[dot]

Originally Posted by gaurav_chopra04

I can easily say that the difference in price of S and V is all worth it because, S lacks the most important thing, seating comfort..I cant tell how many times I move while driving civic with fabric seats, the leather ones were PERFECT, not only because it was leather but also because of moderate lumbar support and better overall positioning.

During the early days I had refused to believe this. But after driving mdsaab's Chicca (V AT), I agree. The seats of V variants are better than S variants.

[Ace F355]

Originally Posted by dot

The alloys are really nice. They accentuate the Shark.

Thanks dot. I was smitten on these alloys for long time!

Originally Posted by dot

Saw a similar set on a Mustang recently. Then you mentioned that Mugen ones are similar, which they were. I wonder how black alloys will go along with a blue color...

Yours is silver blue car! May be you should stick with silver alloys IMO even if you plan to upgrade! Had it been an aqua blue or similar shade, golden alloys would have looked superb!

Originally Posted by dot

here is a picture of a Civic hybrid with ducktail spoilers. They looked pretty nice. I think this thread is the best place to put them up.
If y=1
x = I am not going to be tempted. I am not going to be tempted.
y= 1
end if

Haha... comeon man, you are thinking about ducktail spoiler for a long time now! Please go ahead and get it installed. It isn't that much expensive either.

Originally Posted by akshay1234

But the PCD of the alloys I have is totally different from the Punto. Maybe they were similar alloys.

Anyway looks like your car still does not have tints. I think before you go around blacking out anything, you should add some tints, even if not too dark. it will improve the looks a lot.

Hows the drive with the 17s? Better be careful with rough roads.

Ofcourse, Punto and Accord have different PCD and while Punto is 4 lug, Accord is 5. But similer alloys, thats what I meant! Same Enkies as yours.

My car does have tints. Llumar 50% on sides and back and 70% in front! Will not get darker than these since I frequently go to Chandigarh where cops are much strict than other parts of this country.

Have driven the car only for 50 kms so far on 17s! Very little loss of ride quality but not a deal braker at all! The ride is still 85% of what it was before 17s. I know about the rough roads and it will be a strict test for my car and these wheels + tyres coz the part I live in, is notoriously bad in terms of roads. We will see, how it goes!

Originally Posted by gaurav_chopra04

Did you check the price of these?

Yep, they were about 11K each! But no one was having a fresh stock!

Originally Posted by gaurav_chopra04

Thats Kumho.. And apart from the tyre what surprised me was the price of 225.45 R17.

hehe, I keep getting this name spelled wrong! And you are right, INR 6800 is the cheapest I have heard for 17s in recent times!

Originally Posted by gaurav_chopra04

A small note to people.. please dont confuse A Drive R1 with normal A-Drives. According to Yokohama, the R1s are better than A Drives in terms on handling, wet grip and are more focused towards performance than comfort.. You can put them somewhere between the S-Drives and the A-/ C- drives. And the thread design too is noticeably different from A-Drives..

Correct and I will keep everyone updated about their performance time to time!

Originally Posted by gaurav_chopra04

Same here Rohit, it was a pleasure to meet you, I mean who else apart from an enthusiast can listen to your car talks (well, nonsense for some) for over 5 hours..

Originally Posted by gaurav_chopra04

ya, I can believe what you are saying, especially after having driven a brand new punto right now (a friend got it today). The super soft new clutch of punto made me say..eeks, I need new clutch . May be 76k on the clock is what has brought the clutch to this shape..In between, your clutch should go soft (atleast same as mine), after bleeding..

I too hope so!

Originally Posted by gaurav_chopra04

Well, a common trait of cedia, even the throws arent as short as that of civic. Kinda used to it and love it. Got the gear oil changed about 800 kms ago, during 80k service..

Aha, then it must be only in my perception! I love the steering on Cedia as well, just wish it was a bit shorter in diameter as well!

Originally Posted by gaurav_chopra04

In between, driving your car was an experience in itself. Things I never thought about driving my cousin's civic.

First, because it was the first car I ever drove that had a K&N, No need to say I am tempted..the sound at 3k rpm plus was incredible...

3000-4500 rpms is where the car actually roars! A very sweet intake growl I must say!

Originally Posted by gaurav_chopra04

due to K&N, the throttle response was better than a stock civic.

Yep, I observed the same when I drove a stock Civic couple of months back!

Originally Posted by gaurav_chopra04

the start stop button, steering mounted controls (I for once got a bit stunned, later realised, you got it installed), and the sill plates with illumitation were again mouth watering. From the outside, the projectors, rear lights, body kit and alloys made the car a real head turner..

Thanks bud!

Originally Posted by gaurav_chopra04

the suspension is still taut after 50k kms, even on 225/45 I couldnt believe that no vibrations were filtered to the steering. There was simply no looseliness in suspension.

Now that the 17s are on, the suspension will take some abuse! I have Tein treatment in my mind once the stock suspension gives up!

