[arvi86]

Originally Posted by dot

Typically Civic's plastic parts are all clip attached. Is it possible that the cover can be pushed back into place by taking it out and clipping it back in correct alignment?

I have already tried taking it out dot, but it wouldn't budge. I think it is fitted really badly the last time it was taken out. If not, it could just be a part of the usual wear and tear.

On another note, I just calculated the mileage of the Civic during my recent drive to Yelagiri (excluding the distance traveled in Chennai city before and after the trip). It was an amazing 17.8 kmpl. All I did was maintain a steady 80 to 90 kph in Chennai-Bangalore highway (to make sure that my cousin who is a new driver keeps up with me) and regular driving in the ghats. I knew sedate speeds in highways yield good results but have never tried this before. It was a revelation of sorts. It has spoilt me so much that I am planning to do this (atleast in one-way) in my future long drives.

[dot]

Originally Posted by arvi86

I have already tried taking it out dot, but it wouldn't budge. I think it is fitted really badly the last time it was taken out. If not, it could just be a part of the usual wear and tear.

Funny, why it should be taken out for anything. Does it have clips at all or it is pasted by an adhesive?

Originally Posted by arvi86

On another note, I just calculated the mileage of the Civic during my recent drive to Yelagiri
It was an amazing 17.8 kmpl. All I did was maintain a steady 80 to 90 kph in Chennai-Bangalore highway

That is the i-vtec eco cams in action. Wow, what figures.

[arvi86]

Originally Posted by dot

Funny, why it should be taken out for anything. Does it have clips at all or it is pasted by an adhesive?

Exactly my question. If at all, why should it ever come out of it's position? It looks like its pasted by an adhesive as when I tried pushing it back in position, I didn't hear any clipping sound or stuff like that.

Originally Posted by dot

That is the i-vtec eco cams in action. Wow, what figures.

Seriously, the 'Temple of VTEC' link that you gifted all of us in Team-BHP was a revelation and it was wonderful to see the results for myself. Unbelievable figures, I must admit. You know what, the other car that we took for this trip, a Santro, gave much lesser mileage than the Civic.

[dot]

Originally Posted by arvi86

Exactly my question. If at all, why should it ever come out of it's position? It looks like its pasted by an adhesive as when I tried pushing it back in position, I didn't hear any clipping sound or stuff like that.

You can use an adhesive that sticks polyethylene/polypropylene to itself. There are some 3M products. I have a similar tube. I can lend it to you when you come to Pune next time, maybe it can help.

Originally Posted by arvi86

You know what, the other car that we took for this trip, a Santro, gave much lesser mileage than the Civic.

Interesting.

[arvi86]

I am typing this post with mixed emotions. Though I am happy and elated with the way the car is performing every time I take the wheel, I am extremely sad and angry that the respect and care for other's vehicles on our roads have come down drastically.

How else can I explain the incident of a stupid two-wheeler rider coming and banging at the rear bumper of my Civic? While returning home yesterday, I was forced to brake a little hard because of another stupid girl in her Scooty who decided to cross the road all of a sudden. This guy was apparently just millimeters away from my bumper and the next moment all I heard was this dreaded bang. When I inspected the car today morning, all I could see were some bruises in the rear bumper but luckily, they are visible only if I inspect the car up close and personal.

I have a doubt about the seat-belt pre-tensioners. How do they work? Do they tighten under acceleration (I have experienced this in my uncle's Ford Escape and C Class abroad) or do they tighten only in case of a crash? I am asking this because the seat-belts in my Civic remains loose allowing free body movement in case of hard braking. I am really concerned on this all-important thing. Your valuable feedback would be of great help.

As I had promised earlier, here are the pictures taken during my recent drive to Yelagiri. This is the first time I am adding some great candid running shots of the Civic to my collection thanks to my cousins who were accompanying us in the second car. Have a look and post your comments!

[Ace F355]

Some beautiful shots, these!

Arvi, sorry to hear about minor accident you had. Yesterday only, an i10 almost T-boned my Shark too! The car came out of a hotel building pretty fast and I saved myself by braking hard! Here in India and espcially in Metro cities, we need to drive very carefully since people have lost that elementry sense of driving!

[arvi86]

Originally Posted by Ace F355

Some beautiful shots, these!

