The Legend EF9

7/27/2019 The Legend EF9

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The Legend : EF9 Honda Civic SiR

With thelaunch ofthe 8G Civichere in

Malaysiabarely 10hours away,

I thought itmost

appropriateto celebrate

the eventwith my next TOVA Feature Car and the perfect car for this task can only be theCivic that truly started it all, the legendary EF9 Honda Civic SiR. While there

have been great Civics before this one, to the hard-core enthusiast, the EF9Civic SiR is the one that really started the legend of the enthusiast's Civic. It is


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the first Honda to carry the legendary SiR badge and with it, state of the artracing technology made accessible to the common man.

The EF or 4th Generation 'Grand' Civicwas launched in September 1987 for

the japanese domestic market. TheEF9 Civic SiR however did not featurein the starting line-up in that launch.The launch introduced four keyengines, a 1.3l SOHC carb, a 1.5l

SOHC dual-carb, a 1.6l SOHC PGM-Fiand the famous ZC130ps DOHC PGM-Fi. The top model in 1987 was thus theEF3 Civic Si carrying that ZC 130ps

DOHC PGM-Fi engine with a 5MT. Thismodel was famous in its own way, witha unique feature lovingly called the

'power bulge' by enthusiasts. This is alittle hump on the left side of the frontbonnet whose presence signifies ithouses the ZC engine. With a 0-

100kph time in the low 8-secondsrange, the car was quite widelyrecognised by performance

enthusiasts. Still the generalconcensus was that it was a "nicepreppy little car" but true respect as aserious performance car was still notcoming its way.

In those times, the Civic runs with a 4years life cycle, with the mid-cycleMMC coming in almost spot in the

middle of the life cycle. And so the EFGrand Civic received its mid-life MMCin September 1989. And that year thensignifies the arrival of a great legend,

the EF9 Civic SiR. This car is the onethat finally brings respect and I wouldsay even 'fear' amongst enthusiastsbecause the SiR badge signifies the

use of the mighty B16A 160ps DOHC

VTEC engine. While the EF9 was notthe first Honda to use a VTEC engine,

E-EF9 Honda Civic

EF9 Civic SiR Feature Car Gallery

For each photo, clicking on it will load a

SVGA version

Four views of the car
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it was the first Honda to wear the SiRbadge and this badge has since goneon to become a greatly respected andloved badge amongst Hondaenthusiasts even today.

There were 2 versions of the EF9, theCivic SiR and the Civic SiR-2. The CivicSiR is actually the 'bare hones'version. Besides the 160ps B16A

mated to a 5MT (auto versions are notavailable), the SiR features a 'manual'air-cond, front and rear disc brakes,front and rear double wishbone

suspension, front and rear anti-rollbars and semi-bucket front seats andoptionally a viscous coupling LSD. The

EF9 SiR-2 adds sunroof, ABS, powerwindows, powered side mirrors and

various other such features.

The true greatness of the EF9 SiR is of

course that it introduces the world to aCivic with an 8,100rpm redline and alevel of performance that puts many

'performance cars' of that era toshame. The SiR badge is to continueinto history as a badge that adornsHondas with a serious level of

performance and enthusiast appeal.Even in today's world of Type-Rs andType-S's, the SiR badge still holds a

great degree of reverence and respectfrom long time hard-core Honda
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enthusiasts.

The specifications below are takenfrom the Honda Motor Co. Ltd (Japan)website for previous models and so are

the 'official' specifications.

Model Code : E-EF9 Civic SiR

Engine B16A

Configuration 16V PGM-Fi DOHC VTEC

Displacement 1595 c.c.

CR 10.2

Max Power 160ps (118kW) at 7,600rpm

Max Torque 15.5kgm (152 Nm) at 7,000rpm

RedLine 8,100rpm

Transmission5MT only (with option viscous

coupling LSD)

Gear Ratios 3.166, 2.052, 1.416, 1.103, 0.87,R=3.000

Final Drive 4.266

Kerb Weight 990 kg

Dimensions(LXWXH)

3,995 X 1,680 X 1,335 (mm)

Wheel Base 2,500 mm

Track F=1,440mm R=1,445mm

Ground Clearance 150mm

Wheel Size 195/60 R 14 85H

Suspension(F) Double Wishbone(R) Double Wishbone

Brakes(F) Ventilated disc(R) Solid Disc

Anti-roll Bar Front and Rear

The car which I am featuring in thisarticle is an original JDM EF9 Civic SiR-2, imported as a used unit directlyfrom Japan. It is a rare vehicle indeed

as most so called 'EF9s' in Malaysia areactually 'lower' models, usually the1.5l or even 1.3l versions converted toSiR 'status'.

Drivers Cabin

The Driver's View of the Dash
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As rare this EF9 is, a completely stockEF9 is even rarer and so the car herehas been modified by its owner, Tan,

over his years of ownership. While theengine is still more or less the originalB16A that comes with the car, it has a'Type-R' intake manifold and the usual

complement of bolt-on mods. Thegearbox too is no longer theoriginal S1 unit but the YS1 from thepost MMC (1991) DA6/DA8 IntegraXSi/RSi, featuring gear ratios similar

to the later EG Civic SiRs, a 4.400 finaldrive and in this case, has also been

fitted with an original 'Type-R' HelicalLSD.

More than any other Civic, the EF9Civic SiR featured here will bring themessage clearly across what hard-core

Honda enthusiasts have always meantwhen they say 'The Civic DNA'. Bear inmind that this car was launched way

back at the end of 1989, more than a

decade and a half ago. That such alevel of technology and performancewas available way back then, at such

an affordable car clearly shows why itis said that the Civic has alwaysfeatured the most current anddesirable technologies and why there

are so many Honda and especially Civicfans in the world today. The sad thingis that Honda has lost its way in recenttimes and many of these hard-corefans have actually left, some even forcompeting makes. It is hoped that the

message that I have been getting forthe new 8th Generation Civic will be

The instrument panel featuring the 8,100

redline tach

Electronic Air-cond (non Climate Control)
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realized in tomorrow's launch and thatI shall finally see the return of the trueCivic back to its former glory.

The engine bay featuring the mighty B16A engine
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Documents

The Legend EF9