AUTO
what's new
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09-01-14
08-11-15
07-05-23
 The turbo power is addictive, the versatility of the wagon body style is indespensible, and the AWD rocks in the rain and snow. She cost a pretty penny, but the finance rates that Subaru was offering at the time, compared to Honda, meant that car that listed for almost $10,000 more than the new Si will end up costing less than half of that difference more at the end of financing. So the SiR is gone to a new home with a nice B18C5 Type R motor swap. I'll definitely miss her...
07-04-10
06-12-21
I usually go to Canadian Tire for emissions testing (I don't actually know why, maybe out of mistrust of the "smaller guys"), but I had such a bad experience just trying to get the test done this time that I tried this alternative. Basically, I called Canadian Tire at Laird and Eglinton to see if they take appointments, and they said no, just come on down and we can do it. So I battle the rush hour traffic to get over there, which I managed to do within 10 minutes of calling them (its about 1km from my place) and when I get there the guy says, "we can't do any more emissions testing today, come back tomorrow". The guy was a jerk to begin with, was not apologetic at all, and not even the least bit friendly from the get-go. So, stupid me, I go back the next day as instructed. Different guy this time: "sorry, there is nobody here this evening that does emissions testing". WTF? And this guy is just as non-friendly and non-apologetic as the last guy. I would think even the most basic level of customer service would allow for an apology and some sort of effort to please a customer, but no. The guy ignored me when I first walked in then grudgingly served me when he had no other choice.
OK, since I've already started to vent, I'll go that little bit further. I bought an air pump that plugs into the lighter socket. The company I used to design for made a version of these so I know how they fail left right and centre. Mine failed after about 1.5 years, but lo and behold right in the literature that comes with it, it says 2 year warranty. So I take it back to Canadian Tire and get the, "it only has a one year warranty, so go away". WTF?
I used to go out of my way to shop at Canadian Tire (instead of, say, Wal Mart). Now I am going to have to find some other Canadian-owned place to buy my Mobil 1 and car wash soap. Any suggestions?
Vent over...but yea, Emissions Check, two thumbs up, and thanks to CTC for pushing me there...
Update 06-09-23
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Domestic vs. Import: Why don't the poor-scoring companies chean up their act? "Motivation, money and focus," summarizes [Consumer Reports Auto Center senior director] David Champion. "New-car development is where everyone wants to be; fixing existing products isn't as much fun, and it's hard to get good people to work on that." Are the Japanese car makers really that much better at it, as the reliability results seem to indicate? "Absolutely," says the British-born Champion. "Our ratings and our subsribers' reports back that up. "They just seem to have a more thorough approach. They also seem to have a more reliable supplier base." Aren't domestic and European contenders closing the gap? "No question," says Champion. "Our surveys indicate that when new, there isn't much difference between the manufacturers any more. But as the cars age, especially five years out and longer, we see Toyota and Honda particularly doing well, Ford is about average for all makers and about equal to BMW. The other domestics and Europeans trail, and Volkswagen is worst of all."
Cool Video:
Update 06-03-04
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Tech Link B-series cam spec page: http://www.allmotorhonda.com/techpages/camspecs.htm (Yes, I'm picking up a set of ITR cams...grin...)
News Link
Honda Civics Top Stolen Vehicle List The Top Ten stolen vehicles are:
1. 2000 Honda Civic SiR 2-door
Update 05-11-20
Most reliable (Vehicles listed in scoring order, starting with the best score.)
Least reliable (Vehicles listed in scoring order, starting with the best score.)
The new sleeves have a much thicker wall thickness around the base of the stub (roughly 13mm vs. the old one which was approximately 3mm), a longer stub, and more threads inside the sleeve. Overall wall thickness seems thicker, as well. Image shows old sleeves on top, new on bottom.
Two thumbs up to Omnipower for realizing their error and doing something about it. These coilovers have been great otherwise. If you are looking for a reasonably inexpensive coilover, and do not mind a lack of damping adjustability, these are the ticket.
What is a Civic "SiR"?
This is the Canadian model Civic SiR, which is basically the same as the U.S. 1999-2000 Si, but the SiR has ABS and heated side mirrors.
In 1996, American Honda dropped the Si badge and called the top of the line Civic model the EX (127hp SOHC VTEC D16Y8 engine). Honda Canada continued to use the Si badge for the exact same car (127hp SOHC VTEC D16Y8).
I would guess that Honda Canada looked at the fact that the '92 to '95 125 horsepower D16Z6 Civic Si coupe was essentailly the same car as the '96 127 horsepower D16Y8 coupe (the engines are almost identical) and decided that the Si badge should stay.
When Honda decided to bring the DOHC VTEC 160hp B16A2 Civic to North America, American Honda ressurected the Si badge, while Honda Canada used the SiR badge, since they were still selling a Civic called the Si.
So for 1999 and 2000, Canadian Si = US EX, Canadian SiR = US Si. The same is true for the new 2002 and later civic hatchback - the Canadian model is the SiR, and the US model is the Si. 2006 marks the end of the SiR badge in North America with the introduction of the 2006 Si coupe in Canada and the United States.
 
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