In reply to ScottyB :
The book of faces group has alot of useful info. But I still do love GRM
In reply to ScottyB :
The book of faces group has alot of useful info. But I still do love GRM
spacecadet said:In reply to ScottyB :
The book of faces group has alot of useful info. But I still do love GRM
absolutely. i couldn't believe how much the forums for this car had decayed so that's my usual go-to for motorsports related questions and inspiration. i kinda hate that i have to do it though (i much prefer forums) but its better than nothing.
I'm coming here to these threads to get useful information on the platform. The Honda forums are horrible.
not much new to report, really. just gas and go lately. we did another ~700mi roadtrip in it recently and that triggered a wave of scheduled and unscheduled maintenance that all ended well. currently sitting at ~102k.
so we headed up to VA for a quick few days to see family for the 4th + a birthday and decided to take the Si since we were packing relatively light. for us that means 3 people and a dog and a full trunk including a folded up dog crate, fishing gear, and a cooler full of beer. managed about 31mpg with the AC cranked and alternating between a 78mph cruise and some bumper to bumper stop and go.
the unscheduled maintenance - AC was blowing warm about 2 weeks prior to leaving. figured i had a slow leak and went in for a recharge the day before leaving. left the shop and it was still blowing a limp 75 degree breeze. E36 M3. i started wondering if the rallyx dust and vibration broke something in the system. stayed up half the night researching what it could be - fearing the worst which was a potential compressor replacement ($$$) and decided to try resetting the HVAC control panel as a hail mary move. press/hold the AC and Recirc button, ignition on, then the panel runs all the settings through and clears any stored codes. IT WORKED. couldn't believe it. my guess is that the blend door was stuck in between the evaporator and heater core and was just bleeding heat into the airstream. i don't know a thing about AC systems but at least if this ever happens again i have a few leads to go on after my crash course.
anyway, aside from awful traffic in Charlotte in triple digit heat it was a nice ride. took it up on the parkway to Peaks Of Otter early Friday in freak 75 degree weather and it was magic. low clouds were pouring over the ridges and i was so glad to enjoy the car on some proper roads even if i had to keep things very tame with everyone in the car. you VA/NC guys are so lucky to have this in your back yard.
pulled off I-85 in Charlotte for quick lunch.
after getting home it was time for an oil change, almost exactly a year from the last one i did. this time i ran the oil change up to 8200 miles and collected a bit for a Blackstone analysis. this will likely be my last one - i'm content with an annual change and just looking to see if i need to pull it back a bit. Mobil 0W-40 went back in, because it just works and is filthy cheap at wally world.
at the same time, the K20 calls for valve lash adjustment at 100k miles. i grabbed a Mahle gasket kit which was a nice value compared to an OEM set and all the rubber parts look very high quality - much as i remember their stuff being from when i used their products in my Audi days. grabbed a set of bent feeler gauges too so i could get to things easier. set the car up for the night to come down to stone cold and up on stands for an oil drain.
there's no getting around that the engine bay is tight. you can see where Honda went to legit lengths to try to make servicing the car a priority - things are loomed together, minimal attachment points, clearance where they could make it. its appreciated, but its still a process. ultimately i got the cover cracked off without much drama and was greeted with a very clean valvetrain. the inside of the valve cover was totally free of sludge. very pleased overall.
certainly some cam lobe wear, but absolutely nothing out of the ordinary to my eyes. chain looked fine, guides have some wear but plenty of life. i honestly could have just reused the valve cover gaskets, all of them were completely gummy without a trace of cracking.
no shots of the valve adjustment but it was pretty textbook - intake side was a bit loose, exhaust was a bit tight, and all cylinders were slightly inconsistent. adjusted to .09" clearance on intake and a loose .10" on exhaust, in an attempt to hit right in the middle of the spec. Honda conveniently makes a port in the passenger wheel well where you can turn the crank pulley with a 19mm socket to turn the engine over by hand, which I did to adjust cyl 1, 3, 4, and 2 in that order. this is my first time doing valve lash and its not hard, just tedious. i found the most difficult thing just being consistent - i had to go back 2 or 3 times to get everything to feel exactly the same across cylinders.
no, i didn't take the chance to paint the valve cover something ridiculous. personal rule is Honda valve covers should only change color for special OEM models or legit internal work. maybe some day if i get those cams i want...
anyway, cover back on with a dab of Hondabond in a handful of spots. sat another night to let the Hondabond cure. drove around today and nothing was leaking or on fire, so i'll call it a success. seems a bit less tappy when cold, but otherwise ready for another 100k.
next up: coolant change and then headed for the NC mountains for a weekend with some buds and a chance to really stretch the Si's legs a bit.
