Quote:
Originally Posted by gracin7
Hey Brian,why the square tube in the rear cage,never seen that in my circle track world? And why is the 3rd so far over to the side,figured for lefts and rights center mounted would be more neutral. Nice fab work.
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I will give you the condensed version of why Maier used square tubing and the offset 3rd link.
Both are used in the latest GT series type cars. The square tubing is used in the rear section for a few reasons. It is more rigid than round tubing for tension and compression. If it does fail, it is at a higher rate than round tubing. But, if it fails, it fails bad. Round tubing is more forgiving and will bend much more before it completely fails, that is why the passenger compartment uses round tubing. Also, square tubing is easier to fabricate in tight areas and when the paneling is installed, it will give a flat surface.
As far as the offset 3rd link, it is also that way modern GT cars are built. Circle track cars use a centered 3rd link, and road cars use an offset. On acceleration, if you were to put scales under the rear wheels, the weights would be different from left to right. Offsetting the upper link evens out the weight distrubution on acceleration. Since packaging is not a real concern on this car, it was the way to go. I am not putting in rear seats. Paneling will cover up all of Maiers nice work.
Here is a picture of a newer Corvette GT car that shows the round tubing in the passenger compartment and square tubing in the rear.