98 civic sedan coefficient of drag? where to find?
 

Cd and frontal area for a 98 civic sedan?

someone was asking me where to find this info. who better to ask, i though, than the honda nuts at gassavers.com :)

any suggestions on where to find reputable info?

searching... 1996 is .32.
 

searching...

1996 is .32. I'm pretty sure (80% sure) the 96 and 98 had the same body type.

https://www.theautochannel.com/vehicles/new/reviews/wk9551.html

Just realized that's the hatchback, not the sedan... will keep searching.

Re: searching...1996 is .32.
 

Correct. 1996-1999 were the same body style...maybe some minimal changes.

Re: searching...1996 is .32.
 

OK, how about the del Sol? I have never been able to find a CD or Frontal area, anywhere. Usually it's just N/A.

I'll work on the del slow.
 

I'll work on the del slow. Check your dealer sales brochure, my original CRX brocure says .29 for me, :)

https://www.theautochannel.com/vehicles/new/reviews/wk9551.html

.32 for the EK Civics non-HB.

https://www.personal.psu.edu/kjm289/

.378 for DEL SOLS!!! In response to dan's comment about the truth of this I wonder but not heavily because many civics are like .35 and I think the back of the del sol looks like it wouldn't be too good for air flow but I dunno. It seems like he has a run down of factory specs so I don't think he would've randomly made one up.

Re:
 

This is the same link I posted earlier, and it's for the HB.

Quote:This is the same link
 

You lie!

Re:
 

Dude, pay some respect for some peoples' cars on here -- there happen to be some owners of that model on here.

RH77

Re:
 

Yes, I found that earlier but I have a hard time believing it. I can't find anything else to coroborate the .378. Perhaps someone else can find another source for that?

Quote:Dude, pay some respect
 

Hehe, I'm just kidding. I personally love the look of the del sol except for the front end, I just like to poke fun at it, I'll edit it though to be more clear.

about the del sol... i
 

about the del sol... i wouldn't be surprised if that Cd is right.

the car's rear window design is a killer. airflow separates at the trailing edge of the roof, and likely doesn't re-attach by the end of the rear deck because it's fairly short. so you've got a relatively large trailing wake as a result.

to the wind it looks like a mini short-bed pickup truck with a tonneau cover. a "del camino"?

the "buttresses" on each side of the back window probably help to some extent (helping contain a bubble of air that the over-roof airflow can ride over without going instantly turbulent).

but if i were the betting type, i'd say the del sol is a particularly good candidate for aero mods in that area that would have a measurable impact on hwy mpg.

Re: about the del sol... i
 

"DEL CAMINO"... LOL

I think you're right about it having lots of room for improvement. Few realize that the Del Sol was introduced into the market because it's predecessor started making insurance rates climb. It's predecessor of course, was the CRX.

In some other markets the Del Sol is called the CRX, as their insurance companies havn't attacked the favorite car of teenagers and drag racers.

Considering it's lineage, the Del Sol is capable of a lot in terns of aerodynamic modifications. Smoothing out the rear, or removing the "Camino" from it's design would most likely bring it down to around .30 (give or take).

If you wanna get technical
 

If you wanna get technical the Honda Civic Coupe CRX became the Honda CRX del Sol in 1992, or at least I think those are the formal names, but the del sol is technically a crx del sol but we rexers don't like to admit it, :p


(all in good fun)

Re: about the del sol... i
 

Although I don't have it from an official source, the 0.378 was somewhat confirmed, for the same reasons listed above, at Sol Society, a website for Del Caminoers.

It's a good thing that I don't drive on the highway much.

So how do I get rid of the invisible parachute that I am dragging along with me? I'm also wondering about the spoiler on the Si model. Does that help or hurt? Possibly the 0.378 is for the Si and it is different for the S? Will lowering the car help?

Re: about the del sol... i
 

Ditto on the LOL.

I've heard rumors before that the Del Sol was originally designed to be mid-rear, then at the last minute they decided to make it FWD. I mean, look at how ungodly gigantic the trunk is on the Del Sol...I could definately see an engine going back there from the factory...and yes, I have seen the guys that make these cars mid-rear. Anyone else besides me think that the Del Sol ripped a little bit of styling from the Porsche 914?

Quote:I'm also wondering
 

Hurts, :p

A tiny tiny bit.

I think what you need to do is cover the back with some sort of fiberglass pod with a clear window to it.

Re: Quote:I'm also wondering
 

on this particular design, it probably has no effect, unless it's high enough or extends back enough to permit the flow to reattach on it. spoilers work best when they can interact with non-turbulent flow, regardless of whether their intent is for downforce (high angle of attack, worse Cd) or streamlining (no attack, improved Cd). i'd guess that the end of the deck is turbulent.

easy way to test what the air is doing back there: tape pieces of ribbon or wool in various positions including close to the end of the deck (so the end of each string reaches the lip) and go for a drive. if they're all streaming smoothly back, it means they're in laminar flow. if they're dancing around in all directions, they're in turbulence. aka "tuft testing".

that's the ticket! a del camino aero cap -

https://us.a2.yahoofs.com/groups/g_15...YUM_DBJBlBWWG8

and i agree dax, it completely looks like it was meant to have a mid engine.

