Stock FL5 Track Day Observations

1. Front wheel drive - This is my first FWD fun car and I was expecting a bigger learning curve. Frankly it felt more similar to my rear drives than I expected so Honda did a really good job. There's still lots of tweaks and optimizations to learn I'm sure but I felt I can be very precise. The biggest difference is in the long swooping turns, in a rear wheel drive understeer can be instantly corrected by adding throttle. With front wheel drive it's still possible by letting off throttle. The rear wheel technique is more instant and fun. Overall I prefer the lively handling of FL5 and S2000 Hondas over the Porsche.
2. Sound - While I'm not an exhaust snob, I do appreciate some exhaust note (ideally with some pops and bangs) to get the heart racing. I chose to disconnect the fake engine noise module because on road it gives me this loud distortion-y feel. On track with windows down and helmet on, I can't hear the engine approaching redlines at all. The FL5 is lacking real exhaust note on the streets and grossly inadequate on track. Leaving the fake noise module plugged in will probably help, but then I have to live with it on the street.
3. Pedals - The brake/accelerator pedal positioning seems to be slightly off. Not an issue if you use rev-match and forgo heel-and-toe. It just doesn't seem as confident rolling onto the gas pedal without slipping off the brake. Always prioritize a sure footing on the brake so it caused me to miss my throttle blip a few times. I think the pedals are spaced just a bit wide, and it may be nice if the accelerator was a smidge closer to the driver. I think Acuity makes a product for this so I may look into it.
4. Turbo - This is also my first turbo car and I can see the benefits. I do miss the emotional connection of an NA engine...but times change, and I am ready to embrace turbo. No sugar coating, it was a cool 60 degree day and overheating popped its head. On a few occasions the engine cut power (I thought it slipped out of gear or something). Coming from NA cars I never thought about heat. These are 20 minute sessions at a time but it's really more like 15 minutes that the track is "hot".

RubiRed said:

Took the FL5 to it's first track day to Ridge Motorsports Park. It's a nice track about 1.5hr from Seattle, great surface and fun elevation changes. It's been 7 years since my last track day (back then it was my S2000 AP2 and 991 C2S). Didn't take long for it to come back and had a great time with the FL5! The car is completely stock from the factory with 1000 miles on the clock. Used the pedal dance so the system doesn't drag the inner rear brakes.

1. Front wheel drive - This is my first FWD fun car and I was expecting a bigger learning curve. Frankly it felt more similar to my rear drives than I expected so Honda did a really good job. There's still lots of tweaks and optimizations to learn I'm sure but I felt I can be very precise. The biggest difference is in the long swooping turns, in a rear wheel drive understeer can be instantly corrected by adding throttle. With front wheel drive it's still possible by letting off throttle. The rear wheel technique is more instant and fun. Overall I prefer the lively handling of FL5 and S2000 Hondas over the Porsche.
2. Sound - While I'm not an exhaust snob, I do appreciate some exhaust note (ideally with some pops and bangs) to get the heart racing. I chose to disconnect the fake engine noise module because on road it gives me this loud distortion-y feel. On track with windows down and helmet on, I can't hear the engine approaching redlines at all. The FL5 is lacking real exhaust note on the streets and grossly inadequate on track. Leaving the fake noise module plugged in will probably help, but then I have to live with it on the street.
3. Pedals - The brake/accelerator pedal positioning seems to be slightly off. Not an issue if you use rev-match and forgo heel-and-toe. It just doesn't seem as confident rolling onto the gas pedal without slipping off the brake. Always prioritize a sure footing on the brake so it caused me to miss my throttle blip a few times. I think the pedals are spaced just a bit wide, and it may be nice if the accelerator was a smidge closer to the driver. I think Acuity makes a product for this so I may look into it.
4. Turbo - This is also my first turbo car and I can see the benefits. I do miss the emotional connection of an NA engine...but times change, and I am ready to embrace turbo. No sugar coating, it was a cool 60 degree day and overheating popped its head. On a few occasions the engine cut power (I thought it slipped out of gear or something). Coming from NA cars I never thought about heat. These are 20 minute sessions at a time but it's really more like 15 minutes that the track is "hot".

