Last of the VTEC Screamers - 2010 Civic Si daily funmobile

Bjorn 1349 said:

Her car was an 09' sedan on HFP suspension kit. Mine was an 08' coupe on neuspeed/koni yellows. Camber bolts up front and adjustable arms in the rear. -1.5 front and -0.8 R with the toe at "0" and the cars rotate really well for being a understeering macstrut FWD econobox. Dorman makes a rear camber arm that fits for cheap! I think $45/side off amazon. Almost everything from 06-15 fits the 8th and 9th gen cars suspension wise. I think the springs might be different but a lot is interchangeable.

Ah lets see..... front lower control arm compliance bushings! You can definitely replace those. OEM. 

A tune changes the car completely. Investing in that alone is worth the money over a lot of other stuff. Dropping the vtec engagement point and eliminating the rev hang on shifts is great.

The intake is a restriction and there was a 3.5" mid-short ram from a place called Import DPS that worked really really well. They called it the "rick spec'd" intake. The guy and company didn't have the best reputation but that intake was a monster. You could easily replicate it. I think pics and youtube vids of it still exist. Also, a quick battery relocation where you just drop it straight down frees up the space for a nice safe intake filter spot.

I had my car for just about 10 years so it was time and the frame tear out just finalized it. Wife had hers for 11 years. Great cars. Very easy to work on. I really should have stuck with the idea of OEM+ and just added a little bit to have had a fun and competent car. I went full racecar and didn't like the car in the end. When I put it back to stock-ish I realized how much better it really had been.

Oh man, I've done it again, I wrote you a book. hahaha sorry.

edit: I did the battery relocation and ran a smaller odyssey pc680

love it.  they are definitely at home in the hills.  i'm in east GA and try to get up to the southern appalachians often.  absolutly love to drive up there, and at some point i'll likely do the Dragon just to say i did it, because it looks like its become a bit of a tourist trap these days unfortunately.

i'll look into mounting plates, shouldn't be too hard to install.  the suspension i'm running right now is REALLY similar to the HFP, just slightly gentler shock valving and a little less rear rate.  i think its right on the money for my kind of driving.  i currently run the same front camber as you did, as well as zero toe all around, and i'm intending to take out some of the stock rear negative camber with those Dorman arms!  They're actually SPC units rebranded by Autozone (i'm assuming they bought a bunch of old stock), i picked up a set last year for crazy cheap like you said.  Forged and everything, insane deal.  i think that will help the car rotate a little better.

forgot to post this last year.  they're insanely nice for $45 a side.  

yep, compliance bushing was the one i was trying to think of the name for.  the hot ticket seems to be using the RSX Moog K200799 unit which is a sealed uniball.  presses right in, all the precision, none of the noise of poly.  i've heard enough horror stories of poly stuff that sounded like yours, that i knew i couldn't do that on a daily.

forgot about the tune eliminating the rev hand too, great point.  i can drive around it now but its definitely not ideal.  love a fast responding N/A motor.

heard of the Rickspec unit but if they were tough to get a hold of then, i have no idea who sells them now.  i can't seem to find if he actually makes them anymore and not sure if i'd want to give him my money anyway.  shame because i did hear great stuff about them.  hoping i can fab up something similar someday.  if i do that with a proper filter box i'll need to do a battery relocation too, and thankfully Hybrid Racing sells the battery tray on its own so they'd be the easy button.

10 years is a good run.  hoping to have this one for about as long, at least...it fits my needs and likes better than anything at this price.

Thanks!

Bjorn 1349 said:

 

Best mods we ever did were the larger rear sway bars, hondata flashpro, and rear lower engine mount. - get a better mount. Also, you won't need a 3" exhaust, all the power is on the intake side IIRC. A 3" intake and a tune? Heck ya! You have to run a tune to be able to utilize the intake, the MAF can't handle it.

Well now I need to order an intake and a tune! Damn this website keeps making m e poorer 

Which lower engine mount do you recommend?

