SI as a commuter car?

[SpartanSi]

Since the new Si will have a turbo engine do you think it will be a viable option as a commuter car. Ex 100miles a day round trip to work?

Sure.....turbos are great commuting engines, especially with highway driving. The advantage is that you will not be on boost except when passing. Cruising without needing boost makes this a great match. Less boost means lower stress on the engine and drivetrain. I am also assuming that you are good with a manual and not doing 100 miles of stop and go commuting like the LA express way or The LIE headed out to Long Island every day.....? I would expect the ride to be stiffer in the Si as well as tighter gearing with the 6spd vs the Ex. It should be a fun car and a drivers car if Honda lives up to their promises. Use to commute 80 miles per day in my 99 Si. The issue with this car was the 5 spd manuals gear ratio.....driving at 80mphon the highway.....the engine ran at 4300rpm. It was fun but, that is a lot of noise and a lot of extra wear and tear on the engine running down the highway at this rpm. Also had an 95 Ex with a manual.....this car was both civil and quiet for commuting. Loved my Si regardless......wish I never sold this car......it was raw but, an absolute blast to drive! Good luck with your decision!

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[SpartanSi]

If you want a sporty turbo car, then the Si should be fine for commuting. If you want something that'll last 300K miles and get good MPGs, maybe a Corolla or Civic 2.0??

My problem for commuting an Si would be if they are only manual trans. I currently use my GTI DSG as my commuter. Every day, every day traffic is f'ed here. Driving a manual SUCKS in traffic. Hopefully Si gets some kind of automatic trans option.

Very good advice.......my only comment would be to pray for a non-CVT Si option. Not convinced that CVT's have the durability to last 300K....especially in higher torque turbo engines. CVT transmissions function with a metal belt or band and are not really fixable or serviceable like a manual with a clutch or an automatic gear based transmission........more replaceable when they break....costing $4000 plus to replace. Over time, I have to believe that stretch and wear will create failures before 300k miles. Will be interesting to see what Honda offers......this Si is drastically different than previous Si's due to the higher torque offered by the turbo. The new car will not run high RPM's like the current Si, offering better torque down low in the power band....this should make it possible for Honda to offer an Si with an automatic of some sort....and make the Si an option for the poor chumps living in the big cities that deal with stop and go traffic on a daily basis.

 

[s2kdriver80]

Sure.....turbos are great commuting engines, especially with highway driving. The advantage is that you will not be on boost except when passing. Cruising without needing boost makes this a great match. Less boost means lower stress on the engine and drivetrain. I am also assuming that you are good with a manual and not doing 100 miles of stop and go commuting like the LA express way or The LIE headed out to Long Island every day.....? I would expect the ride to be stiffer in the Si as well as tighter gearing with the 6spd vs the Ex. It should be a fun car and a drivers car if Honda lives up to their promises. Use to commute 80 miles per day in my 99 Si. The issue with this car was the 5 spd manuals gear ratio.....driving at 80mphon the highway.....the engine ran at 4300rpm. It was fun but, that is a lot of noise and a lot of extra wear and tear on the engine running down the highway at this rpm. Also had an 95 Ex with a manual.....this car was both civil and quiet for commuting. Loved my Si regardless......wish I never sold this car......it was raw but, an absolute blast to drive! Good luck with your decision!

I had the MY00 Electron Blue Pearl EM1 Si as well, fun car. My MY03 S2000 which recently passed the 230k mile mark (and just had the original clutch replaced) is still going strong with regular redlining at 9k rpm. I also cruise around the 4-4.5k rpm range on a daily basis. No worries, these Honda engines can take it!

 

[takemorepills]

Very good advice.......my only comment would be to pray for a non-CVT Si option. Not convinced that CVT's have the durability to last 300K....especially in higher torque turbo engines.

My main concern with CVT is that there is no way a CVT can keep up with the potential of a turbo engine. It doesn't take much to boost the WHP of a modern turbo motor by 100 these days. No way can any CVT made handle this. Part of the reason I get frustrated at the 1.5T enthusiasts who are hoping to tune their 1.5T CVT. I'm sure the 1.5T can pump out a good deal more HP, but their is no way Honda left a bunch of unused durability inside of the CVT. We can already see Honda has been cheap on the CivicX, and their previous CVTs have had issues as well.

