junkyard racer

I thought I would write my review for my new 2014 Honda Civic Si. With the minor changes to the car, all of the magazines and reviewers on YouTube are trying to also put out their thoughts, but I wanted to add mine, as an owner. All of those reviews are based on fairly short lived reviews after a few hours with the car. I have had my car for 2 weeks now, driving it every day with a short road trip of about 400 miles in one day. I have put just under 1000 miles on it total.

My 2014 Si was delivered on Aug 23, after a 2 week wait for it. I initially wanted Teffeta White but was told it would be another 3-4 weeks before I would see it, so I went with Dyno Blue Pearl and very happy I did. The color is awesome and seems to have a bit different tints to it in the sunlight.

I would like to make note how I plan to use the car, why I purchased the car and others I considered. I plan to do some auto-x, HPDE and sprinted driving and of course this is also my daily driver, so it has to suit me there as well. How it performs from a performance aspect is somewhat a priority. I am not into 'stance' or shows or anything like that but of course want my car to look good. MPG is a plus but not something I am overly concerned about. I also considered a Focus ST and a VW GTi but dealers wouldn't return my call or take me seriously that I was ready to buy. Quite honestly, the Si was last on my list, but the dealer made me great deal on both the car and on my trade and was fantastic to work with. The dealer is Basney Honda in Mishawaka, Indiana.

Lets start with the chassis and suspension. Just shy of fantastic. I bought a 4 door to accommodate my family and it feels very rigid and solid. The doors shut with a good thunk which I also like. The car pushes a bit into corners, but I think that could be cured with an alignment and fixing the nut behind the wheel. The suspension is good but still a little short of what I would call great. The shocks could use a little more rebound and while the springs carry the car well, I think could be a bit softer and tuned with a little more shock. The tires...well, I would like to find the clown that thought a Continental Pro Contact grand touring tire would be the tire of choice for Honda's current performance model for the NA market. The summer option is decent, but should be standard. The tire choice is the reason the car fails so hard on the magazine track reviews. Other vehicles that are compared are standard with a more suited tire. The sway bars seem adequate, but I have yet to put the car on a track to really push it.

Moving on to the brakes...while I would love to see Brembo's, the standard caliper and brake pad is very good. Again, only testing on sprinted daily driving, the pedal feel is great and responsive, the fade is minimal and dust (if you care) is low. The balance seems good. I anticipate the fluid will boil on my first track event, but we will see. Different tires will only enhance the brakes.

For the re-designed interior, Honda did a pretty good job. I like the layout of the dash, the materials used and the feel of everything. The seat seems to have a weird feel in the lower back, and I wish the driver seat would go about an inch lower to accommodate my 6'3/250# frame. It is good for daily driving, but a lower position would be better for track use. The material in the seat seems to be pretty resistant to stains, so far. My short road trip included stuffing my equally as big Brother and my just as tall Dad in the back seat. They fit but were ready to get out by the time we got to our destination. I started a thread regarding the 'premium audio'. It's not very premium, regarding the stereo quality. I've found that if I set my equalizers on my iPod, it does sound a lot better. The pedals seem good, but I wish the gas pedal was more in line with the brake for easier heal/toe shifting.

The engine and transmission seem to be very well suited for the car. There is so much hate on Honda right now for the power output, and to me, the 205hp fits the car very well. The transmission also is a perfect match. The limited slip does its job and seems to keep the front wheels in check. I like the tone of the factory muffler. When the rev limiter hits, the engine sorta feels like it cringes a bit. It feels like there is easily another 1000rpms to spin and capping it at 7200? rpms, seems to short live the revs some. Like I said, MPG isn't something I am overly concerned with, but if you want to know...I am averaging 27.1, tracked. Yes, I am tracking it with an app to keep track of my miles.

So overall, you might read this and think I am somewhat disappointed with the car. No, not really. I actually really like the car and I am very happy with the way the deal fell into place. There will be quirks with any vehicle you purchase. Do I plan to modify the vehicle, likely small things, yes. Will I do an all out 'build', no. The car doesn't need it for what I want to do with the car. Tires, fluids, brake pads, maybe tuned shocks and that is about where it will stop with the modifications.

I will update this once I hit the auto-x course and an evening of HPDE. I am planning to attend the last HPDE/test-n-tune at our local road course, Gingerman, on the 26th and hopefully will get an auto-x in before the season comes to an end.

B serious

iTrader: (1)

As soon as you get the car out on Gingerman, you'll be happy you un-considered a GTi.

I REALLY disliked the new civic when it first came out. But like anything Honda...it grew on me. The interior does have some pretty nice touches to it. The dash ifself is about as ugly as the 06-11 model lol.

I go back and forth in thought about the K24 being in a Si. I love the low/mid range of the K24. My TSX made my GF's old 8th gen Si feel kinda flat until it was revved up. But...Si's are supposed to be flat till they're revved up.

