Any reason to NOT remove door panels/cards for track car?

[bmwpower]

I'm removing the back deck and rear seats for sure. Carpet is gone, but I'm wondering if there is a good reason to keep the front and rear door cards/panels. I can't decide if it looks better with them in or not. Weight savings is there, but this is just a HDPE/school car at the moment. Someone wants to buy them and I'm having second thoughts about selling them.

[jlevie]

If you remove the front door cards and keep the windows, you need to cover the inside of the door to contain the glass in the event of an accident. A sheet of 1/6" aluminum works well.

[bmwpower]

If you remove the front door cards and keep the windows, you need to cover the inside of the door to contain the glass in the event of an accident. A sheet of 1/6" aluminum works well.

A-ha. I knew there might be a reason.

I believe I've seen a company that sells aluminum "covers" for the front doors, but that may exceed the money I'd make on selling the panels.

Anyone else?

[Eric]

I bought a full set of door pannels in the junk yard, removed all the foam and vinyl so that it was only the bare fiberboard. I then recovered it in black tweed. looks better than no door pannels and they weigh maybe 3lbs total.

[TDE30]

Got pictures of that Eric? Sounds like a cool idea for something that see a lot of the track life.

[Eric]

Got pictures of that Eric? Sounds like a cool idea for something that see a lot of the track life.

i found these from a long time ago





I'm using a oh shit handle for a door pull, and no mirror adjustments wiring poking out

[bmwpower]

They look pretty nice. But I may as well keep my panels if I was going that route...at least the fronts.

[TDE30]

That actually looks pretty nice. I forgot you had a four-door track car, that's bitchin'.

[IsItElectric?]

It also depends on your timeframe for completion. Relatively speaking, removing the panels, fabricating new ones and installing them won't get you much gain. You'll definitely need to spend time with it that may be better spent on other parts of the build.

I would recommend to focus on making it safe and reliable first, then focus on some of the smaller-gain projects.

I have run into hardships with projects before when trying to tackle 'unnecessary' sub-projects. They ultimately cost time and money which could have been better allocated to the simple goals (safe, reliable).

Cool project. G/L! My $0.02 cents.

[SkinnyVT]

Here is my solution, took maybe 6 hours to complete both sides including making the cardboard template. I couldn't justify spending $200 on the panels from Valley Motorwerks (which only cover the inset part of the door not the entire area). The material for this only cost $65 so it was well worth the time I spent to make them myself. Removing the door cards also allows for more space for the cage.

[bmwpower]

Yea, that's where I saw those panels before....Valley.

Not bad. How much was the aluminum, like $30 a sheet?

Here is my solution, took maybe 6 hours to complete both sides including making the cardboard template. I couldn't justify spending $200 on the panels from Valley Motorwerks (which only cover the inset part of the door not the entire area). The material for this only cost $65 so it was well worth the time I spent to make them myself. Removing the door cards also allows for more space for the cage.

[SkinnyVT]

Yea, that's where I saw those panels before....Valley.

Not bad. How much was the aluminum, like $30 a sheet?

It was like $22 a sheet for 24"x48"x0.04" 5052 from OnlineMetals.com

The am happy with the 0.04" thickness but I read in some other rules that if you get into club racing they require 0.06 (whatever thickness bimmerworld makes theirs from).

[jlevie]

NASA specifies 0.061" (1/16") for door panels. I think BMW CCA requires the same.

[nando]

This also depends on if you are competing in a specific class.. some regulations don't let you strip out the interior completely. If you're only doing HPDEs it won't matter though.

[mikeedler]

how much weight are you really going to save with taking 4 pieces of cardboard out of your car. On my turbo car i took them out at first, then put them back in just because of the extra noise without them.