Any higher-mileage Type R owners here who daily it as their only car, or plan to?

[menikmati]

The car is not a unicorn. Just enjoy it.

...
You need to worry less, its not good for your health.

I agree, I found it easier and more reasonable to just enjoy the car instead of being so hyper-critical about it. The mental bandwidth I've seen some people use on analyzing their purchases instead of actually using them blows my mind.

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[VLJ]

I looked up Hyannis Honda. They're in Massachusetts. I'd need to check whether they sell those warranties for a vehicle registered in Calfornia, and also whether my local dealers honor that warranty.

When I bought my car, the extended warranties offered to me were at least three times more expensive than what you guys are quoting here. At a grand or less, yours are almost a no-brainer.

 

[svvitch]

I looked up Hyannis Honda. They're in Massachusetts. I'd need to check whether they sell those warranties for a vehicle registered in Calfornia, and also whether my local dealers honor that warranty.

When I bought my car, the extended warranties offered to me were at least three times more expensive than what you guys are quoting here. At a grand or less, yours are almost a no-brainer.

Hondacare is attached to the VIN, it works at any honda dealer. And they sell to all states. Dealers make a lot of money in the back office with warranties and financing. The markup is insane on warranties. Hyannis and others just want to sell volume online to make their money.

 

[VLJ]

I’d recommend getting quotes from Saccucci Honda and Hyannis Honda. 8 yr/100k warranty is under 1k. You can call or purchase online and they’ll mail you everything you need. It's a no brainer if you plan to keep the car long term. A couple items to consider: the warranty starts from your in service date. In other words, it's really a 4 year warranty; however, it's still worth a look. If you have the option for MBI through your auto insurance carrier, that may be a better deal.

The standard manufacturer's warranty is 3/36 comprehensive, and 5/60 for the powertrain. So, assuming svvich's extended warranty includes the powertain, an 8/120 warranty adds 5/84 to the comprehensive, and 3/60 to the powertrain. That's dirt cheap.

 

[Mike_R]

A year and a half in with the FL5 and I have 23k miles on her. At around 8k I took off the summer tires and added all seasons b/c, well, Ohio. Other than disabling the native navigation sytstem and some minor rattles that I've pretty much worked out, the car has been a dream to daily. Highly recommend.

 

[fordsucks]

I promise not trying to sound like an ass in anyway but I think you bought the wrong type of car. The type r is going to be the cheapest to daily of any sport car you can buy currently minus a miata.

Tires are steep but thats a modern sport car problem, nothing unique to the honda (which has the benefit of identical front and rears so rotating adds some life and fwd so none of the chirping damage of rwd). Gas mileage is on high end of the bell curve for modern sport tuned cars. Gas tank is smaller but it's getting you farther than any modern v8 by a wide margin. My dark horse was getting 160mi's per tank..... Agree on wishing it revved out more but that is counter to your wanting a car that is bullet proof reliable. The brakes are nothing unique, this car is light as a feather compared to most

I would seriously consider looking into a miata, I get the impression you wanted/would enjoy a sporty feeling car without the standard sport car costs

 

[menikmati]

...
Gas tank is smaller but it's getting you farther than any modern v8 by a wide margin. My dark horse was getting 160mi's per tank.....

I never knew that was the range for a modern V8, I always thought they had massive gas tanks to offset the lower MPG.

 

[VLJ]

At around 8k I took off the summer tires and added all seasons b/c, well, Ohio.

That made me chuckle. My mom grew up in Cleveland. She hated Ohio weather. Couldn't stand it.

 

[fordsucks]

I never knew that was the range for a modern V8, I always thought they had massive gas tanks to offset the lower MPG.

mustangs are on the smaller side but they're terrible for city mileage. Zl1 has a 19 gallon tank, you'll more realistically get 10-12mpg if you arent on the interstate

 

[VLJ]

I promise not trying to sound like an ass in anyway but I think you bought the wrong type of car. The type r is going to be the cheapest to daily of any sport car you can buy currently minus a miata.

Tires are steep but thats a modern sport car problem, nothing unique to the honda (which has the benefit of identical front and rears so rotating adds some life and fwd so none of the chirping damage of rwd). Gas mileage is on high end of the bell curve for modern sport tuned cars. Gas tank is smaller but it's getting you farther than any modern v8 by a wide margin. My dark horse was getting 160mi's per tank..... Agree on wishing it revved out more but that is counter to your wanting a car that is bullet proof reliable. The brakes are nothing unique, this car is light as a feather compared to most

I would seriously consider looking into a miata, I get the impression you wanted/would enjoy a sporty feeling car without the standard sport car costs

Can't disagree with you on a single point there, and I've owned three Miatas, including two ND2s. I just came out of a 2023 GT soft top manual (and a '23 Camry hybrid) to get into this FL5, so I'm well up to speed on the cost differences between these cars.

I'll always want a Miata. If you like Miatas, and you fit in a Miata. nothing else scratches that "lightweight, RWD, go-kart convertible" itch. I won't be surprised if I end up getting another one, sooner or later. I got out of that '23 ND2 for two reasons. The first is the problem Mazda has been having with the MX-5 manual transmission over the past three years. My tranny had to be replaced under warranty at only 5K miles, and many other people have had to have two and even three trannies in the first year or so. Not good. The second reason was strictly money. I didn't want to continue carrying two new cars. Two insurances, two $500 yearly registration bills (California absolutely blows), a monthly garage bill to house the Miata, etc. For me, the FL5 is meant to be a single-vehicle replacement for those two cars: the best fun, practical daily possible.

