just bought an '08 Honda Civic Si....commuting car

[Lotus-Position]

My dad drove his Civic (non si, non hybrid) about 300 miles to my house the other day and, according to him, got 43 mpg. Freeway all the way... cruise control at 2000rpm (about 63 mph). Unless he mis-calculated, that is very impressive!

I've been thinking about a high mileage car too... I'm thinking Prius or Civic hybrid. Both boring, but hey, cheap! Plus the Prius has a 10 year warranty on the hybrid bits... pretty impressive.

[plastique999]

Originally Posted by Mattr762

2007 Lotus Elise = 24/29 mpg
2008 Honda Civic Si = 21/29 mpg

Soooo.... You're daily commuter car get worse gas mileage than your fun sports car? LOL j/k

yea just curious...anyone use the Lotus as a DD?...as it does get good gas mileage...and seems ok for short trips...and a blast to drive!

[def]

There's tons of threads about the lotus being a DD (try searching for em). works for some, most it does not

[def]

Just got an 06 hybrid with carpool stickers (which adds a few thousand to price here in CA).

Saved 20 minutes of commuting this morning ALONE using the carpool lane. Seems like a decent car, seems to do what its meant to do great (economy based car). I will be selling my 4runner (will be missed) but this will save me about 30-40 minutes a day commuting and $2k gas per year





I am thinking about changing the wheels to normal civic or civic SI wheels, but want to check weights first to see if it would affect my MPG in a negative way. I don't think aerodynamics would come into play?

[akandok]

The civic is a nice car. I think they really improved on it from the last generation. It gets very good gas mileage as well as exceptional performance. The only thing I do not like about the 07+ civics is that you cant get Hondata K-Pro for them.. But you can get a re-flash that gives you 27whp

[HwangTKD]

Originally Posted by Jeff and Pamela

The LX with the automatic has an estimated 36mpg! Weird the LX with the manual transmission is rated at 34mpg. We drive 42 miles one way to work which is why we're looking at the LX over the Si. I'm trying to find a white one to look at but pretty sure black will be the color. I'd be all over the Scion TC as a daily driver but has the same mpg as the Si.

If you have alot of hills during your commute then the manual would be the way to go. The auto is pretty sensitive to changes in elevation causing the auto to "hunt for gears" resulting in lower mpg then the manual. But if you are in an area of relatively flat terrain then go with the auto. You also have to keep in mind that hypermiling is easier in the manual.

The reason the auto gets better mpg on the highway is because the 5th gear in the auto is geared higher than the manual.

If you can try and wait for the next generation prius, I hear it's suppose to return 60-80 mpg!!!

[HwangTKD]

Originally Posted by def

Just got an 06 hybrid with carpool stickers (which adds a few thousand to price here in CA).

Saved 20 minutes of commuting this morning ALONE using the carpool lane. Seems like a decent car, seems to do what its meant to do great (economy based car). I will be selling my 4runner (will be missed) but this will save me about 30-40 minutes a day commuting and $2k gas per year





I am thinking about changing the wheels to normal civic or civic SI wheels, but want to check weights first to see if it would affect my MPG in a negative way. I don't think aerodynamics would come into play?

Those wheels are designed for max aerodynamics and light weight. I would not change them if I were you.

[CosmosMpower]

Originally Posted by NomisR

Great choice on the Si, it's basically the same as my RSX-S, great engine.. I wish that engiine was in the Elise... oh.. maybe I shouldn't say this..

The K20 is FAR superior to the pos 2zz in the Elise, end of story nothing to feel bad about. People are cranking out 230-240 whp N/A with boltons and cams. However we are foaming at the mouth when BWR or S111 mentions a stage two 240 whp SUPERCHARGER solution here, sad really.

Oh yeah Si has LSD, RSX-S does not that's the one big difference.

[xtn]

V-TAC YO!

[danielg]

V to the TAC baby YUP. Look how much VTEC and LIFT is at my house now.

[xtn]

Originally Posted by danielg

V to the TAC baby YUP. Look how much VTEC and LIFT is at my house now.

Holy crap I count four Civics and four Elises!

xtn

[def]

Any chance you could weigh your SI wheels? lol... they do look nice though!

Originally Posted by HwangTKD

Those wheels are designed for max aerodynamics and light weight. I would not change them if I were you.

Yeah - I'll think about it I guess. If I can find wheels that are the same weight, I don't think it would be affected all THAT much...

[Jeff and Pamela]

Thanks for the information!

Originally Posted by HwangTKD

If you have alot of hills during your commute then the manual would be the way to go. The auto is pretty sensitive to changes in elevation causing the auto to "hunt for gears" resulting in lower mpg then the manual. But if you are in an area of relatively flat terrain then go with the auto. You also have to keep in mind that hypermiling is easier in the manual.

The reason the auto gets better mpg on the highway is because the 5th gear in the auto is geared higher than the manual.

If you can try and wait for the next generation prius, I hear it's suppose to return 60-80 mpg!!!

[DragonRider1]

My wife has an '07 Si sedan. I love the overall handling for a FWD, good suspension, etc. Two things stand out:

20 minutes is about my limit in the seats. Not sure why but they hit every point on my back wrong. I can drive the Elise for 10-12 hours straight and still feel fresh.

The worlds worst fly-by-wire throttle. It just hangs after you let off the gas for about 1-1.5 seconds then starts to taper for a moment before it finally goes down. This is a programming flaw that is supposed to have a reflash available soon. It's one of those things that is so irritating it makes you want to never shift one of the nicest gearboxes I know of. How they can get it so right in the S2k and so wrong on the Si is beyond me.

Aside from those two things I LOVE the car! Awesome stereo, quick, agile, handles better than an FWD ought to this side of the '91 Elan. She has about 8,800 miles on it in the last 6-7 months and no significant hassles. Door squeak was fixed and a door trim is still loose that she forgot to mention. It holds lots of stuff in the trunk and back seats and is a nice mildly invisible (she has the grey) commuter car. Her mpg might be a bit lower than average as she seems to live in the 2nd cam. She also likes playing in Deal's Gap (tail of the dragon to the tourists) with it and it handles that road quite well.

Oh, third thing... Don't even LOOK funny at the paint. It chips/flakes/cracks if you even sneeze at it wrong. They must saved quite a bit of money when it came to being cheapskates on the paint quality...





...and yes, the first thing that happened was the front license plate was yanked off. These were taken the night she got it.

[JRzCarz]

I just had to have these wheels when I saw the car on the lot shopping for a daily driver (too much construction on my path to work for the Elise...)

Color matches the "galaxy grey" paint, 17" Honda Factory Performance (HFP) with Kuhmo Ecsta 225's (I think the Si is 215's with larger front brake rotors.) They ride a little rough until they warm up but handling is good. (There is also an 18" option.)

Also wanted to go with the auto tranny for stop and go traffic so the Si wasn't an option... makes the Elise that much more fun to drive on weekends and 31mpg average at 70+ mph is nice at the pump!