Which Stainless Bars for 4 Link

you think .188 would be thick enough?

Most stainless such as 304 and 316L have a higher tensile strength than 1018 (regular carbon steel)I know 316L has a tensile of
70,000 where 1018 carbon has a tensile of 60,000. you might want to check what the tensile of 304 is, 316L is not cheap.

Stainless has a tendancy to work harden then crack. It is not as "tough" as mild steel is. Mild will flex quite a bit and is plenty happy doing it (assuming it is within it "plastic" limit.) Stainless will not.

thats the problem i was worried about right there ^^^^^^^^ cracking.

You can build the 4-link using .188 wall stainless with out too many issues, but DO NOT run the bag on the bar unless you build a heavy duty off-road type trailing arm. Stainless will probably work for a while (with the bag on the link) but I couldn't tell you how long.

We have sucessfully built a 4-link with 1 1/4" .188 and had no issues, but the bag is on the axle.

the cheapest grade would be 304. use 308 stainless wire when welding. never weld anything that is made of 303 stainless

check on mcmaster carr. i know they sell raw material there and you should be able to order more specialty shit.

stainless steel is not meant to be use for shit like this I wouldn't wast my time or money on something thats going to crack over time and what the point anyway...use cromoly ...stainless is for medical equipment and water tanks etc, not four link bars..........that just my opinion

It is used all the time on streetrod suspension components...Fatman Fabrications uses grade 17-4 stainless and they claim their arms' tensile strength is 105,000.

if your going to use stainless i would tig it no mig because you cant control the heat with a mig and if you get stainless too hot wile welding it isnt stainless any more but a lesser grade alloy and i dont know what that would do to the strength of the joint