A 2.0T Si may just as well best be had in 6MT, as I don't think Honda has figured out how to make a tough AT yet. The 8DCT in the Acura is having driveability issues, and I don't know if the market will support a conventional hydraulic automatic, although I'd probably be OK with Honda's 6AT.

 

[GearGrind]

I had a 8th gen Si and it was just like a normal civic in my opinion except for the fuel economy. The reliability is superb even with a combined 4000km of circuit track time!!

I just did 45k km (28k miles) on my 2015 WRX in one year (and will continue), and the fuel economy is very good for what it is. Will it last beyond 250k km i dont know, but my history with Subaru says it should be fine. A heavy clutch is actually very nice. If you've been driving a manual, it should not be any problem in heavy traffic as it becomes second nature to you by now.

What i am trying to say is a Honda will definitely be a no brainer, Si or non Si as a daily long commuter car. I welcome Turbo engines as daily if the carbon deposit is not too big of an issue.

 

[17CivicTypeR_Brian]

Agreeing with everyone above pretty much. I commute my 09 Si. I wouldn't know what else to do with it I suppose. I think I drove about 32k miles or so in the first year...can't remember exactly. I know in the second summer I had it, I drove it from PA to CA, down to Vegas, and back up to PA. Also drove it to Florida and South Carolina. At that point it was only tinted.
Now, it has an intake, header and Q300, Flashpro, injectors, E85 (when the season allows), and the HFP suspension. It turned 156k last week. I only drive 4.2 miles each way for work, but I do still drive it up to school for the MBA classes and that's about 30 miles each way.
I'd say as a stock car, it was definitely an awesome way to get around. We have hills and although you don't need to downshift to maintain speed, you do have to downshift if you want to accelerate measurably. I got out of a turbo Civic to get into this Si sedan and the first thing I noted was how I had to downshift on the highway to get the same effect as WOT on the turbo car. If the new one is turbo, it will be great to use on the highway.

I still hope the new Si only comes manual. Honda has proven they can do a great manual car but I haven't driven one of their Auto's that was brilliant. That said, I still haven't driven their 8spd unit. I do have a 9spd MDX. It's good but not great.

 

[takemorepills]

I still hope the new Si only comes manual.

Every time someone says that the Si "should only be a manual" I just want to say: "Honda should have never forced the infotainment system into the CivicX, without a basic substitute being offered". I find that Honda's recent bad choices and cost-cutting to be far worse than possibly equipping an Si with an automatic type of transmission.

If the Si is only manual again this generation, on top of all the other issues CivicX is having, I will certainly not be buying an Si. No way.

I will, however, consider replacing my Titan with a Ridgeline. The Ridgeline is sweet, and a lower level Ridgeline with a 3.5/6AT/AWD from the Pilot would likely be a sweet ride. Unless they put the damned same buggy Android type infotainment into the Ridgeline. Freakin-eh!

 

[17CivicTypeR_Brian]

Every time someone says that the Si "should only be a manual" I just want to say: "Honda should have never forced the infotainment system into the CivicX, without a basic substitute being offered". I find that Honda's recent bad choices and cost-cutting to be far worse than possibly equipping an Si with an automatic type of transmission.

If the Si is only manual again this generation, on top of all the other issues CivicX is having, I will certainly not be buying an Si. No way.

I will, however, consider replacing my Titan with a Ridgeline. The Ridgeline is sweet, and a lower level Ridgeline with a 3.5/6AT/AWD from the Pilot would likely be a sweet ride. Unless they put the damned same buggy Android type infotainment into the Ridgeline. Freakin-eh!

Agreed. I actually find it annoying you can't get a higher trim line without the huge screen thing in the dash. The beauty of a 20 year old honda is you can spend like <$500 and drop in new speakers, a head unit of your choice, and really get a good 'cheap' car. I'm not sure how these silly infotainment things are going to look in 15 years considering the 'entertainment systems' from 3-4 years ago are already obsolete!

I think you missed my point about the auto - I'm just saying why do it half-@$$ed? I haven't seen a sporty Honda transmission that I could live with yet. I tried the TLX in Sport+ and that's getting there, but hard to 'feel out' because of the weight of the car. Maybe that would be good enough for most people, and I have to guess people that are tracking the car won't be bothered with the Auto anyway, so it probably won't need to stand up to the hardcore abuse etc. That said, I'm fully in favor of them making an 'Si' that is auto, just don't call it an 'Si' . It's so hard to know what people will actually live with and accept and I guess that's why Honda was so weird from 2012-2014ish.

