[sumeethaldankar]

Originally Posted by techcoze

Does coolant color really matter? My understanding is that color is just dye, it does not define chemical composition of coolant. What matters most is chemical base and silicate/borate free-ness of coolant.

Yes, surely we should avoid coolants like pink/red, since they are not at all compatible with Honda. But my research says both green/blue color coolants will do for civic if they meet OEM honda formula, i.e. Organic, Ethlyene glycol based, non-silicate & non-borate.

Please correct me if I am wrong

I am not really sure about the chemical composition of the coolants but once my Honda service advisor said as long as the after market coolant is blue in color it should be fine to add same. Blue colored Golden cruiser is easily available on Amazon etc last time i checked.
I think its best to keep to manafacture standards because the coolants dont cost too much.

[sgiitk]

Originally Posted by sumeethaldankar

I am not really sure about the chemical composition of the coolants but once my Honda service advisor said as long as the after market coolant is blue in color it should be fine to add same. Blue colored Golden cruiser is easily available on Amazon etc last time i checked.
I think its best to keep to manafacture standards because the coolants dont cost too much.

I have my doubts. The coolant has a life of a decade, normal coolants, irrespective of the colour are to be changed every two years. Honda uses a special (I think waterless) coolant. Some people have posted, that it is not that expensive either.

[spiritofmars]

I'd spent the last month in a lot of back and forth, multiple car reviews, and a lot of calm, analytical thinking. I thought I would be sensible and buy something like a City/Rapid/Vento .... all the boxes ticked, sensible cars.. but a fortnight ago I saw an ad on Olx, and today this is parked below my house...




Not to say anything about those cars; they are great. But if you don't turn around and look at your car every time you park, you bought the wrong car - and for me that's the Civic. This Civic, in this beauuutiful color. Managing the buying process remotely had its challenges (I am in Chennai, the car in Bombay), but things clicked and I drove it back over this weekend. All the way from Bombay to Chennai, in an exhilarating ride where I got used to the car's ways and wiles.

For those who thrive on data, it's a 5 year old, 40k run car, single owner. Okay-ish maintenance - the owner clearly isn't a teambhp person. I have a list of enhancements in mind;

- A complete servicing from a trusted FNG
- Switch to synthetic oil
- Disc skimming, clutch overhaul/replacement
- Cabin air filter
- Airbag recall for Takata (the owner was clueless)
- Headlights upgrade to 100/90 or better
- Michelin 205/65/R15
- New horns
- 3M nomad mats, 3M interior & exterior cleaning with paint sealant

I realized much later what had catalysed this seemingly-sudden decision - this long term Civic maintenance thread. The Skoda ASS horror story, the VW attitude and the dependable but bland City; all these paled in comparison to the feel of the 1.8 Vtec. Now I just need to find a buyer for my Alto K10....

[techcoze]

Originally Posted by spiritofmars

I'd spent the last month in a lot of back and forth, multiple car reviews, and a lot of calm, analytical thinking. I thought I would be sensible and buy something like a City/Rapid/Vento .... all the boxes ticked, sensible cars.. but a fortnight ago I saw an ad on Olx, and today this is parked below my house...

Congratulations on your new possession. Alto to civic is indeed great upgrade! Even after 10 post launch this beauty is still head turner. Do keep us posted about maintenance and modifications.

[1lokesh]

Originally Posted by spiritofmars

I'd spent the last month in a lot of back and forth, multiple car reviews, and a lot of calm, analytical thinking. I thought I would be sensible and buy something like a City/Rapid/Vento ....

<<snip>>



For those who thrive on data, it's a 5 year old, 40k run car,

Congratulations! Enjoy the beauty. Civic is and will remain my all time favorite.

Would you be able to tell us how much did this one cost? Only if it's ok for you to share, that is.

[namanchaudhary]

Originally Posted by spiritofmars

I'd spent the last month in a lot of back and forth, multiple car reviews, and a lot of calm, analytical thinking. I thought I would be sensible and buy something like a City/Rapid/Vento .... all the boxes ticked, sensible cars.. but a fortnight ago I saw an ad on Olx, and today this is parked below my house...

Congratulations on the brilliant purchase! I myself have been on a lookout for an used Civic or Altis in the last month and was almost sold on the Altis until recently came across a 2008 Cvic S just 32kms done. Took it for a quick spin and boy oh boy, that Torque Somehow, dad convinced me to wait for a month or 2 due to some financial reasons and I had to let go of it.

PS- I still feel Civic, even today can give sedans of this generation a run for its money when it comes to interiors styling.

[sumeethaldankar]

Originally Posted by spiritofmars

- A complete servicing from a trusted FNG

Congrats on the Civic. I would advice to keep the profile of tires to stock if possible. The up sized tires makes the steering a bit heavy and the pickup and mileage do get affected. If you going to use the car in city traffic and the up sized tires are pretty useless. The only thing it will help is increase the ground clearance by a few mm the same can be done by installing doughnuts/spacers at the rear.

[coolkurt]

Just got back after a 1600 kms run across Punjab. I had a few doubts about the Civic being able to handle the extended run, being close to 10 years old and clocked about 137000 kms. But I was stressing needlessly. The car is still a monster on the highway and gives stellar mileage. On good roads, the civic is king. Looking at another 1000+ km runs this weekend and the next. The only difference I felt is that the nvh level had gone up. More road noise was filtering in and the engine growl was more prominent. can anybody with high mileage civics comment on the same?

