Any engineers out there want to share their thoughts and opinions?
I'm not an engineer, (flunked out of engineering school by majoring in sports cars and skirts) but my younger brother, who profited from my bad example, managed to make it to graduation, plus getting a Master's in Electrical Engineering and a Doctorate in Plasma Physics. Smart kid! He does computer modeling of auto parts for Ford, Chrysler, and GM as a sideline to his regular job as a research physicist on guidance systems for U.S. Defense Department missiles. I'll ask him what his opinion is on misusing a part by installing it in a position for which it has not been designed nor tested. I've got a pretty good idea what his reply will be.
All parts have a safety factor built in, as there needs to be at least a little fudge factor for overloads. When an assembly is deliberately used on a heavier application than it's designed to handle, it's quite possible that it's already well into the overload range. Just a little extra stress almost guarantees a failure, sometimes a catastrophic one. One of the things I've learned from building round track race cars- - - - -"Build it three times as strong as you think it needs to be, and don't be too surprised if it breaks!" That's particularly true for dirt trackers!
Jerry
