CTR vs Type S

[Cueyo]

I would've said that for the FK8, but to me head on, most average people wouldn't think much other than another civic.

Exactly my thoughts, most people either don't get what a type R is or just think of it as a civic with some extra visual differences. The Type S blends in even more imo

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[egxflash]

Exactly my thoughts, most people either don't get what a type R is or just think of it as a civic with some extra visual differences. The Type S blends in even more imo

Yep. Not a dig at the type R at all. I think it's still a great looking car, but a lot of people on here have got it on too high of a pedestal.

Someone on here already said it, but I'll echo the same sentiment: get what speaks to you. If you think the DE5 is a better looking car, get that - you're the one who has to look at it every day.

Don't make your decision on what's going to impress other people.

It's all about the seats to me. If the Type-R seats fit you it's a no brainer in my book. The surprising thing is how great they are for long drives. If they're not right for you, you're in luck because the Type S is awesome too.

I LOVED the FL5 seats. It fit like a glove on me (granted, I'm a smaller guy). That was the biggest point for the Type R for me. I was just more in love with how the DE5 looked in the end.

 

[Brittania]

Perfection for me would be a Blue ITS with Type-R interior, ITS exhaust, FL5 forged wheels, ITS stereo, R+ Gauge cluster, and a wing that tastefully compliments the DE5 exterior without looking like it was specifically designed for track use.

I was two months away from getting an ITS and if I couldn't get a black Type R I'd be a sophisticated Acura gentleman instead of a rowdy Honda boy racer.

 

[Nikw91]

I was looking for a fun sports car. So my opinion is biased towards that

I first drove a white with red interior ITS. The interior was ok.
1. Gauge cluster was boring and cheap. Red leather looked fake/cheap also.
2. Metal and shiny dash/console looked just ok
3. Seats felt basic
4. The ride felt a soft for a sports car
5. Didn’t feel like like I was in a sports car, felt like a base model bmw or Mercedes. Just felt boring.

Then I drove a Type R.
1. The seats hug you and give you the feeling this ride is going to be fun.
2. The gauge cluster looks good.
3. the stiffer suspension felt better.
4. I left the test drive thinking, damn that was fun!

Looking back,

A console cover, black interior and FBOs could have fixed half of the ITS problems.

 

[optronix]

It's all about the seats to me. If the Type-R seats fit you it's a no brainer in my book. The surprising thing is how great they are for long drives. If they're not right for you, you're in luck because the Type S is awesome too.

You are not wrong on the seats, they are the primary differentiator and not easy to resolve if you choose a DE5 and want to upgrade seats. I keep thinking that if one of these idiot dealers would have actually let me drive one, I would have justified paying the markup for the FL5 for the seats alone. The DE5 seats aren't bad enough for me to rush it, but on a long enough timeline I will upgrade the seats to Recaro or Bride... but that said I've seen a lot of folks with FL5s upgrade their seats too .

I've definetly mistaken some TLXs for the type S from a distance, but I think you could say the same about 11th civics looking like the previous gen accord from the front

Not a bad take either, but honestly what drew me to the Type S is the fact that the TLX is a damn sexy car. It's just too big and soft to be considered a true sports car, which brings me to my next point-

I was looking for a fun sports car. So my opinion is biased towards that

I first drove a white with red interior ITS. The interior was ok.
1. Gauge cluster was boring and cheap. Red leather looked fake/cheap also.
2. Metal and shiny dash/console looked just ok
3. Seats felt basic
4. The ride felt a soft for a sports car
5. Didn’t feel like like I was in a sports car, felt like a base model bmw or Mercedes. Just felt boring.

Then I drove a Type R.
1. The seats hug you and give you the feeling this ride is going to be fun.
2. The gauge cluster looks good.
3. the stiffer suspension felt better.
4. I left the test drive thinking, damn that was fun!

Looking back,

A console cover, black interior and FBOs could have fixed half of the ITS problems.

I can't really reconcile takes like this, unless you factor in a heavier weighting for the seats and gauge cluster. There could easily be a preference there and I'd agree the FL5 is more "sports car" in that sense. I guess extra points could be awarded for those of us who just flat out enjoy an overdamped suspension- and I would also agree that I do not like the red interior in the Acuras at all (but it's also tacky in the FL5 IMHO...).

