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Lightweight Aluminum Doors and Crash Safety?

da_jokker

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I was watching one of the recently released videos and they were talking about their designing goal of making the doors light weight, easy to remove, so that even a small person can do it without issue.

And it just made me wonder, can that be done while still offering good side impact protection?

I know Ford typically focuses on Safety, just got me thinking .. can you have your cake and eat it too?
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ZackDanger

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Crash worthiness comes from the underlying structure, not what the vehicle skin is made out of.... furthermore technology continues to progress when it comes to light weight / high strength materials.

Side impact protection bars are a relatively small part of a modern car door. The outside sheet metal is just there to keep you clean and dry.



Ford Bronco Lightweight Aluminum Doors and Crash Safety? 1608306005160



Hell, 30 years ago Saturns had plastic exterior panels!

Ford Bronco Lightweight Aluminum Doors and Crash Safety? 1608306283145
 
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lowmpg

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I was watching one of the recently released videos and they were talking about their designing goal of making the doors light weight, easy to remove, so that even a small person can do it without issue.

And it just made me wonder, can that be done while still offering good side impact protection?

I know Ford typically focuses on Safety, just got me thinking .. can you have your cake and eat it too?

Have to pass the same standards as everything else....
 

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da_jokker

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Nice.. yeah i didnt think you could get strength but still be that light. Guess you can!
 

mneblett

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F-150 bodies have been Aluminum since 2014, and there's never been a question about their safety, either in formal side crash testing or in the real world.

The interior structural design of the door AND the surrounding structure of the body around the door opening are where the safety lies, not in the cosmetic skin.
 

timhood

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I was watching one of the recently released videos and they were talking about their designing goal of making the doors light weight, easy to remove, so that even a small person can do it without issue.

And it just made me wonder, can that be done while still offering good side impact protection?

I know Ford typically focuses on Safety, just got me thinking .. can you have your cake and eat it too?
I drove my first all-aluminum vehicle in 1998. Weight doesn't make vehicles or car parts crash-safe. The giant, heavy vehicles in the '60s and '70s were brutal on occupants in crashes. Engineering makes vehicles crash-safe and vehicles are actually designed to crush/crumple in strategic places in order to dissipate crash energy and lengthen the amount of time before the vehicle comes to a complete stop. Some parts are designed to transfer crash energy to other parts. Long story short, I wouldn't worry about it. Even the worst-performing cars of 2020/2021 have to meet crash safety standards that make cars of 20+ years ago look like death traps.
 

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Coincidently they are releasing on bronco nation a bronco door removal video starting in 20 minutes!
 
 


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