Josh, better known to you as Orbit09, sent us these photos of his 2006 Honda Civic Si. I think this is the third reader's Civic Si we've had so far. It's obviously popular with enthusiasts. Here is what he has to say:
I bought it used in 2007 after researching and comparing it to a GTI, Mini Cooper S and an '05 Miata. It replaced my totaled '03 Accord coupe (the EX V6 with the 6 speed, RIP).
Within days I was experiencing the dreaded and oft-reported third gear issue and eventually had it replaced under warranty. Since then the car has been rock solid and as reliable as the tides.
More story and photos after the jump...
A few times a year I take it to HPDE events here in N.Texas and it does quite well on the road courses even keeping up with many faster cars.
It's been modified with an Injen Cold Air Intake, Modacar exhaust, Hondata intake manifold gasket and is running a custom tune created with a Cobb Accessport.
I find it to be a great daily driver. My mixed driving average is 33 mpg and I've seen as high as 47 mpg while cruising. The Cobb on-board dyno says the car is making around 225whp and 180tq (perhaps a bit optimistic). I've recorded a personal best 0-60 time of 6.2 seconds on all-season tires recently. My stock time was about 7.2.
I have to say that it's one of the best values around. I felt that all the other cars in its class require you to compromise reliability, efficiency or comfort and the Civic just delivers on all levels. It's sporty, efficient, reliable and holds its value well and has stellar looks. What more could you want?
Thanks for sharing your photos with us, Josh.
P.S. If you want to participate in the Reader's Long-Term Car segment, click here to read the submission guidelines.
And please note that I am publishing these posts in the order they were submitted. The response was so great that I still have months of backlog to get through. So if you haven't seen your car yet, don't dismay, we'll get to you.
Donna DeRosa, Managing Editor
yellowbal says:
02:32 PM, 10/19/10
Hi Josh, I have a Civic Si too.
Do you ever have a problem with 2nd gear? Mine will sometimes grind when going 1-2.
osucowboy says:
03:36 PM, 10/19/10
I have an 08 Si, more times than not I grind going from 1st to 2nd if I'm in high RPM. It's one of my biggest gripes with this car.
Also, the paint is absolute crap, I am at just under 29000 miles and I can hardly stand to look at the front of the car. The way the paint chips contrast with the black paint makes it look much worse than some 10 year old cars I've seen.
subytrojan says:
06:10 PM, 10/19/10
VERY nice! :golf clap:
What track were those photos taken at?
Nice to see that you have a COBB AccessPORT, too!
mohawk2003 says:
06:36 PM, 10/19/10
Nice car, Josh.
subytrojan: If I'm not mistaken, I think that is Cresson Motorsport Ranch just southwest of Fort Worth by Granbury.
eldaino2 says:
06:57 PM, 10/19/10
Like the car man...kudos for keeping it stock looking. I would not say that other cars in the class compromise as
Much as you think save the mini cooper. The honda may be the golden child for reliability of that I'm
Certain but cars like the speed three and gti have proven to be reliable and more comfortable (gti comes
To mind) in some cases
joefrompa says:
09:27 PM, 10/19/10
06 Civic SI here - 95k miles. Had it since 4 miles. Using Amsoil manual transmission fluid, and the trans shifts better today than brand new. 3rd gear problems dissapeared the day I changed fluids.
I only ever calculate actual MPG based upon fuel fill numbers, but I've got 35mpg on pure highway. In aggressive mixed driving, I get 28-29mpg ....and by aggressive, I mean several shifts to redline a day, letting it hang around 5000 rpms, etc.
After 95k miles, the interior looks almost brand new and I'm not gentle on it.
Anyway, I've never had a single thing go "wrong". No oxygen sensors, bulbs, water pumps, control arms, wheel bearings, etc.
And last winter, while rolling on a set of 225/45/17 michelin pilot exalto a/s (the finest all around tire ever), I was able to plow through 6-8" unplowed snow at 25-35 mph with relative comfort and control.
It's slowly transitioning to beater car, but I've never regretted paying MSRP (20k) for this car straight off the truck on valentine's day 2006.
slickersdrip says:
10:22 PM, 10/19/10
I'm still waiting for 1487's long-term car.
Anyhoo-- very nice Civic. I've always had a soft spot for them. I really enjoy how stock your car looks considering the mods. On my former SRT-4 I went out of my way to keep it looking stock except for ditching the goofy spoiler.
