[Autophile]

JK,

Its the front door of the Santro in the picture.

[jkdas]

oh; so its just some mdf rings and some tinkering?
I was told it cant be done as the power window motor causes installation problem

[mohit]

The car in the picture has power windows.... means it should be feasible

[kb100]

THAT JK.... looks like FG to me... Fibre Glass .... These things have a habit of crumbling over a period of time--- unless made very very well..

[Autophile]

Originally Posted by kb100

THAT JK.... looks like FG to me... Fibre Glass .... These things have a habit of crumbling over a period of time--- unless made very very well..

KB100,

It is most probably MDF finished using fibreglass and then painted.

[mohit]

Hey JB! can you let us know if installing compos up front in a Santro is possible without a major surgery on the doors?

[kb100]

Originally Posted by Autophile

KB100,

It is most probably MDF finished using fibreglass and then painted.

JB..

I am told Fibre work comes undone - esp where the speakers are screwed to them - largely due to the constant vibration of use... IS this true??... IF so what can be a way of preventing this?/... is this Fibre Over MDF one such option??...

[Autophile]

KB100,

I am not a Fibre Glass expert but if you make the fibre glass well and back it with decent support like MDF etc. chances of wreaking it is few. And also use proper tools and let the fibreglass cure before working on it.

Well made fibreglass is very strong and strength is determined by the number of layers of fibreglass you use, definitely the quality of materials fibreglass, resin, hardener etc. Also more layers lead to less flexibility and more weight. You have to vary it as required by the application.

[jkdas]

Originally Posted by Autophile

KB100,

It is most probably MDF finished using fibreglass and then painted.

"Door panels are purely in MDF, unbelievable!! Isn't it? " teh comment posted by the guy who owns this car. So its just MDF!

[kb100]

Originally Posted by jkdas

", unbelievable!! Isn't it? "

He also has used that word.... Do it could be that??

From the looks of it very difficult to think otherwise.... the experts would know better...

[jkdas]

Do check teh rest of teh setup. 4 amps,one cap fitted to the ceiling

[kb100]

Originally Posted by jkdas

Do check teh rest of teh setup. 4 amps,one cap fitted to the ceiling

Saw a lancer like that here the other day... Ha had amps and Sony Play Station IIs in the ceiling!!

[Bass&Trouble]

Originally Posted by jkdas

"Door panels are purely in MDF, unbelievable!! Isn't it? " teh comment posted by the guy who owns this car. So its just MDF!

Wow..purely in MDF, even a frame like that in MDF would weigh a substantial bit. Hope he doesn't have a girlfriend that slams the doors on him, or he'll have the mids and the X-over in his lap.

[s0uljah]

Originally Posted by jkdas

I was told it cant be done as the power window motor causes installation problem

I heard the opposite!! Those with power windows CAN accomodate an MDF ring install. Regular manual window operation seems to be the problem for installing. I dunno gotta confirm these. I HOPE IM WRONG.

[navin]

Originally Posted by kb100

I am told Fibre work comes undone - esp where the speakers are screwed to them...

if you look at the archives you will see some details on building enclosures with MDF, Fiberglass etc.. Vivek and Sam might remember where it is. My memory is worse than Prof. Calculus's.

Fiberglass can be made very strong and rigid and at about 1/3 the weight and 1/2 the thickness of MDF. I would use 9mm of fiber over 18mm MDF anyday. Done right it can take a lot. The use fiberglass for tennis rackets, skis, hovercrafts, boats, and what have you a bit of speaker rattling is nothing for FRP.

However it is messy and diffcult to work with if you dont have a mould and moulds are expensive. I have been trying to build a sub box in my RS using FRP but not been fully successful yet. Making fancy french curves following the profile of the car and allowing for maintainance (access to the wires) gets very messy and crazy. However building a simpler box outside a car is easy.