Just bought a new 2015 Civic Si Coupe

easyas123

easyas123

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Location
Norfolk, Virginia
Vehicle Model
Civic Si
Body Style
Coupe
I just moved from my 2005 Civic Hybrid to a 2015 Civic Si Coupe, and I'm also fairly new to stick. I started out on a Mistubishi Evo. Anyways, I was wondering if any of you guys had advice to give to a new Si/stick shift driver such as how to properly break in the engine, what items tend to be more fragile than other cars (such as how the Evo's clutch tends to wear relatively quick), ect. I'm just trying to make my new car last as long as possible.
 
First off, I'd like to say welcome to the forum and nice car pick! I have the same exact one except 2014:rockwoot: This is my first stick car as well. I think the transmission is pretty solid overall, not sure of the weak points. Hopefully we can get some more knowledgeable information on this thread. Congrats on the new car and good luck! @webby @323 @Michal006
 
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First, I want to say welcome!
Second, it's a Honda, it'll outlive you lol
Third, there's a thread around here somewhere about breaking in the engine, some say drive it like you stole it right from the dealer parking lot (like I did) some say drive it like you will normally drive it, some like to baby the engine for 500 or 1000 miles.
I'll find that thread...
 
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http://9thcivic.com/forum/threads/engine-break-in-whats-your-take-on-it.5321/
This is the one thread where it's discussed. There is no real issue with "fragile" things. I wouldn't necessarily beat on the car, but I wouldn't avoid vtec during break in. Follow the guidance in that link & you should be fine. I've never had an issue with starting from a stop in 2nd (over literally hundreds of thousands of miles in various manuals). Maybe I should note that I'm not trying to race someone from a stop in 2nd. If I'm just going slow from a stop, I've done it.
 
you did win. I was still reading stuff before seeing you replied!
 
Break the engine in how you want to drive it. There's no need to pamper the car,because machining is so precise now ,the chances of any issues are slim to none. I've personally taken two engines from overhaul straight to dyno and ripped it.advice I was always given by the tuner and racers alike. Rev it rev it rev it. I usually do an hour drive up bouncing it off redline,and decelerate from high rpm to create a vacuum to get the oil particles with fine metal particles down and out away from the engine. And I do an oil change after 500 miles.
 
jaaku10 said:
Break the engine in how you want to drive it. There's no need to pamper the car,because machining is so precise now ,the chances of any issues are slim to none. I've personally taken two engines from overhaul straight to dyno and ripped it.advice I was always given by the tuner and racers alike. Rev it rev it rev it. I usually do an hour drive up bouncing it off redline,and decelerate from high rpm to create a vacuum to get the oil particles with fine metal particles down and out away from the engine. And I do an oil change after 500 miles.
Click to expand...
Your basically breaking the piston rings in,in short
 
Welcome, and excellent vehicle choice. Everyone pretty much already coved engine break in for you. I can't honestly say that I've found any weak points so far with my Si. My advice to you as far as being new to stick is go out and drive your car. There is no other or better way to learn. After a while you will get used to the way your car feels and it will just become second nature to you. Get yourself a full tank of gas and just go cruise around aimlessly so you can get a feel for the transmission. Do some stop and go in an empty parking lot, and try to get a feel for where your clutch engages so your not left rolling backwards and panicking at a stop light on an incline. Also don't rush yourself, be patient, and don't be embarrassed if/when you stall (it happens to everyone eventually). Once you get well suited with the basics there are some more advanced techniques you can look up and practice that can make you more efficient and make your drive just a little more fun.

Things to look up in the future or just for fun:
  • rev-matching (great for smooth downshifts and clutch wear)
  • heel toe technique
  • clutchless shifting (it can be done)
  • power shifting (not always great for the clutch)
 
Luckily the 2015 have a feature that locks the brakes when sitting on a hill for three seconds to prevent the car from rolling back :)
I agree with ^^
 
The 2014 has it too, but you'd be surprised how quick that 3 seconds can go by if your not ready for it. I learned on my old 97 civic that had no assists. Gave myself the crash course as I had to drive it 40 miles home from the dealer.
 
