Can a Civic make it to the Himalayas?

[scooby05]

Originally Posted by sudev

Yikes 140!! I would say with that as a limit you will have plenty else to worry about than GC of your civic on the Leh route

Oops, I meant 140 on the highways from South to the Himalayas! Naturally not in the Himalayas. Will have to be more specific in future I guess. On the hills one will do between 30 to 80kmph.

[ashthedivx]

Leh in civic This thread will be worth watching up !!

However, as far as my limited knowledge serves Leh routes serves leh via Srinagar might be possible in civic as it much more clearer then the manali one.

[Sudipto-S-Team]

Originally Posted by Torqy

In fact it seems those morons never ever saw our road conditions while designing.

Calling Honda designers morons is not really acceptable. Civic sales in India perhaps does not even account for .01 per cent of its global sales. I don't understand why you expect that they should have designed it keeping in view our road conditions in Leh !!!

If you want to drive Civic, drive it on proper roads without humps and bumps and pot holes. If you want to go to Leh choose some other car - there are many in the Honda stable.

A thoroughbred horse is not expected to plough fields, you know.

I would take the advice of sudev and do what he says. Keep weight low. Drive cautiously and sensibly but not fearfully.

End of the day, give me someone else's Civic I can take it to Khardung La And I promise not to break it. Take my own? No way.

[laluks]

Originally Posted by anupmathur

There is a slightly mysterious aspect to many of the sedans that do the Manali-Leh trip. They seem quite unwilling to post some of the problems that they encounter!
I know of a recent Baleno trip where the lube filter took a hit and all the engine oil drained out. The car stalled, luckily very close to Sarchu. Had to be repaired with army assistance at Sarchu!
Another where the wishbone (front suspension) got bent. The car was not disabled though.

Anup, this is exactly what must be known. What all had happened would be a better database for anyone who plans this. Atleast known issues can be tackled along with the precautions.

The thread is getting more informative day by day cheers:

[laluks]

Originally Posted by Sudipto-S-Team

Calling Honda designers morons is not really acceptable. Civic sales in India perhaps does not even account for .01 per cent of its global sales. I don't understand why you expect that they should have designed it keeping in view our road conditions in Leh !!!

If you want to drive Civic, drive it on proper roads without humps and bumps and pot holes. If you want to go to Leh choose some other car - there are many in the Honda stable.

A thoroughbred horse is not expected to plough fields, you know.

I would take the advice of sudev and do what he says. Keep weight low. Drive cautiously and sensibly but not fearfully.

End of the day, give me someone else's Civic I can take it to Khardung La And I promise not to break it. Take my own? No way.

Agree completely. Why I must have a discussion - its because I love my civic and am asking all knowledgable BHPians about their take on the topic and advice.

The entire dimension of this thread is to have a great discussion of the possibility. If yes how do we do it, if no why. I may or maynot do it, but let us know about the precautions and issues.

The concerns now are the GC and the longer wheelbase. Since Civic happens to be in a luxury segment and is expected to be driven around in better roads and cared for, exposing him to bad roads may be cruel.

But then all the way upto Himalayas is it that bad, is there an alternative, etc is the intention of this discussion.

[akshay4587]

Originally Posted by laluks

But then all the way upto Himalayas is it that bad, is there an alternative, etc is the intention of this discussion.

Take it to leh via Srinagar,only the patch near Zozila pass is bad,rest can be managed in a Civic.

[Sudipto-S-Team]

I think longer wheel base is a larger challenge here than the low GC. By the way, the very name Civic suggests it is meant for cities and to be driven by people with civic sense !! It's not a go anywhere car - lol. It was never meant to be. They steal it in America in large numbers to do drag races on silky smooth roads and then dump them!!

[Torqy]

Honda engineers might be brilliant. Even brilliant people occasionally show flashes of stupidity. The low GC of Civic is one such flash. I didn't say morons regarding roads in Leh. I was talking about the typical Indian road conditions. Imagine, you dole out several lakhs and still you have to feel scared every time you see a (our very own well-designed) road hump / pot-hole where other lesser priced cars tackle them without being so scared.
Civic is a brilliant car NO DOUBT about it. I don't have one because i don't have that kind of money and Civic doesn't have the GC.
Also, i don't want to go back home to get my other higher GC vehicle every time i see a road hump.

[anupmathur]

Originally Posted by laluks

Poor civic, it cant dream to be at the highest motorable road in India.

