hhkb
Senior Member
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Hello 
I recently posted here about my personal life journey but this thread will be more about initial ownership and driving impressions. I have had the car for two days and have driven 100 miles. Enjoy!
First, pictures:
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I recently posted here about my personal life journey but this thread will be more about initial ownership and driving impressions. I have had the car for two days and have driven 100 miles. Enjoy!First, pictures:
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- Purchase Experience
- After I sold my last car I sent out a signal to the Motoring Obession community (shoutout to @dng!!) that I was in search for a CTR and aiming for MSRP. I began my search by cold calling nearly 50 dealerships across the entire United States. Only a handful of dealerships I called said they would be willing to do MSRP but either I was a few hours too late or they weren’t willing to sell out-of-state. Meanwhile, multiple people from the Motoring Obsession community were DMing me leads for days on end.
- Eventually, I was handed a lead by @puffs for a MSRP deal out in Ohio. Performance Honda of Fairfield, Ohio accepted my offer and I was able to purchase at MSRP, no additional accessories! I worked with Jenny who is one of the most respectful and professional car salespeople I have ever worked with. Before the call I had already set up financing and had my down payment ready so all they needed was a signature and the car was sold to me.
- @jrrineha referred me to a transport company that gave me one of the most competitive prices along with a top quality transporter. The driver called and texted me regularly to give me updated ETAs. Even the inside of the truck was pristine. The driver drove my car out at a snail’s pace and triple checked his work to ensure not dinging any part of the car. He also laid down plastic covers and blankets, and used new gloves when handling the car.
- The car was picked up from the dealership on Friday and it arrived the following Friday at 1pm. I had just gone through a crazy week at work with half my team on PTO and was exhausted from the lack of sleep due to the anticipation. After the driver unloaded it off the transport truck I spent a few minutes inspecting the car and it was perfect. I signed and then drove it into my garage. I even went through the entire PDI checklist and everything was again perfect.
- First Impressions
- After the PDI I was able to just sit in the car and take a break. Briefly going through the basic human senses, the car felt nicely put together, is pleasant to look at, sounds decent for a turbo four, the new car smell mixed with the exhaust gases were intoxicating, and I could taste the tears of my future competitors at the track. You could tell the car is going to be good in so many ways just from the first time you sit in it.
- Exterior Design
- I spent five hours doing a strip wash, clay bar, and waxing (by hand) the entire car. I had requested that the dealership do not clean or detail the car so there was residue here and there but the car was relatively clean. Lots of paint swirls but otherwise good paint condition.
- Washing the car by hand had me appreciating all of the small engineering design decisions. There are these tiny air canards sprinkled through the car, like under the front lip and underneath the mirrors. The open vents all over the car hint at the performance behind the car.
- Interior Comfort
- Nearly everyone will immediately mention how amazingly comfortable and supportive the seats are and I am no different. I just got back from a 50 mile drive and feel perfectly fine. I took a few spirited turns and never felt like I was sliding around.
- The seating position is absolutely spot on – you can crank the seat fairly low down and all of the controls are exactly where you would expect them to be. It’s like you have the muscle memory even before having sat in the car.
- The NVH is a bit high but in a way that makes you think you’re in a race car. You hear pebbles tapping the car in every direction which I consider another nod to the expected performance.
- Engine Performance
- My last two cars were a ND2 Miata and G80 M3, in that order. The K20 in this car is somewhere between those two cars, perhaps a mash of those two.
- The M3 had gobs of torque. You could be in 6th gear going 40mph and if you put your foot down the car will get going without hesitation. This turbo K20 has a lot more turbo lag so there is a lot of time waiting for that power to arrive. But once the power arrives it comes on strong and pulls hard to redline. It’s thrilling.
- In daily driving mode the engine has plenty of power while maintaining decent MPG.
- Handling Dynamics
- This is probably one of my favorite things in the first 100 miles of driving. Yesterday I took an on-ramp and gave it some speed. The car was yawning at me so I upped the speed and the car hunkered down and continued to grip. I could tell that there is a lot more grip but I was exiting the turn. Phew, that was exhilarating! I’ll take it a little quicker next time.
