pic: 25lb Drivetrain

[Deke]

Originally Posted by Cothron Theiss

Just because I'm curious and I've never worked with belly pans before, what advantages/disadvantages do they offer? I've heard that they add a whole lot of torsional stiffness to a chassis in a more weight-efficient way than a cross bar, but other than that I'm not sure.

Think of the belly pan like a bunch of strings or cables attached and tied everywhere at the base. It provides additional stiffness when the frame moves away from the belly pan and creates tension, but is very weak when in compression. Since it is attached all the way around, some part will always be in tension, providing more stiffness in the frame.

It is just one way of many ways to add stiffness to the frame. A disadvantage is that it is time consuming to make if you plan out all your electronics and place the holes for tapping and bolting then down. Also, depending on the rest of the frame members may not be necessary. In a case like this, where the frame members are light, the belly pan can give the stiffness needed to perform like a heavier drive train.