All in all, I'd say it fits the bill. It's nearly as fun as the Miata, and fairly practical as a daily. It has basically just as much room as the Camry, including a larger trunk, but it's much noisier in the cabin, and the fuel mileage isn't in the same universe. It's faster, more precise, and more capable than the ND2, but with more buzzes and rattles, and much worse fuel mileage.

Yeah, and its tranny isn't likely to grenade within 5,000 miles. There's that.

 

[Nothing]

svvitch, I'm well aware of the money aspect. My question has to do with the projected longevity of the motor. I know the FL5's standard running costs will be higher, but what I don't know is whether this motor in this state of tune has proven to be Honda reliable over the long haul.

That's what I'm trying to find out. That's why I asked about the FK8, figuring that one's been out long enough now for some owners to have accumulated some decent mileage. Is it an absolute given that this motor with this turbo should have zero problems doing well over 100,000 miles if maintained correctly?

That's it. I'm trying to find out whether I can expect this to be a normal Honda, or is this special motor quite a bit more fragile, and I shouldn't plan on it going the distance as a long-term, only-car daily?

It is one of the most reliable performance engines and chassis. It is not a GR. It is not a BMW or jag. FK8 was pretty good and it has the same engine. Toyota had this reputation too, but they are more famous for designing their production efficiency to 1000%, and in the last couple decades the bean counters have won; it is cheaper to design a 10 year car, and recall or deny warranty when there is abuse than to design a robust solution that will last.

It does probably have more electronics than previous iterations, by compared to other brands there's no special gizmos. Solid engine, renown chassis and suspension, notable seats and shifter.

IMO, any car these days is likely to have some sort of failure that is highly disruptive from weird clunks, sensor faults and elusive codes, poor software, screen goes blank, engine fires. With the exception of the last, there's few ways of getting around electricals. You can neuter type R with high TW tires and less aggressive ceramic pads, but you lose the ability to have fun with the car. At this point, just buy an Si. It's the last fully ICE, manual Honda you'll likely have, but that doesn't stir you then get something else.

Like qingcong I'm fairly measured with finances, but I figured if I can fit my kids in it, it's the last time I'll get a reliable new ICE/manual car that is fun. The next car will probably be fully electric, because to me most autos are just as boring.

 

[chopsuey34]

Type R = $157/hp for 5 years
Si = $169/hp for 5 years

Numbers can say anything you want them to say

lol I know all about presenting stats in favorable ways, but I'm going to be using my own capital here to make an acquisition, so no need principal-agent issues here! Which one would you do and why?

 

[VLJ]

Nothing, thankfully the FL5 is relatively free of the overabundance of electronic nonsense that is ruining so many modern cars. By current standards, the FL5 is a fairly bare bones car. It still uses switches and dials instead of capacitive touch garbage, there is basically zero piano black in the interior, and it isn't swamped in cheap screens everywhere.

I'm not worried about Honda's electronics. While anything can fail, I don't sweat it here.

I also agree with you about not wantng to neuter the FL5 with cheaper tires and brakes. I love this car for a reason. I won't diminish its fun factor.

I never liked the looks of the FK8, so I never followed that car. When you say that it was pretty good, are you aware of high-mileage examples that had no engine issues? That's my only concern. All the rest of FL5 ownership can be chalked up to, "It's a performance car. The costs are the costs. It is what it is," and I agree with this. The longevity of that turbo motor is my only question.

 

[TypeR_Kevv]

Nothing, thankfully the FL5 is relatively free of the overabundance of electronic nonsense that is ruining so many modern cars. By current standards, the FL5 is a fairly bare bones car. It still uses switches and dials instead of capacitive touch garbage, there is basically zero piano black in the interior, and it isn't swamped in cheap screens everywhere.

I'm not worried about Honda's electronics. While anything can fail, I don't sweat it here.

I also agree with you about not wantng to neuter the FL5 with cheaper tires and brakes. I love this car for a reason. I won't diminish its fun factor.

I never liked the looks of the FK8, so I never followed that car. When you say that it was pretty good, are you aware of high-mileage examples that had no engine issues? That's my only concern. All the rest of FL5 ownership can be chalked up to, "It's a performance car. The costs are the costs. It is what it is," and I agree with this. The longevity of that turbo motor is my only question.

I've seen several FK8's on the Facebook Type R pages with well over 100k miles no issues. some with full bolt on's and some stock. As long as you take care of the car and keep up with the maintenance (which from your posts it seems like you already do) I don't find it hard to believe you can make it to the 200k + club.

 

[svvitch]

lol I know all about presenting stats in favorable ways, but I'm going to be using my own capital here to make an acquisition, so no need principal-agent issues here! Which one would you do and why?

I had a 2018 Si, 2023 Si, and now a 2023 Type R (after many many other Hondas.) Very happy with the R. If I was primarily commuting, I may have been fine with the Si, but I prefer the R.

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