2014 Civic Si Sedan Review So far...With Pics

[npdude]

So this is my second civic ever. A little history...I had a 2004 toyota tacoma for 8 years, joined the military, then got a new car. I had leased a 2012 mercedes c250 sport and then got a civic ex-l 2014. Then I was like, damn this is boring. I'm 28 years old btw. So far, I LOVE IT. The suspension reminds me of the MB and the BMW 335i M-Sport V6 2013 that we have. I would say, unless you're into those luxury sports cars, I would probably not go back to getting those european cars again. Just MY preference. If you want something reliable, efficient on gas and the economy, FUN to drive, sporty, and have a lot of practical space, the civic SI sedan is for you. It has a good ride when driving. It placed a large smile to my face knowing that I got this car for $21100 with the discounts. I haven't driven manual for over 6 years so it was something to get used to again. I am getting better though! I love the aggressive appearance and the performance. The exhaust and engine sound is just right, not too loud, but just enough to hear it growl. The ride is stiff, which I can deal with and it made me feel like I was in a cockpit of a rocket pretty much. The sound system is..eh, could be better but way better than my civic ex-l since it has a small subwoofer in it now. I had custom subs in the ex-l but took it out when I traded it in. Probably won't be putting it in my SI because its good enough right now with the EDM music I play. Some folks on the internet say its more of a teen's car than a professional's car. Well I'm a doctorate professional and I still feel professional in this civic SI.

The gas mileage is great. Way better than the MB or BMW above. Although it takes premium gas, I don't mind it actually. I've been babying it so far because the manual says to for the first 600 miles. This car was bought with 11 miles and now has 200. I don't plan on modding performance stuff on the car such as replacing the exhaust etc...

I've been reading a lot online on whens the best time to shift on this car specifically and the consensus seems to be around 3k and don't move the shifter to fast.

A few things I read about while searching extensively online:
1. The aircon has a sweet plastic smell when I have the MAX recirculation on. I guess I won't worry about this anymore since its "normal". When I don't use the max recirc, it goes away.

2. The rev-hang is what I noticed and read about. No huge biggy to me. I don't race anymore at this age...I rather just drive it for run on wide open empty roads when traveling.

3. Sometimes shifting from 1-2, 2-3, 3-4, there is a noticeable light clunk that is intermittent. No grinding sound or feel, just a mechanical clunk even when I'm letting go of the clutch easily so I don't jerk forward. I read about this and from what I found so far, its common and nothing to worry about. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

4. I had a HID kit on my ex-l and never had a problem with lots of glare at night to other cars. How many of you guys put HID lights on the SI? Is it actually safe for the electrical system if you have the relay harness, etc? I got it from KBcarstuff, I believe it was the 4300k version. What is the best/most reliable HID kit do you recommend?

 

[jasonandre]

Great looking car, if I do say so myself. Great review. I love the 14 Si enough that I'll probably never mod it. Happy right where it is.
I can't speak to the HIDs question, but I'm sure others can.

Enjoy her!

 

[ErckleSi]

Your gonna love ur si I no I have been

 

[npdude]

Thanks. I'd never thought a budget minded car would be this much fun. I'm glad this time I trusted the professional car reviews and the reviews people have on forms and YouTube. I finally test drove other cars and nothing else seemed to fly like this one

 

[webby]

Nice looking ride and review. kbcarstuff/ @XenonDepot is a vendor here. They've been around a long time, and have a good warranty on their products. You'll be fine with their kit & wire harness. A lot of people are running them.

 

[Asteezy88]

Also you can check out DDM tuning. I have an hid kit from them in 8k and love them. It looks awesome. I think it was under 40$ Total for them too. They have good warranties which is also a plus

 

[npdude]

Yeah I ordered from them and they were great. But what's the difference of their Phillips bulbs vs the other ones? I'd rather have a pure white looking light like the luxury cars have so I got that one last time but it is more expensive than the other non German bulbs. I don't find to many hid kits that have a 3 year warranty which is good.

 

[npdude]

Also I forgot which hid kit fits our civics? I just want low beams since our high beam is a separate bulb and is that H4? Whoa ddm tunning offers lifetime warranty and they're cheaper? I've heard of you get what you pay for but has any had ddm tunings kits for more than 3 years without problems? Also when ordering from ddm I don't know what to select from all those drop boxes.. Sorry for the many questions I'm new to all this.

 

[CheeseFrog]

The thing I don't like about the Bluetooth link is that it starts auto-playing as soon as it re-establishes a connection (ie. after you get off work and get into your car). IMHO it's a bit annoying and should only auto-play if the last connection expired less than minute prior, or so. Seriously I was rockin out to some Vanilla Ice when I turned my car off, then when me and some chick went to go get lunch, I started up my engine and "...A1A BEACHFRONT AVENUE!"

So embarrassing.

 

[ZeroTX]

Vanilla Ice

 

[jasonandre]

The thing I don't like about the Bluetooth link is that it starts auto-playing as soon as it re-establishes a connection (ie. after you get off work and get into your car). IMHO it's a bit annoying and should only auto-play if the last connection expired less than minute prior, or so. Seriously I was rockin out to some Vanilla Ice when I turned my car off, then when me and some chick went to go get lunch, I started up my engine and "...A1A BEACHFRONT AVENUE!"

