Its a fact that all steels have the same "modulous of elasticity" .. IE how much they bend for any specific load. That is commonly refered to a "stiffness". So any two steel axles of the same size and wall thickness will have the same "stiffness" But you cannot equate stiffness to "strength" ...which is commonly understood as how much load a material can resist without bending (permanently) or breaking. Two different steel axles with the same size can have vastly different "strength" ....but retain the same stiffness ! Further, many axles are graded by their "hardness", which is another property unrelated to stiffness or strength. It refers to the ability to resist scratching or abrasion. IE you could have two identical axles made from the same steel, but one could be heat treated to give different hardness properties ....but it will NOT alter the "stiffness" at all. Unfortunately axle suppliers are vague as to exactly what the differences actually are... ie different grades of steel, or wall thickness, or heat treatment etc etc. Due to the function of an axle in a kart..load bearing whilst rotating at varying speeds, simple static analysis is not applicable. Dynamic characteristics become involved such as vibration theory, dynamic damping, recovery rates, etc .so be wary of anyone offering a simple explanation of what is happening. For sure though, it is not a simple "stiffness" or "strength" situation.
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