VLJ
Senior Member
- Joined
- Mar 13, 2024
- Threads
- 4
- Messages
- 73
- Reaction score
- 50
- Location
- Northern California
- Vehicle(s)
- 2024 Civic Type R Boost Blue Pearl
- Thread starter
- #1
Bizarre day.
In order to pay for my new 2024 Boost Blue FL5, I sold two other cars to a local dealership. They said their business office was closed for the day, and the checks would be ready the following day. The following day, nope, I was told that the GSM and GM are the only people who can sign the checks, and they're out of town at a conference, and won't be back until late that night. So, now I was told to pick them up the next day.
I arrive at the dealership the next day, only to discover that they typed the wrong name on my checks. They had to redo them, which ended up taking another two and a half hours. I was fuming while pacing their showroom floor, because my buddy was taking off work to pick me up from this first dealership to take me to the second one an hour away, where I was going to buy the Type R.
Serendipity time!
About two hours into that additional two and half hour wait, a different dealer (a local dealer, only twenty minutes away) called me to ask whether I'd bought a Type R yet. I told him I was heading out shortly to go grab one for msrp, no dealer markup, and no dealer add-ons. The sales guy said he was calling because his place was finally willing to sell me their Boost Blue for msrp, with no markups of any kind. I asked him whether it had any add-ons, and he said that it had chrome wheel locks, all weather mats, the Type R trunk pad, and LoJack. I told him, no thanks, I'm not paying for any of that, and he shocked the hell out of me by telling me, no problem, we'll still sell it to you for the base msrp, and all that other crap will be included at no extra cost. Best of all, to me anyway, was that his Type R did not have the front license plate bracket installed. The other place's Type R had it installed, which I absolutely did not want.
I decided to take the local deal, which only happened for me as a result of this other dealership continually delaying me with their screwups in getting my checks ready. Otherwise, I would have ended up getting the one from the distant dealer, with less stuff on it, and a license plate bracket I loathe. The local dealer somehow even ended up being $180 cheaper OTD, once they totaled up the fees.
Very cool, I have to say.
With 8 miles showing on the odometer, I took a bunch of twisty backroads home, wanting to avoid droning the engine, and also wanting to check out the various drive modes over a multitude of bumpy surfaces.
Okay, my initial random impressions...
Absolutely zero fake engine noise, or exhaust sounds. I was trying to limit it to 4K RPM, so I assume that's why there was no piped in engine noise, not even in +R mode. In Comfort mode at those low RPM the engine was nearly as quiet as my Camry Hybrid. I assume that once I can get the RPM up above 5K the fake engine noise will introduce itself, but my initial impression was that leaving the fake noise in the quietest Comfort setting will probably be good enough for me. I'm thinking I may not feel the need to disconnect it.
I was fairly astonished at first by how much road noise I was hearing. It almost seemed louder than my soft top ND2 Miata with the top up. Certainly the Type R's wide, sticky tires were noisier by far, which seemed to be exacerbated by the Honda's lack of sound-deadening materials. By the end of the drive home, however, up on the freeway, talking to my buddy via the car's Bluetooth, I realized that it was definitely quieter than the Miata...except for when I'd hit certain rough patches of concrete, which would set off an unholy roar in the cabin.
Oh, well. Loud, but no biggie. I'll get used to it.
What I will not get used to, however, was this seriously annoying buzzing sound coming from somewhere around or behind the infotainment screen. Man, was that thing nasty. Even worse, passing through certain RPM in first and second gear creates this harmonic effect that made the buzzing go absolutely apeshit. It would rise and fall in concert with the RPM...bzzzzZZZZZZZZZZzzzzz, then, once I cleared that bad zone, it would fizzle out and return to its normal intermittent buzzing.
I'll give it a few hundred miles to see if it mellows out as the car settles in before I take it in to have it checked. I know from reading this board that this is a common problem with the Civics, and Honda has a Service Bulletin for it that advises adding felt beneath all the plastic pieces in that area.
In terms of handling the bumps, Comfort mode seems pretty damn competent. No complaints. I don't need that mode to be more comfortable. It's fine on the freeway, and also in the canyons. Sport mode was fine too, at least until I hit the harsher roads. I think I preferred Sport mode in the twisties, but not on really bad tarmac. +R mode was surprising, because I found it to be mostly do-able. On those same harsh stretches that didn't get along with Sport mode, +R mode was bouncier still, and less composed overall, but on most of the other roads it was reasonably acceptable.