As far as getting 8200RPM out of a K24: probably not advisable. The Hondata TSX reflash puts the limiter from 7400-7600 RPM, IIRC. It's a big motor. Even with the big cams, you'll have trouble with cylinder filling at higher revs. That's why the K24 feels like it runs out of breath at high RPM. It kinda does. That's also why K24's respond so well to forced induction.

Last time I was at gingerman, someone had a '13 or '14 Si with a supercharger. So...it seems as if well made kits are out there.

Check Hondata's website if you're looking for fairly effective, inexpensive, and indetectable power mods. Tuning seems to wake K series motors up more than other things.

GoldieWang

Congrats on the buy! I got the '14 Si coupe modern steel metallic

OneBadTurboCRV

1,000 miles isn't really enough to wear off the new car affect in my opinion. Wait until about 10k and see if you still like the car. I can't wait to sell mine. I have easily owned over 30 Hondas and almost every generation of the Si platform. Needless to say this one is the least impressive. If it works for you then that is cool, but Honda has finally turned me off to the point I will never buy another from them again.

As far as your size, I wouldn't want the seat any lower but rather the roof higher. I am 6' 6" and 310 lbs and I don't need the seat any lower... I can even wear a helmet and just barely not touch the roof. I have AutoX'd mine and with the factory tires it was just miserable. I personally couldn't stand the way the car handled and enjoyed tracking the EM1 (00 Si) much better.

B serious

iTrader: (1)

There's no way the new Si feels worse than an EM1. We owned an 8th gen and it blew the EM1 out of the water in every way. The EM1 is an awesome, cool car...but it's performance is dismal at best. I tracked my lightly modded EM1. The stock 8th gen would have crushed it.

That has to just be nostalgia talking. Or...your EM1 wasn't stock and you're reviewing the handling of the 2013's tires instead of the chassis.

I can't think of any car that is slower than an EM1...except another EM1. And this is coming from someone that LOVES EM1's.

junkyard racer

10k miles? If I was going to be annoyed with a car, I would have been annoyed with it by now. If things start falling apart, seats become un-stitched, etc, then I will be upset. And yes, the tires are absolutely atrocious for this car. I eat, sleep, breathe tires.

I want the seat lower. 250# in a car can be felt when the weight is low. -same goes for the roof line. I would have been more happy without the sun roof.

I too have had a plethora of Honda's, a few DC2R's and a EG that was more of a race car than a DD. Its been a few years since I have been in a R, or a Honda, but I would compare this car to my DC2R in terms of how it handles and drives.

Quite honestly, I've also been rather disappointed with the direction the company has gone in terms of away from the performance orientated cars. Again, the Si was at the bottom of my 'list of cars' I was considering. If it wasn't for the crappy Ford/VW dealer, and the better Honda dealer, I wouldn't be writing this. The car isn't that bad, in fact, I call it good. I'm happy how it all worked out.

I still wish there was more performance options available and I anticipate as they move forward with F1 and the HPD part of the company, these things will eventually come around. There is a market for it.

Honda, if you are reading this, and I know you scour the forums for direct info from your buyers, we want performance

OneBadTurboCRV

B serious - Have you actually driven a 9th gen? There was a guy with a 8th gen Si that was able to destroy my 9th gen. He drove them both. Both had factory tires and were 100% stock. I thought I just wasn't used to the car... My EM1 premise might be slightly biased, but then again isn't that what opinions are about? I said I enjoyed the EM1 more and not that the EM1 was better than the 9th gen. I am not sure where you got that from?

In any event, thanks for sharing your opinions junkyard racer. All I seem to do is slander the car, but I am just THAT unhappy with it. I let my old Honda feelings get the best of me during the test drive haha, and the love wore off rather quickly with the problems the car developed. I will say that it rides better than my friend's '14 Accord Sport haha. Honda has fallen off either way in my book, oh well, to each his own.

B serious

iTrader: (1)

I don't believe I've driven a 9th gen. Now someone says it's like driving a DC2R? I'm not sure I can imagine that. I guess I really have to drive a 9th gen.

junkyard racer

Again, I have been out of 'the Honda game' for several years. I haven't had a real Honda since 2008-ish time frame. But yes, I have owned and driven a few DC2R's, plenty of time around a DC5R when I lived in Japan, had a Spoon prepped stroked B motor/well built EG6...not exactly new to Honda performance, just a little rusty.

This car is pretty dam good. Put tires on it, some good brakes/fluid and I think its going to be a riot on the road course. I'm driving it stock in a few weeks at Gingerman.

Oh, and bserious...regarding your comment about 8200rpms, I know it will never see that. I meant it felt like it just wants to continue to pull. Hondata takes it to 7600 and I think that will be a safe rpm. Honda had to leave something for the tuners and the like.

Also, I had someone PM me asking how civilized this car is for daily driving. If you drive it civilized, it behaves in a civilized manor. It does that really well but again, the suspension rides a bit rough. Good for performance, bad for getting groceries. I didn't buy it for it's ride quality and I don't think Honda intended the Si to be a grocery getter. There are other Honda Civic models for that.

