Economy Frame Rail Feeler
 

Thinking about a winter project here...

What would the interest be in a Economy Frame Rail set for $99? FM is $199, now $179 on sale.

I'm thinking mild steel instead of stainless so they could be produced on a turret punch press. It would have round lightening holes instead of the lasered holes. Same thickness, no paint. You could Rustoleum poof can or powdercoat if you wanted a bit of protection. Just trying to keep the cost down. I bet I can get them done for that at 25 sets, maybe better. If there is an interest, I have a 99 and a 96 shell out back and could flip them over to get good measurements for the rails and hole placement.

Just a thought, what say you?

Make it cheap and people will buy them. Make it better than FM's and people will buy them.

Sending you a PM...

Id be in for a set for an NA at that price, as long as there atleast as good as the FM ones.
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Mild steel will rust,plain & simple.

Does not matter if you paint it,the rails will get scraped during daily use & will need to be painted over & over.

There's a reason why FM made their frame rails out of stainless steel.

I'd be interested.

I could do stainless, but the cost would be higher and might have to laser. Actually, I will check to see how big of a hole they can punch in stainless. If it is large enough to actually lighten it, I'd consider it. Also, I could put no lightening holes for less $$ but maybe add 2-5 lbs for the set. Plus I don't know if I would run into a pissing contest with them if they were too much like theirs. Don't know if there are any design patents or anything...

Maybe the best option is to go really low cost, stronger than FM, but higher weight. That would be stainless, same thickness, no holes except mounting holes. Maybe get it down to $80 that way. That might be the best way to go, unless someone would have a hard on over a couple of lbs. They could then go to FM.

Or get out the hole saw and go to town on the brace themselves.....

will these rails firm up the current economy?

what about aluminum? unfeasible? no paint required.

Interested.

Cheaper is better. I'd rather have 5 extra pounds and it be 80 bucks. Don't get carried away and run the price up IMO. If SS doesn't cost too much more than mild steel just make a bunch of SS ones that are not lightened.

i'd be more interested in the heavier stainless for less money than the rusty lighter ones. At least the weight is down low.

I'd be in for $80 stainless with only mounting holes.

In for stainless.

Vash-

ditto... I'll weld up my own butterfly.

an $80 stainless brace sounds awesome to me.

+1, even if its a bit heavier. I need to loose 20lbs anyway.
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+1

Very interested.

I already have one with the X-brace, but I'm not saying there would not be any interest. This thing does see the brunt of every element you encounter when driving.
Mild steel though cheaper, would be quite heavy in the same gauge. Although, low center of gravity is a plus.
Stainless does get expensive, but is worth it due to where this thing lives.
Aluminum might be a good option, but don't know if it will start to crack over time. Problem with aluminum is disimilar metals residing next to each other also creates corrosion. Something to think about.
Good luck and keep us posted with your findings.

+1 I'm interested.

I have been thinking about coming up with a DIY version for myself anyway so this is attractive to me. I really do not think a mild steel unit is a big problem. The factory unibody rails on your car now are not stainless or aluminum right? And mine at least in the unsalted roads of south Texas have not rusted out despite the fact that they have been dinged and scraped clean of paint in several spots. And the rails you would make presumably be much thicker. A good coat of spray-in bed liner could help too.

Cosmetically a little rust does not bother me since no one will see it.

Interested.