flintTC324

A friend of mine (who shall remain nameless) who works here in the auto industry with me, rolled up to House Of Scion in a brand new Civic Si he was given to drive around for a few days. So here was what I think of the car after seeing it and driving it...


HAWT DAMN!!!

The car is quick, I took it to redline in first and second - oh by the way redline is at 8,000rpm. Once into third I was gone. Handling was superb. The car respondend much better than my tC. It moved in perfect harmony with my steering. Felt VERY tight. And the brakes were very tight as well. Felt more like driving a go-kart. It was very fun.

Now keep in mind (and Im not bragging, just making a point), that I have owned a 93 Civic Si, A BMW 325i (the E36 chassis, one of the best handling cars ever in my opinion, especially on the H&R coilovers I had on it), a couple Preludes (also good handling cars), and at one point an Acura NSX - the greatest Honda of them all! The Civic reminded me a lot of my NSX, not nearly as fast, but it gave me that same feeling of having fun driving the car, much more than my tC -and I love my tC, mind you. Another friend who was there and had driven an S2000 for a while back in the day, said the Si reminded him a lot of that car too, very responsive. It felt sturdy without feeling heavy. I could just IMAGINE what aftermarket mods and upgrades would do to the car. This thing on coilovers, with a turbo, OMG! And the stock 17" wheels the car comes with (sound familiar?) look like they could be swapped out for lightweight 19" Gram Lights with room to spare. For the show-off types, 20" didnt look like it would be a problem at all either. The interior was very nice. You could tell Honda is really taking things to the next level, I especially like the seats. The steering wheel looked great, as you can see in the pics I posted below. Another thing the Civic had was a lot of trunk space, much more than the tC.

A couple of things I didnt really like on the Civic though, were the exhaust tip, and the wheels. Scion definetly has the upper hand with the rims that come on the tC. But for many of us, we are gonna change the rims anyway so that really isnt too big a deal. For the record though, the tC wheels are better. The exhaust tip looked like the old NSX oval shaped exhaust, which is ugly. For the record though, I didnt like the tC tip (nor the TRD exhaust tip) when I saw it either. Round is better.

Couple other things, for those who are wondering. When doing my weekly pick-ups of parts from the manufacturers I deal with yesterday, I came across my first wide-body Si that someone (cant name) is working on for SEMA show. The car was painted in a pearlescent white color, and the widebody kit was mostly sheet metal. I cant say for sure but it looks like it came from Japan. I'll definetly look for the car at SEMA (I have a good idea which booth it will be at), and take pics to post here.

Also, despite my great first impression of the Si, in no way do I plan on getting rid of my tC. I'm really interested to see now, how much better the tC handles once I get the prototype JIC Magic coilovers on it, and finish up the engine work early next year. But for those of you who are thinking of the Si, I say go test drive it when it hits the floor. My money says it'll make you think twice about keeping whatever you have now. Toyota better step it up with the next incarnation of the tC.

Enjoy these pics:

flintTC324

Pictures fixed.

InTheWASide

Nice review... I'm just not a huge fan of it, but I never would have expected a redline at EIGHT THOUSAND!! Good lord!

got more pics of your tC bodykit anywhere? If you can PM me with pics or a link to an existing thread that would be cool.

Thanks!

wibblywobbly

What did you think of the split level dash?

I'm not a fan of the funky purple illumination either. Just give me some regualr ol' gauges and I'm straight.

corey415

Si gauges are actually illuminated with red light.

flintTC324

personally I liked the gauges, Im all for companies pushing the design envelope as far as they can. but to be honest it was daytime when I drove the car so maybe I would have had a different opinion at night.

Complication

sorry man, the cars just not for me, I think as time has gone by the Si had gotten uglier...and this years attempt is no improvment, I think the tC's got some of the hotest curves the road has ever seen, I am however jelous of the lsd, and the 200 hp... but that will be easily fixed for with my dezod turbo! ... I will be how ever be test driving one becaues thats one of my fav. weekend hobbies! ..

but hey I'm ::edit::not::edit:: Haten it just not diggen it either...

