2006 Honda Civic sedan automatic

[MetroMPG]

Drove this friend's car today.

I'm liking the aero design elements: rear undertray, for one thing, and the rocker panels are well outboard to shield the rear tires. (This car would be a good candidate for an easy set of DIY skirts). And only about 3-4 inches of ground clearance under the front bumper.

But the automatic bites! In lower gears (1&2) Honda evidently has something against freewheeling. I was constantly popping it into neutral to avoid what I thought was an excessive amount of engine braking.

[MetroMPG]

Oh: and also the heaviest steering I think I've ever experienced doing engine-off coasting. Is that a function of it being electric? Dunno.

[rh77]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

But the automatic bites! In lower gears (1&2) Honda evidently has something against freewheeling. I was constantly popping it into neutral to avoid what I thought was an excessive amount of engine braking.

You got it. Until they're sufficiently warm, they tend to gear-hold until 2500. Even warmed-up, Neutral is the way to roll (literally). Hill-Logic control is a real defeater as well. 2500 up the hill in 3rd, lift the throttle, and you only slow down and lose momentum. Argh.

Thanks for understanding man...

RH77

[psyshack]

If it was a EX/LX it has a pump. Only the Si and HCHII have a electric pump. Part of the issue on the ice off coasting is the size of the steering wheel. Its smaller than must by a long shot. I get into our Accord or Ranger and the steering wheel feels like it came out of a bus compared to the Civic's.

Our Accord will coast circles around the Civic. And why would anybody get a Civic with a AT? I just dont understand this American love of AT's. I drove a buddys of mine's 06 AT Coupe. Its awful!!!!! I hate the AT in our Accord. A otherwise wonderful car ruined by a AT. I wont hardley drive the Accord anymore. Might as well be driving a blue hairs Buick.

http://psyshack.com/twoofakind.jpg

I feel the new Civic would areo mod very nice. Ive held up on aero modding mine cause I want it to look factory or darn close to it in workman ship.

psy

[MetroMPG]

Originally Posted by psyshack

Part of the issue on the ice off coasting is the size of the steering wheel. Its smaller than must by a long shot.

Yes. Good point. It does have a tiny little wheel. And relatively wide tires.

And why would anybody get a Civic with a AT? I just dont understand this American love of AT's.

Well, this happens to be a Canadian's car An ex-pat Brit at that, who of course grew up driving manual shift cars.

She got the car on a whim because she liked the way it looked - it just happened to have the AT. I'm sure if it had had the stick, she would have bought it anyway. Her last car was a 5-speed.

She's as much of a "car guy" as a woman can be. I believe most people just don't think / care that much about stuff like transmission choice vs fuel economy.

I occasionally remind myself that anyone participating in this forum is pretty much on the lunatic fringe compared to the general population.

[psyshack]

hehehehe got yeah. Cnd.

There are a lot of intresting aspects of R-18 Civic's. But the AT ruins them.

And when it comes to shear get up and go. My Sedan just walks away from my buddy's AT Coupe. I mean its imbarresing. If its waisting that much energy in WOT,,, just think what its waisting when light throttle is being used and trying to keep it in the lower rpm semi atkins mode. I honestly belive it would be better with a well tuned CVT... <<< I cant believe I just typed that ( CVT ),,, Im going to have to go wash my fingers now...

I hope she enjoys here Civic,, and has no problems with it. Mines been a near can of worms. Ive lost alot of respect for Honda. It looks like there cars are going to get like the motorcycles... Not worth owning...

psy

[MetroMPG]

So far she loves it. But it's also the first new car she's had in at least 10 years that I've known her.

It's also one of the smallest, and her comment to me was: "I don't think I'll ever buy a bigger car than this - I've realized I just don't need the size."

(While I was thinking to myself: this Civic is gigantic! )

[rh77]

Originally Posted by psyshack

If it was a EX/LX it has a pump. Only the Si and HCHII have a electric pump. Part of the issue on the ice off coasting is the size of the steering wheel. Its smaller than must by a long shot. I get into our Accord or Ranger and the steering wheel feels like it came out of a bus compared to the Civic's.

Our Accord will coast circles around the Civic. And why would anybody get a Civic with a AT? I just dont understand this American love of AT's. I drove a buddys of mine's 06 AT Coupe. Its awful!!!!! I hate the AT in our Accord. A otherwise wonderful car ruined by a AT. I wont hardley drive the Accord anymore. Might as well be driving a blue hairs Buick.

I feel the same about the TSX -- it just begs for the 6-speed. ICE-off isn't very feasible in that car. It has a pump, but the steering is stiff as a board when off. The variable cam lets it idle in neutral with little emissions, so engine-on works well.

For some reason, the Teg feels like it has a full-manual steering setup at ICE-off. Even at low-speeds, its managable. On the road, it's E-Z. Let's not talk about the 4-speed Auto...

Metro: So, I does your friend feel that the AT is a sense of luxury? There's a guy on our work team that moved from London (UK) to Toronto, and the first thing he did was buy an automatic MPV. Since it's mostly luxo cars over there that have autos, I wonder if it's a feeling of added feature content?

RH77

[GasSavers_James]

My dad has the HCHII and the CVT is not really all that great for FE.
It does a fine job on the straights keeping the revs low...but when you get to a hill it has some silly sensor that puts the rpms up near 3000, even when the load is next to nothing. even letting off completely and getting back on it doesnt help much.
Also, it always charges the batt. automatically sapping your momentum when you let off the gas...if youre going to pay 23K for a FE car, you would think they would give you a way to modify the assist/regen according to your preference...and have a mode that only charges the batt. when absolutely necessary. in order to get the car to coast you have to fully let off the gas, and then come back on ever so slightly: it is difficult but can be done. I could just throw it in neutral, but it probably isnt worth it.

[MetroMPG]

I do believe the Prius has 2 regen settings - ("B" maybe?) on the gear selector. B being more aggressive, and you can only "glide" the car by carefully modulating the go pedal, as you described.

GM's EV1 electric also had a switch to permit the driver to shut off regen. Sometimes (ie most of the time) it's more efficient to just coast.