Finite Element analysis on 7-like chassis by Christopher Greatrix, plus my own basic knowledge of structures to piece it all together. There were no free FEA programs back then, so I can't claim any figures for torsional stiffness, bending strength, etc., but I know it's plenty strong for the 300 HP final engine I have in mind.
Cheers,