Ok, before I start this thread, I acknowledge that cars now are safer than at any time before.
However, each new model I drive, the doors seem to be getting lighter and lighter. When I was growing up, you partly judged how "robust" a car was, by how heavy the doors felt as you closed them. In my Volvo S80, the doors feel much lighter than my friend's 2002 Vectra. Is the steel lighter but more rigid now? Do they think they can make the doors lighter just because you have 8 airbags now to cushion the impact?
It doesn't matter what cars I drive these days, they all seem to have lighter doors compared with the model from 5 or 10 years ago. From a psychological perspective, I just liked the feeling of security when you close the doors of a big, heavy car. Even the latest big Mercs and Beemers don't feel as solid as the mid-90s models.
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The doors on my VW Bora are very solid - enough to require three rather than the usual two-stop retaining positions...:-)
I presume it's also the case with the MkIV Golf as it appears to use the same front doors for the four-door version.
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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The doors on the Audi A6 (friends, not mine) shut like a bank vault: but maybe thats why it doesn't like corners.
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To continue the VAG theme, the doors on my daughter's latest shape 3 door Seat Ibiza border on the ridiculous - they are sooo heavy. Being a 3 door makes handling the door really awkward in tight spaces - as well as feeling heavy, it's very strongly sprung.
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It doesn't matter what cars I drive these days, they all seem to have lighter doors compared with the model from 5 or 10 years ago.
Yes, they are made from thinner steel these days, as the strength is behind that, in the form of impact beams to disperse any impact crashes along the length of the car. The outer skin of the car is purely for cosmetic reasons only.
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It doesn't matter what cars I drive these days, they all seem to have lighter doors compared with the model from 5 or 10 years ago.
You obviously never saw what lay behind the holes in rusty Ford Sierra rear doors.
Nothing.
madf
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You obviously never saw what lay behind the holes in rusty Ford Sierra rear doors. Nothing.
Early in its life, I could view inside both rear doors via the rust slots just below the glass in the doors of my Sierra.
This was by far the worst area of rusting but at least the water stayed outside.
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Its not just doors that are lighter. The bonnet on my old 306 weighed a ton in comparison to the the one on my current Focus.
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>>in comparison to the the one on my current Focus.>>
I once did a comparison with my son's Ford Focus 1.8 TDCI and the best mate's 2001 Mondeo 1.8 LX weightwise with my Bora 1.6 SE.
The Focus is 89kg lighter (same class) and the Mondeo just 15kg heavier (yet is in the upper medium sector class).
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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Its not just doors that are lighter. The bonnet on my old 306 weighed a ton in comparison to the the one on my current Focus.
I thought the same of my Vectra bonnet, until I discovered it was actually made of aluminium and not steel. Not a brilliant idea when trying to get my torch with a magnetic base to stick to it when I check the oil in my dark and dingy garage.
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Its not just doors that are lighter. The bonnet on my old 306 weighed a ton in comparison to the the one on my current Focus.
Different hinge arrangements could make a difference to the force you need to apply to lift the bonnet. Also the weight of the sound deadening material will make a difference. (I'm assuming that you haven't actually removed the bonnet from the car, removed the insulation, and then lifted it.)
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L\'escargot.
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