Refreshed 2020 Civic Si

Jay_Tech

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Not a fan of the new fog light covers. LED lights were standard in Canada anyways. Don’t like the red on the seats. Not a fan of Honda Sensing. To me these passive safety features make people worse drivers. I don’t know how many times I’ve seen people not actually physically look behind them or in their mirrors and just used the blind spot system. Only nice new thing they added to me is Adaptive Cruise control. This is just my opinion though and I am sure many will actually really like the changes. I for one am glad I got the 2019. It has the physical buttons for the radio over the touch sensors which was the only thing stopping me from buying the car until now.(Yes a small detail like that actually swayed my decision to buy the car). The rims look decent but I’m buying Avid AV28 wheels soon so it makes no difference to me
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rezlab

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The fuel economy can afford to slip a bit. It is truly absurd how good the Si is on gas. My daily commute is just under 100 miles roundtrip on the NJ Parkway for about 90%.

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Don’t know how you do that. I average 34 mpg.
 

Micah

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Don’t know how you do that. I average 34 mpg.
How I do it, is the result of knowledge from trial and error. Driving fast everywhere just makes you look like an asshole and risks getting fucked with by punks or johnny law. Occasionally spirited driving, generally stays unnoticed when done selectively with moderation.

Here are my pointers for a 2017 Si sedan with the TSP Stg1 map and a PRL Stg1 intake with drop in dry filter:

No boost and light throttle, shift at 2k. That gets the mpg above 35 and up to 40 around town, even in stop and go traffic. Try to make that your normal mode of driving. Tires, clutch, brakes, oil, etc.... everything will last a long time

When I need to move, in gears 1-3, heavy throttle for as long as needed, often shifting from 2nd to 6th as I generally avoid exceeding the speed limit by much. Heavy acceleration in gears 4 and above(all overdriven btw, though 4th is just barely)is not smart since 2nd and 3rd will result in faster acceleration and generally get fast enough to earn a speeding ticket.

Don't street race. In this modern age where cameras are everywhere, it is a bad idea. Take it to the track or an empty parking lot for SCCA.

Stoplight grudge starts....sometimes they happen. Better safe than sorry. Have a good radar detector, and know your surroundings. A PBA card or family member in law enforcement helps, but not getting pulled over in the first place is best. My brother has threatened to pull my family card back when I was in my 30's. I learned to slow down after hitting a couple deer and having kids. Priorities change.

On the highway, I have found 55-60 gives an average of 43-45mpg, and 68-75 gives an average of 45-48mpg. Something fucky going on between 60-68, the mpg seems to drop to like 38-43mpg. I know it sounds strange, but I watch it very closely.

Something to keep in mind. From an efficiency in and acceleration ratio the best fuel economy is when you have the pedal floored or when you aren't touching it at all. Hypermilers call it "pulse and glide". They get pretty crazy to the point of killing the ignition. I am not quite that crazy.

But I really like getting over 450mpg per tank of fuel. Once in a while I get over 500.
 

SI_honda_2k17

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This is a mechanical change
I am not an engineer but my understanding is that with a shorter ratio, the RPM will be higher in each gear (for instance: in second gear, instead if going 57 mph maximum, it may be 55 mph or something like that) hence allowing the engine to operate more quickly in the powerband. I assume this will benefit more in 3rd, 4th gear where we normally see the power dropping? I don’t anticipate much improvement.

If there’s engineers in the forum, i would love to know if my explanation is right.
 

COOL COUPE

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If the RPM is higher in each gear ... the rev hang will be even more pronounced. It makes sense to get out of FIRST gear as soon as possible. Even second. In a 1.5 L engine ... Third gear is the ONLY gear for which you can effect "better acceleration feel". I too would like to see/hear/read more about this.
 


SI_honda_2k17

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I may be wrong as i said
Back in the old days, i owned a Sentra SER Spec V 2003 and I recall that the change in the model year 2002 vs 2003 was the gear ratio that were increased. I think the intend was to help with the traction since is was difficult to get traction in 1st and 2nd. The chassis was really soft too. The change also improved the 0-60 since we were able to attain 60mph in second.
I don’t recall if the change impacted all the gear or just the first and second thought
 

Gino27

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I may be wrong as i said
Back in the old days, i owned a Sentra SER Spec V 2003 and I recall that the change in the model year 2002 vs 2003 was the gear ratio that were increased. I think the intend was to help with the traction since is was difficult to get traction in 1st and 2nd. The chassis was really soft too. The change also improved the 0-60 since we were able to attain 60mph in second.
I don’t recall if the change impacted all the gear or just the first and second thought
So wouldn't the change on the 2020 have the opposite effect of what you just described because the final drive is being shortened?
 

bikejog

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So wouldn't the change on the 2020 have the opposite effect of what you just described because the final drive is being shortened?
Yes you're correct. I'm not a mech engineer either but the change is to the final gear ratio from 4.105 for 2019 to 4.35 so ~6% increase in torque for every gear. Since speed is inversely proportional to torque, there will be ~6% decrease in top speed for each gear.

wheel_rpm = engine_rpm / transmission_ratio / final_drive_ratio
wheel_torque = engine_torque * transmission_ratio * final_drive_ratio

However, the actual amount of torque gain from 2019 will depend on the efficiency of the new final drive compared to the old. I think that's about right.
 

