Chrome Moly suspension. Worth It??

[5POINT7]

Just wondering what you guys think about upgrading suspension to chrome moly. I know its stronger, but is it really worth the extra money? also I believe it sheds 1-2lbs. maybe more. lets here some opinions. :peace2:

[ksmyss]

it all depends on how far you plan on going with your car and if weight will ever be important. for some 3 lbs is nothing, for others 3 lbs is a big deal.

[95LT1Z28]

Yeah I agree with ksmyss the less a car weighs the faster it will be. But the weight game is more then just jumping on a scale and seeing how much the car weighs and trying to get it as low as you can. Im sure with drag cars less weight is better and the same goes with road racing but both types of racing also depend on the weight placement. I always tossed around upgrading to the chromoly stuff when i did all my suspension I figure it like this, add the cost of making all your parts chromoly together and see what type of other performance part you can buy to make the car more rigid faster or hook up better, and which one is more worth it to you. I dont know that chromoly is stronger or anything just lighter I believe so instead of saving 3lbs maybe you can make a modification to the car and gain the time or power lost from the extra little bit of weight. just my opinion

[joelster]

A chromoly k-member is no stonger than a regular steel k-member. Neither are the a-arms, or other parts. Chromoly enables the builders to make the tubing thinner while maintaining the same strength as the regular steel stuff. Thinner tubing=less weight. A 1foot square chunk of chromoly weighs exactly the same as a 1 foot square chunk of regular steel.

[jakesz28]

Chromoly is stronger then steel. But at the same time the weight savings comes from the fact that they make the parts out of thinner materials. So actually you may not be gaining any stregth. On my car, which is just a drag car, the weight was important. But at the same time i'm on a budget and can't continue to spend like I have money to spare. I went with chromoly parts in the rear because the price was minimal. On the roll cage I went with chromoly do to the amount of tubing that went in the car. My mild steel K-member was only 18 lbs so not much weight savings there compared to the price difference.
Not sure if that helps much but I pulled some things out of the car and when I looked at the time I spent on it I didn't think it was worth it. Some parts didn't amount to a pound and I would have an hour in pulling them out. But the first time it was on the scale I was happy.
My car was 3175 at the shootout with me in it. I'm 200 pounds+ and I still have factory brakes all the way around.

[jakesz28]

Joelster you beat me to it.

[5POINT7]

Thinner tubing=less weight. A 1foot square chunk of chromoly weighs exactly the same as a 1 foot square chunk of regular steel.

sorry for the confusion, so if the weight is the same? and if there the same strength, why is chrome moly offered? so basically you guys are saying it isnt worth the extra $$ for what your getting.

[Tarheel'Z']

sorry for the confusion, so if the weight is the same? and if there the same strength, why is chrome moly offered? so basically you guys are saying it isnt worth the extra $$ for what your getting.


the chrome moly is stronger so they can make the parts with thinner walls ,,so you save wieght but strength is not improved because the extra strength you gain with chrome moly you lose with making the part lighter and thinner,,so i guess at the end of the day you have an equally strong part that weighs a little less..honestly i have no idea what im talking about but thats how i took joelster and jakesz28 post's..i think you might of just misunderstood

[jakesz28]

^^^^^^^^^^^correct

[popo8]

Just my ignorance here, but I remember that I was once told that for a street driven car, Chromoly is not the way to go. Is that true?

[joelster]

IMO it is totally worth it to go with chromoly for a roll cage, and a k-member, but not a-arms. You will save an easy 25lbs on a 6pt roll cage going chromoly and it will only run you an extra $150 or so. You will save an extra 6-8 lbs on a k-member as well, for an additional $125-$150. For the a-arms the weight savings is maybe 1-2lbs per side for $125-$150 so I guess that isn't so good.

[5POINT7]

Just my ignorance here, but I remember that I was once told that for a street driven car, Chromoly is not the way to go. Is that true?
I was wondering about that too, anybody have info about this?