New Civic SI v. GTI

Re: New Civic SI v. GTI (GTIrob01)

If it would cost as much as the GTi, it's a pretty bad choice.. but it will likely have a 15k invoice like the previous Si.. and 160 hp in a light hatch isn't all that bad, for such a low price.. would be decent for auto-X. Problem with a honda 4-banger being a street car is that for a street car the only thing that matters is flatness and elevation of the torque curve.. you seldom rev above 5,000 rpm on the street. And problem with any N/A VVT-4banger being a drag racing car, is that there's only so much tuning you can do before you have to resort to forced induction.. that's why the 1.8T's are so nifty, you can just turn up the boost and cut few seconds off the 1/4 mile time. As for the VR6 you can make the camming more aggressive, add a free flowing exhaust system, remap fuel management, etc.. -- all the things which are already done on the Civic and made more streetable using VVT in order to get the rather amazing 100 hp / liter ratio. And yeah, the 99 Civic Si looked a lot better, and Electron Blue (Blue Lagoon-like color) rocked.

[Modified by strlen, 5:11 PM 11-28-2001]


[Modified by strlen, 5:12 PM 11-28-2001]

Re: New Civic SI v. GTI (JWHITE)

There was a 5-picture, two page (well... really about 30 lines, but...) article on the 2002 Si on page 70 of the Fall 2001 edition of Honda Tuning. To be honest, the inside looks much better then the outside... Celica-esque sport seats which look to be covered in a Integra Type-R-like suede with red stitching. The three-spoke steering wheel is very similar to that of the Audi A4's sport wheel. Although shaped differently, it is the prime item of the interior's sportiness. The exterior is a look only a mother could love, but as with many other cars (e.g. PT Cruiser, 2004 GTI) will just take time to get used to.
I am not a Honda fan, to say the least, but have to give it to them they have added a lot to attempt to make the eye-sore of a Civic they have now more appealing to folks like us who like the euro-style and speed.
I will try to scan the article for you guys, but, like many others, I have no idea how to get the image in a message... Any instructions anywhere? The articles pictures of the interior are much nicer, and make the car looks slightly more appealing, although certainly no VW.