I think we can all agree that the vertical doors look great on an FD (or rx-7 for that matter)...but I think the lambo door kits out there are junk no matter how good quality the parts are. I say this because the doors swing up to an angle and don't even swing up all the way to allow you easy access to the interior. Most of the kits out there are just for show and don't do much. The RE Amemiya kit of the other hand is really professionally done and actually opens the door horizontally out a bit before lifting it up and gets the door out of the way so you can get in and out of the car easily. On top of this I know that some (if not all) of the RE kits are motorized. Does anyone know the engineering of these doors and how they work?...I'd really be interested in knowing as opposed to paying $10k for an install :P

Here are the pics from the posts below:

 

another

 

last one

 

ok I lied, last one now

 

There was a CRX at NOPI 2001 that had scissor-type doors that extended nearly vertical. The hinge itself was a cylinder that could rotate and slide in/out. They used regular HB struts (2 each side) to support the weight of the door. To use them, you simply pulled up on the handle like normal, slid the whole door out like 2", then rotated up. The CRX was done very nicely and was a custom job. They said (back in 01) they could do it for around $2000. I'll search for pics of the car and update........

 

ok thanks, that'd be cool. I have a video of the RE door in motion. It definitely looks stock (or very professional) the way it comes out horizontally from the car and then goes up vertically.

 

I'm sure you've seen this thread, but the problem is that in order to get true verticle doors, you need to do much more modification than simply replacing the hinge because of the door panel and the frame of the car / door.
https://www.rx7club.com/showthread.p...hreadid=208920

 

Yeah I saw that thread. The problem with those kits, is I can get the same $1900 one for like under $500...or probably less than that if you do the parts yourself...they're just junk. The RE Amemiya kit has a hinge that can obviously handle some heavy weight and I'm sure there's a lot of work to do, but I doubt it's $10k worth...especially if you can do some of the work yourself. I'd be interested in the RE kit because it's actually decent. I wouldn't want a show car with vertical doors if they looked like every other Honda out there...there's nothing special about that. Anyhow if anyone's seen the RE cars in person or has any info on them I'd be really interested in knowing or learning about the engineering involved. I'm not so much interested in doing this as I am just out of curiosity.

 

The RE cars dont use stock doors.

 

ditto on that one. this RE door thing comes up every few months, and the same thing happens. someone craps on what is mechanically and financially possible because they love the RE doors.

The fact still stands: you want the RE doors, pay for shipping your car to Japan, pay another $10K for them to do the conversion for ya, then pay for shipping it back here. Lemme know how it goes

I don't think the VD or VLS door kits are crap. They both have a good deal of engineering behind them. And I have a bias towards the VD doors (which is why I have them). If they were crap, I HIGHLY doubt Veilside and Bomex, Wings West, and Meguiars (to name a few) would use them for their show cars... But hey -- to each his own.

 

Too much time and money for a mod that will only be noticeable when your parked

 

LOL...you know...you're prob all too right about that hehe

 

Well, it would make sense that they didn't use stock doors. I'm sure the Panspeed carbon doors could be used if someone wanted to.

I don't necessarily think the VD or VLS door kits are crap, I just think they took the easy way out. The reason most of the manufacturers use them on their cars is because there's no other option available (other than the RE Amemiya kit). I mean if someone really wants vertical doors badly enough the VD or VLS doors are a good start, I just think there's tons of technology out there to do a better job. RE-Amemiya made a kit that used this technology and I wouldn't say they're a big R&D engineering company for most things except for car parts (ie. aerodynamics, brakes, etc).

I find that a lot of people aren't imaginative enough or willing to experiment when it comes to these cars. I mean we all buy the parts out there but there are still tons of new parts available to be made that haven't been designed yet. I'm still surprised that nobody knows how these doors work. I mean everybody's quick to point out that they cost $10k and you can ship your car over there...but that doesn't explain how it works.

 

You're right, it definetly is the easy way out. But I guess a major problem is, who's actually seen the RE doors? We see pics and coverage at auto shows... but I don't believe any of those cars have every come to the US...

But your point is very well taken

 

From the looks of it it's a pretty descent sized hydraulic motor, that uses a hydraulic piston to move the door, and lock it in place... I say this, since you never see a descent "Lock" / Hook Mechanism on the other side, like on traditional doors. It looks more like a guide to get the door to align properly when in the frame, a shock "pneumatic" system would be bad, since without a locking mechanism it could fly open should the car invert
<----------

With a hydraulic system that would not be an issue since if the pump is off there is no way the part can move, say unless there's a hydraulic leak..

If you do some looking, Vol 8 of Rotary Magazine has a couple of cool articles about vert doors, but I can't read Japanese

 

i have one serious concern regarding RE's vertical lift doors - what happens in a roll over, when the car is on it's roof, how will you operate the doors?

 

Yeah that is a problem...lol Most of us haven't seen them. I know if I go over there that'll be one of my first stops :P I'll try to find the video I have of the door...it definitely shows a lot of detail.

I'm pretty sure it is a hydraulic system...part actuator, not sure about the rest. Thanks for the reference...I will have to check that out to see if I can find a copy of the magazine.

 

Maybe the hydraulics can lift the car up off the ground :P j/k I would imagine you'd be screwed, but then again there are the windows and perhaps if you're really unlucky...the jaws of life :S

 

If the roofline was crushed/caved in, and access to windows was impossible, what would you do? I dont think the firemen would really do anything if you were already charred to a crisp .. LoL

 

LOL you're horrible hehe

You guys are right, it is a fully motorized kit. My question is, under the assumption you need electric power to operate the pump...how can you get in and out of the car when your battery dies? lol

I guess the hatch really is indispensable in the FD

Oh and DCrosby, forget the lock mechanism...what I wanna know is, does it even have door handles (that work)??

 

I don't think the door handles work the same way anymore once everything goes to the hydraulics. I'm not sure how it would work if the battery died...there's usually a way to work it. My father has a car with gullwings that work off of hydraulics...if the battery dies, the door handle can be used to unlock the door (otherwise the hydraulics do it automatically) and then you can unhinge the hydraulic arm and push the door up on the hinge manually (which is definitely not easy consider the door weighs about 100 lbs or more)...but it's good in an emergency or if the battery dies.

 

Exactly. I drive too crazy for that not to matter

 

In that case, a normal door isn't going to open just by pulling the handle either.

 

Yes in that case I crawled out throught the windows which were thank god open...
But I still had eletrical power after I wrecked I was even able to crank the motor over...

If the door was jammed smash the window, the car is wrecked... what do you care about the window, with a power door like that I'd definitely carry one of those emergency seatbelt cutter / glass hammer things...

 

DCrosby, care to give me a little insight as to why on EARTH you tried cranking the engine while your car was upside down?? lol. It's not like you were gonna be going anywhere...