Car body made out of stainless steel?

[Loneki]

Why aren't body panels made of stainless steel? I'm hearing about rusting panels fairly often and have always wondered why they aren't made of stainless steel in the first place. Sure, it must be more expensive, but why aren't "high end" cars made of stainless steel (almost) completely? The advantages of them are pretty darning.

 

[SabrToothSqrl]

DeLorean DMC-12 - Wikipedia

 

[Jehnsen]

There's the Delorean but that's the only one I can think of. In theory, I think stainless steel would be too heavy, and as you've mentioned, too expensive.

 

[thefortunes]

There's the Delorean but that's the only one I can think of. In theory, I think stainless steel would be too heavy, and as you've mentioned, too expensive.

Stainless (lumped together - there are many grades of stainless) is <1% heavier than mild steel.

Significantly more expensive, however, and harder on tooling, harder to work with, etc...

 

[McRat]

Aluminum and composite fiber are better choices.

They do not have to be wildly expensive anymore. You can get cars in the $50-60k price range that are mostly made of composite, aluminum, magnesium, aerogel.

You are even seeing economy cars start to integrate these kinds of materials. The Prius Prime uses a carbon fiber rear hatch. F-150 pickups have a high aluminum content.

 

[SabrToothSqrl]

Saturn did this right... plastic panels. Cheap and no rust.

 

[Jehnsen]

the Delorean but that's the only one I can think of. In theory, I think stainless steel would be too heavy, and as you've mentioned, too expensi

Stainless (lumped together - there are many grades of stainless) is <1% heavier than mild steel.

Significantly more expensive, however, and harder on tooling, harder to work with, etc...

Oh right, I think I just read somewhere stainless steel grades are denser. Didn't realize they aren't denser by much though, thanks for telling me But yeah, stainless steels are much harder to work with than, let's say aluminium, due to their hardness. @Loneki I would recommend getting some parts hardened or something if you're working with mild steel and want to "upgrade" it.

 

[Loneki]

Right, plastic panels are a great alternative imo. They don't rust and they endure much more than one expects from plastic. Plus they are much cheaper. I'm just wondering why they aren't more common (maybe I should open a new thread for that?? I don't know, let me know. Or maybe someone else can do that lol)

I was just wondering if stainless steel cars had ever been done. I was reading up on how to improve coupling rods since mine have started showing signs of rust. Came across a way to do it but they don't list car body parts and I was wondering why that is? Is it still possible to harden those parts as jehnsen has said? I mean, you don't have to form them completely anew, you basically just put a protective layer on top.

Didn't know that the delorean was made of stainless steel. Do we know which grade? I could only find one source which claims that "The exterior body panels are of brushed stainless steel SS304" but the website looks a bit cheap and I don't know whether to trust it or not. But I guess 304 would make sense as it's the most popular and versatile stainless steel.