In reply to mr2s2000elise :

Bjorn may have a better suggestion but i've heard good stuff about Hasport's 62A mount for a street car

edit: and it worth noting that with something like a tune, you can totally pull that back off when you flip it on BAT  if i lived around the kinds of roads you do, i wouldn't be able to resist

ScottyB said:

In reply to mr2s2000elise :

Bjorn may have a better suggestion but i've heard good stuff about Hasport's 62A mount for a street car

edit: and it worth noting that with something like a tune, you can totally pull that back off when you flip it on BAT  if i lived around the kinds of roads you do, i wouldn't be able to resist

My Si is definitely not BAT worthy. The two that sold on BAT, were old HONDA demo cars, and they basically got MSRP   HEHE

Hasport 62a I will order it today. Thank you.

Yes Hasport rear lower mounts! You guys got it!

I have a PC680 battery tray/tie down if any of you want it? I had a custom piece made of inconel I ended up using but if one of you Civic owners want to do the battery relocate I can drop this in the mail to ya. Freeeeeeeeee. You'll have to figure out mounting screws into the frame rail but other than that, I think there are battery relocation guides still up online.

This is the battery mount

Link:

https://jhpusa.com/products/odyssey-pc680-aluminum-billet-battery-mount-battery-tray

Also does anyone have an 06-11 Civic coupe? I have my projector retrofitted headlights available as well. The coupe and sedan have different shape headlights.

OMG will my house finally be free of all old Civic parts!!!!

the Upper torque mount made a huge difference for myself and Clutchsmoke... i still haven't gotten my RMM installed.. but i have it lying on the shelf waiting..

the 62a torque mount adds a bit more NVH to the cabin.. but it's not untolerable..

In reply to Bjorn 1349 :

I'm the only one on the forum with a Coupe 8th gen as far as im aware...

Bjorn 1349 said:

Yes Hasport rear lower mounts! You guys got it!

I have a PC680 battery tray/tie down if any of you want it? I had a custom piece made of inconel I ended up using but if one of you Civic owners want to do the battery relocate I can drop this in the mail to ya. Freeeeeeeeee. You'll have to figure out mounting screws into the frame rail but other than that, I think there are battery relocation guides still up online.

 

This is the battery mount

Link:

https://jhpusa.com/products/odyssey-pc680-aluminum-billet-battery-mount-battery-tray

 

Also does anyone have an 06-11 Civic coupe? I have my projector retrofitted headlights available as well. The coupe and sedan have different shape headlights.

 

OMG will my house finally be free of all old Civic parts!!!!

I will take it ! 

PM's sent!

so i know there was just a thread up a couple days ago about how bad FedEx sucks at delivering car parts but i figured i'd keep my rant here.

"signature required" they don't even ring my doorbell.  

its raining, my nice covered porch is about 10 feet from my garage door.  where do they put them?  in the rain, stacked in the driveway.  COULD YOU NOT?

anyway, thankfully nothing scratched or dinged, had to try a little mockup

i think paired with a 225/45 Conti ExtremeContact this will be a really fun daily setup.

threw them on a scale and almost exactly 17.75lbs with the center cap.  really pleased with that given the 700kg load rating at that price.

Those are gonna look good on there! 225/45...hmm... 235/40 on some 200tw???? Little extra cheatage! PS - what floor coating is that?

Bjorn 1349 said:

Those are gonna look good on there! 225/45...hmm... 235/40 on some 200tw???? Little extra cheatage! PS - what floor coating is that?

i looked hard at the 235s but i decided to trade a fatter contact patch for a tighter sidewall for that snappy response.  its a daily anyway, i'll only be able to enjoy the max grip occassionally instead of every time i drive (unfortunately).  if i was up in the hills like you guys, i think i'd run a 9"/8" front stagger since i'd know i'd be able to use it all the time!

i did a runthrough of my garage coating in another thread (scroll down to see my post) but the jist of it is:
Rustoleum RockSolid Grey Polycuramine kit from Menards with Xtreme PolyAspartic 80 clear coat from Legacy Industrial.  added HDGrip into the clear as an anti-skid and and Grey/White flake called "snowfall" on the polycuramine for looks.

its done very well for the price.  what i found though, was that my concrete quality is junk so i've had the coating flake up in a few places where the concrete is weak.  its not the coating failing...its literally the concrete coming up with the coating on top of it.  

if i could do it again i would take the time to seal the cracks with a flexible filler and i'd skip the flakes or go with a higher contrast color.  too easy to lose metal stuff on the floor.

swung into costco on saturday to get some large helpings of meat

hit 'em up with a wash to get the mounting goop off and tossed a quick spray wax on and some Adam's VRT on the rubber.

can't comment a whole lot on the tires yet since i've done about 8 whole miles so far but feels pretty excellent.  the difference in rotational mass is clear.   topped them off with some McGard spline drive lugs in black to work with the center caps.

i'm real happy with it.  can't wait to throw it into some curves.