Break in is just hardening the cam lobes and matching them to the rockers and seating the piston rings. All of which happens at the factory. If something breaks during the break in period as long as you dont go past redline it was going to break anyways.
 
Flightmaster127 said:
Welcome, and excellent vehicle choice. Everyone pretty much already coved engine break in for you. I can't honestly say that I've found any weak points so far with my Si. My advice to you as far as being new to stick is go out and drive your car. There is no other or better way to learn. After a while you will get used to the way your car feels and it will just become second nature to you. Get yourself a full tank of gas and just go cruise around aimlessly so you can get a feel for the transmission. Do some stop and go in an empty parking lot, and try to get a feel for where your clutch engages so your not left rolling backwards and panicking at a stop light on an incline. Also don't rush yourself, be patient, and don't be embarrassed if/when you stall (it happens to everyone eventually). Once you get well suited with the basics there are some more advanced techniques you can look up and practice that can make you more efficient and make your drive just a little more fun.

Things to look up in the future or just for fun:
  • rev-matching (great for smooth downshifts and clutch wear)
  • heel toe technique
  • clutchless shifting (it can be done)
  • power shifting (not always great for the clutch)
Click to expand...

Yeah, I've had the car for about a month now. I've got a feeling for when the clutch engages early on when I was too afraid of the gas thinking that I would launch if I gassed too much. Now I feel like I'm using too much gas when I start, then my car just revs up to 3,000 and I look like some douchebag trying to show off. I did stall my car the other day unfortunately because I forgot I was in 1st when I let go of the clutch at a traffic light. Currently I'm training myself on rev-match downshifting perfectly and a good area to have my seat. I'm a pretty short person, so I need the seat up quite a bit to fully engage the clutch, but having the seat up that close just makes me feel uncomfortable.
 
Thank you everyone for the advice. I've been asking around a lot about breaking in the engine. I even called the dealership, but I feel like I know more about the car than some of the people there. At work I was getting a lot of advice varrying from going easy to hitting VTEC once a driving session. I can say that I absolutely love the car though. It's already saved me quite a few times from either wildlife on the road or getting somewhere right before it closes.

I also appreciate all the welcomes. Later on after I've gotten a good feel for the car, when I get enough money, and once they come out with 2015 parts I plan on trying to get an exhaust system. I saw a 2014 Black Si with one and it really inspired me to want to get one. I saw that there's already forums for builds, so I might end up using that forum for advice on an N/A build in the future.
 
On a new engine that hasn't ran before the main areas of concern is the cam lobes are soft and the piston rings haven't scorned the cylinder walls yet. As part of the assembly line the factory hooks the engine up to a machine that spins the motor at a certain rpm for a certain time. This wears your cam lobes hard and shapes them to the rocker or valves they sit on and it causes your cyliner walls to be scorned by the piston rings.

Now of you're rebuilding your own engine they make special break in oil. And you usually just run the motor at an elevated rpm for 15 or 20 minutes and your break in is done.

Honda does put special oil in the car new to aid in any additional wear during the first oil change and to harden the cam even more but its nothing the customer has to worry about.
 
easyas123 said:
I just moved from my 2005 Civic Hybrid to a 2015 Civic Si Coupe, and I'm also fairly new to stick. I started out on a Mistubishi Evo. Anyways, I was wondering if any of you guys had advice to give to a new Si/stick shift driver such as how to properly break in the engine, what items tend to be more fragile than other cars (such as how the Evo's clutch tends to wear relatively quick), ect. I'm just trying to make my new car last as long as possible.
Click to expand...
Please post pictures of your new car
 
Just traded my 2012 Civic LX in for a new 2015 Si on Black Friday and wow, this is a whole different animal, driving just got fun again! Also I ordered the Takeda Momentum Sealed Stage 2 Cold Air Intake Kit with Pro DRY S Air Filter (TM-1018P-D ) I hope this was a good choice?

20141231_152629a.jpg
 
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