Do you know if the Ridgeline will have the same type of lineup as the Pilot - meaning lower levels are 6AT and higher levels are 9AT? I have the 9AT in the MDX. Definitely better than the ?5?AT that was in our '12 Pilot. Close to 20% better fuel economy too but I have a feeling that's more due to the Direct Injection than the extra gears, but what do I know?

 

[takemorepills]

Agreed. I actually find it annoying you can't get a higher trim line without the huge screen thing in the dash. The beauty of a 20 year old honda is you can spend like <$500 and drop in new speakers, a head unit of your choice, and really get a good 'cheap' car. I'm not sure how these silly infotainment things are going to look in 15 years considering the 'entertainment systems' from 3-4 years ago are already obsolete!

I think you missed my point about the auto - I'm just saying why do it half-@$$ed? I haven't seen a sporty Honda transmission that I could live with yet. I tried the TLX in Sport+ and that's getting there, but hard to 'feel out' because of the weight of the car. Maybe that would be good enough for most people, and I have to guess people that are tracking the car won't be bothered with the Auto anyway, so it probably won't need to stand up to the hardcore abuse etc. That said, I'm fully in favor of them making an 'Si' that is auto, just don't call it an 'Si' . It's so hard to know what people will actually live with and accept and I guess that's why Honda was so weird from 2012-2014ish.

Do you know if the Ridgeline will have the same type of lineup as the Pilot - meaning lower levels are 6AT and higher levels are 9AT? I have the 9AT in the MDX. Definitely better than the ?5?AT that was in our '12 Pilot. Close to 20% better fuel economy too but I have a feeling that's more due to the Direct Injection than the extra gears, but what do I know?

Shoot man, I hear ya on the Honda AT thing. I *was* hoping for the 8DCT from the Acura, but maybe we want to wait until 2 or 3 generations of this trans to become better, as the current 8DCT isn't perfect yet. Took VW a while to get their DSG right, and it is amazing now.

I have heard very good feedback on the Honda made 6AT, so I'd be OK with that in a 2.0T Si. Not ideal, but I like Honda enough to overlook using the 6AT as it seems to be a good trans, moves the Pilot and Accord along very well.

As for the Ridgeline, I heard it will mimick the Pilot lineup. Lower trims will get FWD or AWD 6AT, and higher end will get 9AT+AWD. Since the 9AT is not a Honda product, I will pass on that. Also, the 6AT Pilot has been benchmarked against the 9AT Pilot, and there wasn't much of a loss in straight-line performance or MPG with the 6AT. Maybe it was 0.1 sec slower than 9AT? At 6.8 sec to 60, the 6AT still scoots the big Pilot along very well for a V6!
Also heard Honda was claiming best in class performance for the upcoming G2 Ridgeline.

 

[Design]

I just don't see it happening. Not until they kill the ILX lol.

 

[Blindeye_03]

Why not? I used my EP3 for almost 6 years as a commuter

 

[slowride]

Yep, I've had several Si and there is no issue at all with using them as a daily drivers...there hasn't really been a "hardcore" Si where your teeth break over bumps or a clutch so heavy your leg almost falls off if you get stuck in traffic. Maybe a better thread would be "Type R as a commuter car"?

 

[17CivicTypeR_Brian]

Yep, I've had several Si and there is no issue at all with using them as a daily drivers...there hasn't really been a "hardcore" Si where your teeth break over bumps or a clutch so heavy your leg almost falls off if you get stuck in traffic. Maybe a better thread would be "Type R as a commuter car"?

Indeed. I am to find out how the TypeR is as a commuter car! I hope the info dribbles out soon!

 

[Gwjvw]

I wanted the SI but for more money, worse mpg's and a stick I bought the ext coupe! I don't want my whole paycheck to go in my tank haha I drive 171 miles to work and back!

 

[RGUYS]

I put 600 miles a week on my turbo Si , keep the oil changed and run premium and it will give you 32 mpg .
Thats running 75 to 80 mph . 90 percent are highway miles .
Top tier premium gas will net me an extra 2 mpg .
I am impressed so far .

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