my idea is probably more impossible than i know. what i wanted to do was create a series of copy cat pieces of the body and possibly a monocoque... can someone clue me in on the logistical nightmare i'm going to face for the next few years?
i need a clue !
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thanks for moving this post! :thumbup what i'm talking about is the actual body of the car. the members attatched to the unibody x-type frame. a b and c pillars , etc.. basically all the stuff you'd see if you stripped the car bare. what i want to do is get those pieces fabricated in titanium. my theory is that it would lighten the body, increase chassis strength, and lower the center of gravity some. right?
Re making the unibody out of titanium? if it would work it would be great, but titanium can't be shaped the same way steel can and it takes stress differently, the chassis would need to be completely re-engeneered and machined. I would guess you'd be more than a million dollars in by the time you had anything you could use.
tube chassis, fiberglass/carbon body? it certianly could be done, but I dont think that titanium is the right material, it's cost prohibitive and I don't think it has the torsional strength as steel (steel is flexible, that's what makes it strong) but again you might be able to make up the strength difference because you can use more titanium without weighing the car down.
titanium won't be much lighter than stock. in general it might be stronger, but not much lighter. Ideally the whole car would be made from aluminum. to do this would require redesigning the entire geometry of every part though with the new material in mind...for this, just get your name on the list for a Lotus Elise.
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