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The Civic has a sterling reputation of being one of the most reliable cars on the market, but how does it handle more aggressive driving?

Obviously any car will be less reliable when subject to being pushed, but how well does the non-Si Civic hold up in comparison to other cars?

I'm definitely one to be in favor of using 80% of the car in spirited driving and staying around the speed limit rather than buying an expensive performance car and getting pulled over for using 20% of it.

In terms of spirited driving, I'm not talking about bouncing off the rev limiter and pulling maximum G turns. My driving style is more shifting around 5-6k RPM and cornering quickly but below the point where the tires would squeal.

Should one be apprehensive about pushing their non-Si Civic?

 
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The good ones will take it, the bad ones won't.


You wouldn't be doing anything the cars weren't designed to do, and IMO it would certainly outlast many other cars of the same class under similar conditions...

...But they don't tolerate outright abuse well, they are not overbuilt nor made of cast iron --- so if (for example) you happen to make a wrong move and plow a wheel into a curb it could get ugly $$$ right quick when it folds up like a cheap lawn chair. (Same as any other small car, I suppose.)

HTH?

 
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I agree.. It depends on what kind of beating your gonna put it through. And to be honest id say the older civics are tougher than the new ones.

 
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The Si isn't really built any stronger or tougher than a non-Si.
It's just got "upgraded" drivetrain/brakes/handling etc..

 
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My oldest Civics (late 70' early 80's) would take all kinds of abuse. Which is partly where Civic built it's reputation for being a good car. My 99 is a lot different then the older one's and I won't put it through the same abuse. I don't know about newer than that.

Nothing wrong with driving a car hard as far as I'm concerned. Always let it reach operating temperature before really putting your foot into it. Do all your regular maintenance, use good oil/gas and really you shouldn't have too much to worry about. Expect to go through clutch, brakes or suspension components more often.

 
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Quote:

Originally Posted by Stock 99

My oldest Civics (late 70' early 80's) would take all kinds of abuse. Which is partly where Civic built it's reputation for being a good car. My 99 is a lot different then the older one's and I won't put it through the same abuse. I don't know about newer than that.

Would the 70's/80's Civics still hold up as well in present times now that they're 35-45 years old?

 
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Thanks for the response guys.

I was also wondering if there are forum members who consistently drive aggressively and what their experience has been in terms of maintenance and repairs.

 
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Well my 2006 went through it's paces...
Took it over 100 on more than a few occasions before I matured and stopped doing that.

Still would "attack" on ramps all the time.
Wife drives that car now, no problems other than the starter going out (which has no connection to how the car is driven)

Maybe expect to go through tires more quickly, but other than that I think you should be good.

 
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The Si has a different engine though, that's why I mentioned it.

 
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95% or more of the cases, the bottleneck is the driver, not the car, considering a stock car.



badly setup cars by owners could be different story, though

 
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Engine-wise, any Honda engine is built to handle everything from idle to redline and do it all day long.

 
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that's true.. but so are other vehicles like newer mustangs and camoros
not putting Honda down by any means. but many north American vehicles
nowadays can stand up just as good unlike the past. I don't consider myself a agresive
driver by any means however the occasional full throttle exceleration is good for any engine
as far as rattling pistons and rings around

for blowing carbon out. good idea to do is. run BG 44k in the tank
along with some wide open full throttle onto on ramps does an excellent job I have owned Hondas
before in my younger days and Yes they were excellent at holding up. just make sure if Your beating hard
on Yours change the oil sooner than Later.