Anyone figured out how the LogR app and the LogR 2.0 phone app can take synchronized video with data overlay? In the car I tried to start data logging (auto and manual). When I stop the logging it just doesn't appear like the logging never happened. I tried logging on the streets and track and it never works.

I plan on keeping it fairly stock, with just Castrol SRF brake fluid before next season. I wonder how I will feel about the turbo overheating when summer rolls around. Overall a great car for the road and track, not to mention do school and Costco runs. If only real life prices of the FL5 mirror the MSRP, it's fantastic value.

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RubiRed said:

Took the FL5 to it's first track day to Ridge Motorsports Park. It's a nice track about 1.5hr from Seattle, great surface and fun elevation changes. It's been 7 years since my last track day (back then it was my S2000 AP2 and 991 C2S). Didn't take long for it to come back and had a great time with the FL5! The car is completely stock from the factory with 1000 miles on the clock. Used the pedal dance so the system doesn't drag the inner rear brakes.

1. Front wheel drive - This is my first FWD fun car and I was expecting a bigger learning curve. Frankly it felt more similar to my rear drives than I expected so Honda did a really good job. There's still lots of tweaks and optimizations to learn I'm sure but I felt I can be very precise. The biggest difference is in the long swooping turns, in a rear wheel drive understeer can be instantly corrected by adding throttle. With front wheel drive it's still possible by letting off throttle. The rear wheel technique is more instant and fun. Overall I prefer the lively handling of FL5 and S2000 Hondas over the Porsche.
2. Sound - While I'm not an exhaust snob, I do appreciate some exhaust note (ideally with some pops and bangs) to get the heart racing. I chose to disconnect the fake engine noise module because on road it gives me this loud distortion-y feel. On track with windows down and helmet on, I can't hear the engine approaching redlines at all. The FL5 is lacking real exhaust note on the streets and grossly inadequate on track. Leaving the fake noise module plugged in will probably help, but then I have to live with it on the street.
3. Pedals - The brake/accelerator pedal positioning seems to be slightly off. Not an issue if you use rev-match and forgo heel-and-toe. It just doesn't seem as confident rolling onto the gas pedal without slipping off the brake. Always prioritize a sure footing on the brake so it caused me to miss my throttle blip a few times. I think the pedals are spaced just a bit wide, and it may be nice if the accelerator was a smidge closer to the driver. I think Acuity makes a product for this so I may look into it.
4. Turbo - This is also my first turbo car and I can see the benefits. I do miss the emotional connection of an NA engine...but times change, and I am ready to embrace turbo. No sugar coating, it was a cool 60 degree day and overheating popped its head. On a few occasions the engine cut power (I thought it slipped out of gear or something). Coming from NA cars I never thought about heat. These are 20 minute sessions at a time but it's really more like 15 minutes that the track is "hot".

Anyone figured out how the LogR app and the LogR 2.0 phone app can take synchronized video with data overlay? In the car I tried to start data logging (auto and manual). When I stop the logging it just doesn't appear like the logging never happened. I tried logging on the streets and track and it never works.

I plan on keeping it fairly stock, with just Castrol SRF brake fluid before next season. I wonder how I will feel about the turbo overheating when summer rolls around. Overall a great car for the road and track, not to mention do school and Costco runs. If only real life prices of the FL5 mirror the MSRP, it's fantastic value.

Click to expand...

Jester04 said:

Also if you are open to trying the Paragon pads they are great. Depending on how hard core you want to go P3 is a good place to start. I got the P2 by accident instead of the P3 and they are still great and bite hard.