In reply to ScottyB :
this was the reminder I needed on why I should keep Hazmat.
glad you're enjoying your car man.
spacecadet said:In reply to ScottyB :
this was the reminder I needed on why I should keep Hazmat.
glad you're enjoying your car man.
thanks! and yeah don't go, the water's great, ha. after 2 years i still love this thing.
there's certainly some quirks about the car that don't make it perfect for everything out of the box, but the powertrain's a solid gem IMO and you can fix the rest with a set of big brakes and some suspension bits.
Looking good. Do you have to remove the plastic cowl to gain access to the exhaust side of the motor?
BLRB said:Looking good. Do you have to remove the plastic cowl to gain access to the exhaust side of the motor?
oooooh yeah. that thing has to come off to do anything that's not right at the front of the engine, or any work on the struts.
good news is, Honda tried their best to make it pretty simple since its essential to remove for so many things. the cowl plastic pulls right off with tabs and the drip tray underneath is 4 12mm bolts and 3 10mm's, if i remember right. takes about 3 minutes start to finish.
yearly nerd out on an oil analysis. honestly...nothing to report. extended the oil change by 1500 miles this time and it basically didn't care. i'm very satisfied with the minimal wear on 40 weight oil, so i'll call it quits here with analysis and just remember to change it annually with whatever 5qt jug of 0W-40 is on sale. given the dust from the rallycross i was expecting much more silicon from a potentially overwhelmed air filter but it did its job perfectly. the onboard computer wants me changing it at about 6,000 miles but i'll just ignore that given how conservative it is.
at an 11.9 cst its right on the edge of a thick 30 weight which is ideal. i put mobil1 0W-40 back in and will happily forget about it until next 4th of July.
austrian parts on a japanese car never felt so right. these are Porsche 997 GT3 air deflectors from ECS Tuning. 10 bucks!
took some trimming but they fit the arm
zipped off part of the dust shield for teh airflowz
redneck chrome over the arm to just to seal the gap and keep the air directed at the rotor vs spilling through the cracks. it adds some additional stability but the zip ties are tight enough that sucker isn't going anywhere
on level ground it sits perfectly.
got to try them out the next 2 days on the backroads of Western NC. i really hammered the brakes hard to see how they'd fare. even here in flat east GA, if i really try i've been able to feel fading these StopTech pads on the street. but not a bit of complaint from the brakes all weekend despite being hard on the binders coming down from speed on steep grades repeatedly. i truly think they make a difference. best 10 bucks i've spent in a good long time. for dedicated track work, i'd want full hose-style ducting and proper race pads but for hard mountain driving and occassional HPDE i think these are the jam.
In reply to ScottyB :
That does not seem like enough airflow to get to the back of the rotor and get to the venting vanes where they pull from the center.
But the air deflectors look good. I was about to go order mine!
They work, my 996 Turbo has a set stock, that I actually replaced with ones from a 997 GT2RS because they're larger. I have a set of the GT3 ones sitting in my basement, I should try and get them to fit on my Golf R...
spacecadet said:In reply to ScottyB :
That does not seem like enough airflow to get to the back of the rotor and get to the venting vanes where they pull from the center.
But the air deflectors look good. I was about to go order mine!
its definitely not getting to the central vanes, but it should be at least contacting the rotor face. plan is to eventually remove the dust shield entirely but i ran out of time before my trip so i just zipped a chunk of the shield off for now.
someone in the 8th gen roadrace/autox group on Facespace tried this setup on track and reported it took caliper temps down quite a bit, HOWEVER he did run a ducting pipe directly to the air deflector so i'm sure that had a huge benefit. that said from what i've understood, the general design does work at pulling air from the flow under the car although how much, i don't know. eventually i plan to run ducting to the deflector/hub as well.
worth a shot anyway for how tightly dammed up the front aero is on these things.
