I get this stuff from my friend in the S2k forum.

http://www.s2ki.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=252653

 

it wouldn't have been so bad if it werent a convertible. DONT BUY CONVERTIBLE's people.. I hate convertibles. people might think they look cool and stuff but for real performance, convertibles are crap.

 

i have no words for that. i totaled my first civ on the freeway but it wasnt that damn bad. wow.

 

i feel for this poor S2k

 

Wreaked such a beautiful car. I feel bad.
For the car of coarse.

 

ahh damn. thats my wifes next car. i guess its comforting to know that a guy can hit a tree sideways going over 80mph, break his sports car in half, fold the front passenger seat together, and get off with a nap and a broken arm... but still, that churns my stomach. looks like ill be putting a roll cage in the wifes car.

 

and thats a pretty harsh statement. theres a lot of great sports cars that are convertibles. its an overgeneralization. the chassis on an S2 is way stiffer than on a civic coupe. yeah the coupes are better, but i dont think it'd make much difference in this case. if that had been a pickup truck he'd be dead. it wouldnt look as bad, but the driver would have been screwed. I think it says a lot for the testing and safety structure of an S2, convertible or not.

 

we have no idea how fast the guy was going when he wrapped his car around the pole. how can yiou say that any other car would look the same without knowing the speeds? you have to compare apples to apples. A coupe in the same model will always be stiffer than a convertible (yes, there is no coupe s2k). So, example... a dodge viper convertible will be less rigid than the coupe.

another thing, i highly doubt the s2k is safer than a truck. Trucks are designed to pull trailers with quite a heavy load. They must have a stiff chassis or the heavy load will actually screw up the chasis.

I'm not sure what the actual numbers are on the civic and the s2k, but I'm not so sure that the civic is actually less rigid. It would take a lot of steel and reinforcements to make an open box stronger than a closed box.

 

and thats exactly what the S2 has. the civics are notorious for the softer chassis', thats why they are lighter than comparable cars. and if that had been in a truck, he would have slid across the unsupportive bench seat and not been tucked into the little pocket in the car like he was in the S2. and police do that stuff all the time, they can tell pretty close how fast he was going. and yes, coupes of the same type are stiffer, but that doesnt mean ALL convertibles are crap.

 

i still don't think the s2k is stiffer than the a civic coupe. yes. i know the s2k is reinforced but this reinforcement is probably just to put the convertible in the acceptible range. The s2k is 2835 lbs (From honda site) which is a pretty light car in itself. I don't think you can make a claim that the s2k chassis is stiffer than the civic coupe. Don't get me wrong, it COULD be.. but I find it hard to believe for a car that is 2835 lbs. Unless they use titanium or aluminum reinforcements (which would be lots of $$).

And for the truck, how do you figure the guy will slide across the bench? what about seat belts? And looking at the picture, the car failed to protect the passenger cabin. This is the most crucial part of crash saftey. The passenger side was completely obliterated. In a truly "safe" car, the passenger cage must be preserved so that ALL passengers, not just the driver are protected.

Of course the police or ANYONE can tell the speed. there are in fact ways to get the last recorded speed from many newer ecu's. But my point was WE don't know the speed. How can you tell from the PICTURE?? WE have no idea how fast the car was going when it hit the pole. You are just assuming it was fast because of the severity of the damage. You don't know and I don't know.. so how can you make that assumption?

You have to compare apples to apples. Obviously a convertible Ferrari compared to a civic coupe is no comparison at all. But, looking at cars that are SIMILAR.. you will find that convertibles rigidity will likely not exceed a coupe. If it does, the price will be much higher.

Did a quick google on S2k rigidity. Some light reading.
http://www.automotive-technology.com/projects/s2000/ - "comparible to a coupe"
http://www.s2000.com/s2k_xbone.php - "rigidity and passive safety levels on a par with that of a closed body"

too bad i couldn't find any numbers. I could calculate the thing and put this to an end