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camvan previously said:
Thanks for the great comparison, is there a purpose beyond fashion for square tubed sliders? I was taught in engineering school that a circle is stronger than a square  |
A round pipe is better suited for internal pressure than anyother shape (pressure exerts an equal outward force evenly on the cylinder shaped surface). But a slider is designed to take punishing impacts when the wheel/tire moves beyond contact with the ground and gravity causes the vehicle lands on the undercarriage (slider or skid plates hopefully). Sliders will incur dents and other deformities, when this happens. I think the strength of the slider (for its intended purpose) is more dependent on the wall thickness than the shape in this case. However, one benefit of a pipe (tube) designed slider is the reduced area making contact with the rock while sliding over the obstacle. The flat surface of a square tube slider make a larger area of contact and more friction is the result. The benefit of a square tube design is a more stable standing platform, for the type that extend from the vehicle body to hold the vehicle away from an obstacle and perform as a step.
The purpose of a slider is to protect the undercarriage from damage when misjudging the line of travel or underestimating the height of the obstacle. If the person is purposely trying slide on the rock rails (rather than drive to miss obstacles), then the driver should be looking for full coverage undercarriage skid plates and the custom sliders with minimal void areas. The larger the void area, the more opportunity to snag on a large obstacle.
I my mind the ideal slider never gets a scratch because the driver picked the right line and accurately judged the height of obstacles on the trail.
