72 hours in a 2017 Civic Si Coupe

squelchy451

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Had a coupon to use with Turo, so got myself a silver Civic Si coupe for the weekend. I was always curious how these things would be, as the GTI was a known variable, BRZ, while sublime, trades a lot of comfort for that last bit of responsiveness and lacks in torque that makes for a breezy daily driver.

Most of the complaints levied against the new Si seemed to be that it wasn't exciting enough, and with how lengthy my commute has become, I personally didn't feel like that would be such a big negative for me personally.

So after 72 hours, how did I feel? It's not perfect, think there's potential with a few mods.

Likes:
1. The engine is competent. If you're looking for VTEC, tons of power, exemplary NVH isolation, or an exciting soundtrack you'll be disappointed, but for an A-to-B machine with a bit of pep, it's not bad
2. Steering was really nice. I think it's 80% there compared to a BRZ and a little better than a GTI.
3. Phenomenal MPG.

Dislikes:
1. Rev hang. I had to really take my time upshifting because of how slowly the revs fell. I don't think I'll go and get an aftermarket clutch if I do get a Si, but a mild tune with rev hang disable would definitely be in the works.
2. Sport mode suspension. I think even the comfort mode was a little too harsh for my liking. I would look into a suspension mode defeat, so that the Sport button only changes the throttle and steering settings. The Comfort mode isn't jarring but I wouldn't want it to be much stiffer than it already is, and I really like the steering settings in the Sport mode.
3. A bit of ergonomics. Seats, when set low, mean my forearm gets in the way of shifting. I think there are 30 or so (!) pumps from bottom to top, and I can't go below 10. Even at that height, i don't feel like I'm sitting in a minivan or a CUV, so not a major complaint. If I were taller, it probably wouldn't be an issue. The seat back doesn't adjust in small enough increments to really get comfortable. I'm either bolt upright or sitting in a La-z-boy.
4. Sound deadening leaves a little to be desired. My top complaints with my previous 2016 Mazda 3 was that it felt unstable on highway and lacked sound deadening.

The Si is much nicer to drive on the highway and the sound deadening can be taken care of easily. It includes sliding sun visors and a trunk release button which the Mazda did not have.

It's a very well made car and it does a lot of things well. For a manual die hard it's difficult to find a car I really like but this hasn't let me down massively as had certain cars.
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Drake

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Out of curiosity, do you remember how many miles this Si had on it?
 

amirza786

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Had a coupon to use with Turo, so got myself a silver Civic Si coupe for the weekend. I was always curious how these things would be, as the GTI was a known variable, BRZ, while sublime, trades a lot of comfort for that last bit of responsiveness and lacks in torque that makes for a breezy daily driver.

Most of the complaints levied against the new Si seemed to be that it wasn't exciting enough, and with how lengthy my commute has become, I personally didn't feel like that would be such a big negative for me personally.

So after 72 hours, how did I feel? It's not perfect, think there's potential with a few mods.

Likes:
1. The engine is competent. If you're looking for VTEC, tons of power, exemplary NVH isolation, or an exciting soundtrack you'll be disappointed, but for an A-to-B machine with a bit of pep, it's not bad
2. Steering was really nice. I think it's 80% there compared to a BRZ and a little better than a GTI.
3. Phenomenal MPG.

Dislikes:
1. Rev hang. I had to really take my time upshifting because of how slowly the revs fell. I don't think I'll go and get an aftermarket clutch if I do get a Si, but a mild tune with rev hang disable would definitely be in the works.
2. Sport mode suspension. I think even the comfort mode was a little too harsh for my liking. I would look into a suspension mode defeat, so that the Sport button only changes the throttle and steering settings. The Comfort mode isn't jarring but I wouldn't want it to be much stiffer than it already is, and I really like the steering settings in the Sport mode.
3. A bit of ergonomics. Seats, when set low, mean my forearm gets in the way of shifting. I think there are 30 or so (!) pumps from bottom to top, and I can't go below 10. Even at that height, i don't feel like I'm sitting in a minivan or a CUV, so not a major complaint. If I were taller, it probably wouldn't be an issue. The seat back doesn't adjust in small enough increments to really get comfortable. I'm either bolt upright or sitting in a La-z-boy.
4. Sound deadening leaves a little to be desired. My top complaints with my previous 2016 Mazda 3 was that it felt unstable on highway and lacked sound deadening.

The Si is much nicer to drive on the highway and the sound deadening can be taken care of easily. It includes sliding sun visors and a trunk release button which the Mazda did not have.

