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Honda Civic Si / SiR 2005 and earlier

3321 messages,  Last post on Dec 21, 2007 at 5:11 PM

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What is this discussion about? Honda Civic, Coupe

Messages Page 281 of 332

#2801 of 3321 Re: 2000 Civic SI Mobil 1 0w-20? [vdharia] by blueiedgod

Jul 26, 2004 (4:45 am)

Replying to: vdharia (Jul 25, 2004 8:58 pm)
Historically, Honda engines lived past 300,000 miles on just dyno oil. So, if cost is of concern then go with a cheaper option. If you are going to change your oil every 3750 miles, then go with regular quality dyno oil. I do Mobil 1 changes every 5000-6000 miles. Also, if cost is a concern, the DIY cost is only $30-$35, buy oil at walmart $28/case of 6 (you'll only need 5), and Mobil 1 filter $4-$5. Sometimes Autozone has a promotion where if you buy 5 quarts of Mobil 1, you get Mobil 1 filter for free.
 
Chances are that you will get bored with the car or it will be stolen before the 300,000 miles. The 1999-2000 Civic Si is one of the most stolen cars. The B16 engine in it is one of the most desired engines after the B18 from the Integra GSR. Every kid with a CX hatchback wants to put in the B16 in his car to maximize the power to weight ratio. And the fact that B16/B18 will go into any Civic from 1986-2000 is not helping thieft rates.
There is a kid in my town who has a 1996 Civic DX with a blue hood from the 99 Si. This is plain stupid, the Si hood is no lighter than the stock 96 hood, but the kid thinks otherwise. Check out ebay, everything Si drives the price up, even though most of the 1999-2000 Si is the same as EX coupe.
If you bought it used, I would ran carfax on it before buying it. The market has gone wild to the point, that some unscrupulous mechanics would buy a 1999-2000 Civic Si shell from the insurance company, stick an EX, or worse LX/DX engine in it and sell it to some unsuspecting kid who thinks he got the Si.
On the positive side, the 1999-2000 Si has some of the highest resale values to day. I belive the going price for 1999 Si with 40,000 (true) miles, that has not been raced or modified is $12-$14K. That is not bad considering it sold for $16K in 1999. Problem is, there are almost no "unmolested" Si's out there. Even if someone had one with "just the bigger wheels" the wheel bearings are not designed to handle the higher rotational inertia, that would make me question the longevity of the hubs, and maybe CV joints.
 
coolant tank only holds .89gal capacity
You are not replacing the coolant in the overflow tank only, you are replacing coolant in the whole system: the engine, radiator, heater, and the tank. I don't have the manual for your car infornt of me, but my Si holds 6-7 quarts. Yes, I have bigger 2.0 engine, but yours may be 4-5 quarts. Your owners manual should list the capacities and specifications. If you live in southern climates where weather does not go bellow freezing, or you will never drive into areas where it gets cold, you may get away with one gallon, and add a quart of deionized or distilled water. But remember that Honda coolant is already dillutted 50%.

#2802 of 3321 Re: 2000 Civic SI Mobil 1 0w-20? [blueiedgod] by vdharia

Jul 26, 2004 (5:39 am)

Replying to: blueiedgod (Jul 26, 2004 4:45 am)
Is there anyway to secure down a 2000 Civic SI so it has less of a chance of being stolen, even though I live in a small town. Like something to deter joyriders.

#2803 of 3321 Re: 2000 Civic SI Mobil 1 0w-20? [vdharia] by blueiedgod

Jul 27, 2004 (5:04 am)

Replying to: vdharia (Jul 26, 2004 5:39 am)
Like something to deter joyriders
People who steal Si's are not joyriders, they are professional chop shop operators. They are not going to steal the car to have fun, they want the internals.
The best way is to garage it, and maybe install a kill switch. You would have to install your self, that way no one will know where it is and how it is wired. Alarms are useless when dealing with professionals.
When I had a VW, I wired the kill switch into the headlight switch circuit. When I shut off the car, I would turn the head light switch to the "ON' position. Since I rewired the headlights with relays, the headlight would not come on, but the fuel pump was disabled unless the head light switch was turned "off" before putting key in the ignition.
In the 1999 Civic I had, I wired the kill switch inside the center storage bin. And still, someone tried to steal it. I ended up with busted up steering column, ignition lock, steering wheel (I had club on it as well) and passneger side window seal.
Not saying what I did to my current Si, but no one wants it anyway, because it is not the most potent Civic anymore, RSX-S is. Both have chip in the key, which may buy us some time, until someone figures out a way to fool the computer, or mess with the immobilizer.
If you don't think you can't do it your self and have to have "professional" do it, go as far away from home as possible, and try not to divulge your address. The best would be to go while you have paper plates, as they are more difficult to trace. I know it sounds paranoid, but I have lived in the Bronx for 10 years, and have seen things that you would not believe.
You said in the original post that you will be taking the car to school, you may want to do the kill switch before school starts, and NEVER, EVER tell anyone about its location, unless you know them really well.
 