I'd say the jury is still out as to whether I'll pop for the softer ITS module. I can see where it would help with Sport and +R, but I think I might find it to be too soft and floaty in Comfort mode. I'll keep testing for a decent bit before I decide.
The overall handling is flat-out ridiculous. If there is a faster car in the canyons, I'd like to see it. My ND2 is way more light, flickable, and fun, and it certainly feels like I'm going faster, but when I look down at the Type R's speedo, well...hell. It's like a video game, and that's while driving her when she's still in bed, hardly even awake yet. Once I can really open her up, my god, she's going to monster any public road. The grip is insane. It's just unreal, how effortlessly she generates and maintains corner speed.
Love the nearly complete lack of body roll. Holy crap, does that thing handle.
The shifter, and the tranny?
Coming from a Miata, I was expecting the much ballyhooed Type R pairing to be great, but I wasn't expecting to be blown away, because the Miata's is already world class, and I'm so well used to it. However...yep, the Type R's is at least as good, and maybe even a hair better. It feels more solid. It's definitely less notchy, which may or may not be a good thing. Strictly personal preference there, but the Type R's certainly feels heftier, and more...Germanic? Porsche-like?
Whatever. I'm confident that nothing shy of the GT3's shifter/tranny is in this league, other than the Miata's. I may as well call it perfect, because I can't find any fault with it. Even the rev matching works perfectly. The entire thing is a work of mechanical art. Can't wait to feel it fully unleashed.
I noticed zero rev hang, but at such low RPM, of course there wouldn't be any. Again, the jury will have to remain out on that one, but I'm not the least bit worried. It'll be fine.
I was certainly struck by just how large the Type R is, and genuinely feels. On those canyon roads, it takes up most of the lane. Have to be careful not to ride the center line, without meaning to. Again, coming from the go-kart-sized Miata, the Type R felt like a wicked sharp Camry, it's so long and wide. Huge amount of cabin space for the driver and passenger. Looking over to the passenger door, it seemed damn near as far away as the Camry's.
Pretty killer sound system, which is a very new and welcome thing in any Honda product. After decades of crappy "Honda Premium" sound systems, this outsourced Bose system is a serious upgrade.
Love that the annoying Lane Departure Warning can be shut off without any yellow warning lights popping up in the gauges. I always hated that about the Miata. If you shut it off, you get this obnoxious yellow light glaring at you within the instrument cluster. No such issues with the Honda.
I also love that it has that drive-away function with the parking brake. You don't have to manually release it. As long as the seatlbelt is clicked in, you're able to drive right through that parking brake. Very nice.
Man, does this Type R hatchback have acres of wonderful glass, with tiny A-pillars. Fantastic outward visibility. For a sports car, it's probably unrivaled. Well, besides the Miata with its top down. Duh.
My car exhibited none of the infamous squeaking from the seats or seatbelt area. It buzzed like crazy around the infotainment screen, and maybe also down around the glovebox, I'm not sure, but the seats were dead silent.
Speaking of the seats, well, jeez. Yes, they're as amazing as everyone says they are. They fit me like the proverbial glove. Ideal bolstering, and what an incredible material. Like Todd from Everyday Driver said, it feels like sitting in a hug. I don't think I'll miss having a lumbar control. Maybe I won't even miss having heated seats, because of the soft, warm, plush material. I also love that they sit nice and low, as sports car seats should. Just a perfect driving position. Spot-on ergonomics.
Pretty good headlights, with a solid auto highbeams function. They don't swivel like the Miata's, but they seem plenty bright enough to do the job. Plus, again, all that glass area. No complaints.
I love this Boost Blue color. When I arrived at the dealership, I learned that I had a choice of Championship White or Boost Blue, for the same msrp-only price. They were sitting right there together on the showroom floor, side by side. I was momentarily torn, knowing that CW is the classic color for the Type R, and certainly the more mature choice, but in the end I stuck to my guns and went with the more "special," exotic color that pops like mad in low light, and glows like the bejeezus in bright sunlight. With those broad haunches, the big wing, and that gorgeous front grill that wasn't ruined by a license plate, I think I'd have to say this is the best-looking car I've ever owned. It's either this or the Soul Red Crystal Miata. This blue is pretty damn stunning. I have already received three compliments on it, in the first two hours of ownership. I don't see myself growing tired of that blue/red Captain America combo any time soon.
Speaking of the Boost Blue, I thought that the car image is supposed to appear in the body color in the screen animations, but my animations showed a white one. I looked and looked, but couldn't find a way to switch it to blue. Is there a way to do this, or are we stuck with white there?
