-
We’re currently investigating an issue related to the forum theme and styling that is impacting page layout and visual formatting. The problem has been identified, and we are actively working on a resolution. There is no impact to user data or functionality, this is strictly a front-end display issue. We’ll post an update once the fix has been deployed. Thanks for your patience while we get this sorted.
What do you think should be able to take corners faster?
Page 3 - Seeking answers? Join the AnandTech community: where nearly half-a-million members share solutions and discuss the latest tech.
Bignate603
Lifer
Mass is proportional to weight, at least hear on earth. Some of your ideas are far enough out there that they may be outside the pull of normal earth gravity so I guess it could be a bit different for you.
You can't simplify it down to just one car having more mass than the other, thus it will handle worse. Lower mass does help, but you can't just look at that one single thing because there are quite a few factors that determine how a car handles. Suspension, weight distribution, and tires all play a very large role. An extremely light car may be put to shame by a heavier car that has been designed and tuned for better handling. You can take a look at some of the large sport sedans that are available right now (BMW M5, Mercedes C63 and Cadillac CTS-V) which all tip the scales around 4,000 lbs. Your civic weighs about 1700 lbs less but still wouldn't be able to keep up even on a small course packed with tight turns.
Toastedlightly
Diamond Member
I <3 Fleabag logic!
zerocool84
Lifer
Yep facts mean nothing to him.
I guess I should add more poll options because it seems like the answer is pretty unanimous which was totally unexpected. What if the civic had the same tires and being as wide as the Volvo's with the same sidewall height as well? If that isn't enough, what if the civic was outfitted with strut bracing and sway bars? Or are you saying pretty much replacing the springs, shocks, adding strut and sway bars is the only way the Civic is going to match/out handle the Volvo?
PhoKingGuy
Diamond Member
You seriously ask the most retarded questions ever. How the fuck is anyone supposed to know the answer to that? What bars, struts, shocks springs are we using? Ebay 9.99 specials or Koni's. You seriously must be tripping mad ass balls or something, why don't you get your POS civic and rice it out and try out lap times vs your parent's volvo/lexus whatever the hell they drive and see what happens. Though you probably can't because you're 14 and they don't let you drive yet.
DivideBYZero
Lifer
This is where I stopped reading.
DivideBYZero
Lifer
Some Civcs handle very well, some handle like a bag of sloppy shit. Same for Volvos. This thread is pointless.
Zenmervolt
Elite member
As others have said, on earth, weight and mass are directly proportional and in most conversations can be effectively used interchangeably.
As far as a car that has more total mass being at a disadvantage in a transitional state, the answer is that it's not nearly that simple.
Take, for example, a car that weighs ~2,800 pounds and has the engine in the front and the transaxle in the rear for 50/50 weight distribution. In such a car, the weight is concentrated at the front and rear of the vehicle (the "poles") with the middle of the car being essentially empty space that exists only to hold the driver and connect the ends. Compare that car to a 3,000 pound car with a mid-engine design where the engine and transmission are in the middle, also for 50/50 weight distribution.
In this case, the 3,000 pound car will be significantly better in the transition state because the majority of the car's weight is centered on the pivot point rather than being pushed out to the ends of the car. The 2,800 pound car has what is called a "high polar moment of inertia" while the 3,000 pound car has a low polar moment of inertia. Even though both cars have the exact same weight distribution (50/50), the mid-engine car will be easier to "toss around". The 2,800 pound car will be significantly more stable and forgiving though, for exactly the reasons that make it less tossable.
Mass added at the poles of a car will have a significant effect on transient response in cornering while mass added at or very near the center of the vehicle will affect transient response to a much lesser degree.
ZV
Bignate603
Lifer
The quick answer about the cheap sway bars is stiffness. Cheap thin walled bars with a small diameter won't do as well as a thicker walled bar with a bigger tube.
It's very hard to say how much of a change each individual modification will affect your handling. Will what you suggested help? Yes. How much will it help? I don't know. There are way too many variables to form a definite opinion.
With enough work you'll be able to make a civic out handle the volvo. However, for the money and the work required you probably could have found something that had better handling from the start.
Civics are good little econoboxes. Besides the SI though they really were never supposed to be sporty.
JulesMaximus
No Lifer
Why are you even asking these ridiculous questions? Hell, half of cornering is the driver's ability to feel what the car is doing and react quickly and correctly to subtle changes in grip when near the limits of adhesion. If you're 16 and haven't driven much then comparing specs between two hypothetical cars is just pointless...especially when you start adding hypothetical mods.
DivideBYZero
Lifer
I was abstracting the question from the OP's dumb choice of competing metal to expose how pointless this all is. Anyhow, can someone remind me when the S60 became a handling benchmark of any kind?
Does your civic have a lot of body roll?
When I hear discussion about suspension tuning, it's always about whether or not the car oversteers or understeers and how to tune the car so it's as neutral as possible. So, do you guys really believe that the S60 has less understeer than the Civic? I mean when you take the who understeers and who oversteers equation out of the problem, don't we have other, more meaningful metrics available to discuss? An MR2 is suppose to be extremely balanced when it comes to weight and handling, but I'm pretty sure there are other vehicles that out handle it AND so happen to suffer a little over/understeer...
zerocool84
Lifer
Umm like said a million times in this thread already, weight is not the only thing.
JulesMaximus
No Lifer
Both of those cars suffer from understeer. In fact, most production cars are designed to understeer to a degree because most drivers can handle understeer better than oversteer if they push too hard or find themselves going beyond the capabilities of the car either intentionally or unintentionally.
Once you start replacing suspension parts you are changing the dynamics of the car which can make the car handle better or even worse if you don't know what you are doing or mix and match parts that aren't designed to be used together.
There are so many variables, not the least of which is the knucklehead behind the steering wheel, that to even discuss this is relatively pointless. I'm not even sure what you hoped to accomplish with this thread in the first place. Bragging rights over your Father perhaps?
Bignate603
Lifer
He doesn't have a civic, he just wants a civic. I'm thinking he's about 15 (he has another thread about his friend getting a license in California) and has very little actual experience driving.
Now that I think about it I've never heard him mentioning anything about actually driving. He has questions and opinions about how cars function but never about any actual driving.
TRENDING THREADS
-
Discussion Zen 5 Speculation (EPYC Turin and Strix Point/Granite Ridge - Ryzen 9000)- Started by DisEnchantment
- Replies: 25K
-
Discussion Intel Meteor, Arrow, Lunar & Panther Lakes + WCL Discussion Threads
- Started by Tigerick
- Replies: 25K
-
Discussion Intel current and future Lakes & Rapids thread- Started by TheF34RChannel
- Replies: 24K
-
-
