Chopsuey’s 2025 Civic Si Build Thread

[chopsuey34]

Too long, didn’t read lol


Random fun fact: Honda dealers' Gross Per Unit for a Civic 4 door is approximately $1,480.

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[mickjaggaj]

This thread is awesome. Keep it up!

 

[chopsuey34]

Mods I (will) regret:

Acuity Pedal Spacer – I hated this. My foot was flexed upwards unnaturally so my shin muscles were always tensed. I couldn’t find a comfortable position and would have probably gotten shin splits or cramps after a few days. The stock throttle position is much more comfortable, and I can heel-toe much easier. Only for track use, literally.


Honda Cargo Hooks – Grocery bag aren’t tall enough to hang from them, oh well.


Intercooler – I probably didn't need intercooler living in Michigan. It’s really a 3 months out of the year mod. But I’ve never heat soaked. My planned power levels probably don’t need an intercooler, either. In retrospect, I would have purchased the WOT cool plate first, then assessed if I needed an intercooler.


Rigid Collars – I couldn't feel much of a difference on the street, even after an alignment. While I don't regret buying them and the pain in the ass it was to install them, I probably won't ever install them again on any other of my cars. Chasing problems that don’t exist is how companies market to auto enthusiasts. FYI the Honda HRC cars don’t run rigid collars, at least they don’t list them in their mod lists.


Wheels – I don’t regret my Enkeis because they look dope, but on the street, I don’t really notice that much of a difference in handling despite dropping 30lbs of unsprung weight. Unless I’m buying a Miata, I’m only buying high-quality spacers to push the stock wheels out to flush. If I ever buy an Accord, that’s what I’d do because 19” Accord wheels have always been dope.


Tune – I will probably regret tuning my car because I want a set it and forget it experience, and even on Phearable 1.5R Map 1 (16psi), apparently K-Con rises. Who knows? But I gotta do it.

Civic Si doesn't really get fast until 3rd and 4th gears. 1st and 2nd gears are short and it doesn't really pull well in those gears. 3rd and 4th gears pull smoothly and fast enough but I'm already at 80mph at the top of 3rd. So a tune will really only be for 3rd gear (and partial 4th gear pulls). I mean, do I really need a tune for only 1-1/2 gears? "Yes, you do," says the voice in my head. "And buy me some ice cream while you're at it."

Note to self: Civic Si clutch change requires the subframe to be pulled - stay stock, you dummy!

10th Gen Civic Si clutches hold about 250whp (11th Gen clutch is similar if not the same, I believe):
https://www.civicx.com/forum/threads/exedy-clutch-torque-ratings-not-great.41243/#post-681038


Sway Bar – The rear end feels likes it’s dragging behind in fast sweepers, which points to the need for a rear sway bar. But I’ll probably regret it because there are only 3 or 4 places where I really need one and if I need to do a high-speed evasive maneuver, I might spin out, especially when temps are cool and wet and snowy.


Time – Who cares about the $6,000 or $7,000 extra I’ll spend on the car, the thing I regret most is the opportunity cost of time spent thinking about this car and what I will mod out. Hundreds of hours it must have been that I spent deliberating over such inane things! I could have used all that time for more productive things like thinking about my coworker's tits. It turns out that mods don’t change the driving experience that much on the street. I don’t need to chase the last tenth of a second, so mods aren’t really that useful to me. Lesson learned, but at least I had fun.

This has important implications and carries over to other things like watches, houses, and women. Young man! Don't be like me, don't waste your life obsessing about things that won't make much of a difference. Obsess about the things that matter (like your coworker's tits)!

 

[perkidddoh]

Keep on writing! I like this content, it's pretty much reading someone's thoughts in a forum.

Your Type R finance sentiment is also the same reason on what's keeping me from getting one. I have a Sport Touring manual 6mt, owned a 10th gen Si sedan prior so knowing how that drove and always regretted going the hatchback route, I went with the Sport Touring instead. And now - I'm about 1.5 years into my 11th gen ownership and I'm thinking about the Type R, but there's a part of me that 's also hesitant on spending an additional 20k-30k more for more fun, because at the end of it, is the 20k-30k worth the fun? Financially maybe not, I might just do a tune first and reset my urges, for now.

I also have the TS-V, 18x8.5 +38, looks so good in this gen.

 

[chopsuey34]

Keep on writing! I like this content, it's pretty much reading someone's thoughts in a forum.

Your Type R finance sentiment is also the same reason on what's keeping me from getting one. I have a Sport Touring manual 6mt, owned a 10th gen Si sedan prior so knowing how that drove and always regretted going the hatchback route, I went with the Sport Touring instead. And now - I'm about 1.5 years into my 11th gen ownership and I'm thinking about the Type R, but there's a part of me that 's also hesitant on spending an additional 20k-30k more for more fun, because at the end of it, is the 20k-30k worth the fun? Financially maybe not, I might just do a tune first and reset my urges, for now.

I also have the TS-V, 18x8.5 +38, looks so good in this gen.

Thanks! If you want to know how much money your will be torching if you ever trade up from a Hatch 6MT to a CTR, then read my post "Wise or Unwise: Redux (Running the Numbers)". Numbers are a little dated and for the Si, but close enough.

 

[chopsuey34]

The official soundtrack to this thread is:

"Relaxing music from Gran Turismo (#1)" by yeeTWOsduck (YOUTUBE LINK)

(Holy smokes, that's a lot of songs!)
Yes, my favorite artists are CAPITALIZED. I recommend you start with them.

