Discussion
I had a 1991 car. I replaced the dedion tube with a new one about 2 yrs ago.
Despite the bar being a fairly small unit, the difference in weight was, if my memory serves, 8 lbs. That's a whole lot more steel in that small tube, and attests to how minimal the early dedion's were.
Many people have gone backwards through a hedge due to failures. I don't recall when the new heavier tubes became standard. There are a few other design changes over the years; going from central shock mount holes to lower welded on shock mount holes (gives more oil volume/shim stack in the shock and longer springs - or something like that - for better performance), to wider or narrower central dedion mount for the A-Frame, etc. Ones for a few years now, have been heavy and strong and full-featured.
So if a person has a newer car, it isn't an issue unless they want to change the type of rear shock they have - though my new tube has both mid and lower shock mounts on it - others may be more specific from the factory, I am not sure.
The only other thing I can think of, is clipping the a-frame mounting triangle on something, and perhaps wanting to replace it, as a reason for a new dedion tube on a newer car.
Despite the bar being a fairly small unit, the difference in weight was, if my memory serves, 8 lbs. That's a whole lot more steel in that small tube, and attests to how minimal the early dedion's were.
Many people have gone backwards through a hedge due to failures. I don't recall when the new heavier tubes became standard. There are a few other design changes over the years; going from central shock mount holes to lower welded on shock mount holes (gives more oil volume/shim stack in the shock and longer springs - or something like that - for better performance), to wider or narrower central dedion mount for the A-Frame, etc. Ones for a few years now, have been heavy and strong and full-featured.
So if a person has a newer car, it isn't an issue unless they want to change the type of rear shock they have - though my new tube has both mid and lower shock mounts on it - others may be more specific from the factory, I am not sure.
The only other thing I can think of, is clipping the a-frame mounting triangle on something, and perhaps wanting to replace it, as a reason for a new dedion tube on a newer car.
Yeah - googling dedion tube failure Caterham is sobering. PT Sports Cars run a lot of racecars and consider them a lifed item, cars often going through multiple tubes per season. I would not assume yours is a strong and solid object...
ETA - pic=1000 words etc. Vintage '96 after 20 years of cack being thrown at it. Was not given a lick of paint and a clean bill of health...
ETA - pic=1000 words etc. Vintage '96 after 20 years of cack being thrown at it. Was not given a lick of paint and a clean bill of health...
Edited by Smitters on Tuesday 13th June 14:48
It's OK, Caterham reported it to VOSA and say it only affects 38 race cars 
http://www.dft.gov.uk/vosa/apps/recalls/searches/e...
http://www.dft.gov.uk/vosa/apps/recalls/searches/e...
Helluvaname said:
It's OK, Caterham reported it to VOSA and say it only affects 38 race cars
http://www.dft.gov.uk/vosa/apps/recalls/searches/e...
What a con!! Can that be updated via new information?http://www.dft.gov.uk/vosa/apps/recalls/searches/e...
That'll be the new Academy cars sold that year only I would think. Caterham wouldn't necessarily know if you bought a car and then converted it to a race-car, and presumably no failures, or not enough to prompt a recall, were recorded on the road cars. Regardless, it's a known issue.
The race cars are clattering kerbs, so they broke them, hence why PT say they're a lifed item. I do trackdays, but try and preserve the car, so I don't kerb hop for the last tenths...
If in doubt, get under and have a look. They broke/degraded on the welds, central and on the tabs for the damper.
If in doubt, get under and have a look. They broke/degraded on the welds, central and on the tabs for the damper.
Smitters said:
The race cars are clattering kerbs, so they broke them, hence why PT say they're a lifed item. I do trackdays, but try and preserve the car, so I don't kerb hop for the last tenths...
If in doubt, get under and have a look. They broke/degraded on the welds, central and on the tabs for the damper.
The majority of failures I am aware of are on road cars. If in doubt, get under and have a look. They broke/degraded on the welds, central and on the tabs for the damper.
Roads are considerably more rough and pot-holed than circuits, and the generally higher mileages in road cars can cause more damage IMO.
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