FK8 Honda Civic Type R | 4 Things That Can Be Better

Honda Civic Type R | Character I Didn't Fall In Love With

   I have a lot of love for the FK8, it is an amazing machine in so many ways, and will be a classic moving forward. With that being said, there is always a negative side to every car, and since I own one myself... I think I am qualified to put them out there. Please note the items on this list are with relation to a stock Type R rolling off the Honda lot, and the aftermarket can fix some of these (which personally is fun, so there's that).

Aggressive Looks Without the Roar

   Your neck breaks as you spot some eagle winged vehicle zoom past you. You go what the heck is that (unless you know of course ;) like most of my readers)? Well the problem here is that your vision caught the attention of the car before the noise. In fact, unless he/she was shifting right in front of you for that blow off sound, you would not hear much of anything. Basically air! It is beyond me how Honda can have a car that takes this much risk from a visual perspective, but went extremely conservative on the exhaust side of things. Almost every individual I have taken on rides has mentioned that it is a bit quieter than expected. Well, except now for mine. First MOD everyone, just have fun with it!

20's VS Potholes

   Not many sport cars come equipped with 20's on some rubber band tire tread. Unfortunately, while they look nice and handle well (REALLY WELL), they can be a pain point for some, especially if you ride on bad roads often. It is far too easy to bend a wheel on a monster pothole with the 20's found on the Type R. Rally car this is not, not with this setup, but hey, track monster it is :P. Truth be told, if you are cautious, you will be fine. When you do hit a pothole, do not immediately expect your wheel or tire to be done for, but it sure does hit different when the protection of extra rubber is not present. Many "upgrade" to 18s for the look, comfort and protection. I have been on the stock wheels for a year now with no issues.

Fun Drives Between Gas Fill Ups

   Somewhere along the design path, the Honda engineers must have forgotten to design a gas tank, ran out of time, and said.. screw it, throw the standard Civic gas tank on there. The issue with the 12.4 gallon tank is that unlike the motor found in the base civic, the Type R can only pull 22 MPG city and 28 MPG highway. I typically average 23 MPG, so I can only go about 280 miles on one gas tank if I am driving semi-conservative. So it would have been nice to have a slightly larger tank. I drive a lot because I enjoy the drive, so I feel like I am filling up once a week.

It Is Hot In Here

   Heat soak is real everyone. I feel a distinct difference between open pulls at night/the cold, versus in the middle of a hot day. Of the many cars I have owned, I feel like the Type R is the most reactive to external temps. The aftermarket can fix this one easy, and I will eventually go this route for the consistent power, but it would have been nice for Honda to work on the cooling a little more for a flagship sports car such as this

Take everything above with a grain of salt. They are issues to me, but do not stop me from being in absolute love with my car! I highly recommend the Honda Civic Type R to anyone that asks, it IS that good

~The Unseasoned Brain

Photo Credits by Order:

- Photo by Joao Melo on Unsplash