How about someone making an axel set out of nitionel. This way you can have the spring back effect for launching off a dead start or if you like to use the thin metal bunch then you can take advantage of the spring effect plus the seeminly endless elastic strenght of this high tech material, Sure it might cost you a few thousand for axels but just think of the advandage you would have. Probably wouldn't need an axel housing to hold them in position and the extra flex you get would be a bounus. If you find this ludicrious just disregard and attribute it to the 5 rum and cocos i've just consumed. If you decide to make it a product out of it, then it would be nice of you to give me a set free for the idea........that is unless your a phd with a big ego .....then forget it and go fuck yourself!

Wow, Dude lay off some off the rum and coke! I think your going nuts cause that shit dint make any sence?:rolleyes: :beer: :beer:

On number 8 now... but I still think nitonel would still be a good material. hmmm maybe that's how I got my nickname of crazy dave.

You think maybe it would cause an axle wrap type effect???

Do you think a leaf spring would be necassary? maybe a 4 link supension monted quite aways inboard would do the trick. I know for toy cars their has been a patent awarded to this idea. maybe it's scaleable. Next step transformers......my brain hurts....maybe it's the rum.

Wrap is not a issue when you have a material such as nitenol that remebers were it started from. So who cares if your wheel is a foot from its origion, as long as it returns to it's original position. Axle wrap is a term that usually means that a material has been deformed beyond it's abililty to return to it's original state. With Nitonal it always returns to it's original state if you have the correct alloy and temper. I know I'm going to regret indrotuceing this concept, somebody is going to do this and win some competions......but at least I can show my wife what happens when I drink too much. Maybe I'll get laid .... Thomas Jefferson

well I like it how this one for size I figured the best suspension is well get your leaf spring and twist them so they look like a figure-8 some heat will be needed now weld one end of the spring to the middle of the axel then weld the other end to your oil pan (cuz it’s in the middle of the tuck) and get some bungee cord and tie them to the axel at the ends (by the knuckle) now get the the other end and tie it to two cinder block. Now thro the cinder blocks on top of your roof. Get 12 car coil springs and weld 3 to each rotor/drum on your axels. Now get some more bungee cords and use it to tie 1 tire to each car spring


good luck

Originally posted by Dave67cruiser
Axle wrap is a term that usually means that a material has been deformed beyond it's abililty to return to it's original state.

Read that sentence out loud to your self when you are sober. Too much :beer: .......You were thinking out of the BOX, but a bit too far from the box.

LOL... well how about this.. you try it, then let us know how it works.. :D

dude, lay off the rum. nitionel has some weird propertys. as far as making axles shafts out of the shit it wont work it is a very weak metal. they way it works is you shape it to how you want it then you heat it up to a high temperature. then after it cools you can bend it into any shape you want, then put some cold water in it and it springs back to the shape you had it when you heated it up. btw i used to have one of those lil toys that said i love you and you could bend it in different directions give it to some one you love and have them put it under cold water ad it would spring back to saying i love you.

Originally posted by TrailRunner
dude, lay off the rum. nitionel has some weird propertys. as far as making axles shafts out of the shit it wont work it is a very weak metal.

There are two forms on NiTinol (i just did a project on it) There is super elastic and shape memory. The shape memory is easily deformed however the super elastic is very stong (the navy is testing it for use in bearings). The great thing about NiTinol is that it is very very corrosion resistant and acid resistant. (the navy tested the bearings in salt water for 500 hours with no signs of corrosion while steel bearings showed corrosion after 8 min.)

A 4mm strand of shape memory alloy after beng deformed can lift one ton when heated to return to it's previous shape.

Problem is that it is very hard to process. required a 3,000 watt lasar to cut it.

not a very god choice for axels. (imagine the cost of the axels you use plus the cost of the spares!!)

makinmg leaf springs out of it would be crazy though (and doable) the navy said that salt water acted like a lubricant for it. Image the flex you would get out of a set of super elastic leaf springs. You could just cast them to shape. it would suck to bend or break a leaf though $$$$$$

I like the leaf spring idea, and yes some forms of nitinol are plenty strong enough too make axels out of. I know the cost would be prohibitive for most people.....maybe we could get the goverment to fund a " mountain warfare vehical" , of course their would need to be lots of testing done. ;) ;) Do you have any specs on what temperatures the bearings that were tested could handle. I wonder what happens if a bearing gets hot enough to phase change.

Originally posted by Dave67cruiser
Do you have any specs on what temperatures the bearings that were tested could handle. I wonder what happens if a bearing gets hot enough to phase change.

In the case of super elastic they set the phase change way below operating temp so that they are always in the austenite phase. that is why when deformed they imediatly revert back to their "memorized" shape. because they don't need to be heated up to return they are super elastic. a better question would be how low did they set the transformation temp and what was the temp of the water they tested in. the company that makes thius shit won't teell you anything anyways. If other people knew the exact amount of each material nickle and titanium they could make their own NiTinol.

NiTinol was discovered a long time ago but they didn't have the techniques required to manipulate it until recently.

I imagine if the bearings did cool down enough to undergo a phase change they would get soft and deform thus being no good. However you could just reheat them (if they did not undergo more than 8% strain) and reuse them.

i stand corrected. thanks for the info.

Great info, thanks. I think it was Raychem that first patented the material maybe 20 or so years ago. You wouldn't happen to know what the maximum temperature it will take before it melts would you?.......This is for another idea not related to 4x4's

i don't have a phase diagram anymore but just for you i will email my proffessor and tell her to bring me a copy to the final. I remember ti being very high though. I think the phase "ends" at around 500 degrees C ?????

Thanks, much appreciated.
And to the rest of the posters,
Jeep Mangled - yes I will lay off the rum and coco, man my head hurts.
Pig Pen- yeah your right. What I should of said was when you really jump on the gas pedal with a SOA truck without a traction bar the leaf spring can flex beyond it's ability to return to its origional shape= bent spring if your lucky, broken pinion if your not.
Cheif Yelling Alot- Hey can you keep it down my head hurts, shoot me a drawing of that scheme would you .....better use a bent pencil for drawing the corners.

Rockbuggy- wish I could afford to.....but your rich right?

TrialRunner - wonder if those toys are still being made.