Gino27

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Yes you're correct. I'm not a mech engineer either but the change is to the final gear ratio from 4.105 for 2019 to 4.35 so ~6% increase in torque for every gear. Since speed is inversely proportional to torque, there will be ~6% decrease in top speed for each gear.

wheel_rpm = engine_rpm / transmission_ratio / final_drive_ratio
wheel_torque = engine_torque * transmission_ratio * final_drive_ratio

However, the actual amount of torque gain from 2019 will depend on the efficiency of the new final drive compared to the old. I think that's about right.
Definitely sounds correct to me. Of course real world and electronic limitations aside that would mean around (with shorter final drive gear)...

1st - 33 mph
2nd - 54 mph
3rd - 82 mph
4th - 110 mph
5th - 135 mph
6th - 164 mph (electronically limited to 137 mph)

I'm not entirely sure on how to recalculate these acceleration numbers based on theory. Does anyone know?

2017-2019 Acceleration times:
0-20 mph (s): 1.8
0-30 mph (s): 2.6
0-40 mph (s): 3.9
0-50 mph (s): 5.1
0-60 mph (s): 6.9
0-70 mph (s): 8.8
0-80 mph (s): 10.9
0-90 mph (s): 13.9
0-100 mph (s): 17.3
0-110 mph (s): 21.7
0-120 mph (s): 28.2
0-130 mph (s): 36.9
 

sjd

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As mentioned Canadian cars get the LED headlights so I'm happy I got a 2019. Especially if Tonic Yellow Pearl is gone. I don't mind the new wheels and interior but don't care for the design changes and really have no interest in Honda Sensing or artificial engine noise makers.
 


Swank

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I'm glad none of the changes are drastic, at least not to me, they are all great enhancements for people thinking of buying but nothing that would make me want to trade mine in for a 2020. I could add most of those changes for less than the hit I'd take on depreciation. Honda Sensing is the only thing that I don't think can be easily added, it should have come with the Si all along IMO (I was shocked when I found out it didn't after buying mine). I much prefer the seats without that dull red added, it looks like it's been faded in the sun for 10 years, maybe pics don't do it justice.
 

mvela

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Yes the final gear being lowered can change the performance drastically. Lowering the final gear is the easiest way to get faster acceleration. People have been doing this trick for a long time. It just depends how low they go. I remember my truck when I test drove one with a 3.08 highway gear and it was slow in acceleration. But I got the 3.73 instead and it was the same engine and transmission, but it was night and day difference. Just like my buddy that installed a 3.73 gear in his 95 Camaro Z-28. It was a monster after that. So this small change they did to the Si could make a very big difference, depending on how low they go. I’m sure it’s not much since they are stating the mpg decreased by 2 on average. But it will definitely be noticeable in performance
 

slab42

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Doesn't the Accord also play engine noise through the speakers? I drove one last year and thought I could hearing the engine note playing.

I know its on the TLX.
Active Noise Canceling is the opposite of the fake engine noise. ANC listens for cabin noise, and outputs inverted sound through the speakers to cancel the noise.
 

maggs_10thgen

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Yes the final gear being lowered can change the performance drastically. Lowering the final gear is the easiest way to get faster acceleration. People have been doing this trick for a long time. It just depends how low they go. I remember my truck when I test drove one with a 3.08 highway gear and it was slow in acceleration. But I got the 3.73 instead and it was the same engine and transmission, but it was night and day difference. Just like my buddy that installed a 3.73 gear in his 95 Camaro Z-28. It was a monster after that. So this small change they did to the Si could make a very big difference, depending on how low they go. I’m sure it’s not much since they are stating the mpg decreased by 2 on average. But it will definitely be noticeable in performance
Better gearing helps. I don't think it will make all that much different in this case. Maybe 1-2 tenths on a good run.
 

jakdotdot

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Better gearing helps. I don't think it will make all that much different in this case. Maybe 1-2 tenths on a good run.
Yeah. I was thinking 1-2 tenths in the 0-60, 2-3 tenths in the quarter, and (maybe) another 1-2 MPH in trap speed.

*This is assuming that they didn't make any un-documented changes to the car.
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