2017 Si Driving Impressions and review - Turbo lag?

[Vtak Groceries]

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[Stock_07]

So guys drove a Si today again. The exhaust is great, seats are great, power is good. Lags is there but if you keep the revs up you go to go. Shifter is much nicer then on my lx but again the lx shifter is good to begin with.

Car also has a nice turbo whine. Sport mode made the biggest difference to me in throttle response. Is it faster then a 9th gen?? slightly but over all this Si with tech is great.

 

[Psy-q]

Well boys I just drove a 2017 Civic Si and I can say overall compared to my 2008 Si I am not impressed with the driving experience.

There is quite a bit of lag. 1st gear really only makes power from 3500rpm and onward. I revved it out to 6500rpm limiter and it was still making decent power so I didnt quite feel the power taper off as others have.

There is alot of rev hang. Traction control cannot be turned off. When shifting from 1-2 the car cuts power and dies. Not very inspiring or rewarding when compared to my 2008 Si.

The good thing is the car feels solid. Drives very well on the highway and is comfortable. The seats are awesome. It is very roomy.

A good commuter car, but I feel for a Si it should be alot more sporty and fun to drive. It just isnt IMO.

Also Everyone is praising how the 1.5T torque is more than the 2.4 9th gen si. I argue no. The power on the 2.4 is instant. Boost lag and traction control really neuters the potential of the 1.5T when used with a 6MT.

Pics

People who never drove the absolute GEM that is the K20/K24 will never understand. The sound, the linearity of power delivery, instantaneous response. The experience itself is so much nicer.

It is a solid car tho. Very refined.

 

[Vtak Groceries]

People who never drove the absolute GEM that is the K20/K24 will never understand. The sound, the linearity of power delivery, instantaneous response. The experience itself is so much nicer.

It is a solid car tho. Very refined.

Good news about this new Si is I think a Hondata tune can fix it. Tune out the rev hang and traction control. If you guys are buying a new Si I really highly recommend a Hondata tune. It made a massive difference on my old Si and I think this new Si will have even better results. Not just power wise. Drivability will be 1000x better.

 

[drakenc]

Good news about this new Si is I think a Hondata tune can fix it. Tune out the rev hang and traction control. If you guys are buying a new Si I really highly recommend a Hondata tune. It made a massive difference on my old Si and I think this new Si will have even better results. Not just power wise. Drivability will be 1000x better.

Very true of most tunes on just about any newer vehicles. Most stock tunes are made to satisfy modern fuel economy and emission standards that manufacturers must comply to. I would not be surprised if the Si was actually electronically torque limited in the lower gears in order to maximize reliability even with traction control off. It happens to be a common case for many newer cars, even lower powered ones.

I'm also eager to hear how aftermarket tunes will bode for this Si since tuned EX-Ts show some good promise. There is much to be gained even with just a conservative tune.

 

[Design]

Very true of most tunes on just about any newer vehicles. Most stock tunes are made to satisfy modern fuel economy and emission standards that manufacturers must comply to. I would not be surprised if the Si was actually electronically torque limited in the lower gears in order to maximize reliability even with traction control off. It happens to be a common case for many newer cars, even lower powered ones.

I'm also eager to hear how aftermarket tunes will bode for this Si since tuned EX-Ts show some good promise. There is much to be gained even with just a conservative tune.

I chatted with Doug about this. The 9 impeller design should allow more flow at peak boost for more power. I'm thinking we'll see an extra 10-15% over the EX-T.

That said, the weakest link is going to be the clutch disc.

 

[skycrapper]

I chatted with Doug about this. The 9 impeller design should allow more flow at peak boost for more power. I'm thinking we'll see an extra 10-15% over the EX-T.

That said, the weakest link is going to be the clutch disc.

People who never drove the absolute GEM that is the K20/K24 will never understand. The sound, the linearity of power delivery, instantaneous response. The experience itself is so much nicer.

It is a solid car tho. Very refined.

K24 is a great engine.. However the K20s were absolute screamers. With KPRO, they made more high rpm power then the K24. With this car being smoother and more refined, it's hard to base the speed of the 10th gen without actual times from a reputable source. You're not gonna hear and feel the speed as much

 

[sonicBOOMgray]

Liked reading the review. I had a 2013 FR-S, loved that car but tooooo....impractical for my daily driver. Getting into it from my garage required too many contortions. But if there was ever a car for drifting that's the one. Only a person without legs could ever get into the back seat. I traded my 2007 Civic Si sedan for the purchase of the FR-S. I now have a 2017 Civic Hatch ST, love the car but not the CVT. I am going to test drive the Si and, if I like it enough, my wife might inherit the Hatch.

