Just bought a 2020 Civic Si

[Deleted member]

Hey everyone, new member and new Civic SI Sedan owner. It's been a week, and I love driving this car. Picked it up in Modern Steel Metallic.

This is my first clutch car in a long time. I initially thought it was me being rusty (might have been, initially), but it's taken a week to finally smooth out shifts in 1st and 2nd gears. I find I have to slip the clutch a bit long from a complete stop, but also going into 2nd gear, otherwise it just isn't smooth. This clutch bites right away, and the car wants to go.

Total time my foot is on the clutch pedal is about 4 seconds (including depressing it).
Obviously, I want to shorten that time. But, am I causing any damage, other than warming up the clutch, that I should be worried about?

As it's brand new, I'm trying to keep rpms between 1500-3000. Definitely had a few upshifts around 4000 due to traffic irregularities on the highway.

Overall, such a joy to drive. I'm definitely giving myself time to get fully acclimated to the car, but I'm also concerned about causing unnecessary problems.

I'm also still getting a feel for rev hang, which wasn't a thing the last time I drove a manual.

Blips with rev matching are working out well on the highway, but I haven't nailed 3rd to 2nd in local traffic. I always seem to underestimate the rpms and buck the car a little.

Only "issue" I've noticed is that recirculated air and windshield defrost settings seem to emit an engine odor, but the interior also has a heavy smell of the plastic materials. So, I'm not sure if it's that scent being amplified, or actual engine/exhaust fumes.

Anyone experience this?

Absolutely excited to own an SI, and also be a part of the forum.

Cheers!
John

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[REBELXSi]

Hey everyone, new member and new Civic SI Sedan owner. It's been a week, and I love driving this car. Picked it up in Modern Steel Metallic.

This is my first clutch car in a long time. I initially thought it was me being rusty (might have been, initially), but it's taken a week to finally smooth out shifts in 1st and 2nd gears. I find I have to slip the clutch a bit long from a complete stop, but also going into 2nd gear, otherwise it just isn't smooth. This clutch bites right away, and the car wants to go.

Total time my foot is on the clutch pedal is about 4 seconds (including depressing it).
Obviously, I want to shorten that time. But, am I causing any damage, other than warming up the clutch, that I should be worried about?

As it's brand new, I'm trying to keep rpms between 1500-3000. Definitely had a few upshifts around 4000 due to traffic irregularities on the highway.

Overall, such a joy to drive. I'm definitely giving myself time to get fully acclimated to the car, but I'm also concerned about causing unnecessary problems.

I'm also still getting a feel for rev hang, which wasn't a thing the last time I drove a manual.

Blips with rev matching are working out well on the highway, but I haven't nailed 3rd to 2nd in local traffic. I always seem to underestimate the rpms and buck the car a little.

Only "issue" I've noticed is that recirculated air and windshield defrost settings seem to emit an engine odor, but the interior also has a heavy smell of the plastic materials. So, I'm not sure if it's that scent being amplified, or actual engine/exhaust fumes.

Anyone experience this?

Absolutely excited to own an SI, and also be a part of the forum.

Cheers!
John

As far as the smell, my Si had a slight burning smell for like the first 10k lol. It wasn't alarming but I noticed it. At 40k, it's long gone but maybe it just takes time.

 

[Deleted member]

Just this morning I noticed mine is starting to fade. I had to stop by Parts & Service to pick up my mats and the tech said it's just normal oils burning off, should go away in no time.

Then he yelled at me to stop overthinking everything and just drive it. Hence my initial post, haha!

Just drove it from NYC to Albany, NY. Such a blast on the thruway!!

 

[SDAlexander8]

Don't be scared to shift around 3500-4000 during break-in. Shifting at 3000 is a bit overly cautious in my opinion. The turbo doesn't really spool up until just under 3500. Just don’t rip it to 6000 rpm.