 

[chopsuey34]

Dad bought me a little Civic for my birthday. It’s my new favorite toy! I take my little Civic everywhere! When Mom takes me to the mall, I take my little Civic and pretend to drive like Mom. Mom drives slow, though. I like it when Dad drives! My little Civic drives fast like Dad!

When Dad takes Mom and me to the lake in the summer, me and my little Civic drive next to our van. Vroom, vroom, me and my little Civic leave Dad in the dust! My little Civic is so fast!

When Mom tucks me in at night, my little Civic is right beside me, sleeping just like me.

When Dad wakes me up, I can’t wait to play with my little Civic! I brush my teeth and then Mom makes me cereal and sometimes Dad makes scrambled eggs. I help put away the dishes and Mom gives me a kiss and Dad drives off to work and then I run outside with my little Civic and play! I love Mom and Dad!

I jump inside my little Civic and work the gears like Dad. He lets me shift them sometimes. It’s kind of hard. I guess I have to be strong like Dad to work the gears myself.

I run with my little Civic through the neighborhood. There are some older kids with bigger cars than mine. They don’t let me play with them because I’m too small. Dad says the big kids get to play with Corvettes and Beemers. Maybe someday me and my little Civic will be old enough to play with the big kids.

I run to the park with my little Civic. It has these awesome bronze wheels that look so cool! And Dad says my tires grip. I don’t know what that means, but he says they make my car go fast. Cool! My tires grip!

Mom packed peanut butter crackers for me and my little Civic. My little Civic doesn’t like peanut butter crackers, but I do! Mom says I need to eat them all or I won’t get strong like Dad. I eat them all to be big like Dad and give my little Civic premium just like Dad does. My little Civic is kinda like my little brother. I kinda wish I had a little brother.

I run down the street with my little Civic and turn onto the main road. I run by cars down Fulton Street. Mom says I can’t play this far away from home, but with my little Civic, I’m not afraid!

Where should we go now, little Civic? Where can we have our next adventure?

Should we run to Ada, little Civic? What about Rockford? How about Holland? Maybe Grand Haven? I know, I know, up north to see Grandma! With my little Civic, I can go anywhere, I can do anything!

Go, little Civic, go!

Me and my little Civic are running through the country now. I’ve never been this far from home, but me and my little Civic are never scared!

It’s getting dark now, I better get home. Mom might be worried about me. I can’t wait to tell Dad about the things I saw with my little Civic today.

I run back home with my little Civic. I park my little Civic in the garage, just like Dad. Mom’s a little mad that I missed dinner, but Dad says it’s time for bed. I brush my teeth, say my prayers, and Mom tucks me in. Beside me is my little Civic. I can’t wait to play with it tomorrow!

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


On June 27th, I was driving home from my barber. I was going 65 in a 55 on a Michigan two-lane divided highway. I was rolling into a long, gentle hill, when I downshifted from 6th to 5th to 4th to 3rd. The moment I hit 3rd gear, I experienced pure joy. For about 10 seconds, all I felt was joy, unadulterated joy that only a young child can feel. The type of joy we forget about or leave behind as we travel to adulthood.

I couldn’t help myself, I yelled out, no, exclaimed, “Go, little Civic! Go!”

I crested the hill and those brief 10 seconds were over. Back to reality, back to adulthood, but that little moment with my car stayed with me and inspired this post.

 

[chopsuey34]

A thought about weight reduction:

I drive an MR2 Spyder as my fun car. It’s a mid-engine car, and it's also very lightweight at around 2,200lbs. I used to be obsessed with weight reduction, thinking it the best thing one can do to a car to make it faster, but I was wrong.

The MR2 Spyder carries its spare tire in a plastic tub up front. Removing the spare tire and the tub yields about 35 to 40lbs of weight savings over the front axle. But when driving, the MR2 Spyder is so light, that I can tell the difference between driving with the spare and tub in versus with them out. You wouldn’t think it, but the car drives better with the spare and tub in! Despite making the car slightly heavier overall, the spare’s extra weight gives an extremely light front end some extra heft, and even 35lbs helps balance the car out. This is all evident in street driving, too. I’m not at the limit feeling these changes.

Realizing this has cured me of the pathology of obsessive weight reduction. Cars benefit from weight reduction, but removing weight in inappropriate areas can have its negative side effects. Or perhaps it can help a car run around a track quicker, but ruin its feel and road manners. It turns out automotive engineers know more about chassis tuning and vehicle dynamics than I do.

How does this relate to a Civic? I'm not messing with Honda's FF dynamics. No, I won't be relocating my battery to the trunk. No, I won't be removing seats. No, I won't be spending $500 to save 15lbs. Porsche has its track junkie customers over a barrel charging five digits for a lightweight roof that saves 9lbs. The Civic Si has a 60/40 front/rear weight distribution and changing it towards 55/45 would probably make it handle worse. FF handles like FF, don't turn an FF into FR.

The old song on car forums goes:

"Driver mod, driver mod,
wheels, brakes, and tires,
Fluids and practice,
turn slow pokes to flyers."

 

[pwp25si]

Honda trimmed so much fat, there's really not much left, except the boat anchor wheels and maybe lighter battery, which i find not all that worthwhile. Catted downpipe will shed about 10 pounds, but prl intercooler will add 12 pounds right back. Prl Intake/intercooler resonator delete yielded 3 pounds. 27won fromtpipe was 1 pound heavier than stock. Car is already light in its stock form. Its bette to not add any unnecessary mods like strut towers or body itiffeners imo.

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