Testing the Legend of the Lightweight Japanese 1989 Civic Si

[@SamslamminCars]

We get what we can and enjoy any of these now ancient gems. The EF hatch has eluded me but on my 3rx CRX. Hopefully you still have yours'

[@flaman2011]

My Japan model came with 14" rims which I'm doing full restoration of it with stock 1.6 non vtec engine 311k back to 0. Wish I could post a photo

[@BoostedPastime]

You are the level of dedication I have to the EF platform lol

[@MuffinRacing]

Gotta dig into this stuff when you're competing haha

[@BoostedPastime]

@@MuffinRacing agreed lol

[@BoostedPastime]

@@MuffinRacing is there any real difference between USDM civics and CDM civics?

[@MuffinRacing]

@@BoostedPastime that's a good question, I'm not sure. I think the Si was only JDM and CDM

[@BoostedPastime]

@@MuffinRacing in the US we got the D16A6 SI as well but i think that was only from 89 to 91 for the EF. What you call the SI we call the EX here

[@baddestburrito]

As the owner of a CDN Civic Si, this is all just splitting hairs to me. Any EF is already so light, and such an awesome handler from the beginning, you'll never notice the difference. Fling it into corners with confidence.

[@MuffinRacing]

Yeah, I think it would be hard to tell the difference normally. For Autocross, though, where every thousandth of a second matters, 1% of the weight would be noticeable on the clock

[@baddestburrito]

@@MuffinRacing Fair enough...but a driver mod would render that negligible, I think. Har har.

[@MuffinRacing]

@@baddestburrito por que no los dos? 😜

[@baddestburrito]

@@MuffinRacing Si puede tener los dos, sería excellente, por supuesto. jajaja

[@BoostedPastime]

Question. Did you notice the handling difference with the front sway bar delete?

[@MuffinRacing]

With the front sway bar delete, I could feel a little bit of vagueness from the front compared to before, but, at the same time, the car accelerated out of corners better. I wouldn't recommend it without a thicker rear sway bar, quality bushings, and higher spring rates.

[@BoostedPastime]

@@MuffinRacing Interesting, I have driven two ED6's with and without front sway bar and the difference honestly was not noticeable in street driving, under stress I did not get to test the non swaybar STD trim but both felt fun.

[@MuffinRacing]

@@BoostedPastime Yeah, I would be hard pressed to tell the difference on the street.

[@sqweezzstr]

hmm... I believe from 88 to 89, a few minor things were added, like reinforcement bars on the doors for side impact, theres a list online of all the changes from 88-91. Catch me dead in a rhd I'd rather have the parts readily available and have no "JDM tax" on parts. you have ig btw?

[@MuffinRacing]

Yeah, it seems the 89 doors are thicker, but not to the extent of the 90-91 doors. Do you know of these lists off the top of your head? My IG is the same as YT: muffinracing See you over there!

[@sqweezzstr]

Found it, and only one thing is relevant. been awhile since I had seen it but here some general shit we both probably know: *88-89 has thicker side moldings than 90-91 (can they be interchanged?) *89-90 turn signals on the front were yellow and on the 90-91 model they were white. *90-91 has toned tail lights *88-89, 90-91 taillight wiring uses different pin combinations (anyone know the difference) *the input shaft on 88's have 21 splines while 89 and up has 20 *clutches are different sizes between the years (this is the one everyone argued on) *88-89 has a different headliner than 90-91 (due to seatbelt indicator lights above mirror) *88-89 gauge clusters are more square then 90-91 clusters (wiring?) *88-89 seats are a different fabric type than 90-91 (differences?) *88-89 has sidemarkers with two screws in it *88-89, 90-91 front bumpers are also different (difference is?) *seatbelts 88 (all models) have pillar mounted belts 89 (hf only) had pillar mounted belts. 89 (all other models) have door mounted belts. *88's dont have a clutch safety switch *88's have type r style rear lca's *88-89 have bolt in corner lights, 90-91 has slide in *88 did not have side impact door beams (lighter door) *88-89 seats sit higher than 90-91, not interchangeable due to hole pattern.

[@MuffinRacing]

@@sqweezzstr good info, thanks for digging it up

[@williamfullman2639]

Great video

[@byronjones8246]

What's the difference between the Canadian Hatchback and the US modle??

[@MuffinRacing]

Hatchbacks for the Canadian market never had the weird seatbelts

[@byronjones8246]

@@MuffinRacing I just did a vin check on the car I just bought and is from Ontario and has the 1.5 non vtech auto trans.

[@msmoniz]

My first car was a 89 Civic Si I bought in 93. Man I loved that car. Sold it to my sister 7 years later because I wanted her to have reliable car and I upgraded to a 94 Si. It was nice, but never as fun to drive as the 89. Man how I miss that car. It's why I now drive a '12 Fit Sport. It's the closest thing I can think of that drives like that little Si. Fun isn't always about pure power, but how much fun you can have ringing it out and throwing it into corners with abandon. I do miss the rear independent suspension though.

[@MuffinRacing]

You could always pick one up for cheap these days! They've ruined other cars for me

[@msmoniz]

Muffin Racing that’s the dream but with 3 kids, mortgage, etc I don’t have much $ to play with like that plus I’m not really a tinkerer. I’d have to buy one that someone has already brought back to life. I haven’t the time or inclination to have it be a project car(see kids and mortgage comment!😝). Plus with only a one car garage and one car driveway, and I live in Southern Ontario in Canada, I’d want it to be my weekend fun drive car and avoid the harshest parts of the winter. One day hopefully!

[@MuffinRacing]

Hopefully one day!

[@flaman2011]

@@MuffinRacing 89 civic hatchback are more rare especially stock

[@paulthompson3535]

CDM life!

[@waseemsells5378]

I’d say loose 20lbs and push the Canadian whip lol