Originally Posted by gaurav_chopra04

Lastly, and the most vital part for me and I think even for civic owners. I complaint to Rohit about the seats of civic before I drove his car. I had driven my cousin's civic and that of a friend, both of which have fabric seats. My cousin, my friend and me have always complaint about the excessive lumbar support and awkward position of the seats in civic. Now, as soon as I drove rohit's car, I knew that the difference was huge. lumbar support and positioning was perfect and I felt at home as soon as I got inside the cabin. I can easily say that the difference in price of S and V is all worth it because, S lacks the most important thing, seating comfort..I cant tell how many times I move while driving civic with fabric seats, the leather ones were PERFECT, not only because it was leather but also because of moderate lumbar support and better overall positioning.

I have felt the same difference myself and as far as I remember the same discussion was started by GTO in Civic Maintainance thread as well!

Here are the quote from the same!

Originally Posted by GTO

Okay, here's a question for the Civic S variant owners. I found the stock seats of my friend's '07 S-AT very soft, compared to the leather ones in my V-MT. The difference in compound firmness is substantial.

Dude just returned from a Goa-Mumbai drive and was crying of how his butt pains. Apparently, his wife and another occupant (who sat on the front passenger seat for 6 hours each) complained of the same.

We all know that firm seats are better for long drives, but are the S-variant's so soft that they lead to severe discomfort after long drives? His family has sworn never to use the Civic for long drives again.

Originally Posted by laluks

I have the S MT. From my travel logs, you can understand how much my family travels with me in our civvy. The seats are soft, but not to the extent that, I had got a feedback about it from my kids or wifey. But, the angle of the rear seats sometimes were referred to.

Originally Posted by civic-sense

I did a long drive (~700km) and back after a week in Sept 2010 and did not have any discomfort on the butt. The neck and the lower back did pain, and had to resort to Volini, but the butt was absolutely fine.

Do you think that the S has a softer foam compared to the V? Or that the difference is brought in by the leather? I still miss the soft, hugging seats of the Optra.

Originally Posted by cityvic

The seats are way too soft compared to our relative's V.We will be upgrading to Stanley soon after the OEM fabric becomes a little dirty.Some times I regret telling dad to buy an S and spend the remaining money on getting the stuff from outside.

Originally Posted by jatinpatel

Yes the compound of the seats in V and S model are different as confirmed by the SA of Linkway Honda.

May be more Civic S owners who have driven some long stretches could shade some more light on the issue!

[Akshay1234]

Originally Posted by Ace F355

Ofcourse, Punto and Accord have different PCD and while Punto is 4 lug, Accord is 5. But similer alloys, thats what I meant! Same Enkies as yours.

My car does have tints. Llumar 50% on sides and back and 70% in front! Will not get darker than these since I frequently go to Chandigarh where cops are much strict than other parts of this country.

Have driven the car only for 50 kms so far on 17s! Very little loss of ride quality but not a deal braker at all! The ride is still 85% of what it was before 17s. I know about the rough roads and it will be a strict test for my car and these wheels + tyres coz the part I live in, is notoriously bad in terms of roads. We will see, how it goes!


Now that the 17s are on, the suspension will take some abuse! I have Tein treatment in my mind once the stock suspension gives up!

Oh from the pic it didn't look like it had tints. Ah yes the ride will be pretty good on smooth roads, but don't go quick over uneven or bad roads, or your shocks will just give up. lol.

You may have to get the Teins quicker than you think. Just saying

EDIT - But itll be totally worth the 17" upgrade. Your car will handle like a dream now. Corners which earlier you used to take at 80 can be taken at 120 no sweat.

[Ace F355]

Originally Posted by dot

During the early days I had refused to believe this. But after driving mdsaab's Chicca (V AT), I agree. The seats of V variants are better than S variants.

Your observations add to what I have put in my post above!



A quick and short review on ride quality with 17" alloys: Just went out for another quick drive of about 30 kilometers. Have to say I am mighty impressed with the ride quality. I was expecting huge losses in terms of it and it was one of the main reasons I was avoiding alloy upgrade. The steering has become a tad more heavier and car feels solidly planted at sharp corners at even 80-90 kmph! No understeer at all, 225 cross-section working overtime I guess.

The A Drive R1 side wall is pretty stiff and it doesn't comes out as S-Drives! The hard bumps do penetrate into cabin but all I do is take the car as slow as I can, driving over these rough patches. So far so good! *fingers crossed*

[dot]

Originally Posted by Ace F355

Y

A quick and short review on ride quality with 17" alloys: Just went out for another quick drive of about 30 kilometers. Have to say I am mighty impressed with the ride quality.

This is indeed very interesting news. The mod has been worth it, I suppose. Do you see any discrepancy in the speedometer?

[Ace F355]

Originally Posted by dot

This is indeed very interesting news. The mod has been worth it, I suppose. Do you see any discrepancy in the speedometer?

Yep, happy to pay the price so far! No observed discrepancies in the speedo and they should not even be, since 225/45/R17 is the recommanded upgrade for Civic!

[dot]

Originally Posted by Ace F355

since 225/45/R17 is the recommanded upgrade for Civic!

