I seriously doubt that VW would make a heavy vehicle major suspension
component out of a weak, brittle cast iron.  Who says it's cast iron,
anyway?   My bet is that it's forged..........nothing less would do.......

Mike B.

----- Original Message -----
From: "pdooley" <psdooley@VERIZON.NET>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Friday, October 17, 2008 9:46 AM
Subject: Re: Magical cast iron suspension?

> Ummm, what about ductile cast iron?
>
> You must be thinking of white or gray iron.  Those are low
> strength/ductility and give cast iron a bad rep.
> I'm pretty sure VW didn't use that for the control arms.
>
> No, I'm pretty sure they used ductile/nodular cast iron, which is plenty
> tough and strong for use in a Vanagon suspension.
>
> Regardless, cast or stamped, there is no way I would change from one or
> the
> other, I already have enough to do without looking for more work.
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of
> John Reynolds
> Sent: Thursday, October 16, 2008 9:02 PM
> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> Subject: Re: Magical cast iron suspension?
>
> "So still no compelling evidence to upgrade, especially based on my
> driving
> experience of 4 years each in an '85 and '84 Westy."
>
> Probably cost.  Fabricating arms out of several pieces of steel and
> welding
> them were likely more expensive than casting. That's my guess.
>
> I'd prefer the welded steel than brittle cast iron anyway.  Steel when
> over
> stressed will bend, the cast iron will break clean off, most grades have
> have very little ductility.   Cast iron, repeat after me:  strong in
> compression, weak in tension.
>
> My $.02, your mileage may vary.
>
> John R