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Comments
No LED taillamps or projector front lights.
One guy on 8thcivic said you won't be much happier with an 09 than with an 08. Might not be too many changes but USB port is still a possibility. That could require the navi/radio suppliers to update the software but thats possible since the fit navi is identical.
I still really love this car, my only complaint is the awful thud sound that un-insulated doors make when you shut the doors.. What's up with that? :confuse:
There is always dynamat for insulation.
Sorry, I am totally lost on this one. What would a new black color look like vs. the old black color? :confuse: Black is black, isn't it, no matter what you call it? Unless you make it a Black Pearl or something like that, but then Honda has to hire Johnny Depp to do the ads for it.
The Sandman
No one can even guess since we don't know for sure that there will be any different standard equipment.
People are assuming that VSA is likely, but nothing is for sure.
My interest in 15 inch versus 16 inch wheels is cost/selection of low profile tires. Currently I have 16 inch low profile on my car and 16 inch normal profile tires on the van. The normal provfiles were $100/set cheaper for the same tire. Web searching a couple of years ago for very low profile tires revealed very limited, very low wear rated tires for straight replacement for stock tC tires.
You're probably right, just pay the $1950 MSRP difference, and gain the extras plus better selection, resale, and discounting.
Goodyear Assurance TripleTred 195/65 HR15 - 740 A B 89H - $98
Goodyear Assurance TripleTred 205/55 HR16 - 740 A B 89H - $105
Michelin Primacy MXV4 195/65 HR15 - 620 A A 91H - $108
Michelin Primacy MXV4 205/55 HR16 - 620 A A 91H - $123
Michelin Primacy MXV4 205/55 VR16 - 620 A A 91V - $149
Yokohama H4S 195/65 HR15 - 500 A A 89H - $77
Yokohama V4S 195/65 VR15 - 500 AA A 89V - $99
Like for like, the Goodyears are only $28 more per set and even the higher performing (albeit with a slightly lower treadwear rating) Michelins clock in at only $60 more for a set.
Best Regards,
Shipo
I just got the Yokohama H4S for my civic and they are INCREDIBLE! They are actually higher rated than the Goodyears or Michelins over on Tirerack.com which is where I got them.
they are so good I just got a set of Yoko V4S's for my girlfriends car.
Try em, you'll like em!
-Nano
With gas prices going up every day, a Civic Hybrid is becoming more and more appealing. But not with that interior!
Since I keep cars until they are ready to be sold to a teenager as a first car or college student who needs basic transportation depreciation is not an issue. Cars that I have had in the past still brought in top dollar on a Sat. morning since they were all very well maintained and still ran well no matter the brand. It just gets to a point that they just do not ride like they used to and seem to get louder with age.
Anyone think the refresh model will be the current Japanese Honda Civic with the defined headlamps? I hope so because it looks really sporty and gives it more personality.
I also hope they keep the current LX hubcaps styling. It looks really nice (I always mistake it as alloys).
Like many of us, she was complaining about the cost of fuel and the direct relation it was having on her bank account, along with the cost of groceries. Gas is $4+ a gallon here right now and it just keeps going up. So, being a good husband (sarc), I surprised her two weeks ago and told her she was getting a new car, take a half day on Friday and we will pick it up. She had no clue what the Honda Civic looked like, not many 2 doors up here in the Detroit area, or the fact that she was getting a new car. She was kinda po'd about the purchase, as she wanted a say in HER new car. But sometimes drastic measures are in order, and $4+ and climbing fuel costs made this purchase justifiable in my book.
Well, I got LUCKY and she LOVES the car, she is still grinning, and still has her Jeep to boot. I found her a black 2008 Civic EX-L Coupe, loaded with auto trans, leather, navi, etc., you guys know the set up. She loves it! She likes the dash, loves the navi, huge trunk, sporty exterior and the heated seats fit her like a glove. I also added the oem fog lamps (what a ripoff $$$) and the Honda trunk liner.
Now the trunk liner, though not cheap, was worth every penny. Very nice design, with a huge lip around the edges in case something spills or breaks back there. Also, the fog lamps, still mad about that $$$$, really finish off the looks of the car. They should be a standard option on the EX's.
While at the dealer, I also had a pin stripe applied. A very fine silver and graphite dual stripe, nothing tacky. You can see it and you can't, depends on how the light hits it. It gives the car just a little extra sizzle, but nothing that makes you go huh.
And I agree with the comments regarding the parking break, my leg hits it too. I really think that this vehicle is geared more towards a smaller person, or a lady's car. The parking break is not an issue for my wife. But, she does have one complaint, and I agree, there is no BlueTooth on the navi. This should at least be an option on the navi units. I would pay to have this installed, but it only seems available on the Accord. And I don't want to go chopping the interior up to add this option. So, I found a Jabra SP5050 BT unit that clips to her visor and pairs up nicely with her iPhone. Now I just need the iPhone to do the voice recognition to auto dial and we will be all set. Should be available with the new iPhone release this June from what I have heard.
In regards to power, sure it could be a little zippier or peppy, but at what cost? I bought this car for the fuel mileage and the luxury features it actually offers. And at this price point, I don't know of any other car out there that can actually compete. I got out of the dealer with a 6 year 120,000 mile warranty and the car itself for under sticker, which was around $23,500. And while we were at the dealer, they sold a couple of these Civics while we waited for delivery. Very hard car to find with any equipment. They had to get ours out of Toledo, OH. And from what I was told by this dealer and a few others in the area, the EX-L is getting to be a rare find in the SE MI area. I was just happy to get out of there under sticker with the warranty!
