Buggy metal

You do have a point their for Wg Al is what he had handy. The Green Machine is heaver then my Rockvill.

YOU RANG? allright every one, I will tell ya all about it. I build alloy buggies cause:
1) I have constant access to scrap aluminum
2) a pound of aluminum is 2 1/2 times stronger than a pound of steel.
3) aluminum is easier to drill, grind, cut,machine etc.
4)aluminum is cheaper than stainless.
5) aluminum doesn't contain Hexavalent chromium (extreme lung carcinogen)
6)I never said my buggy was lighter than other buggies.( it weighs a little over 67 lbs., without the luggage rack and rocket launchers) And when the wind gets about 25-30 ,I can feel the rear end slip sideways a little, and thats at like highway speed!(really creepy feelin)And I got dualies on the rear! So adding weight in high wind ,overpowered conditions is something I have considered.
7)I love to TIG weld aluminum and have access to some of the best aluminum welding equipment available, Between my day job and the family welding service ( HOT WORX INC.) :D
8) Nobody else is doing it! Except those chrome plated pieces of aluminum crap I saw on the internet(I think they made em out of lawn chair tubing:lol Anyway that's my story and I'm stickin to it

I didn't say it was a whole lot cheaper! Get ready to fall out again

I think you'll find that good quality aluminum like WG is using is going to be pretty close to the cost of stainless. Better put your seat belt on when checking prices.

Thin wall aluminum is pretty cheap. It'll surprise you just how inexpensive it is. When you start getting into sizes thicker than .0875 the price per foot goes up at a very steep angle. .250 has to cost a small fortune.

A quick check on the net for aluminum prices vs. stainless:
T2024 T3 alu 2" x 6' x .120 wall = $228.65
T6061 alu 2" x 6' x .250 wall = $269.85
T304 Stain / welded 2" x 6' x .120 wall = $86.03
T304 Stain / seamless 2" x 6' x .188 wall = $394.94

I'm still very interested in seeing WG's bug once its done. Would love to take a ride in it as well. Perhaps we can work out a time to hook up and do some buggy swappin!

BBOB, you are always welcome too see what were up to,I don't remember how we diverged into aluminum. But, hey were all kiters talkin about it. This ought to be a good thread for a while. wish I could make the jeckyl island thing. But it looks like that is out of the question for now. I know it's gonna be a blast,Hope ya'll get plenty of wind bob here's a sneak peek

Quote:

Originally posted by WELDNGOD I wouldn't use anything but 5000 series alloy, mil-spec 5086 is my first choice. I never use 6061 cause you weaken it when you weld on it,and it likes to crack(too brittle) And your right about the cost when you start getting into structural grade material. Kent ,are you in the construction biz? I think our prices are a little cheaper around here, Norfolk VA is Atlantic Fleet HQ . Ships and shipyards and contractors out the ying yang. So there is a little more supply around here. We also have this one particular scrapyard that has all kinds of material in good supply. You can't use it for govt. work( no certs.),but for commercial use it's the ticket! ya buy it by the pound!(quite a bit more than scrap prices,but alot less than new) and they don't make you buy the whole stick or plate:P maybe I'll make NABX sometime!

I'm not in the construction biz, I am in the kite biz though.

We did design and build the Ivanpah buggy (with a ton of info and help from Popeye, Buggy Bags UK, and others). Weight is a concern but it is not the only thing. Triangulation and stability needs to be built into the bug as well. It also makes a huge difference how the weight is loaded on the buggy. Just making it heavy (or light) won't make the buggy grab in the corners or under power. Balancing the weight in the buggy is what will make it grab. It is hard to compare the buggy to a Nascar because Nascar depends so much on aerodynamics for downforce and traction. With the buggy, you are being pulled upwards by the kite and you have no aero downforce to work with.

As stated above in the thread, weight takes more power to get moving but you gain in momentum. My PL Comp XR+ accelerates much easier and quicker than my Ivanpah but once up to speed, I can hold down much more power with the Ivanpah and I am much less effected by lulls in the wind or redirecting the kite. The buggy is also much more stable and planted, allowing me to gain more power from working the kite harder without the worry of the buggy being ripped out (power sliding). The Ivanpah also has a feature that no other production buggy has in that you can off-set the rear axle for down wind reaches. Think of it as a Nascar team being able to set the right side tires an extra two feet outside the fenders.

Yeah ,Kent I concur on that bro', I've been playin w/ the idea of welding a 1/2" bung and plug on my rear axle and downtube .So I can add sand or water for more weight where I need it when wind gets crazy. But I also know that tires make all the diff. Slicks are great when you wanna slide, but ribs and knobs give more lateral traction at the expense of speed which can be compensated for with more sail. It's all a bunch of variables and findin the magic combination is the art of it. I wish I still lived in vegas( I lived there as a teen),but it was all dirt bikes then! P.S. I like the idea of offsetable (is that even a word?) axles If you combined that with adjustable weights down low. OMG what bite you'd have!