I'm planning on getting a Cobb accessport for when I put a turbocharger on my RX-8. Would you say it's an easy thing to use?
eldaino2 says:
01:24 AM, 10/20/10
Like the car man...kudos for keeping it stock looking. I would not say that other cars in the class compromise as
Much as you think save the mini cooper. The honda may be the golden child for reliability of that I'm
Certain but cars like the speed three and gti have proven to be reliable and more comfortable (gti comes
To mind) in some cases
captobvious says:
04:46 AM, 10/20/10
I have always had a soft spot for Civic Sis...especially those kept stock.... ever since i had my 97 EK Coupe with my B16B swap. mmmmmm vtec from 6500 to 9000 RPM surely was addicting and even though it wasnt the quickest car out there... it made me feel like it was. I find its all about what the driver feels when behind the wheel of a car that makes the car... the Civic Si definately is high on rewarding the driver.
orbit09 says:
05:31 AM, 10/20/10
Hey guys.
I did experience some 2nd gear issues after they installed my new transmission. It was only a problem when shifting at redline which is 8k and its nearly impossible for the synchros to work at that speed. I started using redline MTF and shift feel was great. It never once had an issue even at the track.
The COBB Accessport is a great tuner and is easy to use no matter your skill level. Thanks to some online forums I learned how to tweak a map to work for my car.
Ironically enough the day before this posted I bought a 2011 Mustang V6 with 6MT. I wanted to get something RWD with 300+ HP and for $23k out the door with katzkin leather and 18" wheels you can't beat the Mustang. I'm looking forward to doing some suspension and brake upgrades and then hitting the track to see how it performs.
orbit09 says:
05:41 AM, 10/20/10
@mohawk2003: That's exactly right. That's Motorsports Ranch in Cresson. First set of photos are fro ma Nissan track day and then the sencond set are from a trackday I setup for a local car forum in 08. Since then I've been hooked on Eagles Canyon. It's much more challenging and a better value as well.
There's some in-car video on my channel "j42sound" on youtube and if you search around there's more video of me from other in-car cams. I'd post links but site is blocked at work.
typer_801 says:
07:33 AM, 10/20/10
I have the same 1-2 shift issues. Very aggravating. I've found if you flat floot the accelerator during max acceleration runs, the problem goes away. That leads me to believe it's NOT a synchro issue, rather a motor mount or shifter (bushing/cable) issue.
lostboyz says:
08:02 AM, 10/20/10
Good choice on the mustang, you will love it
realx says:
09:31 AM, 10/20/10
Nice car man, see you on 8thcivic sometimes :)
fundango says:
11:30 AM, 10/20/10
For some reason, I think the 4-door version of the Civics (including the SI) looks better, but either way, nice car. You've got to love Honda's inclusion (finally) of a limited-slip differential in the SI. Lightweight, high redline, and sporty handling -- that's a time-proven recipe for fun.
90in55 says:
11:33 AM, 10/20/10
Great car, and not just for the budget-minded enthusiast. You can have more fun rowing through the gears and redlining this baby, than crusing in something with 500hp. Especially with these ridiculous speed limits and the human cash registers who enforce them.
I recently bought a used Accord because of my growing family, but an Si will definitely be in my garage in a year. Hopefully.
Finally, I think the gear issue was addressed in the refreshed, '09 model.
cz_75 says:
01:50 PM, 10/20/10
Adjusting the clutch take-up so it engages higher helps w/ the 1-2 shift at redline.
slickersdrip says:
11:05 PM, 10/20/10
Thanks, orbit09... I was a bit worried about going through with a Cobb. Don't have a lot of tuning under my belt. I went from a professionally tuned car to one that I'm planning on working with myself, so pretty apprehensive.
Awesome choice with a new Mustang V6/six speed. What color did you go for? Performance Package?
orbit09 says:
05:37 AM, 10/21/10
@slickersdrip: The COBB is awesome and the tuning software is very in depth but If you're going from NA to turbo, I'd go ahead and get it professionally tuned. Even just tweaking settings on an NA engine can have disasterous results and turbos are even more finickey. Just my .02
I got a race red Mustang; no performance package. It was hard enough finding one with a manual and besides I'd rather choose my upgrades myself. My first priority is to stiffen up the suspension then I want to uprate the breaks. I don't plan to go crazy with power mods until the aftermarket has had a couple of years experience with this engine.