Panther550
Member
Alright what i'm wondering is which of Hondas '88-'00 cars grip the road the best, although for the sake of simplicity i'm not going to get into things like spring rates, shocks/struts, ride heights, and aftermarket aerodynamics cuz all of that stuff can be customized to a drivers specifications. What i am considering is chassis weights, wheel bases, and stock aerodynamics.
Chassis Weights:
'88 CRX Si - 2017 LBS.
'92 Civic Si - 2326 LBS.
'93 Del Sol Si - 2394 lbs.
'94 Del Sol VTEC - 2491 lbs.
'94 Integra RS - 2529 lbs.
Wheelbases:
'88 CRX Si - 90.6 in.
'92 Civic Si - 101.3 in.
'93 Del Sol Si/VTEC - 93.3 in.
'94 Integra RS - 101.2 in.
Ok, now assuming that each of the cars listed have the same spring rates, shocks/struts, etc. (suspension characteristics) then the '88 CRX Si should corner the best right because it weighs the less and therefore there is less strain put on the suspension during cornering, right?
Now what i stated about chassis weights i've kind of thought to be true for quite a while and only recently started thinking about wheelbases, so that's what this post is for (to help me understand).
Now i understand that cars with shorter wheelbases also have shorter turning diameters, right? So they turn quicker. However, and this is what i started thinking about today, with a shorter wheelbase the vehicles stability on uneven road conditions would be a lot less than a car with a longer wheelbase, that's my theory.
This is how i came up with that:
e.g '88 CRX Si - wheelbase 90.6 in.
Now picture the car driving on a straight road and it hits a bump in the road which is 5 in. above the normal road surface. At the apex of this bump the sine of the bump/wheelbase would be 0.000961983 degrees (i think). Whereas if a '92 Civic Si hit that same bump the sine of the bump/wheelbase would be 0.000860372 degrees. Meaning that the Civic Si would have better stability than the CRX while moving over the bump in the road.
Does that make sense? If that's right and you then consider just how many bumps in the road you travel over during a regular day, and if you're travelling at high speed or hit those bumps in corners (where stability is already slightly compromised) then those bumps have a greater negative effect on the stability of cars. So then a Civic Si or Del Sol, although heavier, may actually handle better at high speeds on the street, in corners and on straights.
Now this next part I'm basically pulling out of my ass cuz i don't really have any direct knowledge of aerodynamics. But what i'm thinking is that because the Civic Si is a hatchback whereas the CRX and TEG are both fastbacks and the Del Sol is a coupe, I'm assuming that the Civic Si would create a bigger vacuum of space behind it than the other cars. That much i know. What i don't know is would that bigger vacuum also negatively affect the stability of the Civic Si.
If so then by a process of elimination would not the Del Sol and Teg have superior stability and cornering ability.
Can someone verify or disapprove what i have here. And give me a reason as to why.
Chassis Weights:
'88 CRX Si - 2017 LBS.
'92 Civic Si - 2326 LBS.
'93 Del Sol Si - 2394 lbs.
'94 Del Sol VTEC - 2491 lbs.
'94 Integra RS - 2529 lbs.
Wheelbases:
'88 CRX Si - 90.6 in.
'92 Civic Si - 101.3 in.
'93 Del Sol Si/VTEC - 93.3 in.
'94 Integra RS - 101.2 in.
Ok, now assuming that each of the cars listed have the same spring rates, shocks/struts, etc. (suspension characteristics) then the '88 CRX Si should corner the best right because it weighs the less and therefore there is less strain put on the suspension during cornering, right?
Now what i stated about chassis weights i've kind of thought to be true for quite a while and only recently started thinking about wheelbases, so that's what this post is for (to help me understand).
Now i understand that cars with shorter wheelbases also have shorter turning diameters, right? So they turn quicker. However, and this is what i started thinking about today, with a shorter wheelbase the vehicles stability on uneven road conditions would be a lot less than a car with a longer wheelbase, that's my theory.
This is how i came up with that:
e.g '88 CRX Si - wheelbase 90.6 in.
Now picture the car driving on a straight road and it hits a bump in the road which is 5 in. above the normal road surface. At the apex of this bump the sine of the bump/wheelbase would be 0.000961983 degrees (i think). Whereas if a '92 Civic Si hit that same bump the sine of the bump/wheelbase would be 0.000860372 degrees. Meaning that the Civic Si would have better stability than the CRX while moving over the bump in the road.
Does that make sense? If that's right and you then consider just how many bumps in the road you travel over during a regular day, and if you're travelling at high speed or hit those bumps in corners (where stability is already slightly compromised) then those bumps have a greater negative effect on the stability of cars. So then a Civic Si or Del Sol, although heavier, may actually handle better at high speeds on the street, in corners and on straights.
Now this next part I'm basically pulling out of my ass cuz i don't really have any direct knowledge of aerodynamics. But what i'm thinking is that because the Civic Si is a hatchback whereas the CRX and TEG are both fastbacks and the Del Sol is a coupe, I'm assuming that the Civic Si would create a bigger vacuum of space behind it than the other cars. That much i know. What i don't know is would that bigger vacuum also negatively affect the stability of the Civic Si.
If so then by a process of elimination would not the Del Sol and Teg have superior stability and cornering ability.
Can someone verify or disapprove what i have here. And give me a reason as to why.