Arvi, sorry to hear about minor accident you had. Yesterday only, an i10 almost T-boned my Shark too! The car came out of a hotel building pretty fast and I saved myself by braking hard! Here in India and espcially in Metro cities, we need to drive very carefully since people have lost that elementry sense of driving!

Thanks a ton Ace F355. Good to know that the Shark came unscathed. As you say, driving everyday in our metros is like peeping in and out of jaws of danger.

[arvi86]

With all this negative publicity over the new Civic going on in the USA and other markets, I must admit that I made a right decision at the right time. When my parents and friends initially objected for going in for such an expensive car so soon into my professional career (Remember, I am the first time car owner in a middle-class family), I just had the following statements in defense - "This Civic is a one-off model; Probably, the next-gen Civic may not look as beautiful or may not be as good as this one; So, before this Civic goes out of production, I should own one." I said this to my mom and dad late last year and today I forwarded the news about the new Civic to them and they were pretty much shocked.

I don't know why, but all along, I had this belief that Honda has reached the pinnacle of glory with the current-gen Civic. Maybe it was this belief that made me assume that the next-gen Civic will surely be a step down for Honda as the only way to go after reaching the top is to go down. And Honda has apparently proved me right. A relative of mine just confirmed what Consumer Reports have stated. After taking a short test-drive, he still likes the old Civic better than the new model.

I am sure most of you who own the present Civic will agree with what I have stated. After all, we own a rare automobile which is going to go down in the history books as a model that looked and performed better than its next-generation model that came six years later. Now, who else can lay claim to such a statement?

[Vroom barabar!]

Hey Arvi. Congrats for your pre worshipped civic. Since you are quite experienced in buying a used car, can u tell me what role does the IDV play in deciding the price of a used car. Is it necessary that the price should be less than the IDV?

[arvi86]

Originally Posted by Vroom barabar!

Hey Arvi. Congrats for your pre worshipped civic. Since you are quite experienced in buying a used car, can u tell me what role does the IDV play in deciding the price of a used car. Is it necessary that the price should be less than the IDV?

Thanks for your wishes Vroom barabar. First of all, let me tell you that my car-buying experience is just an year and a half old and there are so many people in this forum who are much more experienced and knowledgeable. But I will tell you what I know. Others can definitely pitch in and help by correcting me if I am wrong.

If a particular car is valued properly since it was bought, then your logic is correct. Say, if the car is insured for a IDV of INR 6 Lacs in 2010, then ideally the car should cost you less than that when you buy it in 2011. But, there are many people who save on insurance premium by deliberately under-valuing their car. In that case, this logic won't work. In fact, my insurance company was surprised when I asked them to increase the IDV of my car to actual levels (results in higher premium).

So, check the market price of the car which you are looking for. That will give you a fair idea of the prevailing prices. Then, use this logic and choose your ride. Of course, Team-BHP is there for any quick help/suggestions in making your decision.

[arvi86]

At last, I have managed to squeeze some time to write about yet another long drive I had in the Civic over the long Independence Day weekend. Ever since I bought the car, I have been doing atleast one long drive every month in it and still, the excitement have not waned off even a wee bit. After driving down to Trichy once and Yelagiri twice over the past two months, it was decided that both myself and the Civic needed a bigger and a longer drive this time.

And so, it was Coorg, one amongst the many beautiful places that Karnataka has on offer. Mind you, this was a real test for the car as it carried not three, not four, but a full load of five guys and all our luggage. I have to admit that the car came out of this acid test in flying colors.

As usual, the trip started with me scraping the bottom on the same speed-breaker (I scraped the same hump during both of my earlier drives to Yelagiri) at the Sriperumbudur Toll Plaza just after Hyundai factory. Though this acted as an initial dampener, it made sure that henceforth all of us who took the wheel drove so carefully in every speed-breaker or pothole throughout the trip. And bingo, the Civic never scraped its bottom even in a single place after that. Not even in the pothole ridden road from Periyapatna to Siddapura near Coorg.