Jo2

I test drove the si about a month ago and I think it is definitely the car to buy in that price range. It's a blast to drive. Add in the nav option though, and you are in slightly used s2000 territory.

Jo2

btw, here is the si lowered on 19" racing harts

Charade_Detomasso

Whats with the small @ss brakes??!?!

corey415

Are you referring to the pic with the 19 in. rims? That would make the brakes look particularly small...

For heavy braking, most of the load is applied to the front.

The 06 Si brake specs are 11.8-inch front/10.2-inch rear. Also, the front brakes are double pistons.

The TC has 10.8 in. front/10.6 in. rear brakes.

Charade_Detomasso

No, i'm talking about the one with stock rims..........So i'm to assume that the Brembos didnt make it over from the concept then?


and for the record i know how braking systems in automobiles work

Garage1217

iTrader: (5)

Good car But can't you get a tc with the trd sc, full set of coil overs, lots of other mods and still be cheaper than the si..?

mxyzptlk

considering the disgusting monstrosity u turned your tc into (the front and rear addons don't even match the color of your car) i'm not surprised u like the si. what you have done to your poor tc is the equivalent of making a hot chick wear flannel.

SilverRSXJezus

no brembos for si. otherwise, that thing would have a ridiculous price tag

heyitznosaj

whys it so ugly? But the performance

killerxromances

Its my not tC, however if you notice his kit appears to be CF. So either A. He hasn't gotten it painted just yet or B. He likes the look of CF on his car. Second of all, these honda jokes are completely pointless and tiring. I mean common, seriously. Honda and Toyota have a lot in common, and honda has done serveral things right with their production cars. Because they are affordable, and have a high redline obviously kids are going to buy them and turn them into rice burners instead of keeping it clean. Thats why they have a "semi bad reputation" in the tuner world. But at the same time, they are still pretty far ahead of toyota in general because those motors such as the k20, can produce massive amounts of power. (not saying the tC can't, but i am saying they have proven themselves year after year)

The tC is still new, and i've seen a few very ricey and poor done scions. You'll see more of them, and then you won't have room to talk about some, keyword some, of the honda guys. Seriously, don't think too close minded. Don't take this as an arguement, more of my point of view and my point!

BTW: The TC looks alright. I personally don't like body kits that much, but its not too bad.

Cya

flintTC324

First of all the kit IS carbon fiber. And the car is going to get repainted. Its an 8-piece carbon fiber kit that is not supposed to match the paint. I happen to love it. I'll love it more when the car gets a new color, which shouldnt be too much longer now that I have other body work done, new wheels on, and suspension coming. I'd say about 5-6 out of 10 people I talk to love the car, a couple think its just OK and a couple hate it. Well even if all 10 hated it I wouldnt care. I have a vision and by the time that vision is a reality the car is gonna kick a$$ ! At least IMO

And second of all, whether you like the styling of the Civic or not, everyone I know who has driven the car says the same thing... its the best Civic yet! Its simply a better handling car than the tC, and more fun to drive. But I'm willing to bet you havent even seen one in person yet, let alone drove one.

Oh and by the way, in my experience lingerie is all most hot chicks I ever "dealt with" needed to wear.

SilverRSXJezus

Yes you can, but you could make your tC better than a 350z as well...10k spent on a turbo and suspension upgrades.

Doesn't prove much, though. Modded car vs stock car isn't exactly a valid comparison.

killerxromances

Exactly. Which is why im tired of all these tC threads about a modded tC vs. stock car. I mean, virtually any car can be made as fast if not faster than any other car on the road. Plus, i don't really know anyone personally that would ever race or go to autocross in a stock car. It doesn't really make sense to me, but then again, i can see why people would do it. To see what needs to be improved or if they are happy with how ___ car is.

Hey flintTC, what color are you painting her?

Cya