Carbon Fiber Doors- Group Effort Needed

[3002 tii]

Originally Posted by Z4-VILLA

Quarter panels.....
Trunk...

I think that's aluminum, not sure how much weight savings you'd get with that. I'm sure it'll be lighter but relative to cost, might not be worth it. Roof, doors, hood and hatch would be the only pieces "worth" it imo.

BTW - apologies for the stupid question. I know CF is stronger than steel but what happens during impact/accident? Steel obviously bends/dents/crushes but how would the CF piece hold up? Would it just crack?

[Z4-VILLA]

Very true

[Z4-VILLA]

twisted will chime in....

[Twisted Six]

Originally Posted by DSC_OFF

I think that's aluminum, not sure how much weight savings you'd get with that. I'm sure it'll be lighter but relative to cost, might not be worth it. Roof, doors, hood and hatch would be the only pieces "worth" it imo.

BTW - apologies for the stupid question. I know CF is stronger than steel but what happens during impact/accident? Steel obviously bends/dents/crushes but how would the CF piece hold up? Would it just crack?

Trunk and hatch are steel. Quite heavy actually. I have two of the steel hatches and one roadster trunk lid to know this.

Cf alone in an impact can be designed to be brittle or extremely crush resistant. It all depends on the cloths original lay-up schedule.

CF mixed with Kevlar in construction as well as core materials or honeycomb all play a roll in the final build and engineering goals.

Example, the nose cone of an F1 car. It is specifically designed for mass impact crushing forces and engineered to collapse and absorb energy all the while being SUPER light weight to keep over axle taxing down.

I use core bulkers as well as honeycomb matrices in my engineering of parts to fit their real-world scenarios.

To a hatch.....it must be built rigid enough to hold its own form through multiple slamming and opening events yet, still be able to collapse under a rear-end collision or impact with a wall/barrier etc.

In order for me to replicate the goal and at the same time make it lighter, I have to work materials or lay-up schedules to perform as such.

The only thing steel has over composites is it cheaper current cost and ability to retain heat.

Steel can rip/tear in certain situations whereas CF mixed with Kevlar will not.

I foresee any wreck containing my parts to give proof that the OEM surrounding steel parts will fail while the composites hold together well and provide safety.

Bare in mind....I am NOT removing ANY crush/fold shapes from BMW's stampings on these components. They will still have all engineered load fail points for sake of safety. BMW did all of the destructive testing needed for this to pass. I will be simply making the parts with more exotic,lighter and stronger material.

Also, someone asked me if a my composite panels will dent or crack ? The answer is no. Strike a hood with a fist sized rock and you'll need a new hood....do the same on a CF hood and it might need to be re-cleared at worst. Same with hatch, doors etc.

I'll make an effort to do some videos for destructive tests on any parts I make that are considered 'seconds' or 'flawed' to show this.

It is amazing to witness.

[Twisted Six]

TC Kline Carbon Coupe CF fender by btmlinedan[/QUOTE]

I would imagine most will paint the outer skin of their doors the color of their car and leave the door-jamb area in cleared CF just as a way of proof.-(see picture above in its jamb area).

[inTgr8r]

Originally Posted by Twisted Six

Losing 2/3 mass weight by going full CF isn't enough ?

It is the general rule of thumb vs. steel.

Not to mention stronger than steel and more impact resistant with inner Kevlar impact bars.

2/3rds loss is fantastic.

I'm just saying if it was 150lbs (e.g.) being shaved off, that would grab more attention & promote the project better.

....someone needs to take a door off, strip it down & weigh it.
too bad shipkiller didn't weigh his when he did his rebuild.


If one was to do CF hood; hatch; roof & doors, I wonder how much would be shaved off?
...the car might blow away in a cross wind

[Twisted Six]

Originally Posted by inTgr8r

2/3rds loss is fantastic.

I'm just saying if it was 150lbs (e.g.) being shaved off, that would grab more attention & promote the project better.

....someone needs to take a door off, strip it down & weigh it.
too bad shipkiller didn't weigh his when he did his rebuild.


If one was to do CF hood; hatch; roof & doors, I wonder how much would be shaved off?
...the car might blow away in a cross wind

Not with all that steel hanging down low. Going to be a low center of gravity like we like it !