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RubiRed said:

Good to know. When they get worn out I'll probably get the Paragon rotor rings. I like the pads to bite a bit harder but even more important is the on road traits. I don't intend to sacrifice daily usability. Perhaps P2 is good for me too, how do you find the noise and dust?

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TDC50 said:

I read somewhere that if the FL5 is 1/2 tank of fuel or less the pickup can be exposed and temporarily cut engine power. Maybe that is what happened

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TDC50 said:

I read somewhere that if the FL5 is 1/2 tank of fuel or less the pickup can be exposed and temporarily cut engine power. Maybe that is what happened

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Jester04 said:

Yeah tank has to be as full as possible at all times.

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Jester04 said:

Glad you enjoyed it! I took my car to Sebring after 1k miles and also did some auto x. Car is a blast and a lot of potential. Advice would be stick with your fluid choice and upgrade brake pads. As far as temps go, you will have to wait for the HEL oil cooler US version to come out. Its pretty much mandatory on the car. That will help keep the oil temps in check. Enjoy the drive my friend.

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RubiRed said:

Took the FL5 to it's first track day to Ridge Motorsports Park. It's a nice track about 1.5hr from Seattle, great surface and fun elevation changes. It's been 7 years since my last track day (back then it was my S2000 AP2 and 991 C2S). Didn't take long for it to come back and had a great time with the FL5! The car is completely stock from the factory with 1000 miles on the clock. Used the pedal dance so the system doesn't drag the inner rear brakes.

1. Front wheel drive - This is my first FWD fun car and I was expecting a bigger learning curve. Frankly it felt more similar to my rear drives than I expected so Honda did a really good job. There's still lots of tweaks and optimizations to learn I'm sure but I felt I can be very precise. The biggest difference is in the long swooping turns, in a rear wheel drive understeer can be instantly corrected by adding throttle. With front wheel drive it's still possible by letting off throttle. The rear wheel technique is more instant and fun. Overall I prefer the lively handling of FL5 and S2000 Hondas over the Porsche.
2. Sound - While I'm not an exhaust snob, I do appreciate some exhaust note (ideally with some pops and bangs) to get the heart racing. I chose to disconnect the fake engine noise module because on road it gives me this loud distortion-y feel. On track with windows down and helmet on, I can't hear the engine approaching redlines at all. The FL5 is lacking real exhaust note on the streets and grossly inadequate on track. Leaving the fake noise module plugged in will probably help, but then I have to live with it on the street.
3. Pedals - The brake/accelerator pedal positioning seems to be slightly off. Not an issue if you use rev-match and forgo heel-and-toe. It just doesn't seem as confident rolling onto the gas pedal without slipping off the brake. Always prioritize a sure footing on the brake so it caused me to miss my throttle blip a few times. I think the pedals are spaced just a bit wide, and it may be nice if the accelerator was a smidge closer to the driver. I think Acuity makes a product for this so I may look into it.
4. Turbo - This is also my first turbo car and I can see the benefits. I do miss the emotional connection of an NA engine...but times change, and I am ready to embrace turbo. No sugar coating, it was a cool 60 degree day and overheating popped its head. On a few occasions the engine cut power (I thought it slipped out of gear or something). Coming from NA cars I never thought about heat. These are 20 minute sessions at a time but it's really more like 15 minutes that the track is "hot".

Anyone figured out how the LogR app and the LogR 2.0 phone app can take synchronized video with data overlay? In the car I tried to start data logging (auto and manual). When I stop the logging it just doesn't appear like the logging never happened. I tried logging on the streets and track and it never works.

I plan on keeping it fairly stock, with just Castrol SRF brake fluid before next season. I wonder how I will feel about the turbo overheating when summer rolls around. Overall a great car for the road and track, not to mention do school and Costco runs. If only real life prices of the FL5 mirror the MSRP, it's fantastic value.

Click to expand...

GreenMachineGTE said:

I sent the USDM mod bracket back to HEL last week. They're sending me a longer "short hose" this week since it appears that some rubbing against the a/c compressor has occured.

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