VLJ
Senior Member
- Joined
- Mar 13, 2024
- Threads
- 4
- Messages
- 86
- Reaction score
- 60
- Location
- Northern California
- Vehicle(s)
- 2024 Civic Type R Boost Blue Pearl
After two days of ripping around in the mountains with my new ITS module for my FL5, here are my impressions...
First off, it's clearly smoother. Within moments of being on the freeway, I noticed that all the small buzzes and rattles I normally hear on the freeway from the seats and seatbelt areas were gone. Most of the buzzes and rattles were already fairly minimal lately anyway, with the main infotainment screen buzz having disappeared a decent while ago. Still, there had been some residual buzzes, and now they're simply gone. All that's left is a bit of intermittent wind noise by my left ear.
Right off the bat, the suspension in Comfort mode felt noticeably softer. Definitely less up and down movement. It felt softer, plusher, and the whole car felt slower, heavier, more sluggish. There was a bit more body roll. All in all, it simply felt like a normal car, not a sports car, or anything particularly sporty. It was about how I imagine a basic "sporty" Civic or standard Integra would feel.
No idea why the motor felt slower, or why everything felt slower and heavier. All I can chalk it up to is placebo effect, but I was certain it responded less sharply, and felt less edgy overall. When I took it to my race roads on which I usually use Comfort mode, it did handle the bumps better, but it felt a bit less athletic. Not worlds different, to where it was now a Camry or whatever, but it no longer felt like something I would describe as energetic or aggressive. "Controlled" would be how I'd describe it. Fairly middle of the road.
Bumping it up to Sport mode felt like my former Comfort mode, with less bounciness, and a duller overall response. Eventually I reconfigured Individual mode to approximate my former Comfort mode, with the steering on Comfort but the ITS suspension on Sport. At that point it was closer, and still less bumpy, but also still less aggressive. Changing the steering to Comfort at least made it feel a bit livelier.
Moving up to +R move, the first thing I did was check whether traction control and VSA could still be completely shut off simply by pressing the traction control button once and then holding it down a few seconds, which is not something the Integra Type S can do. That one requires the pedal dance, while the Type R doesn't, at least in +R mode. Yep, it still worked as normal, as did the piped-in sound. Comfort seems to have no fake noise, and neither does Sport, or, if Sport does, it's very minimal. +R still has the usual amount. No change there. On my super-bumpy race road, +R now bounces less than before, but still too much to use it there. Comfort remains the best choice on very bumpy roads, yet I was able to use Sport and +R on more roads than before.
The thing is, however, they didn't feel like Sport and +R, and I'm, not sure whether I like that. Yes, they now bounce less, but they also don't feel as sharp and fun. The same holds true for Comfort mode, which is definitely less bouncy, but no longer aggressive at all. The car still remains relatively flat, in that it doesn't completely flop over like a cushy family sadan, but it loses its aggressive edge.
I'm not sure what to make of it. On the one hand, yes, with the ITS it probably is objectively better. On the other hand, I'm not sure that this type of "better" is what I want from a Type R. This was my worry heading into this swap, and now that I've experienced it, I'm still worried. I think of the FL5 as a FWD GT3, and that's what I think I want, as opposed to a decidedly street-focused Acura that lacks the Acura's usual luxury accoutrements. If I'm not going to have heated seats, lumbar controls, and sound-deadening materials, then give me the sharpest, most satisfyingly aggressive handling experience.
I think so...maybe?
For me, the jury is still out.
First off, it's clearly smoother. Within moments of being on the freeway, I noticed that all the small buzzes and rattles I normally hear on the freeway from the seats and seatbelt areas were gone. Most of the buzzes and rattles were already fairly minimal lately anyway, with the main infotainment screen buzz having disappeared a decent while ago. Still, there had been some residual buzzes, and now they're simply gone. All that's left is a bit of intermittent wind noise by my left ear.
Right off the bat, the suspension in Comfort mode felt noticeably softer. Definitely less up and down movement. It felt softer, plusher, and the whole car felt slower, heavier, more sluggish. There was a bit more body roll. All in all, it simply felt like a normal car, not a sports car, or anything particularly sporty. It was about how I imagine a basic "sporty" Civic or standard Integra would feel.
No idea why the motor felt slower, or why everything felt slower and heavier. All I can chalk it up to is placebo effect, but I was certain it responded less sharply, and felt less edgy overall. When I took it to my race roads on which I usually use Comfort mode, it did handle the bumps better, but it felt a bit less athletic. Not worlds different, to where it was now a Camry or whatever, but it no longer felt like something I would describe as energetic or aggressive. "Controlled" would be how I'd describe it. Fairly middle of the road.
Bumping it up to Sport mode felt like my former Comfort mode, with less bounciness, and a duller overall response. Eventually I reconfigured Individual mode to approximate my former Comfort mode, with the steering on Comfort but the ITS suspension on Sport. At that point it was closer, and still less bumpy, but also still less aggressive. Changing the steering to Comfort at least made it feel a bit livelier.
Moving up to +R move, the first thing I did was check whether traction control and VSA could still be completely shut off simply by pressing the traction control button once and then holding it down a few seconds, which is not something the Integra Type S can do. That one requires the pedal dance, while the Type R doesn't, at least in +R mode. Yep, it still worked as normal, as did the piped-in sound. Comfort seems to have no fake noise, and neither does Sport, or, if Sport does, it's very minimal. +R still has the usual amount. No change there. On my super-bumpy race road, +R now bounces less than before, but still too much to use it there. Comfort remains the best choice on very bumpy roads, yet I was able to use Sport and +R on more roads than before.
The thing is, however, they didn't feel like Sport and +R, and I'm, not sure whether I like that. Yes, they now bounce less, but they also don't feel as sharp and fun. The same holds true for Comfort mode, which is definitely less bouncy, but no longer aggressive at all. The car still remains relatively flat, in that it doesn't completely flop over like a cushy family sadan, but it loses its aggressive edge.
I'm not sure what to make of it. On the one hand, yes, with the ITS it probably is objectively better. On the other hand, I'm not sure that this type of "better" is what I want from a Type R. This was my worry heading into this swap, and now that I've experienced it, I'm still worried. I think of the FL5 as a FWD GT3, and that's what I think I want, as opposed to a decidedly street-focused Acura that lacks the Acura's usual luxury accoutrements. If I'm not going to have heated seats, lumbar controls, and sound-deadening materials, then give me the sharpest, most satisfyingly aggressive handling experience.
I think so...maybe?
For me, the jury is still out.
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