In order to pay for my new 2024 Boost Blue FL5, I sold two other cars to a local dealership. They said their business office was closed for the day, and the checks would be ready the following day. The following day, nope, I was told that the GSM and GM are the only people who can sign the checks, and they're out of town at a conference, and won't be back until late that night. So, now I was told to pick them up the next day.
I arrive at the dealership the next day, only to discover that they typed the wrong name on my checks. They had to redo them, which ended up taking another two and a half hours. I was fuming while pacing their showroom floor, because my buddy was taking off work to pick me up from this first dealership to take me to the second one an hour away, where I was going to buy the Type R.
Serendipity time!
About two hours into that additional two and half hour wait, a different dealer (a local dealer, only twenty minutes away) called me to ask whether I'd bought a Type R yet. I told him I was heading out shortly to go grab one for msrp, no dealer markup, and no dealer add-ons. The sales guy said he was calling because his place was finally willing to sell me their Boost Blue for msrp, with no markups of any kind. I asked him whether it had any add-ons, and he said that it had chrome wheel locks, all weather mats, the Type R trunk pad, and LoJack. I told him, no thanks, I'm not paying for any of that, and he shocked the hell out of me by telling me, no problem, we'll still sell it to you for the base msrp, and all that other crap will be included at no extra cost. Best of all, to me anyway, was that his Type R did not have the front license plate bracket installed. The other place's Type R had it installed, which I absolutely did not want.
I decided to take the local deal, which only happened for me as a result of this other dealership continually delaying me with their screwups in getting my checks ready. Otherwise, I would have ended up getting the one from the distant dealer, with less stuff on it, and a license plate bracket I loathe. The local dealer somehow even ended up being $180 cheaper OTD, once they totaled up the fees.
Very cool, I have to say.
With 8 miles showing on the odometer, I took a bunch of twisty backroads home, wanting to avoid droning the engine, and also wanting to check out the various drive modes over a multitude of bumpy surfaces.
Okay, my initial random impressions...
Absolutely zero fake engine noise, or exhaust sounds. I was trying to limit it to 4K RPM, so I assume that's why there was no piped in engine noise, not even in +R mode. In Comfort mode at those low RPM the engine was nearly as quiet as my Camry Hybrid. I assume that once I can get the RPM up above 5K the fake engine noise will introduce itself, but my initial impression was that leaving the fake noise in the quietest Comfort setting will probably be good enough for me. I'm thinking I may not feel the need to disconnect it.
I was fairly astonished at first by how much road noise I was hearing. It almost seemed louder than my soft top ND2 Miata with the top up. Certainly the Type R's wide, sticky tires were noisier by far, which seemed to be exacerbated by the Honda's lack of sound-deadening materials. By the end of the drive home, however, up on the freeway, talking to my buddy via the car's Bluetooth, I realized that it was definitely quieter than the Miata...except for when I'd hit certain rough patches of concrete, which would set off an unholy roar in the cabin.
Oh, well. Loud, but no biggie. I'll get used to it.
What I will not get used to, however, was this seriously annoying buzzing sound coming from somewhere around or behind the infotainment screen. Man, was that thing nasty. Even worse, passing through certain RPM in first and second gear creates this harmonic effect that made the buzzing go absolutely apeshit. It would rise and fall in concert with the RPM...bzzzzZZZZZZZZZZzzzzz, then, once I cleared that bad zone, it would fizzle out and return to its normal intermittent buzzing.
I'll give it a few hundred miles to see if it mellows out as the car settles in before I take it in to have it checked. I know from reading this board that this is a common problem with the Civics, and Honda has a Service Bulletin for it that advises adding felt beneath all the plastic pieces in that area.
In terms of handling the bumps, Comfort mode seems pretty damn competent. No complaints. I don't need that mode to be more comfortable. It's fine on the freeway, and also in the canyons. Sport mode was fine too, at least until I hit the harsher roads. I think I preferred Sport mode in the twisties, but not on really bad tarmac. +R mode was surprising, because I found it to be mostly do-able. On those same harsh stretches that didn't get along with Sport mode, +R mode was bouncier still, and less composed overall, but on most of the other roads it was reasonably acceptable.
I'd say the jury is still out as to whether I'll pop for the softer ITS module. I can see where it would help with Sport and +R, but I think I might find it to be too soft and floaty in Comfort mode. I'll keep testing for a decent bit before I decide.
