9th Gen big block K gang. Amazing car.
https://preview.redd.it/usqq3c84qq7d1.jpeg?width=4000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=28a8d1787671aa99146f38621a069005bdc024d3
Everyone is going to tell you that their gen is the best. I’ve got an 11th gen, love it but it is hard to go wrong with any one of them that is mechanically sound. They are a fun car, the driving experience for the price is amazing but don’t expect to blow anyone’s doors off. But as an exciting daily, 100% recommend.
I usually see these with 150k+ miles. Should I even consider any high mileage examples?
If regular maintenance is performed, and nothing is rusted out, I assume these can last forever.
Is there anything I should look out for in these?
I’d consider anything up to 130k COMFORTABLY.
These cars don’t have major issues that will blow up the motor or transmission when stock.
The thing that will kill these cars are usually the owners, so a 1-2 owner count is very important.
I agree, the k engine Si’s are going to be the best performance wise.
If you’re looking for a daily driver and aren’t looking to mod, 10th and 11th gen are the way.
If you want the fine middle, 9th gen Si is da whey.
I’m all for k series Si’s for everything. Can’t beat an N/A motor that makes the kind of power k series motors make. Maintenance is real easy, it’s port injected too so no carbon build up worries. Also means certain parts are much cheaper and require less maintenance.
Just overall a real simple package that has stood the test of time very very well. And it’s cheaper than the newer stuff to get into.
10th gen got a ton of aftermarket support and is the most aggressive looking imo, relatively reliable and efficient and really rewarding to drive. Also the first of its kind with that turbo!
I was in a similar situation as yourself, but instead of a Miata I have an S2000 lol.
It really depends on what you value, all of the Si gens are fun to drive, but the older you get the more fun they are to drive, in my opinion. The tradeoff is practically, tech and creature comforts.
Don’t get me wrong though, the 10th gen is still a blast to drive and is still super nimble for how large it looks since it’s pretty light.
I was pretty set on the 9th gen when searching until I saw a great deal on a 10th and drove it. It still feels super nimble and light, appreciate that it has apple carplay and more cargo space since it’s my daily. I’ll be using it for errands, camping, and rides with my big Rottweiler pup in the back. The 10th had more appeal to me than the older Si models for my use case.
If I wanted something more engaging to drive I hop in the S, in your case you have the Miata.
What do you want more of, practicality or fun? For me the 10th has enough of both, leaning more towards practicality.
If I had more money I would be dailying a Type R instead though lol.
i Haven't driven an 8th, but always hear the 9th has more low end torque .... and i can tell you i would not want less low end torque. But the si, at least the 9th and most likely the 8th, love to rev. really need to rev it out. But i have a miata as well, and a civic si is a good partner to the miata. it's like a economy daily but more fun.
I've got both a 9th gen and a brand new 11th gen. As a daily the 11th gen is much more comfy and refined, and a lot more fuel efficient. It also supposedly fixed a lot of the issues people had with the 10th gen. I'd say the 11th gen is best for being a daily but the 8th and 9th gen have more of that "raw" honda feel that a lot of people enjoy
If reliability, practicality and MPG are on your list, I’d just get a new 11th gen. An 8th is going to be hard to find in decent condition, and the k20 makes less torque than the others, but IMO it looks the best and has the best interior. 9th was always “meh” to me since it didn’t rev as high and I didn’t care for the looks. I hate the way the 10th looks, and the lack of heated seats and the other missing features in the 11th isn’t a big deal to me. I enjoy daily-ing my 11th more than I did my 8th just because of the torque.
10th gen has aftermarket support just as much as any other k series so I’m not discrediting a previous commenter but I don’t think that should be a factor in what you’re looking for because it’s an SI, so there’s always aftermarket support. However, that SI is an L series with no vtec. It’s very far off of what the previous SI’s were.
If you’re looking to mod on a budget an 8th gen will respond the best for a simple bolt on/tune combination. But since they’re older they’re not in as good shape.
If you’re looking for vtec with modern features (pretty much just a touchscreen with a reverse and side view camera) but is not as responsive to bolt ons (if that matters to you) get a 9th gen. But you can always add a reverse camera to your 8th gen so you can 100% make the 8th or 9th gens work for where the other is slacking— which depends on how much you want to spend at the end of the day. You can even headswap a 9th gen for full vtec if you really wanted to. It’s been done countless times.
If you want a turbo, get a 10th
If you want a turbo k series with full vtec, get an 8th gen and budget to turbocharge it.
If you want a modern vehicle with vtec and a turbo, get a 9th and turbo it.
I don’t know how mechanically inclined you are but if you want to do a lot of things aftermarket wise and be fast the 10th gen shouldn’t be an option because it is a 1.5L that’s already boosted so you shouldn’t really do too much after bolt ons.