So you went from a 2007 Civic Si, to a 2013 FRS to now a '17 Hatch and you want to go to an Si? Listen, I'm in love with your mindset, mentality and line of thinking and want to bottle it and drink it up all day and night! And when the Type R comes, out, your kid will get the Si? haha, I love this guy, he get it!

 

[Aero2001]

You can reduce turbo lag with a free-flowing exhaust, because it helps the turbo spool up faster. I'm sure these will be available soon, and they shouldn't be that expensive. They're usually louder, which is either a feature or a bug depending on what you want -- and of course on how it sounds.

I learned about this with my old SAAB 9-5 Aero. The exhaust got damaged, and needed to be replaced. SAAB offered lots of accessories, and the service guy pointed out that for little additional money, I could get the SAAB Borla sport exhaust instead of the standard replacement.

It was awesome. With more flow, turbo lag was reduced, and with less back pressure on the engine I got better fuel economy too. It was slightly louder, but I liked the more aggressive sound so it didn't bother me at all. I'm pretty sure my neighbors didn't like it though!

 

[skycrapper]

Is your warranty voided for an exhaust/downpipe?

 

[HondaPro]

Technically anything you do your Honda voids the warranty. Even an aftermarket radio.

Is your warranty voided for an exhaust/downpipe?

 

[zroger73]

Technically anything you do your Honda voids the warranty. Even an aftermarket radio.

That's not correct. Installing an aftermarket radio does not void any warranties. The aftermarket radio won't be covered under the manufacturer's warranty, but everything else will be unless Honda can prove the damage was directly caused by the aftermarket part.

See the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act.

 

[HondaPro]

Call Honda Corp warranty service.. Trust me I already been down this road.

That's not correct. Installing an aftermarket radio does not void any warranties. The aftermarket radio won't be covered under warranty, but everything else will be unless Honda can prove the damage was caused by the aftermarket part.

 

[zroger73]

Call Honda Corp warranty service.. Trust me I already been down this road.

Call the Federal Trade Commission. They have authority over American Honda Motor Company.

 

[takemorepills]

Well boys I just drove a 2017 Civic Si and I can say overall compared to my 2008 Si I am not impressed with the driving experience.

There is quite a bit of lag. 1st gear really only makes power from 3500rpm and onward. I revved it out to 6500rpm limiter and it was still making decent power so I didnt quite feel the power taper off as others have.

There is alot of rev hang. Traction control cannot be turned off. When shifting from 1-2 the car cuts power and dies. Not very inspiring or rewarding when compared to my 2008 Si.

The good thing is the car feels solid. Drives very well on the highway and is comfortable. The seats are awesome. It is very roomy.

A good commuter car, but I feel for a Si it should be alot more sporty and fun to drive. It just isnt IMO.

EDIT:
Overall its a good car. Go and test drive one and see how you guys feel. I think I am being a bit hard on it. But I can say if you do a Hondata tune, Stiffer motor mounts, wheels/tires/springs, it will really be on another level.



Pics

Did you drive a GolfR to a test drive of an Si?

Is your warranty voided for an exhaust/downpipe?

Technically not ALL of your warranty, but if there is ANY way the dealer or Honda USA can construe the modified exhaust as being in ANY WAY responsible for a failure of a part somehow, even remotely related to the exhaust, there is a risk that they can deny warranty coverage. Downpipes really change a lot of parameters on newer turbo cars, on some 2.0T cars there have been some cases of turbo overspeed in certain situations where the reduced backpressure of a downpipe allows turbo overspeed, which over time will wear out a stock turbo. So, from the OEM point of view, I don't see any reason they shouldn't look at your mods with suspicion if something somewhat related were to fail.

Technically anything you do your Honda voids the warranty. Even an aftermarket radio.

That's not correct. Installing an aftermarket radio does not void any warranties. The aftermarket radio won't be covered under the manufacturer's warranty, but everything else will be unless Honda can prove the damage was directly caused by the aftermarket part.

See the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act.

So.....I guess looking at the radios available in the CivicX, a very strong case could be made that certainly the Android HU is so integrated into the vehicle CANBUS that it is a key body control component, tampering with it in any way could cause Honda to deny a claim. If the HVAC is controlled through the HU, and it has been modified or replaced by an aftermarket HU (probably will see some Chinese HU soon that can replace the OEM Android and keep Honda functions working) and you have an AC issue, they CAN deny the claim. If your body ECM or gauge ECM dies, they can just say the modified HU sent bad data onto the CANBUS and caused a malfunction in other networked devices. And at that point, good luck arguing with the "subject matter experts".