The sound that our 2006 Honda Civic Si makes under hard acceleration is a major contributor to its engaging personality. There are two Si-specific design elements that directly contribute to the car's aural aggressiveness.
The other one is a unique resonance chamber that's located behind the driver-side front fender panel. The chamber is used to amplify the sound of the VTEC system's switchover to its high-performance camshaft mode after 5,800 rpm.
Though the quality isn't great, you can see in this Honda-sourced image where the resonance chamber is located. Air is drawn down into the chamber and then back up through the air intake and air filter box. From there it goes through the final section of the air intake tube and into the intake manifold.
Our full-test video doesn't really show off the Civic Si's sound, but you can readily find owner-produced videos on youtube.com that do.
Brent Romans, Senior Automotive Editor, Edmunds.com, 18,730 miles
hondacura4 says:
04:21 PM, 11/20/06
Has anyone taken the Si in for the ECU reflash to lessen the DBW/rev-hang issue? It doesnt get rid of it but its much better after the reflash.
I would suggest the Hondata reflash BUT it actually reduces power if the Si has no bolt-on modifications. Happy motoring!
spargo says:
12:38 AM, 11/21/06
The sound-track is magnificent. If I'm right bmw did something similar in the z4. I think the greatest thing is the build up. If you look at the dyno the torque is flat as a pancake, so of course the horsepower rises steadily. Similarly the sound does, and the rush just adds up perfectly.
-Spargo
bromans says:
02:10 PM, 11/21/06
It's been a while since I last drove our Civic but it's pretty obvious while driving it that nobody else on staff has bothered to get the reflash done. It's something I plan to deal with as I'll be in command of the Civic for the next two weeks. -- Brent Romans