Oh, and if your Si is not blue, then remove the Si badges. You may fool amateurs into thinking it was an EX. If it is blue, then everyone and their mother knows it is an Si.

#2804 of 3321 Re: 2000 Civic SI Mobil 1 0w-20? [blueiedgod] by vdharia

Jul 27, 2004 (7:03 am)

Replying to: blueiedgod (Jul 27, 2004 5:04 am)
I actually heard about that peeling window down, destroy steering wheel column thing on other peoples civic's at school. Why would a thief do that, break the wheel off like you said, then how would they drive it?

#2805 of 3321 Re: 2000 Civic SI Mobil 1 0w-20? [vdharia] by blueiedgod

Jul 27, 2004 (7:30 am)

Replying to: vdharia (Jul 27, 2004 7:03 am)
Why would a thief do that, break the wheel off like you said, then how would they drive it?
I don't think I am about to divulge information that a professional car thief does not already know.
It is a design flaw with Honda Civic/CR-V ignition lock assembly. Although it is designed to lock the steering wheel when key is taken out, it is made of brittle alloy. By destroying the ignition lock they can free the steering shaft to rotate. The ignition switch itself, can be turned on by hand once it is freed from the ignition lock assembly.
If you have a "Club" or other steering wheel device, a thief would either freeze the lock out, making it brittle and succeptible to breakage. Also, "Club approach" has a major flaw, even though the "Club" itself is made of tough material, the steering wheel is not. Instead of cutting the "Club" thief cuts the steering wheel rim to remove the "Club." Another way a thief bypasses "Club" is by pulling really hard on it, I had foot prints on my dashboard from thief's trying to pull the "Club" off. The pull deforms the wheel rim and allows thief to remove the "Club" intact. Some thieves have replacement steering wheels to drive your car with if they destroy the original steering wheel to the point where it is unusable.
 
Here is a story from a few years back: (before Giulliani)
I am in the middle of Times Square, at 8 or 9 pm on a Satrurday, and it is crowded with people. I see this Camaro parked by the mail box, and a guy with a screwdriver stabbing the door lock, right infront of everybody. It took him less time to open the door than it would have taken me with a key. He was inside the car, messing with the ignition. I flagged a NYPD cruiser, told him that I thought that the car was being stolen. Cops approached the car, as I was watching.
They asked him for the papers, he wanted to go to his bag, they took the bag from him and spread him eagle on the hood of the Camaro. As they are going through the bag, he jumped up and turned mid flight, and started running downtown. The cops gave him a foot chase for a block or so, and gave up. This shows you that police are not that interested in chasing "petty" car thieves.
Your best protection is something not so ordinary and mass market as a car alarm. You need something that a thief would not know how to disable. There are car thievs training at junk yards on how to disable the newest security guizmos. But they can not train on something that they don't know about.
Did you ever see "Gone in 60 seconds"?
Good luck.

#2806 of 3321 Re: 2000 Civic SI Mobil 1 0w-20? [blueiedgod] by vdharia

Jul 27, 2004 (10:33 am)

Replying to: blueiedgod (Jul 27, 2004 7:30 am)
Why do you think EX and DX Civic's are stolen more than SI's? I keep seeing that on all the reports. The Accord, the Civic EX and DX are all stolen more often than the SI.

#2807 of 3321 Percentagewise..The SI is stolen more. by gee35coupe

Jul 27, 2004 (10:38 am)

They just made more of the other models.

#2808 of 3321 Re: Percentagewise..The SI is stolen more. [gee35coupe] by vdharia

Jul 27, 2004 (11:05 am)

Replying to: gee35coupe (Jul 27, 2004 10:38 am)
Do you think there is a mileage at which the guys won't steal the car. I mean if its at like 120000 miles won't they not want it since the engine is so worn by then?

#2809 of 3321 May be... by gee35coupe

Jul 27, 2004 (11:39 am)

But then are you going to want a car with that many miles? I don't think 120,000 is too many miles.

#2810 of 3321 Re: May be... [gee35coupe] by vdharia

Jul 27, 2004 (11:41 am)

Replying to: gee35coupe (Jul 27, 2004 11:39 am)
Whats the point of really owning this SI if I just have to worry about it being stolen all the time? I ruins the fun if you can't just leave it stock and lock the doors. What cars are made so that they're really nice and fast and also cheap but so the guys won't steal it.

Messages Page 281 of 332

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