The overall handling is flat-out ridiculous. If there is a faster car in the canyons, I'd like to see it. My ND2 is way more light, flickable, and fun, and it certainly feels like I'm going faster, but when I look down at the Type R's speedo, well...hell. It's like a video game, and that's while driving her when she's still in bed, hardly even awake yet. Once I can really open her up, my god, she's going to monster any public road. The grip is insane. It's just unreal, how effortlessly she generates and maintains corner speed.
Love the nearly complete lack of body roll. Holy crap, does that thing handle.
The shifter, and the tranny?
Coming from a Miata, I was expecting the much ballyhooed Type R pairing to be great, but I wasn't expecting to be blown away, because the Miata's is already world class, and I'm so well used to it. However...yep, the Type R's is at least as good, and maybe even a hair better. It feels more solid. It's definitely less notchy, which may or may not be a good thing. Strictly personal preference there, but the Type R's certainly feels heftier, and more...Germanic? Porsche-like?
Whatever. I'm confident that nothing shy of the GT3's shifter/tranny is in this league, other than the Miata's. I may as well call it perfect, because I can't find any fault with it. Even the rev matching works perfectly. The entire thing is a work of mechanical art. Can't wait to feel it fully unleashed.
I noticed zero rev hang, but at such low RPM, of course there wouldn't be any. Again, the jury will have to remain out on that one, but I'm not the least bit worried. It'll be fine.
I was certainly struck by just how large the Type R is, and genuinely feels. On those canyon roads, it takes up most of the lane. Have to be careful not to ride the center line, without meaning to. Again, coming from the go-kart-sized Miata, the Type R felt like a wicked sharp Camry, it's so long and wide. Huge amount of cabin space for the driver and passenger. Looking over to the passenger door, it seemed damn near as far away as the Camry's.
Pretty killer sound system, which is a very new and welcome thing in any Honda product. After decades of crappy "Honda Premium" sound systems, this outsourced Bose system is a serious upgrade.
Love that the annoying Lane Departure Warning can be shut off without any yellow warning lights popping up in the gauges. I always hated that about the Miata. If you shut it off, you get this obnoxious yellow light glaring at you within the instrument cluster. No such issues with the Honda.
I also love that it has that drive-away function with the parking brake. You don't have to manually release it. As long as the seatlbelt is clicked in, you're able to drive right through that parking brake. Very nice.
Man, does this Type R hatchback have acres of wonderful glass, with tiny A-pillars. Fantastic outward visibility. For a sports car, it's probably unrivaled. Well, besides the Miata with its top down. Duh.
My car exhibited none of the infamous squeaking from the seats or seatbelt area. It buzzed like crazy around the infotainment screen, and maybe also down around the glovebox, I'm not sure, but the seats were dead silent.
Speaking of the seats, well, jeez. Yes, they're as amazing as everyone says they are. They fit me like the proverbial glove. Ideal bolstering, and what an incredible material. Like Todd from Everyday Driver said, it feels like sitting in a hug. I don't think I'll miss having a lumbar control. Maybe I won't even miss having heated seats, because of the soft, warm, plush material. I also love that they sit nice and low, as sports car seats should. Just a perfect driving position. Spot-on ergonomics.
Pretty good headlights, with a solid auto highbeams function. They don't swivel like the Miata's, but they seem plenty bright enough to do the job. Plus, again, all that glass area. No complaints.
I love this Boost Blue color. When I arrived at the dealership, I learned that I had a choice of Championship White or Boost Blue, for the same msrp-only price. They were sitting right there together on the showroom floor, side by side. I was momentarily torn, knowing that CW is the classic color for the Type R, and certainly the more mature choice, but in the end I stuck to my guns and went with the more "special," exotic color that pops like mad in low light, and glows like the bejeezus in bright sunlight. With those broad haunches, the big wing, and that gorgeous front grill that wasn't ruined by a license plate, I think I'd have to say this is the best-looking car I've ever owned. It's either this or the Soul Red Crystal Miata. This blue is pretty damn stunning. I have already received three compliments on it, in the first two hours of ownership. I don't see myself growing tired of that blue/red Captain America combo any time soon.
Speaking of the Boost Blue, I thought that the car image is supposed to appear in the body color in the screen animations, but my animations showed a white one. I looked and looked, but couldn't find a way to switch it to blue. Is there a way to do this, or are we stuck with white there?
Sponsored
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only because it feels like I was the LAST guy to pay a markup on one of these. $3k in November and I thought I was getting a deal! 2 months later a dealer called me about MSRP 
Couldn’t help myself. Hahaha!
Jk enjoy my friend