There are sites where it has been discussed whether India is justified in calling some of these roads as 'motorable'!
The contention is that a motorable road is one where an ordinary stock car can be driven by an average driver, without risking life & limb!

So, perhaps a Civic will do the trip, with higher profile tyres fitted and a body lift kit to give about 20mm additional GC. Plus, the driver would have to be of 'suitable' calibre! The month chosen for the trip should be July or early September. It would be prudent to carry some spares, particularly for parts of the undercarriage that could take a hit and disable the car.

[mjothi]

Excellent thread. I had a slight doubt of if I could take my Aveo there But seems I can relax. Ofcourse, should be prepared for any issues and hope this thread will help to be ready with to avoid surprises.

[ST7677]

Honda engineers might be brilliant. Even brilliant people occasionally show flashes of stupidity. The low GC of Civic is one such flash. I didn't say morons regarding roads in Leh. I was talking about the typical Indian road conditions. Imagine, you dole out several lakhs and still you have to feel scared every time you see a (our very own well-designed) road hump / pot-hole where other lesser priced cars tackle them without being so scared.
Civic is a brilliant car NO DOUBT about it. I don't have one because i don't have that kind of money and Civic doesn't have the GC.
Also, i don't want to go back home to get my other higher GC vehicle every time i see a road hump.

Since you don't own a Civic, it is better that you do not comment about it's capabilities! There is a separate thread which discusses this in detail. However owning one and doing many long distance drives fully loaded, I can only sum it up as a very over hyped issue, probably just because the car does not have any other thing against it.

Coming back to this thread, I believe with adequate preparation and caution it is definitely possible to do it, in fact it would also be an interesting expedition.

it would be interesting to explore what kind of protection do professional rallyists deploy in such conditions...

BTW do you intend to drive all the way to Himalayas from Bangalore?

[laluks]

Originally Posted by ST7677

Since you don't own a Civic, it is better that you do not comment about it's capabilities! There is a separate thread which discusses this in detail. However owning one and doing many long distance drives fully loaded, I can only sum it up as a very over hyped issue, probably just because the car does not have any other thing against it.

Coming back to this thread, I believe with adequate preparation and caution it is definitely possible to do it, in fact it would also be an interesting expedition.

it would be interesting to explore what kind of protection do professional rallyists deploy in such conditions...

BTW do you intend to drive all the way to Himalayas from Bangalore?

I too after driving 20K km in my Civic, feels the GC as an overhyped issue. Maybe since we were careful, nothing offending has happened. I also have overloaded the car quite often 5 adults and comparable luggage in the boot.

Preparation and Caution - that's the key.

Would definitely like to know what the proffessional rallysts do before they take off for such adventures.

Driving all the way from Bangalore - well if at all I do this it would be that way. Want to join?

[Torqy]

Originally Posted by ST7677

Since you don't own a Civic, it is better that you do not comment about it's capabilities!

Oops! My mistake! Extremely sorry.

I didn't know that ALL forum members buy / drive Ferraris, Lambos, BMWs and Hummers before they comment.

Sorry, i'm not that rich. I should've stuck to Bolero threads.



And all you people, who is NOT driving a Civic and still shouting here, it's time to shut up.

[laluks]

Originally Posted by Torqy

Oops! My mistake! Extremely sorry.

I didn't know that ALL forum members buy / drive Ferraris, Lambos, BMWs and Hummers before they comment.

Sorry, i'm not that rich. I should've stuck to Bolero threads.



And all you people, who is NOT driving a Civic and still shouting here, it's time to shut up.

Torqy, don't be in the offensive. Your opinion counts. You have stated your opinion, and the civic lovers including me have a different take. That's it.

Lets get back to the discussion - Torqy and many others have a feeling that the Civic GC is pathetic. Me and ST7677 after driving Civic for a longtime feels its overhyped. Issue closed. Lets move oncheers:

[Torqy]

Originally Posted by laluks

Me and ST7677 after driving Civic for a longtime feels its overhyped. Issue closed. Lets move oncheers:

I'm surprised that your Civics have escaped all the monstrous humps / pot-holes here in Bangalore. I've seen many Civic owners driving over them VERY VERY carefully or stopping to assess the situation.

Where do you live? Which roads do you take?

I stay in Ramamurthy Nagar and i'm more than thankful to the Bolero's GC. Couple that with a spine-chilling 63 bhp engine and i can conquer the mountains everyday.

Oops. Off-topic again.