Please take into account that when people tell you what the weight of
their frame/roll cage is you can't really compare them directly. You
need to know whether they're giving you the weight of the roll cage
with or without the mounts, is it just the cockpit area or the
complete frame, how big is the car, etc. If you can weld it and you
don't mind the frame be a "throwaway" frame, use 1.25x0.049 in ASTM
53, considering the same frame it will save you around 20% in weight.
We used A36 in 1.25x0.049 and it locally deformed (not bent but
crushed) where we hit obstacles. It last through two competitions,
but now it's pretty shot.
Our frame with 1.25x0.049, complete front to back with all of the
mountings weighed around 90lbs or so. A different year's frame with
1"x0.083 weighed around 75lbs or so but it was a smaller car. Total
vehicle weight in the last 4 years have been anywhere from 450lbs to
520lbs. Then again we used pretty big tires (24x9 in 12 inch rims)
and each tire/wheel combo is around 27lbs by themselves.
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