But there is nothing about the Type S that I can consider "boring". I don't see anyone with realistic expectations walking away from a test drive in either of these cars and "boring" being anywhere near the top 5 words used to describe the experience. I've had a ton of cars, driven even more, and I'm reminded every time I drive this car just how amazing it is that the engineers pulled off this driving experience in a sub-$70k 4 door FWD platform. The driving experience is universal; people claiming they didn't like how the DE5 drove compared to the FL5 is not an accurate assessment and reveals strong bias.

I guess another way to look at it is takes like this are just a great example of what I mentioned about "speaking to you". There is a clear preference for one over the other, and that's what this whole conversation boils down to.

One last thing I'll chime in on while I'm thinking about it- for those of you believing the reviews and thinking the stereo alone is worth picking the Acura- think again. I believed the hype too initially but now I'm wondering how I ever thought this was a top-tier stereo... It's slightly above average at best. If the Bose in the FL5 is a 6, the Acura is a 7. The stereo in a B9 S4 I had was way better, and I'd even use a word I hate to describe comparisons to systems like the Burmester in my Macan- laughable.

Key advantages for the Acura come in the way of how it looks, more intelligent suspension tuning (FL5 is just silly overdamped for most neutral observers), aesthetics if that's your preference, and an extra year of warranty. The "luxury" component isn't really there with the fake leather, still-loud interior and meh audio system.

 

[Brittania]

I was looking for a fun sports car. So my opinion is biased towards that

I first drove a white with red interior ITS. The interior was ok.
1. Gauge cluster was boring and cheap. Red leather looked fake/cheap also.
2. Metal and shiny dash/console looked just ok
3. Seats felt basic
4. The ride felt a soft for a sports car
5. Didn’t feel like like I was in a sports car, felt like a base model bmw or Mercedes. Just felt boring.

Then I drove a Type R.
1. The seats hug you and give you the feeling this ride is going to be fun.
2. The gauge cluster looks good.
3. the stiffer suspension felt better.
4. I left the test drive thinking, damn that was fun!

Looking back,

A console cover, black interior and FBOs could have fixed half of the ITS problems.

I think the reason I so strongly prefer the Type-R interior is due to the fact that I drove a 2009 Camry 4 cyl for 16 years prior to buying this car. I understand how some may not like the flashiness, but if anyone in the world needed some excitement, it was me.

With some exterior modifications, both of these cars become a 10 in my book. @ItsMeNickG on this forum and Bpebler on integraforums.com are two of my favorites.

 

[ItsMeNickG]

I think the reason I so strongly prefer the Type-R interior is due to the fact that I drove a 2009 Camry 4 cyl for 16 years prior to buying this car. I understand how some may not like the flashiness, but if anyone in the world needed some excitement, it was me.

With some exterior modifications, both of these cars become a 10 in my book. @ItsMeNickG on this forum and Bpebler on integraforums.com are two of my favorites.

Haha, thanks! I should probably update my build thread because there have been quite a few changes… .

 

[Brittania]

Haha, thanks! I should probably update my build thread because there have been quite a few changes… .

What a surprise....

 

[S2K_MoZo]

I sat in DE5 and then sat in FL5. I went with FL5 because DE5 has less bolstering than my GSF. It felt more like a cruiser than anything else. I loved the look, sound and creature comforts of DE5 but the seats were meh. Throttle house did a track comparison and they both run the exact same time but you don’t get the R mode on DE5. Others have broken out features really well. In the end, buy what works for you. I already have a cruiser and I needed something more track focused, so I got FL5.

 

[StingertimeNC]

Seats and the wing are what it comes down to. My Type S arrived about 6 weeks before my Type R, and I was tired of waiting.

Bonus is I got arguably a more exciting car to look at, a better sounding exhaust set up, a better damping module (one which CTR folks praise when they make the switch) and a heads up display which is amazing at the track. I can see my speed everywhere without taking my eyes off the road.

I love the red H though, And that damn wing and I recognize the Type R may hold its value a bit better.