It's a very well made car and it does a lot of things well. For a manual die hard it's difficult to find a car I really like but this hasn't let me down massively as had certain cars.
I no longer own my Si, but just to let you know rev hang is an annoyance, but does not interfere with shifting. Not one bit. You don't need to let the revs drop, it is more psychological where you feel that if you shift it will grind or mess up. That is where some people mess up when it comes to shifting. I actually disabled rev hang when I installed TSP's stage 1 tune, and I hated it. The revs would drop so fast the car would jerk between shifts, especially is stop and go traffic. After two weeks, I went back and reflashed re-enabling rev hang, and loved it. Once I got used to it I realized I could shift at any rpm without letting the revs drop with ZERO issues. Thought I would just add my 2 cents.

Anyway, great write up!
 

Jeffers

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Thanks for that.
I don't own a rev hang car yet to know for sure.
But I was wondering how 'rev hang' could negatively effect shifting.
And didn't see how it could be that big of a problem. Didn't bother me on the test drive.
 


amirza786

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Thanks for that.
I don't own a rev hang car yet to know for sure.
But I was wondering how 'rev hang' could negatively effect shifting.
And didn't see how it could be that big of a problem. Didn't bother me on the test drive.
To answer your question, no, rev hang does not affect shifting. It can be annoying but there is a reason for rev hang, they didn't put it there to annoy anyone. It is in place for emissions reasons. When you let your foot off the accelerator, a vacuum is created in the engine sucking in un-burnt oil and fuel into the exhaust. Rev hang prevents this from happening as when you let off the accelerator the vacuum is not created as the revs are not dropping rapidly. I hope this makes sense
 

Jeffers

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Makes total sense to me.
High vacuum when you chop the throttle might even pull oil though the intake valve guide seals and increase intake valve carbon on a direct injection engine.
Just a theory. But enough for me not to disable OEM rev hang.
 

ebatr24

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A tune makes the car feel how it should have been from factory, it is loads of fun and plenty powerful. The TSP Stg 1 is super reliable and brings a stock car up to about 235whp and 280wtq. Wider and lighter weight wheels really help the steering feel much more responsive and make the ride much smoother as well, the stock all seasons are hard and noisey. An intercooler for the summer to keep power up and lastly an exhaust so that you can hear the engine more and know which gear your in.
 

amirza786

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Makes total sense to me.
High vacuum when you chop the throttle might even pull oil though the intake valve guide seals and increase intake valve carbon on a direct injection engine.
Just a theory. But enough for me not to disable OEM rev hang.
I think that is more than a theory and a very real possibility. VW DI engines (which BTW have much less rev hang) are prone to not only carbon buildup, but failing valve stem seals!
 
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squelchy451

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I no longer own my Si, but just to let you know rev hang is an annoyance, but does not interfere with shifting. Not one bit. You don't need to let the revs drop, it is more psychological where you feel that if you shift it will grind or mess up. That is where some people mess up when it comes to shifting. I actually disabled rev hang when I installed TSP's stage 1 tune, and I hated it. The revs would drop so fast the car would jerk between shifts, especially is stop and go traffic. After two weeks, I went back and reflashed re-enabling rev hang, and loved it. Once I got used to it I realized I could shift at any rpm without letting the revs drop with ZERO issues. Thought I would just add my 2 cents.

Anyway, great write up!
Rev hang doesn't interfere with shifting if you mean just the shifter action, but I do have to wait to let the clutch out so that the RPM is closer to where the new gear ratio would put it at that ground speed.

When I got my single mass flywheel on my GTI, I also had poly engine mounts put on. It's more the mounts than the lack of rev hang that made it jerky for me. I also had a poly transmission mount on my Mazda 3 (stock clutch and flywheel) and it feels just at jerky at 1st and 2nd gear in traffic with the GTI with the aftermarket clutch and mounts. It's only jerky if I don't shift it fast enough.
 


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I know which Si you're referring to! I'll be in LA later this month, and looking at at Type R to rent on Turo so I can do the same sort of review with about 36 hours in a Type R. Any promo or referral codes? :)
 

amirza786

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I know which Si you're referring to! I'll be in LA later this month, and looking at at Type R to rent on Turo so I can do the same sort of review with about 36 hours in a Type R. Any promo or referral codes? :)
I'm also going to be in SoCal over the Thanksgiving week, if I have time I will meeting up with a CivcX member who invited me to check out his CTR. I hope you like traffic, LA has traffic that can only be described as epic
 

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amirza786

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Rev hang is annoying if you’re used to driving one without it (like the op). You’ll eventually learn to workaround the rev hang if it’s a daily. I used to rotate driving two manual cars, one with rev hang (Honda Fit) and one without (Mazda) every other week. On the week with the Fit, I felt like having to learn to drive stick all over again because you’ve to delay shifting into gear for a second after pressing on the clutch. It’s annoying.
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