Holes in side impact protection

[Running Mike]

Do any of you know whether or not it is OK to drill holes in the side impact protection for rivets?

[Running Mike]

Do any of you know whether or not it is OK to drill holes in the side impact protection for rivets?

[Pete M]

You mean the side impact tubes? I wouldn't... In fact, i wouldn't be drilling holes in any tubes on the car, except for the mandatory inspection holes. If you want to mount something to the chassis, weld a tab on.

[Chris Allbee]

and by the way, it is generally a bad idea to rivet on body panels...the judges WILL ask you to remove them for tech inspection...

[Running Mike]

Yes I mean the side impact tubes. We would like to attach aluminium sheets to the sides of the chassis in order to close the drivers cockpit and add torsional stiffness to the chassis. The thing is whether or not drilling holes (small) in the chassis is only a theoretical problem? Also what about the rules? The alternative option of welding on tabs would ad a lot of parts. We did this on our first car (This is a car number two problem) but did not like it because of all the extra parts and welding.

[Mike Claffey]

Mike,

Use some sort of glue instead mate.

[TGrau]

We used bonded Al sheet on the sides and bottom of our 2006 formula car using 3M™ Scotch-Weld™ Epoxy Adhesive DP420. Our supermilage team also used it to bond an aluminum frame vehicle a few years ago, and it worked out pretty well. We have pictures of some Al joints bonded using DP420, and it was kind of interesting to see that the Al failed before the adhesive.

[John Stimpson]

We've been riveting on our aluminum sheet close-out panels for years and its never raised an eyebrow at tech-in...

[Chris Allbee]

not talking about close-out panels, more like nosecone and sidepods....

[kcapitan]

In terms of structural rigidity would it be a problem to run CO2 at 100psi through a chassis tube?

[Fred G]

Do you plan on using your chassis tube for CO2 storage for your gear shift???

Hmmmmm...

Just don't drill a hole in it, it will leak...

[AxelRipper]

well thats an interesting thought... dont imagine it teching too well... i mean, surround yourself with a bomb first to get the feel of the cajones you need (100 psi on welded angles...) and then think about it some more

[Fred G]

100 PSI isn't that much... my bicycle tyres need that much. Just think of the space frame as a skinny pressure vessel.

[jd74914]

It looks like its Mohr's circle time for you guys...