Once a choice has been made, we all want to tell ourselves it was the right one.

In a perfect world, they both would have been available at the same time. But the world is not perfect!

 

[Brittania]

Seats and the wing are what it comes down to. My Type S arrived about 6 weeks before my Type R, and I was tired of waiting.

Bonus is I got arguably a more exciting car to look at, a better sounding exhaust set up, a better damping module (one which CTR folks praise when they make the switch) and a heads up display which is amazing at the track. I can see my speed everywhere without taking my eyes off the road.

I love the red H though, And that damn wing and I recognize the Type R may hold its value a bit better.

Once a choice has been made, we all want to tell ourselves it was the right one.

In a perfect world, they both would have been available at the same time. But the world is not perfect!

It still makes no sense to my brain why the Type S looks so goofy with red A emblems.

 

[Brittania]

Also everyone in this thread should give themselves a pat on the back because we've made it to page 2 of one of these threads without devolving into a full blown flame war

 

[Nikw91]

You are not wrong on the seats, they are the primary differentiator and not easy to resolve if you choose a DE5 and want to upgrade seats. I keep thinking that if one of these idiot dealers would have actually let me drive one, I would have justified paying the markup for the FL5 for the seats alone. The DE5 seats aren't bad enough for me to rush it, but on a long enough timeline I will upgrade the seats to Recaro or Bride... but that said I've seen a lot of folks with FL5s upgrade their seats too .



Not a bad take either, but honestly what drew me to the Type S is the fact that the TLX is a damn sexy car. It's just too big and soft to be considered a true sports car, which brings me to my next point-



I can't really reconcile takes like this, unless you factor in a heavier weighting for the seats and gauge cluster. There could easily be a preference there and I'd agree the FL5 is more "sports car" in that sense. I guess extra points could be awarded for those of us who just flat out enjoy an overdamped suspension- and I would also agree that I do not like the red interior in the Acuras at all (but it's also tacky in the FL5 IMHO...).

But there is nothing about the Type S that I can consider "boring". I don't see anyone with realistic expectations walking away from a test drive in either of these cars and "boring" being anywhere near the top 5 words used to describe the experience. I've had a ton of cars, driven even more, and I'm reminded every time I drive this car just how amazing it is that the engineers pulled off this driving experience in a sub-$70k 4 door FWD platform. The driving experience is universal; people claiming they didn't like how the DE5 drove compared to the FL5 is not an accurate assessment and reveals strong bias.

I guess another way to look at it is takes like this are just a great example of what I mentioned about "speaking to you". There is a clear preference for one over the other, and that's what this whole conversation boils down to.

One last thing I'll chime in on while I'm thinking about it- for those of you believing the reviews and thinking the stereo alone is worth picking the Acura- think again. I believed the hype too initially but now I'm wondering how I ever thought this was a top-tier stereo... It's slightly above average at best. If the Bose in the FL5 is a 6, the Acura is a 7. The stereo in a B9 S4 I had was way better, and I'd even use a word I hate to describe comparisons to systems like the Burmester in my Macan- laughable.

Key advantages for the Acura come in the way of how it looks, more intelligent suspension tuning (FL5 is just silly overdamped for most neutral observers), aesthetics if that's your preference, and an extra year of warranty. The "luxury" component isn't really there with the fake leather, still-loud interior and meh audio system.

Owning a full bolt on FL5 for less then the cost of a stock ITS is also a decent win in my book.

 

[thatonedaveguy]

If talking about a badge in a bar is important to you, you made the right choice.

It's more that in addition to being a better car, it's a symbol of Honda's motorsport heritage.

The other is just another Acura trim.

 

[Cueyo]

It's more that in addition to being a better car, it's a symbol of Honda's motorsport heritage.

The other is just another Acura trim.

The ITS is still a special car I think. Is it the statement that a type R is? No. Its intended to blend into the Acura lineup and offer a more subtle luxury type experience, but that doesn't mean you're not buying something unique. I think the fact that the ITS is an Acura is its weakest point, it's forced to be pushed into a mold, versus the CTR which is trying its hardest to not be just a civic

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