I'd imagine we really won't know the door weight until I can pull this set apart and weigh them. Because even if we get the PO to weight them...it won't be in stripped form and that won't be a fair assumption from there.

Weight of glass,regulator,motor,handles and latches all has to be considered as a wash before the door shell weight will be accurate.

This is almost like nobody wants to date the new pretty girl until everyone thinks she's also pretty,lol.

[inTgr8r]

Originally Posted by Twisted Six

This is almost like nobody wants to date the new pretty girl until everyone thinks she's also pretty,lol.

she's getting prettier to me all the time.

...in for $50

[Twisted Six]

Originally Posted by inTgr8r

she's getting prettier to me all the time.

...in for $50

Rawsome !!

1).- Roffle Waffle--(Tom)------------------------------------------+$50.00

2).-Twisted Six/Dark Schnitzer-(Vince)----------------------------+$50.00 + (not to mention I'll have thousands in the molds : )

3).- Mexico BMW (Diego)-------------------------------------------+$50.00

4)-K3N R3D--------------------------------------------------------+$50.00

5)-inTgr8r-(Ian)---------------------------------------------------+$50.00

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[inTgr8r]

detailed door DIY from Ron Stygar
http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=210510

[Z4-VILLA]

come on people we can do this

[beta]

Originally Posted by Twisted Six

This is almost like nobody wants to date the new pretty girl until everyone thinks she's also pretty,lol.

Hah! My concern is more practical. I might want to spend 2k on seats (100 lbs weight savings) before doing exotic things like doors.

As an aside, how will it sound/feel when you open/close the door?

[Twisted Six]

Originally Posted by beta

Hah! My concern is more practical. I might want to spend 2k on seats (100 lbs weight savings) before doing exotic things like doors.

As an aside, how will it sound/feel when you open/close the door?

Way more solid and sound. It will have a nice thunk ! And that is with no Dynamat.

[inTgr8r]

I wish there was a practical way to avoid putting all the crap back in.
Eg. Coupes need the power windows to have that auto up/down with door opening &closing.

I would definitely like to eliminate the inner door card.

[Twisted Six]

Originally Posted by inTgr8r

I wish there was a practical way to avoid putting all the crap back in.
Eg. Coupes need the power windows to have that auto up/down with door opening &closing.

I would definitely like to eliminate the inner door card.

I'd imagine that could be done by using none. It would look stark...and open. But there are paths we could explore later on to cover this. Lightweight options that still look good.

Most guys aren't as track heavy-minded as you and our Arizona friend !

[beta]

All right, I'll throw in $50 to get it off the ground. Purchase pending on weight savings.

[Z4-VILLA]

twisted update the list.....Im lazy

[Finnegan]

Originally Posted by beta

All right, I'll throw in $50 to get it off the ground. Purchase pending on weight savings.

Same here. I'd love to cut a chunk of weight out of this car. Roof, doors, hatch, if those deliver that plus seats and we're really talking some improvements! I'm too tired to figure out how to put money in tonight, but will get to it over the weekend.

[inTgr8r]

Originally Posted by Twisted Six

I'd imagine that could be done by using none. It would look stark...and open. But there are paths we could explore later on to cover this. Lightweight options that still look good.

Most guys aren't as track heavy-minded as you and our Arizona friend !

For starters, I think I would cut a normal door card in half, just below the air bag panel & just use the upper half.
A plain flat cf trim panel would work for the lower.

[Z4-VILLA]

Originally Posted by inTgr8r

For starters, I think I would cut a normal door card in half, just below the air bag panel & just use the upper half.
A plain flat cf trim panel would work for the lower.

yeah that lower storage area in the door card is absolutely useless..... flat carbon fiber trim would be nice..... and leave everything else though oem looking.

[Z4-VILLA]

I think we need to get the list updated

[Z4-VILLA]

1).- Roffle Waffle--(Tom)------------------------------------------+$50.00

2).-Twisted Six/Dark Schnitzer-(Vince)----------------------------+$50.00 + (not to mention I'll have thousands in the molds : )

3).- Mexico BMW (Diego)-------------------------------------------+$50.00

4)-K3N R3D--------------------------------------------------------+$50.00

5)-inTgr8r-(Ian)---------------------------------------------------+$50.00

6)- Beta.............................................. ...........................+50.00

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