Standard doors deforming and blowing in at speed

[Frogman]

Not sure this is actually worthy of a tech talk forum, but last time I was driving at speeds above about 55mph my passenger door deformed and blew into the cabin, that is the rear part entered the car. It appears that there is some deformation of the stiffening in the mid section.

Has anyone else had this problem and what is the solution?
 

[Jonathan Kay]

Has anyone else had this problem...

Previous discussions

... and what is the solution?

"Send three and fourpence, we're going to a dance", as above.

Jonathan

[revilla]

There was another thread on this, one of mine. Jonathan, I'm glad to see it wasn't just me who couldn't find it! Is your car by any chance an early-ish SV (or CSR?). The earlier and later doors had a different shape to the metal section sandwiched between the leather layers. On the later ones it came more to a point at the rear, and the tip of this rests against the chassis hoop and prevents the problem. On the earlier ones it was more rounded at the back and so the only thing supporting it against the chassis was the leather part which deforms easily. I had exactly this problem, ended up finding a set of newer doors for sale and swapping which fixed it. As I say there's a thread on here somewhere with pictures, diagrams and measurements but it just isn't coming up in search results for some reason. There's a challenge for you Jonathan ...

[Jonathan Kay]

This?

Jonathan

[revilla]

I've found the original writeup saved on my laptop:

Yesterday I finally got fed up with my doors blowing in and replaced the doors on my 2003 SV with doors taken from a 2013 SV to cure this problem. There is a significant difference between the doors, which I can only assume explains why some people have this problem and some don't. Comparing them, I guess the earlier doors were modified specifically to address this issue. I can now understand why those who didn't get the problem might find it hard to understand why others of us did, because with the "New Style" doors I can't see any way they could blow in.

The main difference is in the shape of the internal rigid metal frame / plate around the window, specifically the shape of the rear corner.

The first picture below is taken from the Caterhamparts website and shows the "New Style" SV door now sold:

 

 

You can actually see the outline of the internal metal frame in the picture, but I have highlighted the part that I mean in the second picture below. The metal frame extends backwards from the lower corner of the window to sit against the chassis hoop in front of the wheel arch to make sure that the door cannot move inwards.

 

 

On my original doors the rear edge of the metal frame was approximately the profile show in the third picture below. It did not have the extension. The entire area behind the red line was just flexible vinyl and did not prevent the door from moving inwards over the chassis rail; it simply just bent out of the way.

 

 

So there are clearly (at least) two different designs of SV doors out there, one of which is prone to "blowing in" at speed and one of which has been modified to address this issue.

My car was registered in 2003 but was built from a 2001 starter kit, making it one of the earlier SVs. I have no idea at what point the doors were modified but my guess would be that those people experiencing the problem probably have earlier cars like mine?

[revilla]

Hmmm even doing a Google search for chunks of text taken from that doesn't find the thread, which makes me worry that old things may be getting lost or deleted from this site? I know I posted it because the copy I found on my laptop contained image URLs pointing back to this site for the pictures and they still work!

[revilla]

Ah yes, last post on that thread. Thanks Jonathan, I knew you would find it!

[Jonathan Kay]

Edited: Crossed posts.

That's here.

:-)

Jonathan

[SM25T]

I put a popper at the rear of the point of the door and pop it on to a base on the arch when driving solo.

[Frogman]

Thanks for the comprehensive responses and glad to know that I am not on my own. I am a fair way from the car right now but will be able to reference the answers when I get back to the UK and start working on a solution, a turn buckle, new doors or (whisper it) aeros and half doors.

[Andrew Gilbert]

I had this on my last 7 and it turned out to be the windscreen fixed at the wrong angle.

That 7 didn't have the quick release brackets fitted to enable the easy swap from aero to std screen and as a result the holes had gradually enlarged on one side which allowed the door to blow in at speed.

I put the brackets in, problem solved as the correct mounting points were now in place. Hope that helps

[Frogman]

Thanks Andrew, something else for me to look at in eliminating the problem.

[NeilCSR]

Turnbuckle has worked fine for me - now several years since the original post (to which Jonathan referred originally).  Unobtrusive, easy to fit and cheap.  Only use it when solo as problem doesn't arise when passenger seat occupied.

 

[Mid Staffs AR]

Throw away full doors (useless flappy things ) - go Brooklands and half doors   - problem solved - simples 

Rog