How good is the Civic Si in snow?

Hello,

Before I consider any and all Hondas for my next car, I have to know about
snow traction. I live in New England and that is a fact of life. I
understand that you can get the Civic Si with the standard M&S tires instead
of the summer only. I know the car has 6spd MT and ABS/EBD/VSA and traction
control, but I am a little concerned by the fact that the car is lower and
has lower profile tires. Someone I know has a Hyundai Tiburon with the 17"
rims and they said its not good in snow, so I was wondering if this is also
true for the Si?

I had a 2002 Civic Ex with Auto, and it was okay, not great, but with snow
tires added later on it was decent. Has anyone used the 2006-2007 Civic Si
in the snow?

Thanks,
Al

 

Like with any car, just put winter tires on it and you will be fine. But
note that you cannot drive an Si as aggressively with winter tires as with
the regular tires.

 

The new civics do have very low ground clearance. If you plan on
driving through anything more than a couple inches I don't think it
would be advised.

 

If you drive it in the city, I doubt there will be much problem as
long as you have good snow tires. I drive my GS-R in pretty heavy
snow and it does better than about 90% of the cars out there. Good
snow tires make a world of difference.

 

Thanks, I kind of thought that would help. I have been told that a manual is
better in the snow than without, but never tested it to see if that is true.

Another thing I wanted to know about is the premium gas requirement for the
Si. How set in stone is this? I am curious because its really just a 2.0 4
cyl and i cant figure out why they require premium for it and if I used
regular unleaded what would happen?

Thanks,
Al

 

....with a compression ratio of 11:1. It's the compression ratio that
primarily determines octane requirement, not the number of cylinders or the
displacement. This engine probably also has a fairly aggressive spark
timing curve.

From that car's Owner's Manual:
"Your vehicle is designed to operate
on premium unleaded gasoline with a
pump octane number of 91 or higher.
Use of a lower octane gasoline can
cause occasional metallic knocking
noises in the engine and will result in
decreased engine performance. Use
of a gasoline with a pump octane
number less than 87 can lead to
engine damage."

 

just a 2.0 4 cyl??? it puts out 100hp per liter!!! a crown vic takes
4.6 liters to get the same 200 hp. now, given the math, which motor is
more likely to need the high octane gas???

high compression requires high octane to prevent detonation.

 

Well I agree thats a lot of HP, its almost like the equivalent of a 520 HP
if it were a V8, so were talking Lamborghini category for HP output in a
sense.

My point is that the accord has 9.7:1 and the civic has 10.5:1 which is
pretty close and they don't require premium. Where I live Premium gas is
usually .22 cents more than regular unleaded and usually the gas ranges are
87, 89, and 93 octane.

So as long as I use at least 87 octane i wouldnt hurt the engine just the
performance? I'm just curious. I guess its not a big deal really. It amounts
to $3.00 more per tankful than getting regular. So thats $45.00 instead of
$42.00 per tank where I live at this point.

Thanks,
Al

 

in ignition terms, that's quite a jump.

lucky you! best we can get here in ca is 91 R+M.

the si motor ignition map is set for the slower burning premium gas, not
more detonation-prone regular. it's supposed to have an anti-knock
sensor which should prevent detonation at lower rpm's, but at higher
rpm's, mechanical engine noise tends to defeat the sensor acoustics, so
it's ignored. on that basis, i'd use premium. besides, premium has a
slightly higher calorific value, so some of your increased cost should
be offset by better mpg's.

 

It was some years ago, but there was a news announcement about how
front-wheel drive cars compared with 4WD vehicles when driving snow
covered streets. Some university had done an extensive comparison.
Basically, it said 4WD trucks and cars have no real advantage over
front-wheel drive vehicles in the snow. So, as far as capability, a
Honda Si should do just fine.

