Civic Type R - 5 seat conversion

slowman

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The Type R doesn't come with a middle rear seat because it is Type R tradition to omit it. Could they have, yes for sure. Same with a sunroof, easily do-able, but not in the spirit of what Type R is supposed to represent.
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tinyman392

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Thanx for the information.
And yea it could be the suspension since it seems to be more aluminum than steel right
That could be part of it, though I don't think it is. The suspension travel is much lower and the car is lower overall. Smaller suspension in general means less weight it can handle when it actually needs to do suspension stuff.
 


tinyman392

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Corporate replies are probably vetted by the legal department.
More or less this. You'd need to talk to an engineer (probably multiple) at Honda to get to the bottom of what actually is limiting the passenger capacity of the vehicle. Even then they'd probably be behind lawyers, but you'll get a better answer.
 

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Civic Type R hasn't came with middle rear seat since introduction in 1997 while all the base models did. It doesn't come with a middle rear seat because it's not supposed to lol. There's no chassis/suspension/wheel/tire limiting factors at play here. It was done because Honda thought it made the Type R a more track focused vehicle (maybe for a slight weight savings too), whether or not you agree with their reasoning is subjective. But there really is no other answer to this question to find. It's just the way the Type R model has always been in this regard.
 

ApexEight

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It's all speculation at this point. We won't get a definitive answer from an authority. I personally think it's a risk with insurance, but I want it anyway. Could be worth talking to your insurance company about it, but I wouldn't expect a clear answer either.
 

Hypnotoad

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It's all speculation at this point. We won't get a definitive answer from an authority. I personally think it's a risk with insurance, but I want it anyway. Could be worth talking to your insurance company about it, but I wouldn't expect a clear answer either.
My insurance company was happy to comment. They said it would not affect a claim.
 

tinyman392

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My insurance company was happy to comment. They said it would not affect a claim.
You did get that in writing right? If it were me I'd even go so far as to ask that it get amended to my contract since a lot of contracts have two major clauses that basically amount to:
  • Anything not stated explicitly in the contract is not agreed to
  • Anything stated outside the contract that isn't written in the contract, even by a representative of the company, is not agreed to
These statements are generally written out to create bounds on what's agreed upon and protect the company from liability. The second statement is redundant, but they typically add it in there anyway (it's basically the contrapositive to the first statement).
 


jonster111

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This looks fantastic. Nice work.!

For me personally, I am not looking to seat anyone in the middle, but rather just cover up the middle cupholder, and make it look like a seat. Almost like a cushion attachment to the cupholder to mimic it looking a seat (but not actually for sitting). Maybe attachment by velcro that can be taken on and off easily.

Anybody knows anyone who has made something like this or tried it?
 

SW20MR2

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For all people who are commenting that insurance will have a problem with this: what do you expect insurance to cover? Damage to the car or bodily injury ? Most insurances have minimum bodily injury amount, like 5k. That will only kick in after your primary medical will not cover the medical cost. As for the damage to the car, did fifth person sitting in the car caused it? The only issue would be if the loss is really great (medical expense) and you sue HONDA company for unsafe car... Well then it could be a legal battle, but it is not black and white since chassis in reg hatchback is 5 seater.
 

tacthecat

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Or someone sues you because you modified the vehicle and "may have" exceeded the manufacturers designed loading and therefore was driving an unsafe vehicle. In these days when juries are awarding multi-million dollar awards for things that might do "this or that" you have to decide if its worth it. And, there are cases where juries award multiples of what you're insured for, even if the insurance company can't weasel out of it.
 

SW20MR2

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Or someone sues you because you modified the vehicle and "may have" exceeded the manufacturers designed loading and therefore was driving an unsafe vehicle. In these days when juries are awarding multi-million dollar awards for things that might do "this or that" you have to decide if its worth it. And, there are cases where juries award multiples of what you're insured for, even if the insurance company can't weasel out of it.
You will have to prove that exceeding manufacturers designed loading specs caused the accident. It would have to be a very terrible accident. Other than that I doubt insurance company will go for the proof, they will cover the car damage and bump your premium if you are at fault. If other party is at fault, I specifically never heard insurance company asking you and your passenger to come in and weigh before they cover your damage. But I am no lawyer.
 

tacthecat

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In court, especially with a non-criminal case, they (the plaintiff) dosen't have to "prove anything" - their lawyer just has to convince the jury you're liable! Ditto if you're the plaintiff.
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