In that case, why do you feel that the suspension life will come down? I didn't understand this part.

[gaurav_chopra04]

Originally Posted by dot

In that case, why do you feel that the suspension life will come down? I didn't understand this part.

Sir, the tire upgrade is from 195/65 R15 to 225/45 R17. Since, the overall diameter of both the sizes is same (24.98 inch), the speedo reading will be accurate.

However, the sidewall height is decreased by an inch from 4.99 inch to 3.98 inch. The side wall actually absorbs the energy, when your car hits a pothole. When the sidewall is high, it absorbs more energy from the bump and lets minimal energy pass on to alloy and to suspension. When the sidewall height is decreased, it absorbs less energy from the bump and lets more energy pass on to alloy and to suspension. Therefore, when the sidewall is low, the suspension takes more damage, when the road conditions are not good; and in the long run the suspension life goes down.

This is the same reason as to why the comfort is minimised on low profile tires and handling is maximised.

[Ace F355]

Originally Posted by gaurav_chopra04

Sir, the tire upgrade is from 195/65 R15 to 225/45 R17. Since, the overall diameter of both the sizes is same (24.98 inch), the speedo reading will be accurate.

However, the sidewall height is decreased by an inch from 4.99 inch to 3.98 inch. The side wall actually absorbs the energy, when your car hits a pothole. When the sidewall is high, it absorbs more energy from the bump and lets minimal energy pass on to alloy and to suspension. When the sidewall height is decreased, it absorbs less energy from the bump and lets more energy pass on to alloy and to suspension. Therefore, when the sidewall is low, the suspension takes more damage, when the road conditions are not good; and in the long run the suspension life goes down.

This is the same reason as to why the comfort is minimised on low profile tires and handling is maximised.

Woah.... Sweet explanation Gaurav! Ever contemplated Academics as your profession! You might just feed the subject into students in a right way!

[dot]

Originally Posted by gaurav_chopra04

Since, the overall diameter of both the sizes is same (24.98 inch), the speedo reading will be accurate.

However, the sidewall height is decreased by an inch from 4.99 inch to 3.98 inch. The side wall actually absorbs the energy, when your car hits a pothole. When the sidewall is high, it absorbs more energy from the bump and lets minimal energy pass on to alloy and to suspension. When the sidewall height is decreased, it absorbs less energy from the bump and lets more energy pass on to alloy and to suspension. Therefore, when the sidewall is low, the suspension takes more damage, when the road conditions are not good; and in the long run the suspension life goes down.

Brilliantly explained. Thanks a lot. I knew bits and pieces of the explanation, but never really connected the dots.

[Ace F355]

Two more cellphone pics, showing the alloy upclose (with centre wheelcap on!) and the thread pattern on A Drive R1s (Boy, 225 looks awesome on Civic or what!, and I was being pedantic with 205 cross-section earlier!). Pic quality is not good since it was getting dark while my car was being serviced.

Full Blown Photoshoot will come up soon, I am a little busy for now. But very soon....

[sushrutha]

Hellllllllll...............Holy cow
Whatz going on buddy ?
The Shark looks So sweet with those alloys upgrade. Definetely adds character to the car.
Fantastically matches the Shark.
14K for them is steal dude ... Now I'm jealous of you for the obvious reasons...
Please do put in some clear pics with proper photo shoot out.

Believe it..I too have the Dark Blue colour(Subaru Impreza) in my mind if I upgrade. The blue colour which you are planning(a choice) for a change in colour looks amazing.
Heck I love that colour.. With golden 17" alloys ... That would surely look one amongst the other CIVIC's . It surely will be a head turner.

[Ace F355]

Originally Posted by sushrutha

Hellllllllll...............Holy cow
Whatz going on buddy ?
The Shark looks So sweet with those alloys upgrade. Definetely adds character to the car.
Fantastically matches the Shark.
14K for them is steal dude ... Now I'm jealous of you for the obvious reasons...
Please do put in some clear pics with proper photo shoot out.

Believe it..I too have the Dark Blue colour(Subaru Impreza) in my mind if I upgrade. The blue colour which you are planning(a choice) for a change in colour looks amazing.
Heck I love that colour.. With golden 17" alloys ... That would surely look one amongst the other CIVIC's . It surely will be a head turner.

Huh, sometimes I wonder how many people must have tempted by the random ideas that crop up in my head!

Thanks Sushrutha, Photo shoot will be soon, I promise! And the aqua blue color...... ahhhhhhhh!

[Ace F355]

Just got back from a late night drive in my Shark. Didn't click many pictures but paid one more visit to Ferrari New Delhi to have a eyefull of Italian Babes.

Gawd, that 599... I think I am in love!!!

A distant pic of my Indigenous Ferrari!



Okay Okay... Now the real deal.




Italian Finesse + Japanese Fury!

[arvi86]

Nice pics there Ace F355. The solo pics of the 599 are just brilliant. Tell me, how do you pull this off Ace F355? I am asking about the art of visiting the Ferrari New Delhi showroom twice in 2 months.