As for tires, I recommend Michelin. I had MX4's on my Si and they
were the best tires I ever rode on. But, I never experienced snow
until I recently when I went through 2 snow storms across 4 states in a
Toyota pickup with Michelin LTX M/S tires. I never lost traction for
one second with those tires. Snow, snow on ice, bare ice,
whatever.... I would have never believed it if I hadn't experienced
it myself. Even braking on bare ice would not break the traction of
those tires. Un-bee-leeeeve-able! Well, LTX is a truck tire, but
Michelin makes a sport snow tire, the Pilot XGT H4 and if they say it
has "excellent" snow traction, I believe them. Check it out for
yourself:

http://michelinman.com/overview/pilot_xgt_h4/98.html

nb

 

I live in Buffalo, and have the 06 Si (no traction control) using the
all-season tires. It was OK, but can be a bit tough to get started
moving...

This winter I will be using a set of good snow tires, which should make it
work just fine.

 

I would not consistently run anything except what Honda recommends. My
Audi uses premium and I will sometimes throw a tank of mid-grade in it
(2 premium to one mid-grade) and it's fine. My wife mistakenly filled
it with regular and it was terrible - performance and gas mileage both
dropped. If you really want to run regular, perhaps you should
consider a less-stressed version of the Civic. I mean, why would you
buy yhe higher-performance version if you're not going to put the gas
it requires in it??

Dan D
'07 Ody EX
Central NJ USA

 

No shit. Not to mention that (at least on mine) the gauge shows E after
about 11 Gallons, so the differential per fill-up is under $3. It doesn't
seem worth it to cheap out for a lousy 3 bucks...

 

I would agree that an AWD/4WD car or truck would not stop better in the
snow than a FWD car, but the 4wd/awd would certainly get better traction
in snow during any acceleration even very slow acceleration.

 

It has limited slip, doesn't it?
I have a 92 Civic. with original trans and original all season tires,
it sucked bad in snow (in CT). Sith snow tires, marginal improvement.
With Japanese junkyard limited slip trans and snow tires, i
(literally!) drive circles around the stuck SUVs in the parking lot.
Ground clearance vs depth of snow is an issue, but in the semi-
civilized land of CT, at least for the last few years, it's only been
a mild issue, like once a winter (not including when the car is walled
in 3 feet of snow by the plows when parked on the street).

 

Once you start getting over 10:1, 10.1:1 you're definitely entering
premium gas territory, depending on efficiency of engine cooling,
combustion chamber design, etc. 10.5:1 is actually pretty impressive
compression for a street car nowadays.

 

Thanks for all your repsonses everyone. I agree that saving 3.00 for a tank
and loosing performance would be silly. I was just curious. I know the 07
Si's have traction control and limited slip and ABS/EBD/VSA so I am sure it
will be fine. I just never drove a car with the lower profile 215/45VR 17's
before and I just wanted to make sure that wouldnt cause a problem.

Also I never drove a manual trans in the snow. I had a 1981 VW Scirocco and
a 1990 Miata and both had 5 speed manuals, but never drove either in the
snow. I was wondering if driving a manual trans in the snow is any
different?

Thanks,
Al

 

If you are expecting serious snow, you will probably want to buy
smaller wheels and snow tires with higher profile and narrower tread
(i.e. a -1 conversion or even -2 if the stock setup is extreme.) Not
only will they be much better in the snow, but then you can go with
dedicated summer tires instead of compromising with all-season tires.

It is easier because you have more control. You can easily start in a
higher gear, slip the clutch, shift earlier and more gently as needed
for conditions. Of course this depends on the skill of the driver.

 

Low-profile tires are more susceptible to feathering, problems from
incorrect inflation, and alignment issues.

Keep your tire pressures to exactly that specified on the sticker in the
car. Do not just put 32# like you've always done.

Very much so. I much prefer a manual in snow. But like anything else,
you have to LEARN (or get taught) how to use its advantages.

 

Superb advice -- for snow.

If your winter (like mine) has only intermittent snow, but lots of cold
and ice, you should get ice tires instead. And in that case tread width
is less of an issue.