I apologize, this surely must have been mentioned before, but I didn't find it when I searched the site.
Driving 60 mph, if I open one or both rear windows without opening a front window, the wind does something really funky to the air in the car. The harmonics or something are just right to beat my eardrums into bloody pulps. It's like a Stomp concert inside my head. Something I have never experienced in any other car. I am assuming all Fits do this. (?)

 

I recall the previous discussion on this and I also can't find the original thread, but from what I remember, you can do this with pretty much any sedan... might be amplified because it is a hatch, though.

 

Yeah I get wind buffeting any time I open just my driver window. I can equal it out by opening the passenger window a crack, but I would think the only thing that would solve it would be those window visors.

 

Good; I was hoping there wasn't an actual Stomp concert in my head.

 

id get checked out just in case jk

 

one way to avoid it (that's is you have to drive fast and have to open windows)... i open same side windows (two left ones or two right ones)

or .. you could just use A/C..

 

My Civic did the same thing. If you experiment a bit, the noise only happens when the windows are at a certain height and you are going at a certain speed. Change your speed or change the open/close/height/left/right/front/back position of the windows and it stops. When it happens to me, I just crack another window open a bit until it stops. The first time it happend to me in the Fit, I thought a helicopter was flying overhead.

 

Yes, I do that and it stops beating me up. I am waiting for the opportunity to freak my wife out with it! Our schedules conflict, so she never seems to be in the car with me.

It does sound like a helicopter, doesn't it? Good description.
Like it's landing right on top of the car.

 

I agree, that sound is the worst sound in the world, it almost makes me lose conciousness because it messes up the pressure in my head or something.

 

I have to admit, when I first read this thread I was a little skeptical. I've been driving a Jeep Wrangler for the last 7 years, so I'm used to all sorts of wind noise. Of course you piqued my curiosity, so I had to go check it out for myself. (any excuse to drive my new car!)

WOW! That is the strangest thing I've experienced in a while! I actually thought it was actually kind of fun, but my wife made me stop because the sound was hurting her ears.

I took my son out for test drive afterwards to show him.
He thought it was pretty cool!

Neat trick... I can't wait to surprise my friends!

 

My daughter does this to me all the time, so she gets the windows locked!

 

delete this post

 

Steeldog I know exactly what you are talking about. I drive a lot on the freeway going back and forth to work. When I have a cigarette, I roll down the windows and it absolutely hurts my ears.

 

Almost every vehicle will do this.

Helmholtz Resonance

Helmholtz resonance - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

Wow! I'm very impressed. I had no idea there was a name for this phenomenon. Thanks for the Wikipedia link, and the information.

It just goes to show, "you learn something new, every day."

Now, if I can only find a way to say to someone, "Hey, I would like to ride with you but the Helmholtz resonance in your car is more than I can take."

 

Helmholtz obviously had a lot of time on his hands. Plus, he was probably desperate to find something to name after himself, jealous over his cousin Heimlich's popular "Maneuver".

 

Jeeze, I learned two things today--according to an e-mail I received I thought it was the "hind lick" manuever