- A lot of people complain about how the car is too stiff for both street and track. In the first few miles I was enjoying the stiff ride as it felt like I was driving a proper sports car but a bit later I hit a small bump that I always hit in my other normal Civic. The other Civic barely has me noticing that bump but in the Type R I literally became airborn within the seat. Yeah, I’m going to need that ITS module.
- Also, the steering wheel and knob are extremely slippery. I may have to swap for Alcantara.
- Braking Efficiency
- I haven’t given the brakes a proper go yet so not much to say here yet. I will likely upgrade to HEL stainless steel lines, better fluid, and swapping out for Paragon pads and GiroDisc rotors for track days.
- Technology Features
- I immediately disabled the in-car navigation and CarPlay has been flawless.
- The car has active lane keeping and adaptive cruise! Neither the ND2 Miata or even the G80 had this!
- Audio System
- Pretty good system overall. Love the physical volume knob!
- Daily Drivability
- The car is a bit too stiff for daily driving – I have an ITS module on back order so we’ll see if that makes dailying a bit easier.
- The car is a Civic at heart and it’s grown to previous generation Accord sizes and is apparently as large as a G80 M3. The interior space is great as you don’t feel cramped. Huge trunk space allows for large Costco/Ikea hauls.
- Fuel Economy
- I was averaging 32 MPG overall in the ND2 Miata and 18 in the M3. This Civic has me at around 22.
- Comfort Features
- Having physical controls and buttons everywhere is the best.
- No heated anything sucks for winters.
- Ingress and egress are a little difficult as the car sits so low and the side sills are wider than a non-sportscar.
- Storage Capacity
- The interior storage is more than sufficient. The center console has two cupholders that can sit two of those 40 oz. Stanley cups with ease. The side pockets are also large and can take smaller water bottles. The glove compartment is kind of small.
- The trunk is massive. I picked up a large drawer and just laid it flat with room for so much more.
- Visibility & Lighting
- Outward visibility is great. Pillars are all relatively thin and the rear spoiler is almost invisible in your rear view mirror.
- I haven’t driven the car at night yet but turned on the lights in my garage and they were very bright so I don’t suspect the lights would be much of an issue.
- Initial Maintenance
- I’m getting rattles from the dashboard, behind the central display and also from the front passenger door. This looks to be a common issue according to the forums.
- The car also had a weird smell in the first few miles whenever I came to a stop, something like burnt oil. 100 miles in and I can’t really smell it anymore.
- Community Reactions
- The car has gotten a lot of shout outs in public. I’ve had kids and teenagers on my street run up to see the car in excitement. On the road I get random middle-aged men giving me a honk or a thumbs up.
- I’ve had one Subaru WRX do a ricer fly-by heh.
- Yesterday I pulled up next to a base 991.2 911. Guy gave me a thumbs up and I cried a tear of jealousy.
- Comparison
- The ND2 Miata is crazy fun to drive when you’re using the steering wheel a lot.
- The G80 M3 is crazy fun when you’re using the accelerator a lot.
- The FL5 Civic Type R is fun with all of the above. And much cheaper to maintain.
- Future Plans
- The car will see various multi-thousand mile road trips, mostly on the West Coast. Rain, shine, or snow!
- It will also see regular HPDE and autocross events on a monthly basis. I'm sticking to Street Class so mods will be limited.
- Upgrades
- HEL stainless steel braided brake lines
- GiroDisc front and rear rotors.
- Paragon brake pads front and rear (R7/R5)
- Brake fluid (undecided on brand)
- Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2
- (maybe) ITS ADS module)
- (maybe) Alcantara steering wheel
- (maybe) Leather shift knob
- (maybe) CSF Radiator
- (maybe) oil catch can
- (when it breaks) coolant tank
- Value Proposition
- The price hike on the FL5 over the FK8 was a bit unfortunate but you’re still getting Honda Civic reliability with performance approaching and perhaps even surpassing cars in categories above. And Honda maintenance fees are much lower.
- Overall Satisfaction
- I’m obviously gushing over the car so yes, I am happy. I’m happier in this car than when I had the ND2 Miata or G80 M3. Don’t get me wrong – those two cars are feats of engineering and will make so many other drivers happy. But I grew up driving Hondas and I guess my heart knows what it wants. Thanks for reading.
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