n o i t a v o n n I s d e e r Racing B Case! NOT in This
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ne of the things car manufacturers have preached over the years was the fact that they used racing to develop parts and systems for their road cars. The title of this article, ‘Racing Breeds Innovation is true in most cases just NOT this one. The OEM car manufacturers have been using a high strength steel called Docol R8 for X years and it has only lately that its advantages have become apparent to the motorsport industry and builders have started to use it in chassis and rollcage building. For many years building roll cages or tube chassis race cars you had the choice of two materials, mild steel or 4130 Chrome Moly. In the last six years or so Indianapolis based A.E.D. Motorsport Products have been showcasing a new option, Docol R8. Produced in Scandinavia, Docol is not really a new material in the auto industry. It is an advanced high strength steel (AHSS) that has been used in road cars for almost thirty years. It is used in things like door crash bars, roof bows, A&B pillars, bumpers, foot boxes and seats. In motorsport fabrication, it is not restricted to use in chassis and roll cages, but can be used for suspension parts, wheelie bars, driveshafts and bumpers; there is even an aero tube option where streamlined tube is required. The main reason I saw for it not being used in motorsports previously was the cost; traditionally it was more expensive than the similar 4130 products. That all changed at this year’s PRI show in Indianapolis. During a Docol R8 seminar put on by 42
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A.E.D. Motorsports and the manufacturer SSAB, Al Lowe of A.E.D. announced the lowering of prices by 10 to 12%. This brings Docol R8 pricing right into the ballpark especially with its many benefits! So, what other reasons are there for the Docol R8 not being used in mainstream motorsports? Part of it is sanctioning bodies, NASCAR has never favored Chrome Moly whereas SCCA and NASA always had that 4130 option. Why you may ask; well, you really need a skilled welder for 4130. A 4130-weld junction tends to leave the heat affected zone with a crystalline structure and in an accident that is
Docol R8 on left, 4130 CrMo on right; it is the 4130 that cracks and deforms even with the Docol weld seam rotated to align with the crush zone.
