Why not fibre body for Alto?

Would it not be a good idea to put fibre body[of course cheaper fibres not like the F1s] for an underpowered car like Alto insted of sheet metal which I think is heavier. If I am not wrong the tata indicas [indicabs] have fibre body which makes the car much more lighter. If the same is done with Alto then I believe Alto can achieve much better torque required when the AC is on. Please throw some light on this. Thanks.

hello debarata.

no its not a good idea to make fibre bodies for indian cars as fibre cracks & breaks down very fortunately in our type of driving & conditions & is not that durable as metal body. if metal body bangs than it can be repaired with tin work but in fibre body if it is bannged than its  breaks & u have to replace it. so its not user friendly & expensive to maintain a fibre body car.

indica also comes with metal body only.

for alto it is been designed for city use for giving better mileage & not for power. & for this company has to desgn a vehicle for combination of power & performance together by method of power to weight ratio.

The FRP body panels are expensive to make on a large scale process and shear strength in smaller parts are less.

Its not that a small force will destroy the fiberglass, in fact its just the opposite, small accidents dont leave a mark even unlike metal( thats the reason car bumper's are made out of plastics). FRP finds use in aircraft and even race cars.

There is also no maintaining required for the FRP as it neither rusts/corrodes.

There is something called as Safety.

If a car hits your fibre body car, then? Will you be safe enough? 

Imagine the reconstruction cost even if your safe in it.

I tried this and I had understeer, I tried that and I had oversteer, at the end of the corner I just ran out of talent!

Well, fibreglass is used commonly as a reinforcing agent. Fibre reinforced plastic (FRP - a composite of fibreglass & plastic which is commonly and erroneously called fibreglass) is used for automotive purposes - but not extensively as the main body element. There are some limited appliations where it is used for body work - for example in boats where the hull is exposed to water. On roads (atleast where public usage is concerned) fibreglass bodies will make for light cars but impact protection will be compromised.

That said carbon-fibre reinforced plastic is light, strong and very durable - it is used in high performance vehicles (race cars, for example) due to its high strength-to-weight ratio.

S = k.I^2, where S is the amount of stupidity a species possesses, I is the intelligence the species has and k is the universal constant of stupidity.

-also the 'impact safety' of a car is not entirely dependent on the sheet metal.

-its dependent on crumple zones(monoquoqe design) and protection/strengthening beams.

How can you have a Crumple Zone on fibre glass? It won't work. I seriously doubt. If it does, please do explain. I will love to learn more about it.

I tried this and I had understeer, I tried that and I had oversteer, at the end of the corner I just ran out of talent!

AFAIK, a crumple zone is a spot on the body which is made such that it sort of crumples up on impact thereby absorbing the shock and preventing it from reacing the occupants. Practically the crumple zones act to reduce the impact reaching the occupants.

As for fibreglass I guess even that can be used in a crumple zone...the word "crumple" here signifies that the particular area will absorb the impact before it can reach inside. It is a mechanically designed joint/area which will readily give way on impact. Crumple doesn't literally mean crumpling (like a piece of paper) but when you see the overall car being hit by an impact these zones appear as if they give way first - and the car appears to sort of get crumpled.

S = k.I^2, where S is the amount of stupidity a species possesses, I is the intelligence the species has and k is the universal constant of stupidity.

Crumple zones are not built into the sheet metal!!

-but form a structual design of the car-they are basically present in the front and rear and its the crossmembes that actually crumple.

images-machinedesign/wiki

I know whats a crumple zone. But my question is it possible to have a crumple zone with fibreglass. 

I don't think that, fibreglass can absorb load. And hence crumple zone won't be possible with fibreglass

I tried this and I had understeer, I tried that and I had oversteer, at the end of the corner I just ran out of talent!