S4 doors, best compromise fit

[2tmike]

I'm just suffering the trauma of door alignment and feel its time to stop attempting the impossible and settle for best fit compromise. I've got a pretty even gap around the door and it's as level as its going to be. The top front corner is flush or very very slightly tucked in, the bottom front corner is flush. The rear top corner looks fine and the rear bottom corner is going to stick out but that's no surprise. Where the top of the door meets the screen though its sticking out by maybe 5mm and shows when viewing the car from the front. Is this normal or am I missing something in adjustment?
Thanks

[nmauduit]

It seems to me that your car has a rather original gap setting

5mm lower rear is not bad imho... you might be able to shave a tiny bit of that if you can allow the front top corner out a bit, but modern door seal springiness (usually stiffer than the original) do not help... and top front of the door is more visible than rear bottom.

[2tmike]

I'm not so bothered about the bottom rear corner sticking out, more visible is the top where it meets the screen and if I ease the top front corner out a tad it will make that part worse.

[nmauduit]

I would think you've already experimented as much as can be without cutting fiberglass... at the front the two ball hinge holders and the top rear the lock plate: these 3 points define a plane of your choosing, then the lower corner sticks out to a variable degree. I rather focus on what's more visible where I compromise less (top and front of the door), then the lower rear corner sticks out some. If you're fitting a new seal I sort of remember that some people have tried reducing the rubber thickness to some success... you may want to investigate the seal pressure on the bottom rear corner just in case (though it's not a totally satisfactory solution).

[Concrete-crusher]

I have just cut and re glassed mine, in total I took about 8mm out at the bottom corner, hopefully that will allow a good fit.

The actual process of cutting and rebonding is quite simple.

Steve

[2tmike]

I'm about to start reglassing for a different reason......front lower bobbin for the hinge bracket just pulled out...(((. Must have been a period of cost cutting at Lotus, just one layer of mat and not much resin holding it in!,,,,
Does anyone have a pic showing the door top position relative to the bottom of the screen/scuttle ?