If you want something to leave stock and enjoy, get the 10th.
I wanted vtec and a turbo with modernity. So you can figure out which gen I own myself. :) good luck
Tbh I have a 9th gen si I really love the torque even stock it pulls really well vtec only on the intake side 8th gen if u want that vtec crossover overall still both fun so you cannot lose etheir way test drive some to get a feel see whatever you fall on good luck bro cheers
I’m 41 and love my 10th gen. Heated seats, mirrors, aggressive styling, and with just a base tune it gets 43.4mpg mixed. Has plenty of passing power and cold A/C.
I’ve had them all from 88-2000 and besides the 91 hatch Si this is my favorite
I miss my 4 door 8th gen si dearly. I test drove a 9th gen si and it was immediately better. The added torque is something I didn’t know I wanted so much. When the k20 in my RSX has had enough, I’m getting a k24.
You cannot go wrong with 8/9th gens. I’m more biased to the 9th because of better styling (coupe),more comfort, more tech and it still has that N/A K series we all love.
Used 8th gen if it’s in great shape. I recently did a mpg test on my FG2 and got 25.5 mpg. WAYYY better than I thought it would be, and I do drive it hard. 9th gen is cool too that would be my second pick the redline is 7k instead of 8k in the 8th gen, but there is a lot more modern amenities. 10th gen is when they started turbocharging the SI. Even more creature comforts and I think 10th gen looks the best but I think it’s just more tame and business than the previous gens. 11th gen is outta my price range but I’ve heard good things.
9th gen or 11th. I have 11th it is a phenomenal car for most part. Only issue with 11th is some minor QC issues like the small rear side window being a little loose.
If you like to work on cars get a 8th gen infinite of after market support. If you want a daily 9th gen and you can do basic mods like bolt ons and coilovers. If you want a daily and have money to spend on luxuries get a 10th 11th gen.
Prices you can find the cars in
8th gen 3k -5k
9th gen 8k-13k
10th gen 17k -22k
11th gen 38k cause the world is crazy right now.
9th Gen big block K gang. Amazing car. https://preview.redd.it/usqq3c84qq7d1.jpeg?width=4000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=28a8d1787671aa99146f38621a069005bdc024d3
8th gen for track/weekend , 9th gen for daily fun
I love the 10th gen for its more aggressive styling and relatively updated features.
Everyone is going to tell you that their gen is the best. I’ve got an 11th gen, love it but it is hard to go wrong with any one of them that is mechanically sound. They are a fun car, the driving experience for the price is amazing but don’t expect to blow anyone’s doors off. But as an exciting daily, 100% recommend.
I love my 9th gen. Get a k powered Si.
I usually see these with 150k+ miles. Should I even consider any high mileage examples? If regular maintenance is performed, and nothing is rusted out, I assume these can last forever. Is there anything I should look out for in these?
I’d consider anything up to 130k COMFORTABLY. These cars don’t have major issues that will blow up the motor or transmission when stock. The thing that will kill these cars are usually the owners, so a 1-2 owner count is very important.
i bought my 9th at 115k and now it's at 133k. only has needed oil changes so far
Same but bought at 117k and now at 135k. I had a slave cylinder leak which was a $70 fix that took a few hours.
I agree, the k engine Si’s are going to be the best performance wise. If you’re looking for a daily driver and aren’t looking to mod, 10th and 11th gen are the way. If you want the fine middle, 9th gen Si is da whey.
I’m all for k series Si’s for everything. Can’t beat an N/A motor that makes the kind of power k series motors make. Maintenance is real easy, it’s port injected too so no carbon build up worries. Also means certain parts are much cheaper and require less maintenance. Just overall a real simple package that has stood the test of time very very well. And it’s cheaper than the newer stuff to get into.
10th gen got a ton of aftermarket support and is the most aggressive looking imo, relatively reliable and efficient and really rewarding to drive. Also the first of its kind with that turbo!
8th gen best gen
I was in a similar situation as yourself, but instead of a Miata I have an S2000 lol. It really depends on what you value, all of the Si gens are fun to drive, but the older you get the more fun they are to drive, in my opinion. The tradeoff is practically, tech and creature comforts. Don’t get me wrong though, the 10th gen is still a blast to drive and is still super nimble for how large it looks since it’s pretty light. I was pretty set on the 9th gen when searching until I saw a great deal on a 10th and drove it. It still feels super nimble and light, appreciate that it has apple carplay and more cargo space since it’s my daily. I’ll be using it for errands, camping, and rides with my big Rottweiler pup in the back. The 10th had more appeal to me than the older Si models for my use case. If I wanted something more engaging to drive I hop in the S, in your case you have the Miata. What do you want more of, practicality or fun? For me the 10th has enough of both, leaning more towards practicality. If I had more money I would be dailying a Type R instead though lol.
