Door poppers/actuaters

[tucker298]

Starting to look at the next phase of the build and was wandering which one builders were using. Either poppers or actuaters and if there is a preference in the community and if so what brands and models are they? Thanks!

Ps. I did do a search on both sites but they were all very old posts and looking for some up to date info

[RumRunner]

Brent,

I shaved my door handles and use 50lb door solenoids to actuate the door release. Electrically, my door system is a bit complex - I'll explain below. I had a few goals with my shaved door popper system:

1. I wanted the clean look of shaved handles
2. I wanted a remote control to operate the door
3. I only wanted the door to open when my hand was on the door so it would not swing.

So, I incorporated an RF remote control unit;
that powers two (drivers/passengers) timer relays;
which provide 15 seconds of power to a capacitive sensor inside each door;
that when switched send power via a relay to the door solenoid and the door opens.

The capacitive sensors are mounted inside the door, near the trailing edge, in upper body line area where it begins to deepen and transition into the body side scoops. The solenoids and relays are mounted to the door frames, and the rf-receiver and timer relays are mounted under the dash.

So, as you walk up to the car you press the remote button. Just press it once - no need to hold it. You now have 15 seconds to place your hand on the door and wrap your fingers under the wide area of the body line. When the capacitive sensor senses your hand, the door solenoid actuates and the door opens. Since your hand is already on the door it is easy to open.

Sounds complex, but very easy to operate. With two huge benefits in my opinion:
1. You need the remote to open the car - you can't just "touch" the right spot and have the door open.
2. If you accidentally press the remote button while standing around or driving, the doors do not open - you need to touch the correct spot on the outside of the car.

Of course, if you wreck and have to be pulled from the car, they'll have to break the window to get you out .

And yes, I do have a hidden mechanical override in case the electronics fail.

-Michael

[tucker298]

Wow Michael, that is an impressive system you have! Thanks for sharing that, it really gets me thinking how cool theses cars can be in so many aspects.

[MTSCustoms]

I am not sure how you will be doing it, but I mounted the latches on the car side, and the strikers are on the doors themselves. when you release the latch the door swings open pretty quickly, so poppers will definitely not be needed on my car. I will be putting a button in the same place as RumRunners capacitive sensor, and an alarm system that with enable and disable it.

[RumRunner]

when you release the latch the door swings open pretty quickly, so poppers will definitely not be needed on my car.

Indeed. To help prevent that, I also added OEM two-position door checks on each side. Open the door and it stays open, whether you're parked on a hill or not.

-Michael

[The Stig]

Brent,

I shaved my door handles and use 50lb door solenoids to actuate the door release. Electrically, my door system is a bit complex - I'll explain below. I had a few goals with my shaved door popper system:

1. I wanted the clean look of shaved handles
2. I wanted a remote control to operate the door
3. I only wanted the door to open when my hand was on the door so it would not swing.

So, I incorporated an RF remote control unit;
that powers two (drivers/passengers) timer relays;
which provide 15 seconds of power to a capacitive sensor inside each door;
that when switched send power via a relay to the door solenoid and the door opens.

The capacitive sensors are mounted inside the door, near the trailing edge, in upper body line area where it begins to deepen and transition into the body side scoops. The solenoids and relays are mounted to the door frames, and the rf-receiver and timer relays are mounted under the dash.

So, as you walk up to the car you press the remote button. Just press it once - no need to hold it. You now have 15 seconds to place your hand on the door and wrap your fingers under the wide area of the body line. When the capacitive sensor senses your hand, the door solenoid actuates and the door opens. Since your hand is already on the door it is easy to open.

Sounds complex, but very easy to operate. With two huge benefits in my opinion:
1. You need the remote to open the car - you can't just "touch" the right spot and have the door open.
2. If you accidentally press the remote button while standing around or driving, the doors do not open - you need to touch the correct spot on the outside of the car.

Of course, if you wreck and have to be pulled from the car, they'll have to break the window to get you out .

And yes, I do have a hidden mechanical override in case the electronics fail.

-Michael

Every time I read a little more about your build, I am more impressed. I like the 2 step process of opening the doors. Cool stuff Michael.

