8th Generation Civic - EX vs Si

[Slow_s10]

Yeah that was one of the things that I noticed when I was taking it on the test drive. The gearing seemed really low, which I guess is to be expected since it is a "sports car". But I was driving along comfortably in 6th gear going around 40mph and it still had enough power to accelerate pretty quickly without even downshifting.

But that is also why I didn't originally want an Si I really wanted a 5 speed EX sedan but they are just crazy hard to find it seems. Although after driving this one I think even a manual EX would still take some getting used to just because of how quiet these engines are.

But my daily commute is actually mostly surface streets and city driving which is one of the reasons that I really wanted a stick. It is just so much easier to drive them for efficency in stop and go traffic than an auto. There is actually a route that I can take to work that is almost all interstate driving but it is actually about 3 miles longer than the one I take now and the interstate is always way more congested. About the only time I go that way is if I am running late and I know for a fact that traffic won't be too bad, because once I commit to that route there is really no good way to get off the interstate and get to work via surface streets.

[tony_2018]

You can replace certain gears in the tranny to your liking, especially the 6th gear. When I still had my b16 tranny I went looking for ways to lower the 5th gear ratio, even the final drive was an option. Custom gearing helps but dont change all of them or else that si won't be so peppy.

[Slow_s10]

Honestly if there was a way to change the final drive ratio and make it a little taller that would probably be perfect. After driving that car I think 6 gears are way overkill for it anyway. I think I only used like 3 or 4 of them most fo the time when I was test driving it.

But Tomorrow I will hopefully be going to check out the other car the automatic EX-L. I have a feeling that if there are no significant issues with it and if I can haggle them down a little on the price, I might just be taking it home.

[Slow_s10]

Well it's done... I got the EX-L

And I couldn't be happier, I really wanted a car with a manual transmission but I think I will be happy with the automatic. And honestly there is not really anything else that I could want from this car. It has a good amount of miles on it but it is just so clean inside and out.



Now I just need to do a good cleaning and some work on the Bravada and I can find it a new home.



Alright who wants it? That's right step on up don't be shy.

[California98Civic]

Originally Posted by Slow_s10

Nice looking car. Congrats. Modest mods: Ultra Gauge!, spoiler comes off and maybe gets replaced with something flat, tire pressure goes up, upper grill gets blocked and license plate moved, windows get (darkest!) tint to reduce AC use, test power steering belt removal (which is easily reversed). Hypermiling: drive it speedlimit or just below on the freeway, try to keep the car from jumping up over 2000 RPMs on acceleration and hill climbing, look in owner's manual to see if it can be flat towed so you know whether you can coast off in neutral and if so use EOC to drift slowly and quietly up to long lights.

Get some great music and enjoy a "new" car.

[Slow_s10]

Originally Posted by California98Civic

Nice looking car. Congrats. Modest mods: Ultra Gauge!, spoiler comes off and maybe gets replaced with something flat, tire pressure goes up, upper grill gets blocked and license plate moved, windows get (darkest!) tint to reduce AC use, test power steering belt removal (which is easily reversed). Hypermiling: drive it speedlimit or just below on the freeway, try to keep the car from jumping up over 2000 RPMs on acceleration and hill climbing, look in owner's manual to see if it can be flat towed so you know whether you can coast off in neutral and if so use EOC to drift slowly and quietly up to long lights.

Get some great music and enjoy a "new" car.

Thanks! And yeah a lot of that I have already considered, like ditching the spoiler, tinting the windows, pumping up the tire pressure, and picking up some kind of OBD2 interface device, ScanGauge, Ultragauge etc. I will probably stick with my Torque app on my phone for now but it will be nice to step it up to a dedicated device. Also I am probably going to hold off on the grill block at least for now as probably 75%+ of my driving is city and stop and go traffic so the aero benifits will be small and the chances of overheating it would be higher. But I will probably at the very least make a simple removable one that I would be able to pop in for longer interstate trips.

Although I am probably just going to drive it as normaly as possible for at least the first full tank of gas so I cna not only get used to driving a very different car but also to set a good baseline MPG number to try and constantly improve upon.

But thanks for all the kind words and suggestions. so far I am in love with this car.


Oh and my son has already named the car for me... he calls it Doc as in the name of the Hudson Hornet fron the Disney Cars movie because according to him it's a blue race car just like Doc.

[PaleMelanesian]

If it's like most other recent Hondas, the (engine off) towing limits are 35 mph for up to 50 miles. Meaning if you're not coasting for 50 miles, you can probably stretch the 35 mph requirement a bit.

[California98Civic]

Originally Posted by Slow_s10

Oh and my son has already named the car for me... he calls it Doc as in the name of the Hudson Hornet fron the Disney Cars movie because according to him it's a blue race car just like Doc.

Cool. Then name it "Doc" when you set up your garage entry for the car! ... BTW, I'd go with the ultra gauge again... cheaper and it displays more data per screen (six instead of four readouts).

And here is an interesting little read about 8th gen auto trans shifting characteristics. There might be hypermiling-useful data in those descriptions, IDK. With a good gauge that can tell you engine load, I would imagine you could select D2 or D3 for the characteristics described and "drive with load" at the most efficient level, thus getting more of the benefits of a manual in city traffic than we usually imagine possible for auto transmissions. Here: Civic Automatic Transmission Shift Characteristics - 8th Generation Honda Civic Forum

james

[PaleMelanesian]

Here's another Honda Automatic trick to try. It won't shift into top gear until 45 mph, but once there it'll hold it down to 37/38 mph. You can get it into that top gear earlier by shifting quickly D-N-D.

Also, be prepared to use N a lot as they like to hold the gear and engine-brake when you let off the gas. Neutral lets the car keep rolling a lot better.

[pete c]

Looks like a nice car. I would have gone with the Si, but, then again, I ain't buying it.