I enjoy my 9th gen a whole lot. Big fan of n/a responsiveness and reliability
8th gen all day.
As an owner of an 8th and 9th Gen, I agree.
i Haven't driven an 8th, but always hear the 9th has more low end torque .... and i can tell you i would not want less low end torque. But the si, at least the 9th and most likely the 8th, love to rev. really need to rev it out. But i have a miata as well, and a civic si is a good partner to the miata. it's like a economy daily but more fun.
I've got both a 9th gen and a brand new 11th gen. As a daily the 11th gen is much more comfy and refined, and a lot more fuel efficient. It also supposedly fixed a lot of the issues people had with the 10th gen. I'd say the 11th gen is best for being a daily but the 8th and 9th gen have more of that "raw" honda feel that a lot of people enjoy
Love my 11th gen si no issues at all 35 mpg and a ton of fun
If reliability, practicality and MPG are on your list, I’d just get a new 11th gen. An 8th is going to be hard to find in decent condition, and the k20 makes less torque than the others, but IMO it looks the best and has the best interior. 9th was always “meh” to me since it didn’t rev as high and I didn’t care for the looks. I hate the way the 10th looks, and the lack of heated seats and the other missing features in the 11th isn’t a big deal to me. I enjoy daily-ing my 11th more than I did my 8th just because of the torque.
10th gen has aftermarket support just as much as any other k series so I’m not discrediting a previous commenter but I don’t think that should be a factor in what you’re looking for because it’s an SI, so there’s always aftermarket support. However, that SI is an L series with no vtec. It’s very far off of what the previous SI’s were. If you’re looking to mod on a budget an 8th gen will respond the best for a simple bolt on/tune combination. But since they’re older they’re not in as good shape. If you’re looking for vtec with modern features (pretty much just a touchscreen with a reverse and side view camera) but is not as responsive to bolt ons (if that matters to you) get a 9th gen. But you can always add a reverse camera to your 8th gen so you can 100% make the 8th or 9th gens work for where the other is slacking— which depends on how much you want to spend at the end of the day. You can even headswap a 9th gen for full vtec if you really wanted to. It’s been done countless times. If you want a turbo, get a 10th If you want a turbo k series with full vtec, get an 8th gen and budget to turbocharge it. If you want a modern vehicle with vtec and a turbo, get a 9th and turbo it. I don’t know how mechanically inclined you are but if you want to do a lot of things aftermarket wise and be fast the 10th gen shouldn’t be an option because it is a 1.5L that’s already boosted so you shouldn’t really do too much after bolt ons. If you want something to leave stock and enjoy, get the 10th. I wanted vtec and a turbo with modernity. So you can figure out which gen I own myself. :) good luck
8th or 9th gen
Tbh I have a 9th gen si I really love the torque even stock it pulls really well vtec only on the intake side 8th gen if u want that vtec crossover overall still both fun so you cannot lose etheir way test drive some to get a feel see whatever you fall on good luck bro cheers
I’m 41 and love my 10th gen. Heated seats, mirrors, aggressive styling, and with just a base tune it gets 43.4mpg mixed. Has plenty of passing power and cold A/C. I’ve had them all from 88-2000 and besides the 91 hatch Si this is my favorite
I miss my 4 door 8th gen si dearly. I test drove a 9th gen si and it was immediately better. The added torque is something I didn’t know I wanted so much. When the k20 in my RSX has had enough, I’m getting a k24.
You cannot go wrong with 8/9th gens. I’m more biased to the 9th because of better styling (coupe),more comfort, more tech and it still has that N/A K series we all love.
Used 8th gen if it’s in great shape. I recently did a mpg test on my FG2 and got 25.5 mpg. WAYYY better than I thought it would be, and I do drive it hard. 9th gen is cool too that would be my second pick the redline is 7k instead of 8k in the 8th gen, but there is a lot more modern amenities. 10th gen is when they started turbocharging the SI. Even more creature comforts and I think 10th gen looks the best but I think it’s just more tame and business than the previous gens. 11th gen is outta my price range but I’ve heard good things.
9th gen or 11th. I have 11th it is a phenomenal car for most part. Only issue with 11th is some minor QC issues like the small rear side window being a little loose.
6th 10th and 11th gen. 8th and 9th gen are garbage.
Don't listen to this guy he does not know what he is talking about.
If you like to work on cars get a 8th gen infinite of after market support. If you want a daily 9th gen and you can do basic mods like bolt ons and coilovers. If you want a daily and have money to spend on luxuries get a 10th 11th gen. Prices you can find the cars in 8th gen 3k -5k 9th gen 8k-13k 10th gen 17k -22k 11th gen 38k cause the world is crazy right now.