From Vladivostok (Russia) with Love

[Evox787]

The Japanese Civic Type R is a bit different from the American one when it comes to some interior details. The US version is more practical: cloth rear seats, low-pile floor mats, and a leather steering wheel. The Japanese version gets Alcantara rear seats, thick high-pile mats, and an Alcantara steering wheel. I really loved the Alcantara wheel, but if you want it to stay looking brand new, you have to be really careful with it, and that’s not easy. Grabbing a quick bite on the road or using a tire pressure gauge at the track without getting your hands dirty is pretty hard. Both Japan and the US offer optional leather and Alcantara steering wheels. I tried to buy the leather one, even found the original part number, but my order got canceled as “out of stock,” even though it’s still available in the configurator on Honda’s Japanese website when ordering a new car. I’m not really into aftermarket "forged carbon" steering wheels, and I didn’t want to install something sporty like my favorite MOMO Tuner because I wanted to keep the car authentic. Plus, the factory wheel is already awesome. In the end, I decided to buy a second OEM steering wheel and have it reupholstered in genuine leather while keeping the original “macrame” stitching.

Yes, we always seem to get the short end of the stick when it comes to all the cool cars. We either miss out on them completely, or they remove features that make you scratch your head and wonder why.

 

[Evox787]

Dang man, that sucks.
How much extra?
I didn't know that Pueto Rico got screwed on imports to the U.S. I alway figured that PR paid what we pay in the US, plus maybe a couple grand for shipping from Texas, Louisiana, or Florida.
Puerto Rico is broke enough already. Y'all don't need all that extra tax.
I feel bad for y'all.

Congrats on your car, @miktechni !

Cheers.

Those taxes are first imposed at the port, and then you end up paying the taxes again based on the car’s price after those taxes plus all the registration fees and everything else! Below, you can see the same car with the same trim in the U.S. versus Puerto Rico.

 

[miktechni]

Originally, I didn’t want to do anything to the car for the first year, but I just couldn’t resist. The first mods I installed were suspension upgrades — J’S Racing lowering springs and J’S Racing adjustable lower ball joints. At the same time, I also installed Cusco brake cooling and an HPT vented engine undertray.

 

[Evox787]

never is a bad thing to mod a little!

 

[miktechni]

Back in winter, I started researching wheel setups, trying to figure out the right tire size and wheel specs. In the U.S., there's a setup commonly known as the "God Spec" — 18x10 +40. After installing 15 mm spacers on the factory wheels, I estimated that with the lowered suspension and even -3.5 degrees of front camber, +40 would be a bit too aggressive. I decided to go with +45 instead, and looking back now, it was definitely the right choice.

By pure luck, I managed to find a single Desmond Regamaster EVO II wheel in Japan, sized 18x10 +35 with a 5x114.3 bolt pattern. The wheel was scanned and perfectly recreated by my friend at eMotion Wheels, with a few small tweaks. We reduced the center section slightly to retain a deeper lip.

The tire choice was a bit more complicated. Originally, I wanted to run 275/35R18. At the time, the only tire available in Russia in that size was the Nankang CR-S, which I ordered and waited for. However, once the lowering springs were installed, it became obvious that if a 275 was going to fit at all, it would have to be a tire that runs small for its size — there was no way a true-to-size semi-slick would clear. Fortunately, the seller was willing to work with me and exchanged them for 265/35R18. Had I known from the start that 275s wouldn't fit, I probably would have chosen a stickier tire and avoided the long wait. In the end, though, I'm extremely happy with how everything turned out.

The finishing touches are genuine Rays valve stems and titanium lug nuts from eMotion Wheels.

 

[miktechni]

This year I was planning to make it out to Zmeinka and finally see how the car performs in a real competitive environment. Before Round 5, I managed to get a couple of practice sessions in. The car was consistently running low 46-second laps clockwise and low 49s counterclockwise. The only changes from stock were front camber and tires.

All I can say is—the car is an absolute blast. It's incredibly confidence-inspiring and predictable. Even though it's heavier than the previous generation, it bites into corners so well that you barely notice the extra weight. With the stability control turned off by holding the button in R+ mode, it hardly interferes at all while you're pushing the car.

That said, I did run into one issue. In R+ mode, the dampers are just too stiff. At first, I thought the progressive J'S Racing springs were to blame, but after reading through a bunch of American forums, it turns out almost everyone complains about the factory dampers being overly aggressive. I switched to Individual mode and set the suspension to its softest setting, and the car instantly felt perfect.

There was just one catch: in Individual mode, you can't disable the stability control with a long press. And in that mode, the system really gets in the way, cutting in hard and slowing you down through the corners.

After trying just about every option—except the full stability control defeat using the famous "pedal dance" (the internet around Zmeinka wasn't working, so I couldn't look up the procedure)—I decided to stick with R+ mode.

My best times ended up being 46.08 clockwise and 48.63 counterclockwise.

If you want to go faster, the first upgrade should definitely be replacing the suspension control module with either the factory unit from the Integra Type S or a DSC Sport controller. Both let you manually adjust damper stiffness for each driving mode, which would make a huge difference on track.