In reply to ScottyB :

the PS4S is borderline cheating when it comes to a multi use performance tire.

the only actual downside is cost.. but the juice is worth the squeeze.. you're going to enjoy how they perform..

spacecadet (Forum Supporter) said:

In reply to ScottyB :

the PS4S is borderline cheating when it comes to a multi use performance tire.

the only actual downside is cost.. but the juice is worth the squeeze.. you're going to enjoy how they perform..

trust me i hemmed and hawed on that aspect forever.  i've never owned any "top-tier" tire despite having about a dozen different brands over the last 20 years.  i'm always one to go for the deal that gave me 80% of the performance for 50% of the cost.  this time around i came across a bangin deal at costco ($110 off) for these, wept tenderly for a minute, and then just went for it.  the landslide of positive reviews and opinions like yours were just too prevalent to ignore.

just been having fun with it.  in the process, found out i have slight tire rub in the back with some weight back there (bike rack + bike + big bump) so i had to roll a little league bat along the inside lip on the rear fenders but not a big deal.  never heard that noise before, freaked me out pretty good.  i guess the PS4S's are slightly taller in addition to being wider.  anyway.

still figuring out tire pressures.  i'm so used to floppy all seasons that need to be at 45psi to keep from rolling over, that i keep having to bleed these down to use the shoulder properly.  currently 32/30 cold front/rear, could probably stand to come down in the front some more.  the grip levels are so much fun, i can't imagine having gone full Colonel Senders and trying to put 9in wide 245's on the front, i'd never come close to using that on the street.

ran into my first real, actual need for injector cleaner about 3 weeks ago.  had a bout of really noticeable high RPM detonation after filling up with 93 in small mountain town GA on my way to a scout camping trip with the boy.  with temps in the 60's there should have been absolutely no reason for it.  ran a full bottle of Techron through it on the next fill-up and crossed my fingers.  sure enough, smoothed the cold idle and cold part throttle waaay out...i mean very clearly, and cleaned up the detonation even at higher temps back here at home.  i've had no issues since.  typically that stuff falls into the Snake Oil section of my brain for a last ditch resort but i can't deny that it worked amazingly for 8 bucks, along with a full tank of top tier gas.  i wonder if i either had a clogged injector, some carbon (lots of sitting and short tripping) on a piston, or maybe some junk on the fuel pump sock that had to get dissolved.

got another oil analysis on the M1 0W-40, probably the last one i do now that its becoming diminishing returns.  even after running it as hard as i dared in order to regain my sanity between bouts of being stuck at home this year, the K20 really just shrugs it off.  love this grade of oil for how it performs for under $25 per 5qt jug.  ran it for 15 months which is the limit my brain can handle (i've always held to a 12 month max).  great numbers all around and very consistent wear.

M1 0W-40 drained out, Castrol 0W-40 dumped in.  oil changes are always a 1 hour affair at the minimum thanks to the insane filter location.  just the worst.  whole car's gotta go up to be level, passenger wheel off for access.  1 beer minimum for this phase.  and naturally with the car in the air, i gotta slide under there and peek around because i just like to.

with access i decided to also go ahead and change the drive belt with an OEM replacement, and spin some of the pulleys to make sure they all still sounded clean and spun free.  the stock 107k mile belt looked flawless.  either it was replaced at some point earlier (which makes no sense) or Honda belts are really 200k mile belts and they just cover their asses and say replace at 100k.  i'm keeping the old one as a spare.  PS that EGO chainsaw is awesome and i just finished fixing up that free razor scooter (new batteries and circuit breaker and back in business).

also, all or at least the front brakes are warped bad.  stupid Stoptech pads are lovely when you're hustling, but rust to the rotors instantly when i wash the car, and the deposits on the rotors are just about impossible to "grind" down with a rebedding.  probably need to just get some cheap blank rotors, turn these ones and keep em for extras.  

still love it.  still finding excuses to go out and drive it.  still taking 5 miles to go to the grocery store 1 mile down the road...just because.