In reply to ScottyB :
Yeah i'm working off the same post.
I see that i was mistaken in what I thought he did. Sounds like he did a bit more than you. But not much so I've just gone a lot further.
had an amazing weekend of driving enjoyment a few weeks back while attending a buddie's bachelor party up in the NC mountains.
total ride was about 500 miles, at least 250 of it was some solid backroad thrashing. the Si spent a lot of time north of 6k RPMs. west NC is a treasure, aside from being gorgeous its easy to find some really fantastic, vacant roads that just continue rewarding with turns, views, and beautiful wilderness.
i actually ended up changing the route on the fly. my intention was to ride 28 all the way north to Bryson City but the traffic was so discouraging i bailed and headed east on 64 out of Highlands to the much more remote 281 and struck north. turned out to be a great option with almost no cars but i found that 281 is pretty beat up...lots of broken pavement and gravel washed out into the road. going back home Sunday i decided not to waste time trying 28 again going south and instead took the parkway and then 215 south to 178. those 3 roads proved to be the best part of the ride. that section of the parkway is incredible to behold at 5000+ elevation in the clouds and 215 is a billiard-smooth roller coaster that lives up to its reputation. 178 ended up surprising me completely by being the gnarliest road of all despite its short length with insane elevation change, road surface changes, huge road camber and really tight switchbacks. traffic was lax on all but the very end of 178 heading into Pickens SC.
for anyone looking to check these drives out, definitely try out 178/215 and don't touch 28 unless its a weekday or very off-hour. i would not attempt to enjoy any of them in the rain or any holiday weekend unless you want to sit behind terrified drivers, campers, and fat boys riding Fat Boys like they still have their training wheels on.
biggest disappointment overall, aside from the traffic around Highlands (tourist town, i should have known better) was that NC has almost no provisions for passing on any of these roads, and it should come as no surprise that absolutely nobody uses their rear view and/or has the courtesy to pull over to let you by no matter how obvious you make it that you're being held up. of the 20 or 30 times i was stuck behind people poking along at 10 under, only one single guy pulled off to let me by. apparently everyone's either not worried about arriving at their destination within the day or they're terrified of hills. its possible you can be stuck behind the same guy for over an hour if you're particularly unfortunate. i just pulled off and waited most of the time.
Fun Highlights:
• got challenged to a Touge Battle by a Honda Ridgeline in a remote section of 28 on the GA/NC border. i'm not kidding, and this guy was 100% committed to an eyebrow raising pace. i did absolutely nothing to provoke him...just came around a corner, he was pulled off to the side and then jumped in front, waited for me to pull up on his tail and took off. but apparently he was determined to give me a show. i've never seen anyone hustle a pickup truck like that nor can i understand why, but it happened. didn't have much trouble staying behind him and he eventually pulled off. had to give him a wave for just being a freaking lunatic.
• surprise overlanding session between Indian Creek Campground and the parkway. looked paved on the map, found out otherwise as i was driving next to the creek and just said the hell with it and took it as far as i could to see if it was possible. turns out you can climb a goatpath in a lowered civic, and i had to do some interesting maneuvers to keep from getting pulled into some ruts. some of the dropoffs were legit....like, you fall off, your body might be found in 5 years kind of remoteness...so i hugged the upslope of the hill. quite a few 1st gear, full steering lock switchbacks. never scraped bottom once. was so sad i didn't come across any jeepers so i could tell them its a Honda thing, you wouldn't understand.
• the parkway between the southern terminus and 215 is phenomenal. i'm mentioning this again because it deserves it. i would not judge any man who started crying when they laid their eyes on the pure wilderness and views up there. the wildlife around you is as rich and alive as you can experience in Appalachia and the road and tunnels are great fun even at the speed limit. going from blinding fog banks to bright sun on top of a sea of clouds never ever gets old. its an incredibly unique place at such high elevation with the alpine weather and in August at noon it was a perfect 65 degrees.
