Gutting doors

[b16a2]

ok so im just getting round to do this, but just having a think anout a few issues and it would be good to hear what other people have done / others ideas

the car is a race car(well going to be) so i want to loose as much weight as possible, and a good place to do so is the doors(well so ive heard) especially the side impact beams

to remove these i pretty much have to gut the whole door??

but there are several issues

if i gut the door, ill loose the ability to have working windows - now i know its a race car, but im keepeing it road legal so i dont need a trailer, so like what if im going to taupo for example, im sure im gna hate not being able to open a window - drivers who have race cars it would be real good to have your experience here, do you think i just need to get hard? maybe a rangi window adjustment system??

also just want to know how people keep there windows up once they remove all the window stuff? i was thinking of just putting a screw below the glass in each of the 2 guide rails in the doors??

and does anybody who has done this have the specific weight lost by doing so, just like to see if its worth all the hassle

final idea was to gut the door and instead of putting alloy sheet across it, ill just put the door trims back in as they are nicer looking and is shit all heavier. But right now with the seat and door trim in there is shit all gap. has anyone had a cage(full cage i.e 6point or more) and been able to keep their door trim on with out mutilating it?

ill appreciate any idea or comments on gutting doors and any personal experiences etc would be great

thanks
luke

[95ITR]

I cant help with gutting doors as I havent done mine yet, but I will and I have manual windows so shouldnt be a problem getting window to work.

But as for door trims on my eg with a cage wont fit at all sorry

[dazznz]

If you get someone good to put the cage in it for you, they will be able to make the cage fit around the door panels, this was done in my car by road race & rally.

As for gutting the doors. I dont believe that it is something that you should do unless you are running in a series where weight is a huge issue. With the small amount you are going to get out of the doors it wont make much difference around the track if any. Track time is key for going fast!!!!!

[EVLTEK FBI AKL]

yeah - i would only do it if you are going to put lexan windows in and don't plan on winding the window up and down.

There is a lot of weight to be lost in doors - esp models with the side intrusion beams in them...

[Bananaman]

I take it you are looking to gutt the doors in a Accord.

If it were an EG or an EF you can buy doors from the states which are either fibre glass or carbon.

I was looking at these doors for my EG.



Not cheap but definately got the bling factor aswell.

[jono]

my ef windows have 2 plastic bits attached to bottom of em which a bolt goes through to bolt them to the power window rack. Remove rack and put a bolt through door frame into the plastic bit to hold windows up perminately, worked for me.

Spose if u wanted you could make a second pair of holes a bit lower down so can have wondow half down by moving the 2 bolts holding it in there

Is there any issues with windows that dont go down if you were to drag at meremere/masterton?

[F1ERCE]

It's not worth it unless you want to run lexan/plastic glass. 99% race cars who use gutted doors and lexan glass are trailered to circuits, so if you still want to remain road legal it's really not the way to go. You could put one of those air scoop things in the rear quarter glass for ventilation if you really want but if you're looking at long road hours like to/from Taupo it's going to be a really uncomfortable ride.

I've seen plenty of cars with roll protection and standard door panels. I would worry more about seat time than losing as much weight as possible - unless you're building a drag-specific car, which, by your own admission on driving to Taupo, I assume you're not?

[EGizzleSizzle]

Here're some pics of Hayden's old car. I don't have any better ones unfortunately but you can see how the side-intrusion bars have been removed and the rest of the inner skeleton has been cut out. In the exterior pic you can see the thin lexan that has been screwed onto the inner part of the door frame. It's quite straightforward, just make sure you have really good side-intrusion bars incorporated into your cage - the door itself won't provide any puncture resistance anymore once the inner skeleton and factory bar are gone...

[vtec8 returns]

I don't think it is legal to take out the side intrusion bars if its a road car esecially if you don't have a cage with side bars..for the 2kg or so that you will save its not worth losing your life over.

[BigAl]

before you do anything check out the rules for the class you wish to race in and regs for keeping it road legal

lexan is a waste of time on a road car as it scratches very easily and also need special documentation to get a wof

If you modify the door in any way you must run door braces [manz]

If you gut the door and replace the trim and no one finds out just think what could happen when someone t bones you in the drivers door !!!

I would get out on the track with std doors and get your lap times down .
When you are looking for a second gain then gut the doors . At that stage it won't be a roadie .

e.g. I have a road legal 1600 eg that has electric / glass windows , heater etc that can do 1.09 at Puke , 1.21 at Manfield . its around 60kg heavier than the gutted EG's and thats with two seats, harnesses etc .

[dazznz]

I Second what BigAl said. Thats exactly what i am doing myself at the mo.

[americ_ian]

u can pass a WOF with no doors btw

[b16a2]

cheers for all the responses

just to clear up, the car is a Dc integra, and it is being purpose built for racing.. but as i want to keep the budget down and not have to buy a new car that can handle towing, i want to keep it road legal so i can drive it to the track

Alot of you have said stuff concerning safety of removal of the side intrusion bars, but the car will be caged and have bars crossing at the doors, so dont think safety will be comprimised in any way

and considering its a race car i really do wana get the weight down so..
im probably going to gut the passenger side door first and see how it goes and how tidy i can get it etc
Im gna try keep the window usable, and will attempt to mount the window hardwear to the alloy skin i cover the doors with. hopefully i can can get it setup.

bigal and dazznz thankyou for your comments, trust me i would love to get as much seat time as possible, but rite now i cant as im saving for an engine and cage, and it will still be a few months . so in the mean time im just trying to do as much as i can to get the vehicle race ready and lite.

also Bigal when you say "door braces" what do you mean.. does this refer to the part of the cage that crosses and forms an x though the doorways?

[americ_ian]

under my understanding u can GUT the doors as much as posible
if u have side intrusion bars as part of ur cage

[dazznz]

what type of racing? Drag or track or....?

[timmiblc]

I was lucky, my CTR came with wind up windows...

Remember what Big Al, F1ERCE, and all the rest of the guys said:

It all depends on what you are going to run in. I know that for Targa you have to run with standard doors (but you are able to run Lexan). You could always look at running Lexan with a "slider" type of opening...

I would (I mean I AM) get as much seat time as possible and outdrive your car first. Then start ripping shit out if you REALLY think that it will give you that extra 0.01 second off your lap time.

Most important is to have fun!

[chargedek]

I'm in the process of converting my doors from electric window to wind up with alloy door cards.
Ill let you know how it goes.

[timmiblc]

Originally Posted by chargedek

I'm in the process of converting my doors from electric window to wind up with alloy door cards.
Ill let you know how it goes.

Please do. I have that in mind for my car as well (dorr cards of some sort) so will be interested to see how it goes.

[95ITR]

i am going with alloy door skins

[timmiblc]

I would LIKE carbon, but perhaps a little bit over budget...

[chargedek]

Originally Posted by timmiblc

I would LIKE carbon, but perhaps a little bit over budget...

I have looked into carbon and keen but I work with alloy so can whip them up for next to nothing.
Ill let ya know how it goes.

[timmiblc]

Originally Posted by chargedek

I have looked into carbon and keen but I work with alloy so can whip them up for next to nothing.
Ill let ya know how it goes.

And I'll buy a set off you if you wanna sell 'em... :wink: