I was looking at suspension parts at art morison and the 4 link rear control arts are made from carbon steel.

what is it?

How is it different?

Thanks

 

Steel is an alloy made from various metals including iron, nickel, tungsten, lead, copper, chromium, manganese, and a few others. There is no true standardization, and if you take 3 different pieces of steel from 3 different manufacturers and place them next to each other, the odds are extemely good that their compositions will be different. Stainless steel traditionally has a higher concentration of nickel and chromium than mild steel. Carbon is a mineral that is sometimes smelted with iron and other metals to produce a harder (non-mild) steel. Carbon in it's most condensed form is diamond, and diamond is the hardest substance known to man. So in a nutshell, carbon steel is a denser, higher tensile strenth alloy than generic steel. But let the buyer beware --- Unless you can melt it down and separate it into it's various components, there's really no way of knowing what your getting.


Yes, I work with metals for a living!

 

Thanks for the info.

Sorry but got another question,

What is better for suspension, Carbon steel or chromoly steel?

Thanks for your help:hail: :hail: :hail:

 

If they are refering to it as carbon steel, it's most likely A36 grade steel, which is generic structural steel. It will be PLENTY strong for a normal car. If you're going to be racing with the car a lot, get chrome-moly steel arms.

 

Chromoly steel = steel with higher than average concentrations of CHROmium and MOLYbednum. As for metallurgic effects, I would guess that chromoly would be less likely to rust, and carbon steel would be more rigid but also more prone to brittleness and fracturing. As far as real world automotive applications, I don't have the experience to offer suggestions for specific parts application.

 

wow dude, you know your metals... where in portland are you from?

also, try checking out the PNW thirdgen group http://www.cascadecrew.org

 

Forest Grove area, Dewey... and your site is great! Will check out your message boards when I get some time!

 

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