Track car seam welding - a necessity or a hobbyist's rite of passage?

My last track car was stitch welded everywhere minus the underneath and there was a very obvious difference in its stiffness out on track, but there was no roll cage present. My current track car being prepped will have both so ill report back when its finished!

the way i see it is you want the shell to be infinitely stiff (i know not possible!) including all suspension arms etc. The aim being to isolate the movement to just the suspension, the theory being this movement is damped, and therefore controllable, unlike the shell acting as a 5th spring. The correct solution to a stitch welded and caged car being too stiff for wet running would be to use a different spring/damper/arb setup for wet weather? Not really practical to track day goers though

 

Another Question is does a shell last longer being seam welded or have a negative effect long term?

 

Not sure but all depends how well / comprehensively it is done - used - looked after.

- Possible increased corrosion if not treated when seam sealer removed
- Possible distortion of panels ... the load has to go somewhere (stiffer bushes & suspension)

 

Ive seam welded bits of my shell , stitched other parts and all mainly because ive nothing else to do till i can afford some more parts . Cant help thinking every little helps but will also be running a much modified 6 point bolt in cage with some home made thro bulkhead turret bits too .