But, here is the best part, and why I wanted this particular little luxury ride. My wife's first full tank of gas took her 390 miles on 8.8 gallons of gas! That works out to 44 mpg! And this is not a hybrid. She is so happy that instead of spending $100+ a week in gas, that she is now down around $40-$45 a week. This savings alone, and the small car payment a month, put this little Honda into the appreciating asset category. It is cheaper to drive with a payment than her paid for Jeep Liberty.
And she will check on the Civic dash for 09. She believes that her company makes that particular dash.
Mike
Will be real curious to see the early spy shots of the next generation Civic. Not sure if they will go back to a more traditional dash layout as I think the jury is split 50/50 over it's look and functionality. I personally like the ease of not having to take one's eyes off the road to see exactly how fast the vehicle is moving. My kids who are young drivers prefer it also. But a whole bunch of folks feel differently and I know Honda is very much aware of this fact.
The Sandman
On the 2008 EX coupe, what is the effect of exchanging the 16" tires for 17" tires? Will it affect ride comfort/noise and/or fuel economy?
Will it affect the noise? That should depend more on the tires and the tread pattern than the wheel diameter.
Will it affect the comfort? That depends on whether you call a smooth ride comfortable or a ride where you can feel more of the road comfortable.
Will it affect the fuel economy? Ummm, probably not, errr, unless you move to a much wider tire.
Best Regards,
Shipo
A larger diameter wheel/tire will always use more fuel, I believe. They require more power to get moving (think of a bicycle in low gear vs. high gear). It'll also slow you down slightly. Just moving up one size shouldn't be too big of a deal, but I'd never go past 18" on any car, since I don't want the rough ride and expensive replacement costs.
Changing the size of the rim should have an extremely nominal effect on mileage or speed or distance traveled per revolution. Consider the following wheel/tire combinations that come from the factory on various Civics:
Wheel ---- OEM Tire ---- Diameter
15x6.5 -- 195/65 R15 -- 24.98031"
16x7.0 -- 205/55 R16 -- 24.87795"
17x7.5 -- 215/45 R17 -- 24.61811"
Okay, so maybe my math is hosed up, but I'm only seeing about 0.37" difference on the overall diameter between the largest diameter tire (interestingly enough on the smallest wheel) and the smallest diameter tire (mounted on the largest wheel).
Thoughts?
Best Regards,
Shipo
When the poster said moving up to 17", they didn't say what sidewall profile size (55, 50, 45, 40, etc).
Your math is probably right (I'm not checkin' behind ya) .
I hope you see the point of my post now. Notice I said "A larger diameter wheel/tire will always use more fuel, I believe" and didn't just say bigger rim.
My point was to simply state that larger diamter tire = increased fuel use.
As for your assertion that a larger diameter tire will always use more fuel, nope, not buying that one either. In fact, an argument could be made for such a change causing fuel consumption to go down. How?
1) Your argument suggesting that it take more power to launch the vehicle doesn't wash because torque converters and clutches take up the slack, and as such, the engine really won't know the difference.
2) Once rolling, and once the clutch(es) is/are engaged the vehicle travels further per revolution of the engine regardless of which gear the transmission is in. To a certain extent, the lower the final drive ratio, the better the fuel economy, and by putting larger diameter tires on any given car you are effectively shortening the final drive ratio.
In the end, even if the OP was to have moved from say the OEM 205/55 R16 tires to say a 205/55 R17 (of which I can only find six tires in this size on the market), the revolutions per mile would have only dropped from 832 with the 16" set to 805 with the 17" set (roughly a 3.5% change).
Best Regards,
Shipo
It takes more energy to get a larger diameter wheel rolling. I'm not sure where the engine will get the extra energy except from fuel.
The Civic already has a very tall gear ratio (less than 2000 rpm at 60 mph); some would say too tall for a car with such meager torque. Want to go from 60-70 MPH sometime TODAY, well you can count on the RPMs climbing. On the highway, the Civic will be doing more unlocking of the torque converter to maintain speed, if not downshifting altogether. There's a point of maximum fuel economy, and I'd wager to bet the designers of the Civic have done enough research to find it.
That being said, in theory, you are absolutely right about the larger wheel making the ratio taller. It also makes getting off the line negligibly harder.
I never said anything about the difference being big, to be fair.
Anyway, I stand by my comments, and you stand by yours. Since this has nothing to do with the arrival or features of the 2009 Civic, shall we move on?
1) Minor tweaks to the R18 engine to possibly increase horsepower slightly (maybe to 143 from 140 now) or widen the torque curve. We may see some minor changes to improve fuel economy, too.
2) Some minor changes to the center front dash, but the main instrument panel design used now will be retained.
3) An optional new car stereo with the ability to control iPods that use the iPod Data Connector.
4) A switch to the same headlamps and taillamps used on the JDM Civic sedan.
It will be very interesting to see what kind of automatic they'll use on the 2009 Civics. Since the 5AT unit is starting to get old in design, we can't dismiss the possibility of a new 6AT unit for improved acceleration and better highway fuel economy.
Yes, I think we can. I'd bet my house on the fact that Honda will put a 6-speed (or any upgraded transmission) in an Acura, or even the Accord, before the low-priced Civic.
Also, what is the source of your information on the 2009 Civic?
Tweaking the R18 engine is also possible, though unlikely. And the more I think about it, I do think Honda may not replace the 5AT unit during the MMC until the next full-model change (FMC) in 2010 for the 2011 model year.
The Sandman
rav-4 2wd slides all over the road. Is the civic
much better ? i'm thinking of getting the 09 civic
Jack
Best Regards,
Shipo