Mike

[mlkwd1]

Tucker, I bought my car as a completed car. It was built with shaved handles and solenoid operated latches. It indeed looks very clean. Here is what I very quickly learned. Several mishaps occurred (almost all my fault). The car was set up to prevent the doors from opening with engine running. Getting out of the car with the car running was not possible which I felt was not safe on the track so I did a little research and disabled that function. As a result, I get out with it running and shut the door and can't get in the car. I installed an under hood button that could be used to fix that issue. Last week I got in it to go to work and as I was pulling out of the garage, the 50 AMP maxi fuse fails from a fault (that is another long story) and kills every electron flow from the battery, including the doors. Of course I just put the windows up and now I am stuck in the car. Wish I had a video of my kids fishing a pair of jumper wires through the window seal from a battery charger and me pulling the ignition switch to jump 12v back feeding the system. I would gladly post it because my young kids were amazing at following directions getting me out. We quickly relocated the source of the door power directly to the battery so we were not dependant on the rest of the electrical system. So now I can't lock myself out of the car and short of the power from the battery failing, I can get out. Of course the emergency release cables that are sitting on my shelf are still not installed. That is next weekends project. If I were to install the system again, here is some tips.

Put the emergency release cables in first so you are not stuck by accident and you don't try to use it while they are on the shelf.
Run power from the battery with a circuit breaker.
Install a remote opening button

I believe this next Winter will be a conversion back to manual door handles, at least on my door. The electric stuff is cool but not the safest option for track day. Getting out of a window is very challenging if not impossible.

Runrunners set-up sounds amazing.

[RumRunner]

Last week I got in it to go to work and as I was pulling out of the garage, the 50 AMP maxi fuse fails from a fault (that is another long story) and kills every electron flow from the battery, including the doors. Of course I just put the windows up and now I am stuck in the car. Wish I had a video of my kids fishing a pair of jumper wires through the window seal from a battery charger and me pulling the ignition switch to jump 12v back feeding the system.

Thanks for that story. I had a good laugh!

While I shaved the outside, the inside of my door is still the normal mechanical linkage handle, using a piece of wire instead of rods to actuate the latch.

And yes, my hidden mechanical release has saved me when I've closed the door with the engine running and the windows up!

-Michael

[mlkwd1]

The mechanical interior handles sound like a good plan. It is one thing not being able to get in the car and a totally different level problem not being able to get out. Do you have any pictures of you build that shows what the set-up looks like? Unfortunately I have spent the last three months focusing on fixing severe front and rear bump steering, a new shock and spring package, making the fans work off of temperature vs all the time and replacing the horrible factory seats. None of those should have taken priority over correcting the electric door release issue.

[MTSCustoms]

Tucker, I bought my car as a completed car. It was built with shaved handles and solenoid operated latches. It indeed looks very clean. Here is what I very quickly learned. Several mishaps occurred (almost all my fault). The car was set up to prevent the doors from opening with engine running. Getting out of the car with the car running was not possible which I felt was not safe on the track so I did a little research and disabled that function. As a result, I get out with it running and shut the door and can't get in the car. I installed an under hood button that could be used to fix that issue. Last week I got in it to go to work and as I was pulling out of the garage, the 50 AMP maxi fuse fails from a fault (that is another long story) and kills every electron flow from the battery, including the doors. Of course I just put the windows up and now I am stuck in the car. Wish I had a video of my kids fishing a pair of jumper wires through the window seal from a battery charger and me pulling the ignition switch to jump 12v back feeding the system. I would gladly post it because my young kids were amazing at following directions getting me out. We quickly relocated the source of the door power directly to the battery so we were not dependant on the rest of the electrical system. So now I can't lock myself out of the car and short of the power from the battery failing, I can get out. Of course the emergency release cables that are sitting on my shelf are still not installed. That is next weekends project. If I were to install the system again, here is some tips.

Put the emergency release cables in first so you are not stuck by accident and you don't try to use it while they are on the shelf.
Run power from the battery with a circuit breaker.
Install a remote opening button

I believe this next Winter will be a conversion back to manual door handles, at least on my door. The electric stuff is cool but not the safest option for track day. Getting out of a window is very challenging if not impossible.

Runrunners set-up sounds amazing.

Funny story! On our build there will be emergency release latches on the inside, and most likely a couple hidden studs on the outside, with wires run to the popper. Power and ground from a battery or jump pack will pop the door.

Also, you are right with having your poppers run to constant battery power, but you should have some sort of alarm to disable the popper relays when armed. This way not just anyone can open the door anytime. You would need to disarm the alarm.