Re: Quote:I'm also wondering
 

OK aero gurus. I wanna reduce drag, but I don't want to change the look of the car. At least not something as obvious as a del camino cap. I guess that leaves the front spoiler, maybe flexible baseboard stuff ala SVOboy's suggestion, or underbody cover ala compaq888, or rear bumper venting, ala I don't remember who. Which would have the greatest impact? Would all three create synergies that one or two would not?

Synergies I'd say, I'd try
 

Synergies I'd say, :p

I'd try to see if you could fit a civic vx rear diffuser on the del sol if I were you, :)

Re: Synergies I'd say, I'd try
 

Huh? Got a pic?

No pictures, but it sits on
 

No pictures, but it sits on the back and does kinda what compaq was going for but stock and really well. As we know, the vx was the gas mileage king/queen of it's time. :p

Quote:Which would have the
 

depends. i have no idea what the underside of your car is like. but typically, about 1/3 of a car's total drag is caused there. (1/3 is cooling & engine compartment flow, the other 3rd is airflow over the outside of the car).

if you make the underbody smooth, you don't need a chin level air dam (the purpose of which is to keep airflow away from a rough underbody). smoothing the underbody is preferable because it doesn't increase frontal area.

i'm not really sure what holes in the back bumper would do. haven't read anything about that or thought much about it.

come on, think of the mpg, man! that rear pod-mod would be good for at least a couple more mpg at highway speeds. should i assume we're also not going to be seeing wheel skirts on the del camino? ;) (my cardboard ones are getting pretty darn ratty with the snow melt & puddles lately.)

ps - the rear underbody treatment we're aiming for isn't technically a diffuser. it's just a pan.

Quote:ps - the rear
 

True, but if the stock diffuser was a bolt on that'd be pimp.

my bad - i was talking more
 

my bad - i was talking more about the terminology. "diffuser" isn't really the right word for the pan under the back of the vx. i'm just being picky about words.

i agree it would be great if it were a simple swap though.

Re: No pictures, but it sits on
 

I actually got one of these for a friend of mine at the junkyard... it looks like this:

(part #14)
https://www.hondaautomotiveparts.com/...13SR30_G12.gif

Diemaster said there was a VX at his junkyard, it might be good ask him to check for this part. If you guys don't want it I'll take it (assuming it's still there).

VX Diffuser
 

It's kinda hard to tell from the picture but does it sit behind the rear wheel on both sides and redirect the air out the the side instead of air being trapped in the rear bumper cover? Can you see it from the outside or do you have to get under the car to see it?

I think there is one of these in my parking lot at work. Maybe I will take a peek? How can I tell if it is a VX? It is the hatchback as shown in the picture. Are all hachbacks VX's?

Any, Diemaster, If you are listening. Do you know if that diffuser is still available?

Re: VX Diffuser
 

It's a plastic piece that is about the size of a computer. I say that because a computer box was the only box big enough for me to ship it in. It's not visible unless you get under the car and look.

The one I took it off of was on the drivers side. It attached to the bumper and was held in by a screw or two as well.

It essentially smooths out the airflow before the bumper in that area. I used to have pictures of one but I can't find them now. I'll look a little more.

The civic VX will say "VX" on it. There are at least 3 different hatchback models during those years, so don't mistake a non-vx for a vx.

the dead giveaway for
 

the dead giveaway for spotting a VX is its 13-in spoked alloy rims - assuming it still has its stock rims on (or any rims at all, if in a junk yard)

Re: the dead giveaway for
 

For the most part, yes. I did see a VX in the junkyard once with steel rims, which I didn't understand at all.

Quote:For the most part,
 

I ain't gonna leave my vx rims on my vx if it goes to the junkyard, you gotta strip that stuff. I'll post some vx rims pictures when mine show up in the mail.

*shoots self in the foot for
 

*shoots self in the foot for selling my vx with the rims still on it*

Re: Quote:For the most part,
 

Fo sheezy? Had I known that the VX 9lb wheels existed, I would have gotten those and stuck with 13" tires. I could have saved `50 lbs and kept the stock height of the del slow camino. Probably could have saved some cash also which could have been spent on my invisible aluminum tonneau cover. meh

They ain't worth thaaaat
 

They ain't worth thaaaat much. I got mine for 100 shipped.

You should shoot yourself for selling the vx though, :p

Re: They ain't worth thaaaat
 

It wasn't really a VX anymore when I sold it. It was just a shell that previously housed a beast of a turbocharged motor...which housed a VX engine before that. I do wish I had kept the interior...absolutely MINT. It would have looked awesome in my EF.

Re: Quote:For the most part,
 

invisible aluminum like the whale tank in that star trek movie?

nahhh, forget aluminum. i just remembered you only need to come up with some carefully positioned air jets, and you can reduce your Cd by 15% like this renault.

Re: They ain't worth thaaaat
 

woohoo! i sold mine for $160 shipped! (cdn pesos)

https://brockvegas.ca/photos/alloyrim.jpg

https://brockvegas.ca/photos/1989-accord.jpg

Ya stole my damn thunder
 

Ya stole my damn thunder damnit!