So embarrassing.

Own it, man. Nothing says "take my clothes off" like hearing "Yo, VIP".

 

[cTefanovak:]

......The suspension reminds me of the MB and the BMW 335i M-Sport V6 2013 that we have......


3. Sometimes shifting from 1-2, 2-3, 3-4, there is a noticeable light clunk that is intermittent. No grinding sound or feel, just a mechanical clunk even when I'm letting go of the clutch easily so I don't jerk forward. I read about this and from what I found so far, its common and nothing to worry about. Please correct me if I'm wrong......

Congrats on the SI. I've owned many BMW's over the last 18yrs ///M's to be specific and I got this SI as a daily car. Dollar for dollar the SI is impossible to beat for the quality and fun factor! Your 335i BTW doesn't have a "V6", it has a single turbo inline 6.

As far as the mechanical "clunk" you are hearing, I hear a click/clunk from the upper ring that holds the shifter boot in place from time to time depending on how I shift. Maybe that is what you are hearing? Drive around with the radio off and try and reproduce it. I'm new to the Honda forum so haven't had a chance to do a lot of reading/searching of old threads but maybe someone else can chime in regarding this...?

 

[Dahws]

Congrats on the SI. I've owned many BMW's over the last 18yrs ///M's to be specific and I got this SI as a daily car. Dollar for dollar the SI is impossible to beat for the quality and fun factor! Your 335i BTW doesn't have a "V6", it has a single turbo inline 6.

As far as the mechanical "clunk" you are hearing, I hear a click/clunk from the upper ring that holds the shifter boot in place from time to time depending on how I shift. Maybe that is what you are hearing? Drive around with the radio off and try and reproduce it. I'm new to the Honda forum so haven't had a chance to do a lot of reading/searching of old threads but maybe someone else can chime in regarding this...?

+1 for the clunk.

Most notably from 3rd to 4th.

 

[Hitokiri Battousai]

So this is my second civic ever. A little history...I had a 2004 toyota tacoma for 8 years, joined the military, then got a new car. I had leased a 2012 mercedes c250 sport and then got a civic ex-l 2014. Then I was like, damn this is boring. I'm 28 years old btw. So far, I LOVE IT. The suspension reminds me of the MB and the BMW 335i M-Sport V6 2013 that we have. I would say, unless you're into those luxury sports cars, I would probably not go back to getting those european cars again. Just MY preference. If you want something reliable, efficient on gas and the economy, FUN to drive, sporty, and have a lot of practical space, the civic SI sedan is for you. It has a good ride when driving. It placed a large smile to my face knowing that I got this car for $21100 with the discounts. I haven't driven manual for over 6 years so it was something to get used to again. I am getting better though! I love the aggressive appearance and the performance. The exhaust and engine sound is just right, not too loud, but just enough to hear it growl. The ride is stiff, which I can deal with and it made me feel like I was in a cockpit of a rocket pretty much. The sound system is..eh, could be better but way better than my civic ex-l since it has a small subwoofer in it now. I had custom subs in the ex-l but took it out when I traded it in. Probably won't be putting it in my SI because its good enough right now with the EDM music I play. Some folks on the internet say its more of a teen's car than a professional's car. Well I'm a doctorate professional and I still feel professional in this civic SI.

The gas mileage is great. Way better than the MB or BMW above. Although it takes premium gas, I don't mind it actually. I've been babying it so far because the manual says to for the first 600 miles. This car was bought with 11 miles and now has 200. I don't plan on modding performance stuff on the car such as replacing the exhaust etc...

I've been reading a lot online on whens the best time to shift on this car specifically and the consensus seems to be around 3k and don't move the shifter to fast.

A few things I read about while searching extensively online:
1. The aircon has a sweet plastic smell when I have the MAX recirculation on. I guess I won't worry about this anymore since its "normal". When I don't use the max recirc, it goes away.

2. The rev-hang is what I noticed and read about. No huge biggy to me. I don't race anymore at this age...I rather just drive it for run on wide open empty roads when traveling.

3. Sometimes shifting from 1-2, 2-3, 3-4, there is a noticeable light clunk that is intermittent. No grinding sound or feel, just a mechanical clunk even when I'm letting go of the clutch easily so I don't jerk forward. I read about this and from what I found so far, its common and nothing to worry about. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

4. I had a HID kit on my ex-l and never had a problem with lots of glare at night to other cars. How many of you guys put HID lights on the SI? Is it actually safe for the electrical system if you have the relay harness, etc? I got it from KBcarstuff, I believe it was the 4300k version. What is the best/most reliable HID kit do you recommend?

I've had the 6000K lowbeam, 3000k fog Volt Kits from KBBcarstuff on my 2013 Si for a year now with no problems. Since this manufacturer claims to have compliance towards international electrical standards, they seem pretty legit. Comes with a 2 year warranty too!