We started from Chennai at around 4 PM on Friday evening, reached Bangalore by around 9PM after stopping for dinner at Hosur. NICE Road made sure that Bangalore was crossed in a jiffy. The Bangalore-Mysore Highway held a few surprises in the form of sudden unmarked speed-breakers. Luckily for us, they were small-sized multiple humps and the car was equipped with ABS. So, the Civic escaped with just a sequence of bad jolts. I can't even imagine what would have happened if those were big single humps. The front bumper and the rocker panels would have flew out of the car in impact. After these scares, the night was spent at a hotel in Mandya and the drive resumed next morning at 5:30 AM.

The road from Mandya till Mysore was again fantastic. This time, we were more careful and could identify speed-breakers well in advance. The ORR in Mysore was horrible and really slowed down the progress. After Mysore, the road till Periyapatna via Hunsur was excellent. The last part after Hunsur was so scenic and really made our day. From Periyapatna, we took a detour from the Mysore-Madikeri Road to reach Siddapura. I could feel the car crying out loud to me for making it to go off-roading. In most places, we were just doing speeds of about 20 km/hr. Finally, after some really careful driving over crater-sized potholes, we reached our homestay at around 9 AM.

After that, it was three full days of bliss in a pristine natural environment surrounded by the chirping of birds and the swaying of trees. The return journey was highly unremarkable thanks to our decision of going from Siddapura to Kushalnagar and return back in Madikeri-Mysore road. The roads from Kushalnagar all the way to Chennai were truly awesome.

With heavy eyes calling for sleep, I am just loading a couple of teaser pics of the trip. More to come tomorrow!




I really missed out on this very important update. After pondering around so much on where to stick it, I finally zeroed in on this place in the boot. There it is the LCLC sticker announcing to the world that I am yet another happy BHPian. I really wanted to have this in my car before the drive to Coorg and so did it on the night before the trip.

[bala80]

Dear Arvi - I'm sure more beautiful pictures of your trip will come up, knowing the passion that you have for automobile photography. I remember seeing this civic with the LCLC sticker on its boot very recently somewhere, but I'm unable to recollect where exactly! Do you stay somewhere near adyar/velachery/OMR?

Also when you get some time, do post more details on the route that you took to coorg along with the distance stats, details of the homestay and your recommendations. I'm looking to do a trip to coorg pretty soon and I look forward to your suggestions with great interest.

Thank you for this wonderful thread arvi86.

[arvi86]

Originally Posted by bala80

Dear Arvi - I'm sure more beautiful pictures of your trip will come up, knowing the passion that you have for automobile photography

Thanks for those nice words bala80. You really made my day with your reply and it made me feel good. It came just at the right time as I was starting to wonder whether members in the forum are bored of the various pictures of the car, going by the lack of response to the thread for quite some time.

Ya, as you said, more pics are on the way! But, stop me before I go on an overdose .

Originally Posted by bala80

I remember seeing this civic with the LCLC sticker on its boot very recently somewhere, but I'm unable to recollect where exactly! Do you stay somewhere near adyar/velachery/OMR?

I am not staying in any of those areas but there are fair chances of seeing me in Velachery as it is quite close to my place and I also drive my car sometimes to office via Velachery. The next time you see, just give me a tap, would be nice to see you in person.

Originally Posted by bala80

Also when you get some time, do post more details on the route that you took to coorg along with the distance stats, details of the homestay and your recommendations. I'm looking to do a trip to coorg pretty soon and I look forward to your suggestions with great interest.

Sure buddy. Its coming up very soon. Not anywhere else, but in this very same thread. I know that I will be waiting forever to find enough time to start a full-fledged travelogue, so will be doing a short and crisp log of my drives in this thread itself.

[vigsom]

[quote=arvi86;2459654]How else can I explain the incident of a stupid two-wheeler rider coming and banging at the rear bumper of my Civic? quote]

Great photographs RV ; best wishes !!!

Cars are meant to be used and car bumpers are meant to take the bang.

Good that the damage wasn't worse than a few scratches.

I have observed traffic sense in Chennai madden over the last 3 years;wonder what's going wrong.People break signals at will,something I have never seen till 2008/09.

[Mr.Boss]

Congrats on the purchase dude.
Your beauty looks great in shape.

Coming to the point of engine response less than 2k rpm, my personal experience is I never faced this issue in our car. Have a look at the condition of Air filter is required change it.

Wish you happy miles ahead.