8th gen Civic Si i-VTEC

[BigMike]

This morning on my way to school I got to play with a new Blue Civic Si i-VTEC (197 hp, 2600 lbs).

1. Red light with a million cars in the #1 lane. Civic & me in the #2 lane in spots 1 and 2. *Hopefully* the Civic is in a hurry because I need to accelerate hard when the light goes green jump in the #1 lane to enter the freeway on-ramp. Light goes green and the Civic takes off fast and jumps into the #1 lane with me ass grabbing him.

2. The Civic hits the corner pretty good. Again I get to take this corner in 3rd gear (usually can only do this if no one is in front of me). The Civic takes the entire road and ends up in the #2 lane. I cut the corner at the same speed as him but I stayed in the #1 lane :)

3. I am about 1.5 car lengths behind him at this point, but I've got the inside lane.

4. It takes me nearly the entire corner to catch the guy. My tires are squealing like crazy and not a sound from his. I really need to get my crash bolts installed and get some better camber in the front.

5. We come out of the corner bumper to bumper!! It is a foot race to see who will hold on because the 2 lanes merge into 1 lane up ahead.

6. It took the entire length between points 5 and 6 for me to get about a 1/2 car length ahead of him, and then he shuts it down quickly and I continue onwards onto the freeway.

[BigMike]

Now I don't understand this. How can my car, with only 145 HP and 2440 lb, out accelerate a 197 HP 2600 lb car?

Granted, the on-ramp is up hill so my broader torque band helps, BUT, I didn't start to pull on him until the road was nearly flat. He should have SMOKED ME. And trust me, he was giving it EVERYTHING he had because he later passed me doing like 90+ on the freeway and I just let him go. I also heard his intake get REALLY SUPER LOUD just past point #5, so I know he was up in the VTEC range.

My car: 145 HP, 2440 lbs = 16.82 lbs per HP
His car: 197 HP, 2600 lbs = 13.19 lbs per HP

So in order for me to have a slight advantage over that, say 13:1 lbs:HP, I have to have 187 HP. THERE IS NO WAY I have this much power, even if I have cams and cam gears and a JDM bottom end! With only 8 PSI I will never have over 155 to 160 HP MAX with this engine.

What is going on with this engine? It is like no other stock 4A-GZE I've ever seen

[BigMike]

ahhh It is possible that the scale at the Maple & Olive Recyclers is off -- something I have been wondering for a very long time -- and perhaps my car is closer to 2300 lbs?

I also have a full tank of gas right now, I've got counter weights in the front trunk (bottles of water), and my school bag is a good 40 pounds (laptop and 2 large books).

When I weighed my car at the Recyclers, it wasn't 2440, it was 2520 Then I went home and I unloaded EVERYTHING from the car (including the glove box) and I used my house scale to weigh everything removed. The difference was 2440 lbs.

I am going to get another opinion this weekend. I pass a lot of truck stops on 99. I'm gonna get the car weighed again

[Sirdeuce]

Just drive into Levi's iron and metal and ask if you could weigh your car there. As long as they don't make a weigh slip it should be cool. Or take some aluminum cans to the place and stop on the scale and play dumb. Go to the window and ask where to take the cans and then drive off. The weight is on the readout over the scale so you can see the weight when you get out of your car. Don't even take any cans. As far as catching the Civic on the turns, ya got to remember the whole front wheel drive thing. The Civic was probably plowing hay fields on the turn. And consider the thing about most of those Honda guys, they are only comfortable in a straight line anyway. One more thing. check the torque bands of both cars. I'll bet his torque is lower than yours and comes on a lot later and is a shorter band than your 2. Peak power is mostly about bragging rights, overall powerband is what wins the race.

[BigMike]

Just drive into Levi's iron and metal and ask if you could weigh your car there.

I'll either pick up 30 nails in all my tires or my car will get sucked up by the crane magnet and scrapped

...Go to the window and ask where to take the cans and then drive off. The weight is on the readout over the scale so you can see the weight when you get out of your car. Don't even take any cans.

Yes, this is what I've done to weigh my truck and my car. I just don't know when they last certified their scales. If you think about it, at a place like a recyclers, there really is no need to have their scale certified. As long as it can read your car before you dump off your newspaper and then read it again afterwords, it will serve its purpose.

But a truck scale, now that is different because truckers depend on an accurate reading for legal requirements. Therefore, I am going to try out a truckers scale this weekend and I will reply with the results.

As far as catching the Civic on the turns, ya got to remember the whole front wheel drive thing. The Civic was probably plowing hay fields on the turn.

If he was plowing hay fields, then I was plowing large watermelon plantations.

And consider the thing about most of those Honda guys, they are only comfortable in a straight line anyway.

This confuses me. How do you know about this? I found this out through Chee. I asked him how many Honda guys go play in the hills and Chee was like, "What? Are you serious? No one!"

When I watch Japanese videos on YouTube I always see Integras all over the place on tracks. There is a great aftermarket for coil overs, sway bars, and other cornering equipment ..... it's shocking how so few Hondas venture into the mountains for pleasure.

check the torque bands of both cars. I'll bet his torque is lower than yours and comes on a lot later and is a shorter band than your 2. Peak power is mostly about bragging rights, overall powerband is what wins the race.

Took me a while, but I found some stock dyno sheets... Here is an approximate torque band comparison. That 2-liter also puts out 140 ft-lbs, but of course it's 2,500 rpm too late compared to my 1.6.

I produce 96% of my peak torque at only 1/3rd into my power band.
For the Honda, you'll have to wait until you get 75% through its power band to produce the same torque

[Sirdeuce]

See how broad the torque curve is on the GZ as compared to the short peaeky curve of the Honda. I'll admit i likethe power the Hondas have, but the ones I've driven have to stay high in the revs to stay in the fun range. 9000 rpm is like a drug, the S2K sings that song all day long, and I got hooked. Too bad I couldn't afford the damn thing at the time. I can tell you the 4AGE sounds pretty good in that range too! I have that chipped ECU that works with the AFM ECU and is RPM limited to 8800 RPM! The extra 1000 revs bring the little engine to a life you'd not believe! How does 85 MPH sound for 2nd gear?