As far as the smell, the exhaust seems to have a break in period as well. Smell will go away and exhaust tone may sound a little better after 7500 miles.

 

[SDAlexander8]

As you put miles on this car over the next couple years, you’re going to start noticing a lot of weird sounds this car makes. Most of which are normal. Between the turbo, direct injection system, strange clutch setup, etc...

I tell you this because from your initial post it sounds like you’re going to be a lot like me and get spooked and worked up by anything that doesn’t sound, smell, or feel normal. This car has a lot of quirks, but is very fun and rewarding to drive.

Just keep calm if you notice anything out of the ordinary. I haven't heard of anyone’s car blowing up or leaving them stranded yet, besides the people pushing way to much power from their mods and tunes.

Stay calm, you have a good warrantee. Good luck with your new car, and welcome to the forum.

 

[Deleted User 1886347]

My exhaust stinks every time I shift between 4-5k rpm. I have just under 2,000 km on my Si.

At one point I thought maybe I did something wrong but it never happened any other time, so I just shrugged it off as something that’ll go away with time. And I was right. It’s fading slowly. As for other smells, I had similar stuff to what you’re describing and it’s fading pretty quick. No worries there.

As for shifting, I find it difficult to keep it under 3k rpm all the time.. especially on busier roads where you have to pick up speed quicker, so I usually shift around 3-4k. Residential streets I try to shift between 2.5-3k. I still have yet to redline it, but I haven’t found an opportunity yet to do so

 

[Deleted member]

Thanks for all the encouragement and advice, everyone. I'm definitely calming down and feeling more comfortable in it.

The Rev Indicator doesn't appear to be working. I don't need it, but would like it to function just because.

Is there a trick to activating it once it's selected?

 

[aighead]

Thanks for all the encouragement and advice, everyone. I'm definitely calming down and feeling more comfortable in it.

The Rev Indicator doesn't appear to be working. I don't need it, but would like it to function just because.

Is there a trick to activating it once it's selected?

If you are shifting at low RPM you may not see it happening. I don't use it a lot but it'll be lights above the tachometer, I believe, and they'll turn yellow as you get closer to higher RPM for "normal" shifting. Try it once above 4-4500 RPM and I bet the lights change. I could be completely wrong, but I don't think I am, like I said I haven't used it much.

Wait, maybe I don't have a clue what you mean by the rev indicator... I was thinking the upshift lights.

 

[Deleted member]

It's a single row of (virtual) round lights, red ,yellow, maybe green, that run along the bottom of the odometer.

The menu in the car and owner's manual refer to it as Rev Indicator. Hopefully we're talking about the same thing, haha.

Maybe I'm driving too slow and low for it to kick on?

Anyway, here's my ride.

 

[MaTtKs]

It's a single row of (virtual) round lights, red ,yellow, maybe green, that run along the bottom of the odometer.

The menu in the car and owner's manual refer to it as Rev Indicator. Hopefully we're talking about the same thing, haha.

Maybe I'm driving too slow and low for it to kick on?

Anyway, here's my ride.

Looks great!

 

[mis3]

What is this rev indicator or up shift lights? How does it work?
My SI is a 2018, does my car have this feature? I will check under my odometer tomorrow.

 

[SDAlexander8]

Thanks for all the encouragement and advice, everyone. I'm definitely calming down and feeling more comfortable in it.

The Rev Indicator doesn't appear to be working. I don't need it, but would like it to function just because.

Is there a trick to activating it once it's selected?

It doesn’t start to light up until over 4k rpm i think.

 

[Deleted member]

Looks great!

It doesn’t start to light up until over 4k rpm i think.

Thank you!

 

[aighead]

What is this rev indicator or up shift lights? How does it work?
My SI is a 2018, does my car have this feature? I will check under my odometer tomorrow.

Yes it has it, you have to change your dashboard layout a bit with the buttons on the steering wheel next to the volume button.

 

[noiwillnotfixurpc]

Looks great, congrats!

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