BigChina

I bought a 14 si sedan when it came out. Took it to gingerman couple weeks later and had fun. Tires suck but still had fun lol

Nkugs90

Hey junkyard racer. Just curious... since you are located in northern Indiana and know a lot with tires, do you by any chance work for TireRack? I bought a set of BF Goodrich G-Force Comps for my 2013 EX-L and have loved them so far. much improved feel over the Conti's!

junkyard racer

I do. -though this is my car, nothing to do with TR.

I was just at Miller Motorsports Park a few weeks ago with the Ford Race School and drove on the BFG Sport Comp 2 in a Ford Mustang GT. It truly caught me off guard for how well it performed. We beat that tire up on both courses and it took the beating very well. Not the fastest tire by any means, but a very good tire none the less.

Bwill9886

It's kind of unfair to compare the two, but I would rather track an EM1 vs the FB6 in stock form. The EM1 has much less weight, and has the advantage of not being ruined by electronic throttle and steering. The FB6, unfortunately, cannot be built in the same way. In stock form, the FB6 has no steering feel, sits way too high, the junk RMM and rev-hang try to ruin the great shifting, and feels a bit portly.

With all that being said... I have grown to really like it. I went into it wanting to hate it (I remembered all too well my 2012 Si test drive and gave my buddy so much **** for even wanting to try it) but after putting it through some paces I could tell it would be a ton of fun with just a few mods. The fit-and-finish lessons they learned sealed the deal for me.

I will say their addition of push-to-start and the new deck in the 14 pissed me off a bit.

I would not agree with that. It is funny though that I believe at least two video reviews I saw pit it against the DC2R.

Fortunately, it is cheap to fix a lot of it's problems. Getting a Hasport RMM, RSB, and at least some springs improves driving dramatically. Flashpro and new tires make it even better.

You can start upping the revs if you swap to an RBC or RRC manifold, but you'll lose the lovely mid-range torque so it's really not worth it. The motor really wasn't created to rev like the K20 and they definitely cheaped out on some areas compared to the K24 you'd find in a TSX.

junkyard racer

If someone close to me has a DC2R, I would be more than happy to do our own side by side comparison testing.

I've driven several drive by wire vehicles and will say this is the best drive by wire vehicle I've experienced. The rev hang can be annoying.

SCCA STS is something I will probably stay away from with this car so a reflash is pretty much out of the question. A thought of a One Lap of America run is in the back of my mind, at which point I would run a Hondata system. We will see how time and money plays out.

Until its time for winter tires and wheels, the car is staying 100% stock. Next spring, good summer tires, brakes, fluid will be item #1. I would like to just drive this car rather than throw a bunch of money at it to see what it can be.

DaveSi677

I will suggest braided lines and proper brake fluid also...

Also Flashpro will wake that car up a lot... even on the street!

junkyard racer

Fluid goes without saying. -and likely lines too.

DaveSi677

Trust me you don't want to reach boiling point at the end of the back straight!

B serious

iTrader: (1)

Are we comparing to a stock EM1, though? EM1's don't have steering feel either. And they sit too high. And they're portly (for their time). I think maybe you guys are reminiscing on the feel of a track prepped EM1 (or atleast one with tires/suspension) vs. a totally showroom stock 9G.

Again...I havent driven a 9th gen yet...but is this the same steering feel issue people were having with other EPS cars? People said the 06-11 and other EPS cars (S2000) had no steering feel. The problem was that they were wrong.

EPS also isn't an electronically linked power steering. The steering is physically linked. It just has electric assist instead of hydraulic. It turns off after 30mph...and you're not fighting sloshing fluid.

97emsedan

Good to know about the speed shut off limit for the EPS. I didn't know that!!!

DaveSi677

ya I have to admit fighting the sloshing fluid is a big plus!

B serious

iTrader: (1)

Pretty much every power steering or 4 wheel steering system shuts off after about 30mph...or atleast tapers off at that speed. You have conventional steering in virtually any car while travelling at normal speed.

You wouldn't want or need power steering at travelling speeds. It would feel awful. So manufacturers shut it off via a pressure switch.

Mag00n

It may have the 'spirit' of driving an R, with the high revving vtec motor and crisp trans, but thats about it

vladd

Got a link on that? First time I've heard this. I know the 06-11 (and I'm sure 12+) Si has a variable ratio rack, which means you have to turn the steering wheel more at higher speeds to turn the front wheels the same amount.

I've never owned a 99-00 Si, but my DD right now is an 00 GSR and the 06-11 Si steering feels much better than the GSR.

OneBadTurboCRV

I am dumbfounded how people keep comparing the EM1 to 8th gens when this thread is clearly about the 9th gen. The 9th gen and the 8th gen do not have the same driving experience... I would glady sell my 9th gen to you and go purchase a EM1 or should I be talking about a 8th gen?

B serious

iTrader: (1)

7400RPM.....