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Thread: Seam stitch welding....views and experience about this.

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    Guest v17nyb's Avatar
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    Seam stitch welding....views and experience about this.

    Who's done this and noticed a major difference?
    Is it worth doing or is chassis bracing good enough? Car is track focused/fast road setup but with no cage. I know a cage will help stiffen up the chassis too but I'm not going down that route yet.
    Ive got the car completely shelled doing a rust refurb anyhow so now is perfect time to do it.
    I was wondering whether it will need jigging too before welding?


    Views, help and recommendations please

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    Flamethrower Pablo13's Avatar
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    Putting it on a jig would be ideal, but not always possible, I think if you have decent spacing and take your time you should not get a problem with stitching.

    I have done some stitching, but not all of my shell. The next time I drove it at the first corner taken a reasonable pace I noticed the difference. It definitely made it feel tighter. I only did the front end of the car when I re did my engine bay. I noticed the next time I drove it it did change the balance of the car to slightly more understeer, but it did balance out a bit more once I stuck a rear half cage in too. now the front and the rear feel good, its just the bit in the middle that feels squidgy when pressing on in corners Should really pull my finger out and finish the rest of it
    Last edited by Pablo13; 10-01-2013 at 10:30.
    bstmeetbllk

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    i stitched the engine bay on mine and the front definately felt tighter/stiffer also you can now jack up one front corner and the whole front lifts square whereas before it would jack up at an angle lol
    http://sxoc.com/vbb/image.php?type=sigpic&userid=11238&dateline=1227414084
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    I'm not a big ford fan but the RS500 is a legend, you cannot take away from it its Icon status and to suggest that its a chavvy car is like saying Kirsten Scott Thomas is a council estate slapper

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    Guest v17nyb's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Fake Ben Taylor View Post
    i stitched the engine bay on mine and the front definately felt tighter/stiffer also you can now jack up one front corner and the whole front lifts square whereas before it would jack up at an angle lol
    Cool, that's a definite result proving increased stiffness.
    I think I'll go ahead and do mine then because I wont be wanting to strip it back again, especially after I seam seal and paint it all.

    With the car completely stripped and sat on the floor I'd imagine it should be pretty square, especially the engine bay. Im worried that once I have to jack up to do underneath and back end then it may flex. Perhaps if i do all the seams inside the car 1st then it should be straight.

    I've got room to jig it up but will it make the difference or is it theory?

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    if you can jig it, then jig it

    you dont want it twisting and then welding it up like that
    http://sxoc.com/vbb/image.php?type=sigpic&userid=11238&dateline=1227414084
    Quote Originally Posted by S14 Stu View Post
    I'm not a big ford fan but the RS500 is a legend, you cannot take away from it its Icon status and to suggest that its a chavvy car is like saying Kirsten Scott Thomas is a council estate slapper

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    Guest Si's Avatar
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    One thing to bear in mind - I read an article somewhere (and I'm buggered if I can find, it despite lots of searching!) that was highlighting the effect it has on what your car does should the worst happen. Basically, it strengthens a lot of the crumple zones, increasing the forces transmitted to the passenger compartment, and the opinion of the writer was that it shouldn't be done without a cage to protect the passenger 'cell'.

    I have no idea how true this is, and if there's any data or empirical or even anecdotal evidence to back it up, but I guess it kind of makes sense and could be worth bearing in mind. It's stopped me doing it to my car TBH.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Pablo13 View Post
    now the front and the rear feel good, its just the bit in the middle that feels squidgy when pressing on in corners
    Slimfast or weight-watchers is a good cure for that!

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    Quote Originally Posted by Si View Post
    One thing to bear in mind - I read an article somewhere (and I'm buggered if I can find, it despite lots of searching!) that was highlighting the effect it has on what your car does should the worst happen. Basically, it strengthens a lot of the crumple zones, increasing the forces transmitted to the passenger compartment, and the opinion of the writer was that it shouldn't be done without a cage to protect the passenger 'cell'.

    I have no idea how true this is, and if there's any data or empirical or even anecdotal evidence to back it up, but I guess it kind of makes sense and could be worth bearing in mind. It's stopped me doing it to my car TBH.
    It makes perfect sense Si

    I haven't stitched much of my car yet but I run a cage and I use it on the road from time to time. Wouldn't like to sacrifice my crumple zones. But the internet deems body structure to be 'there for the sake of it' so what would engineers know.

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    Guest v17nyb's Avatar
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    What are the main area's you stiched then piman? Turret tops, transverse floor seams? I completely agree on the removing crumple zone theory as a safety aspect, but for a track car are they necessary, motorbikes don't have them
    I know coming from first hand experience your into safety pimam, so wouldn't recommend it?

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    I haven't stitched my shell at all, my rear suspension arms and my subframe have been stitched and that's it.

    My car is pretty much 100% focused for track and although I use it on the road, it's impossibly difficult to enjoy. But I'd STILL want my crumple zones in tact. Arguably even more reason to have them on the track anyway.

    I suffered no problems with shell rigidity but then again, I have a cage and a zillion and one braces.

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