Low-carbon steel

For many years low-carbon steel (sometimes referred to as mild steel) has been the predominant autobody material. Low-carbon coil,strip and sheet steel have been used in the manufacture of car bodies and chassis members. This material has proved an excellent general-purpose steel offering an acceptable combination of strength with good forming and welding properties. It is ideally suited for cold pressings of thin steel sheet and is used for wire drawing and tube manufacture because of its ductile properties.
Low-carbon steel is soft and ductile and cannot be hardened by heating and quenching,but can be case hardened and work hardened. It is used exten- sively for body panels,where its high ductility and malleability allows easy forming without the dan- ger of cracking. In general low-carbon steel is used for all parts not requiring great strength or resist- ance to wear and not subject to high temperature or exposed to corrosion.
However,new factors such as a worldwide requirement for fuel conservation for lighter-weight body structures,and safety legislation requiring greater protection of occupants through improved impact resistance,are bringing about a change in materials and production technology. This has resulted in the range of micro-alloyed steels known as high-strength steels (HSSs) or high-strength lowalloy steels (HSLAs).Car Repair Talk's forum.