MrFancypants
Autocross Champion
So recently I had the thought. My car is getting up in miles and with a new kiddo in the house I wanted to minimize the amount of time in the garage fixing stuff. I wanted something fun to keep myself reasonably entertained for my daily grind, but also accessible and easy to use with the family on the weekends. So I've got a short list of cars that are as close to new as possible for the price I set, and the 2015 Civic Si is right in the sweet spot.
The Si was....... disappointing.
To be fair, there seemed to be something going on with this one because they surely aren't supposed to torque steer as much as this one did, wonder on the highway as much as it did, or vibrate the steering wheel so much. But it only had 38k miles, so wtf. Alignment off? Probably. In need of a tire balancing? Also probably. But neither of those should induce much highway speed torque steer.
That said, the interior was nice enough, the exterior was handsome enough (sedan model), but it just wasn't..... fun. When I think of Honda engine sounds I think of the amazing induction noises from VTEC K20s and B-series engines. The K24 just sounded coarse, like it had no business being in a sport focused vehicle, nor did it feel like it had its rated power output. Handling was fine, although I didn't get an opportunity to really feel it out.
The shining jewel of the car was the shifter, which rates as among the best I've ever used, but it just wasn't enough to make me like the car. My well cared for seven year old 110k mile Volkswagen just drives so much nicer, even with the worn out OEM suspension. I also have a new appreciation of the noises the EA888 makes (stock intake and exhaust, w/2010 noise pipe still in place), which are so dramatically better that I wouldn't have believed it if you told me prior to driving the Honda.
So here's the question..... assuming I don't find another car I like as much as my GTI and I choose to keep it and just pay a shop to repair the thing when it breaks, what can I do to get my shifter feeling anything like the one in the Si? Would a Dieselgeek kit and a weighted knob do the trick?
At this point it seems like my only other options for a fun car to throw the wife and kiddo in would be a MkVII GTI and the Ford ST twins. WRX is off the list because I can't find one with an "in warranty" odometer reading for less than $20k.
The Si was....... disappointing.
To be fair, there seemed to be something going on with this one because they surely aren't supposed to torque steer as much as this one did, wonder on the highway as much as it did, or vibrate the steering wheel so much. But it only had 38k miles, so wtf. Alignment off? Probably. In need of a tire balancing? Also probably. But neither of those should induce much highway speed torque steer.
That said, the interior was nice enough, the exterior was handsome enough (sedan model), but it just wasn't..... fun. When I think of Honda engine sounds I think of the amazing induction noises from VTEC K20s and B-series engines. The K24 just sounded coarse, like it had no business being in a sport focused vehicle, nor did it feel like it had its rated power output. Handling was fine, although I didn't get an opportunity to really feel it out.
The shining jewel of the car was the shifter, which rates as among the best I've ever used, but it just wasn't enough to make me like the car. My well cared for seven year old 110k mile Volkswagen just drives so much nicer, even with the worn out OEM suspension. I also have a new appreciation of the noises the EA888 makes (stock intake and exhaust, w/2010 noise pipe still in place), which are so dramatically better that I wouldn't have believed it if you told me prior to driving the Honda.
So here's the question..... assuming I don't find another car I like as much as my GTI and I choose to keep it and just pay a shop to repair the thing when it breaks, what can I do to get my shifter feeling anything like the one in the Si? Would a Dieselgeek kit and a weighted knob do the trick?
At this point it seems like my only other options for a fun car to throw the wife and kiddo in would be a MkVII GTI and the Ford ST twins. WRX is off the list because I can't find one with an "in warranty" odometer reading for less than $20k.
