Newbie member- owner of 1992 Gen 3 Camry

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01-02-15, 09:41 AM

#16

LeX2K

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There might be something to that. I had a 1993 Camry that was hit with hail it did get damaged but relative to other cars on my street the dents were very mild. Mazda uses extremely thin sheet metal those cars had severe damage, so did a few older model Honda's. Absolutely trashed the dents were 3 times the size/depth as on my car.

New cars have very thin body panels due to weight savings auto makers have no choice as they are up against fuel economy standards as well as trying to be competitive on that front.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gen3Camry

Additionally, can anyone with experience confirm my idea that the sheet metal on gen 3s is quite thick, relative not only to prior and especially newer Camrys, but also modern cars in general? This is simply something I've been long wondering. But I'm not planning to find out with my fist or a bat LOL.

I believe I read on an old Club Lexus forum about how starting with Gen 4 sheet metal got thinner and thinner with each successive redesign. I think new Imprezas and Subarus in general have insanley thin sheet metal especially after my friend's brother's pig-nose Impreza was caught in an unusual golf-ball sized hail storm, and the metal was simply ravaged. But its like Mmarshall said, its objective is speed while delivering decent fuel economy, rather than uber-solid and luxurious build quality.

01-02-15, 11:05 AM

#17

mmarshall

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Quote:

Originally Posted by Lexus2000

New cars have very thin body panels due to weight savings

It's more than just weight-savings.

01-02-15, 11:12 AM

#18

mmarshall

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Quote:

Originally Posted by Gen3Camry

I believe I read on an old Club Lexus forum about how starting with Gen 4 sheet metal got thinner and thinner with each successive redesign.

That also applied to a lot of the materials used inside......until the latest-generation interior, which does seems to show some improvement, though the body sheet metal still remains quite thin.

Quote:

I think new Imprezas and Subarus in general have insanley thin sheet metal especially after my friend's brother's pig-nose Impreza was caught in an unusual golf-ball sized hail storm, and the metal was simply ravaged. But its like Mmarshall said, its objective is speed while delivering decent fuel economy, rather than uber-solid and luxurious build quality.

Yes, all else equal, it does deliver maybe a little speed and power from weight-savings...but the main benefits, from the automaker's point of view, are better fuel economy and lower production costs.

01-02-15, 11:31 AM

#19

LeX2K

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Quote:

Originally Posted by mmarshall

Lower weight means better fuel economy AND performance, not sure why you are making them out to be a separate thing they are 100% linked. The cost of the raw material is not significant, it fact it might actually cost less to use thicker sheet metal because you don't have to worry about strengthening in specific areas to make up for the thinner materials.

01-02-15, 01:52 PM

#20

mmarshall

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Quote:

Originally Posted by Lexus2000

Lower weight means better fuel economy AND performance, not sure why you are making them out to be a separate thing they are 100% linked.

I think you either didn't read, or misunderstood my posts. I never separated them. Obviously, all else equal, something that lowers the amount of HP/torque needed to move the car is going to help both acceleration and fuel economy. But, in some cases, it can also make the car's sheet metal and interior parts more tinny than necessary.

Quote:

The cost of the raw material is not significant, it fact it might actually cost less to use thicker sheet metal because you don't have to worry about strengthening in specific areas to make up for the thinner materials.

Well, I was referring to exterior body sheet-metal panels. When it comes to the underlying frame (unibody or space-fame on most vehicles today), then that is a whole different matter, and involves advanced computer stress-engineering. It is possible, in some cases, to make frames as strong or stronger by using lesser amounts of special metal-alloys....Mercedes, perhaps more than any other automaker, specializes in making super-strong, rigid unibody frames.