[spiritofmars]

Originally Posted by techcoze

Congratulations on your new possession. Alto to civic is indeed great upgrade! Even after 10 post launch this beauty is still head turner. Do keep us posted about maintenance and modifications.

Thanks! This one is truly a head turner

Originally Posted by 1lokesh

Congratulations! Enjoy the beauty. Civic is and will remain my all time favorite.

Would you be able to tell us how much did this one cost? Only if it's ok for you to share, that is.

Thanks 1lokesh! I picked it up for 4. A decent price both for me and for the owner, who paid 14 L for it 5 years back! Talk about depreciation ... the car is great shape, needs some minor work to get it up to teambhp owners' standards. The car was perfect (right color, odo running, ownership history, top-end, non-accidental, post 2009 facelift model) so I was willing to pay a little extra since such cars come on the market infrequently.

Originally Posted by namanchaudhary

Congratulations on the brilliant purchase! I myself have been on a lookout for an used Civic or Altis in the last month and was almost sold on the Altis until recently came across a 2008 Cvic S just 32kms done. Took it for a quick spin and boy oh boy, that Torque Somehow, dad convinced me to wait for a month or 2 due to some financial reasons and I had to let go of it.

PS- I still feel Civic, even today can give sedans of this generation a run for its money when it comes to interiors styling.

Run for their money and then some! This is one beauty. I'd suggest you consider the post 2009 models - the suspension bottom-out problem has been greatly reduced.

Originally Posted by sumeethaldankar

Congrats on the Civic. I would advice to keep the profile of tires to stock if possible. The up sized tires makes the steering a bit heavy and the pickup and mileage do get affected. If you going to use the car in city traffic and the up sized tires are pretty useless. The only thing it will help is increase the ground clearance by a few mm the same can be done by installing doughnuts/spacers at the rear.

Thanks sumeet! I will go with your advice and keep it to 195/65/15 michelins. Have been reading the coil spring adjusters thread (VFM fix for civic), have you tried those? Would like to know if you have and your experience over the long term. Also, any thoughts on the headlight upgrade? I am not in favor of installing Xenons, and it seems right now that Philips 100/90 extreme vision/Osram nightbreakers are the best bet.

[techcoze]

Originally Posted by coolkurt

Just got back after a 1600 kms run across Punjab. I had a few doubts about the Civic being able to handle the extended run, being close to 10 years old and clocked about 137000 kms. But I was stressing needlessly. The car is still a monster on the highway and gives stellar mileage. On good roads, the civic is king. Looking at another 1000+ km runs this weekend and the next. The only difference I felt is that the nvh level had gone up. More road noise was filtering in and the engine growl was more prominent. can anybody with high mileage civics comment on the same?

Well same problem here, with car age more outside noise getting inside cabin. Not sure what can be done for that. I was wondering if door and other area damping would make any difference. Most of the times I raise music volume up to solve problem

[techcoze]

Originally Posted by spiritofmars

- A complete servicing from a trusted FNG

Maybe you can also plan to de-cat exhaust system. That would help to bring out hidden power of this car at low RPM. You will surely notice considerable improvement in city traffic drive-ability.

[sgiitk]

@techcoze; remember Honda engines are highly developed. So any tinkering may not be welcome. One think worthwhile will be set the ECU for Euro- US spec. That has 10 more horses than our detuned version. I have a six and a half year old AT which had done only 22,500 km. Now our son has taken it to Gurugram in order to put some km on it. He averages about 18,000pa. Only mod I did was to install the rubber spacers in the rear. Rest is stock.

[techcoze]

Originally Posted by sgiitk

@techcoze; remember Honda engines are highly developed. So any tinkering may not be welcome. One think worthwhile will be set the ECU for Euro- US spec. That has 10 more horses than our detuned version. I have a six and a half year old AT which had done only 22,500 km. Now our son has taken it to Gurugram in order to put some km on it. He averages about 18,000pa. Only mod I did was to install the rubber spacers in the rear. Rest is stock.

I de-cat'ed my civic 4 years ago and so far did not face any issue. I feel it would be reliable only if installation done from competent vendor. I did my work from Automec Mumbai. Many BHP-ans have exhaust modification from this place.
But yes, I am not sure about VERY long term effect of it on the car.

[sgiitk]

I will love to get the ECU redone for the ten extra ponies. As far fuel is concerned we are quite confident.BS-III and Iv are both 91RUN which is the same as European regular.

[namanchaudhary]

Originally Posted by spiritofmars

Thanks! This one is truly a head turner


Run for their money and then some! This is one beauty. I'd suggest you consider the post 2009 models - the suspension bottom-out problem has been greatly reduced.

.

Even I'm of a similar opinion, but after doing my bit of research, a 2008 model done around 50k is going for anywhere around 2.75-3.25 in delhi whereas I haven't come across a 2010 model for less than 4.00-4.25 anywhere. That's like 50% more than the pre 2009 models :( Any suggestions regarding the same? Can't I just get the older version in a well maintained condition and keep some buffer money for the car?