Beautiful! 
 

I am looking forward to swapping to 0W-40, per your suggestion next. However I am still not on my second oil change yet 

very surprised by your rubbing. I have 4 bikes on my rack, 245 width tires on 9inch wheel - 0 rub with full passengers too 

I'd love to pick one of these up for a daily, but it seems most of them are beat or just too expensive to justify. Beautiful car and I love what you've done with it so far.

mr2s2000elise said:

very surprised by your rubbing. I have 4 bikes on my rack, 245 width tires on 9inch wheel - 0 rub with full passengers too 

i know!  part of why the noise freaked me out so bad was that i thought...hold up, i know you can run wider than this...mr2s2000elise is running 245s!

i have a feeling that particular rear fender got hit at some point.  clean carfax but there's evidence of overspray in that area that i didn't notice until after i bought it.  the inside lip probably got pushed into the wheel well farther than normal.

JAdams said:

I'd love to pick one of these up for a daily, but it seems most of them are beat or just too expensive to justify. Beautiful car and I love what you've done with it so far.

you aren't wrong - they're tough to buy in good condition.  well, i should say somewhat hard to find a good coupe, VERY hard to find a good sedan.  so many of them just got passed around and put away wet, and many of the current owners are kids now that the price point is dropping in the 4 digits.  the good ones that are left command a premium.  you really have to be willing to hunt, or "know a guy".

thank you though, that's kind.  definitely a fun experience.

JAdams said:

I'd love to pick one of these up for a daily, but it seems most of them are beat or just too expensive to justify. Beautiful car and I love what you've done with it so far.

Interesting that both cars I own, you are looking to pick up (60 and Si).   Also whats in your garage, I have them in my garage too (though we sold the Tundra last year) 

I disagree with "too expensive to justify" There really isn't anything made now with the NA, the room, price, of this. I love my Si 10x more than my junk 2016 WRX I bought new and dumped it.  New the Si was overpriced. Used market, plenty of clean examples around, I think are a great bargain. Are these $5k cars, no . But if you "over pay" you will get 10 years and 250K of trouble free miles. Heck on the Si forum, there is a 600k and a 800K mile example and tons with 180-250K miles.

ScottyB said:

mr2s2000elise said:

very surprised by your rubbing. I have 4 bikes on my rack, 245 width tires on 9inch wheel - 0 rub with full passengers too 

i know!  part of why the noise freaked me out so bad was that i thought...hold up, i know you can run wider than this...mr2s2000elise is running 245s!

i have a feeling that particular rear fender got hit at some point.  clean carfax but there's evidence of overspray in that area that i didn't notice until after i bought it.  the inside lip probably got pushed into the wheel well farther than normal.

With the car being hit/ repainted, your rubbing now makes more sense. 

just a few minor updates.

grabbed a Hasport upper motor mount on scratch 'n dent sale with their softest duro bushings, 62A.  i've noticed over the last 12 months, especially in the lower gears there was a sloppy delay between throttle input and forward movement, and i'd miss a shift here and there which is rare for me.  even with just 1 upgraded mount the difference is fantastic.  obviously some vibration and harshness at very low RPM but the payoff is worth it.  looking forward to doing the lower mount whenever i can find a deal on one.  62A is perfectly fine, i wouldn't bother with anything stiffer on a daily.

compared to 110k mile stock:

other maintenance - changed out the gearbox oil from Amsoil MTF to Redline MTL.  Amsoil was initally pretty good but felt like it was getting a bit grindy here and there.  its so easy to change gearbox fluid that i couldn't resist trying a new mix, and so far the Redline is my favorite.  incredibly smooth and less gear whine as well.  i'll probably leave this in the longest.

getting out of its typical life as an errand runner and enjoying more of the biking season now.  i picked up this old cannondale that just happens to totally match the Si's paint scheme, not on purpose at all but it just worked out to complete the blue/white package!

still feels special to drive, and still more than capable of getting a big smile on the right road.  i wish i was able to excercise it more often.

Man. I had an 08 SI. Probably best car I ever owned. You've got a great one! 

In reply to russ_mill :

thanks!  if this one ever leaves my hands it'll probably be a long time from now, its just hard to find anything else at this price to replace it.

In reply to ScottyB :

Agreed!