thats what i thought

 

Wow I was gone for a few hours, and got so many replies! Man I love this forum, and it just makes me want to get a civic 10x more haha. Thanks for all the replies, I learned a lot from reading through those.

Yeah I heard somewhere that the HX is pretty rare, I guess thats part of the reason why I thought it was just a step below the SI.

You all make valid points about manual transmission, and they do seem to be a lot of fun when you get the hang of it. I just think for my first car I should go with an automatic. Im still learning the rules of the road with an auto, I cant even imagine how Id feel driving a stick on the road, or in traffic haha.

 

Practice makes perfect. Take for example my first experience. My dad and I bought my civic and i made it clear that i would only buy a manual and the day we bought the car and finished transfeerring the title over he handed me the keys and said i'll follow you home (15 mile drive). I learned very quick. But all in all get what you really want and feel most comfortable with.

 

Yeah, because that's what you got stuck with.

Seriously though, what's better about it than an EX?


Not to come off as a complete ******* (since that's not the goal of this statement), but if you're still learning the rules of the road you shouldn't even have your learner's permit. Do us all a favor and read your state's driver handbook before you ever get back behind a steering wheel. This is just plain dangerous and extremely frustrating to the drivers on the road who took the time to learn the rules of the road when they were suppose to.


Now, for some advice on your transmission choice:

If you are a person who wants to drive sometimes to have fun, you will forever regret getting an automatic. As a person who has been in this situation and made the wrong decision (1993 automatic Civic DX sedan), I can tell you that you will hate it as soon as you realize how much you like to drive for fun...

I sold that Civic and bought the del Sol you see in my sig under my post. It's a manual transmission and I drove a stick for the 1st time the day I bought it and only stalled once or twice on the 15 mile start-and-stop drive home. If you know the basics (when to shift, how to slip the clutch, how to park a manual) before you get in the car because you researched on it, you will probably succeed with the initial drive home and you'll eventually be done stalling nearly completely after a day or two. Slipping the clutch to start from a stop without stalling is probably the hardest part of learning to drive a manual. Practice it and you will be fine.

Also, honestly, a stick isn't that bad in traffic like everyone makes it out to be... you just have to pay a little more attention, which is something that sadly some people think they are too good to have to do. Or they're just scared that they will embarrass themselves and stall every time traffic moves 5 feet.


If you just want to get from point A to point B and you don't enjoy driving that much, get an automatic. But trust me, if driving is a fun thing for you, then you want something that's more fun to drive, a manual.

 

honestly dude stop making it sound like your car is bad ***. You have a header intake and exhaust. Its slow as f**k sorry to b mean but get over it. Dont trick this new guy into thinking something that is not true. VTEC-E is completely different than VTEC. TrustDestruction just went over this with you buddy. So i will go over it with you again. VTEC-E has a completely different cam. Its sol purpose is to conserve gas. VTEC is completely overrated anyways....


OP, your probably better off just getting a lx as they come with main of the extras that the ex's do, just a diff. engine. If you dont get a manual, performance is kind of out of the option, so you might as well save some money and get an lx or dx.

 

Maybe I put that the wrong way. Not the fact that I still dont know what to do in certain situations, but the fact that Im still a beginner and havent been driving for years. Trust me a lot of highlighting and reading the book came before I got my permit. The permit test is pretty easy and I probably didnt need to study the book as much as I did, but theres no way my parents were going to let me take the test, or drive their cars without me studying all I could, and drilling me with questions.

You guys are making me really want to get a manual. I still have till september to decide, so we'll see. If I come across the right car (low miles, good condition, good price, etc.) and its manual, I more than likely wont hesitate to get it.

 

ya manuals arent to hard to drive. hardest part with a manual is 1st and 2nd gear. getting it moving is the hardest part. easiest way to learn how to get moving is in a parking lot with keeping it in 1st gear and just start playing with it and get it moving and then stop it and get it moving again. just keep doing it over and over. until you get the hang of getting it moving. every other gear is a breeze!

 

I don't know what years different manufacturers started implementing it, but most, if not all newer cars actually get better gas mileage in gear at 0 throttle than they do coasting in neutral or with the clutch in; in gear at 0% throttle these cars either completely shut off the fuel injectors or simply pulse them once every so often to keep the cats warmed up. I'd assume Honda would have been one of the companies that started doing this early on, but of that I have no proof. Besides, downshifting and engine braking is more efficient than coasting and using the brakes since you're taking waste energy and using it as resistance to slow the car down. And no, it doesn't hurt the transmission.

Yeah, that bada** 115bhp/104ft*lb engine with its VTEC-E system... So much better and more powerful than the D16y8 with its 128bhp/111ft*lbs, 4-valves per cylinder, and true VTEC

Also, VTEC-E kicks in around 3k instead of 4800rpm (5500 is the B-series vtec engagement) because VTEC-E is designed for fuel economy, not delivering maximum power and torque while keeping the torque curve smooth.


OP, driving stick is second nature after you learn it; I haven't had to put conscious effort into shifting since I learned how to drive. Most of the time I don't even realize what I'm doing, be it slipping the clutch slightly to crawl forward, shifting, heel-toeing, etc.

And that reminds me of another reason driving stick is better; performance driving techniques like rev-matching and heel-toe driving. Honestly, there is nothing more satisfying than trail-braking into a turn and executing a perfect heel-toe downshift

Not to mention the gas mileage is a lot better on manuals; I got around 31mpg on average running on the highway in my automatic '94 civic. I just got 30.8mpg in my 5spd '01 mustang driving from PA to KY, and it's all hills on the way down here.


And honestly, the easiest way to learn to use the clutch is to be sitting still with the car in gear, and without using the gas pedal at all, slowly let the clutch out until the car starts crawling forward; do this too fast and the car will stall. It will give a good feel for what speed you need to let the clutch out, and will give you a good feel for where the clutch engages/disengages. Once you get the hang of it, start adding a little gas. When you get the hang of it, you'll be able to pull out like the thing's an automatic; rpms at idle speeds until you start moving. You'd be surprised how many people think my car's an automatic until they're riding in it.

 

ya thats how my dad taught me. just pedaling the clutch. only thing is i learned in my old 77 schoolbus i got free.LMFAO
my friend at work she is still rusty as hell driving a manual she is jerky as can be dropen the clutch to fast and jumping it all crazy. LOL but she is slowly getting better.LOL

 

as a civic owner that has an HX and an auto tranny. i can tell you that i regret getting a auto trans and the HX. the HX is slow as **** and known to have problems. but i guess its just mines cuz its an auto, and that means slow. the hx is not so good of a platorm to do mods and not common for people to do serious mods to them. i highly suggest to get an EX in manual trans, if you can't get the SI model.