• the car did great. really got to enjoy 2nd and 3rd gears and put the seat bolsters to good use. i found that i wouldn't change anything about the car if i lived there other than getting some proper tires and probably more front camber. its set up almost perfectly to enjoy the roads at a reasonable pace and still work great as a daily. i was surprised to find that i really never needed more power. the brake ducting was worth it. i worked them HARD and they resisted fading completely, so i'm calling it the best $10 mod ever.
getting up to the parkway...nobody can ever accuse me of hardparking again
highest point on the parkway, 6053 feet
Cowee Mt overlook, 5900 ft
you bet your ass i did a 2nd gear pull through every one of these. the hills are alive with the sound of VTEC
incredible alpine environment. bright sun one minute, absolute 20-foot pea soup visibility the next. so cool.
these wheels were totally spotless and bright silver when i left home 24 hours before. oops
Glad you're enjoying the car so much. I passed my 2008 Si to my son Jack at almost 240K miles. He started commuting about 60 miles a day and we figured he might as well run the car up to 400K or so. My plan is to move up to a 9th or 10th gen Si. I've been test driving them and while they're nice, I keep coming back to your thread title. The new ones don't rev like the 8th gens. So maybe I'll change my plan and get another 8th gen. Keep enjoying yours!
In reply to Carl Heideman :
thanks! Jack should have no problem sending the odometer that high. i'm shooting for at least 300k (by that point i'll be walking with a cane considering how little i actually drive) and i've seen reports of K series going much higher. they are just incredibly well engineered....although the transmission might complain a bit by then.
objectively on paper, the 9th and 10th gens are superior cars in every way, particularly the 10th. and yet i have zero interest in either. i'm kind of a broken record with these cars but the 8th truly feels like it has a direct connection to the "golden age" honda driving experience and its a very rewarding thing to drive in anger. its not the fastest (although the aftermarket can fix that) but the harder you push the more it punches above its weight. i love a car like that.
if you want an 8th, now's the time especially if you want a sedan. the ones that were properly taken care of are getting harder to find now.
After looking at a bunch of used 10th gens that were either overpriced or dodgy, I ending up buying a new 2020 Si at a dealer near Chicago that actually had four new Si's in stock. I called a bunch of dealers in Michigan that said they didn't have them and didn't plan on getting any, so it was nice to find a place that even had choices.
Anyway, on the way home, my other son, Chris, sent a text that a nice looking 8th gen sedan had just popped up on FB Marketplace and it was 4 miles from home. Long story short, he's got an Si now too. It's got 159K miles on it, but it's super clean with only a few dings and the AC doesn't work. The price was right, too, so they're still out there.
The 10th gen is great but I agree the 8th gen is more fun.
In reply to Carl Heideman :
The AC in my 8th gen was also sold as non op, and Mazdeuce and I put a little bit of freon in it, and the more I drove it the better it got and today after 6k wince purchase it works flawlessly in the Texas heat. I don't think the systems do well when they sit. But YMMV.
the 'ol funmobile has pretty much sat around in the dark garage and gotten dusty these past 6 months. i normally work from home, but with the pandemic its being driven even less. i think its gone through maybe 30 gallons of gas since December.
so, nothing to report other than i'm hoping to get into some more work on it soon.
and here's some soothing Honda noises for you. just stretching the car out a little, mostly in 2nd gear, on a back road from my NC trip last year from a few posts up. i stuffed an external mike in the fender where the stock intake terminates so its quite a bit louder than inside the car.
That sounds great! It's what makes a K20 a K20.
I love when this thread pops up. Still love the 8th gens.
thanks guys! glad people still enjoy hearing about it.
its still a keeper to me. i wish i had more reasons to get out and drive it, honestly.
Love this thread
joined the cult. Got me a red si sedan, 68k miles
thanks for the inspiration!
also in grm fashion, ordered Curt trailer hitch before bringing car home
mr2s2000elise said:Love this thread
joined the cult. Got me a red si sedan, 68k miles
thanks for the inspiration!
also in grm fashion, ordered Curt trailer hitch before bringing car home
aw yissss! sounds like you got a peach. gives me the details my man! any sedan at only 68k these days is a find.
i hope it treats you well and definitely let us know if you hit any snags, hopefully we can help.
You'll need to log in to post.
