stiffer chassis?

[Vanilla Sky]

well, as most of you know, i've been trying to locate a decent accord for a while now... i looked at a hatch and it got me to wondering one thing: is any one body style stiffer than another?

that question has been annoying me for a while now... i figure out of 2,400 members, one of you will have the answer

[Jims 86LXI HB]

I'll bet money that the hatch is the weakest.

Which leaves the sedan or coupe,..........I'm not taking that bet

Of couse I don't think anyone could prove anything either way so I guess it doesn't matter what I bet

In any event if you took a blindfolded passenger ride in all 3 identical version of each, I doubt you'd be able to tell which is the stiffest or weakest. But my mind says the hatch's hatch opening makes is the weakest. But then again I never did think about welding it shut :lol

[anchovies]

I've read it somewhere that the coupe is stiffer than other models.

[Vanilla Sky]

ok, since you 're willin to bet the sedan or coupe, i would have to ask one thing... other than the fact that the coupe is 2 door and the sedan carries an extra pair, are there any other differences? i wou ld thing that they wou ld each have thier pros and cons about them... i'm just looking for the best comprimise...

i would have to think that someone that roams junkyards daily and sees these cars wrecked and know what happened and how fast would be able to tell you which one just because the way damage is represented in different cars

[AZmike]

Seeing how a car was damaged in a wreck isn't a good way to estimate it's rigidity. There's no way to know how fast the car was going or what type of object stopped it. For instance, a car going 50 mi/hr head-on into a bunch of bushes would look a lot different than one that hit a brick wall going much slower.

I would expect the coupe to be the stiffest. It has the fewest openings (a door's hinges and latch will not transfer a load as well as a steel skin) and has the extra reinforcement between the trunk and back seat right near the rear strut towers. I'd say the hatch has the least torsional stiffness. Of course if you're willing to give up some storage space, a few tubes welded in the proper places would make any body type much stiffer than the stock coupe.

[Vanilla Sky]

still, sometimes in a junkyard it is known what hit and about how hard... depends on a lot of things that came with the car... sometimes around here, it's not uncommon to have accident reports with the cars... strange, eh? yeah, i thought so, too...

[dXsquared]

i have thought very hard about welding in a huge X between the two strut towers in the rear.. then to the two frame locations that you can see from teh back... that would improve the stiffness alot i believe... maybe i will do that sometime and let you knwo how it goes

Travis

[CARBurn]

Originally posted by 89LXi4dr
I would expect the coupe to be the stiffest.

So have I. Sedans just seem so family oriented, if you know what I mean. Coupes seem to have been built for sportiness and handling. Hatches may be more for convenience of hauling your things. Just my opinion.