comparing these two cars with the same front bumper(stock w/ spoon lip) same exact upraded suspension ect... the hatch w/ jdm or spoon duckbill, and the coupe w/ stock or no rear deck spoiler. do you think the coupe or hatch would have better aerodymanics and drag at 150mph? the dc2 apparantly handles very stable at that speed(itr top speed) and that shape is closer to the coupe i would say, but the hatch is nice and round with a flat back for wind to push it and has a longer roofline too especially w/ the duckbill. so throw in a bunch of .02

save the flames, i could really care less what you think about me or my lack of concern for safety... they will do nothing. this is a purely hypethetical question.

i might sacrifice some credibility on this thred and turn this into a poll too.

 

The hatch has "better" aerodynamics and drag (by the drag coefficient), but this is not the whole story.

Some aerodynamic drag is good (downforce), it pushes the car down at high speed. The DC2 chassis is more "stable" at high speed than the civic hatchback, but it has more drag (i.e. the hatchback is using more of it's power to go forward, while the DC2 is using some to push the car down on the track).

I don't know if the coupe has more downforce than the hatchback, but I doubt it.

Shawn

 

so basically what im trying to figure out is if i set up a coupe in the same way i would set up a hatch, or vice-versa, there wouldnt be a really noticable difference either way as far as stability.
im not even nessesarily refering to top speed but highway speeds in general. i have a coupe now but the east coast winters are really destroying it, i like the way it feels on the highway and i am making sure that if i replace it w/ a hatch and swap all my existing parts over, i will not be dissapointed in the drag or aerodynamics of the shape of the hatchback.
thanks for your help shawn

 

At <100 mph, the difference is negligible. The WEIGHT of the hatchback (or lack thereof however) IS noticeable at <100mph, but the stability is the same.

I've had the 92 Civic hatch for 11 years and 126,000 miles. I'm peachy happy with it.

Shawn

 

At <100 mph, the difference is negligible. The WEIGHT of the hatchback (or lack thereof however) IS noticeable at <100mph, but the stability is the same.


i dont understand that statement, do you mean the difference in acceleration is noticable, if you say the lighter weight is noticable at 100mph but the stablility is the same do you mean the car reacts quicker? i would think that noticing a lighter car would mean that the wind is having a greater effect on it, which would classify it as less stable... do you know what i mean? could you just clarify what you meant.

 

The difference in acceleration and speed with lower output is better on the hatchback

Sorry, too damn cryptic, I do that sometimes. The LATERAL wind forces are more on the hatchback compared to the coupe (because of weight). The hatchback is immensely more fun to drive with the same power, but there are some compromises (but how often do lateral winds interfere with driving?).

Shawn

 

alright cool, lateral winds arent really too much of a concern b/c they dont happen all the time and when strong wind is a factor its a factor on my coupe too, so basically you just need to slow down to compensate.

but knowing that in straitline a hatch is as stable(with no side wind) as my coupe is reassuring, and i figured it would be faster too w/ the same hp.

thanks again for your help shawn, once again you have answered one of my questions that nobody else knew about... and i was ready to start a poll
peace