Civic Type R at the track, goods and bads! Let's share our experience.

d15b7

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i'm REALLY surprised that they didn't add an oil cooler of some sort.
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yargk

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FYI, the article that the above post refers to is from May 2018. They lost the engine in that car. From lurking on their facebook page:

As of June 2019,
"The type R will be heading to California to HPD's headquarters for new part development testing. While we hate seeing it go, we look forward to the advancements that our car will help make for anyone that ends up racing this chassis. We should be business as usual with the car for next season."

April 2019
"
Using the morning to test fit our Seibon Carbon hood. This thing is beautiful and will certainly cut some lbs and underhood temps!! We will test with it next weekend to see how it effects performance!!

#teamhma Barber Motorsports Park"

August 2018

put new motor in, they lost the previous one because it got too hot and they lost a head gasket
 
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yargk

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Well that deflated my optimism completely. Bummer to hear.
Me too. It's too bad there is not a complete solution yet. I e-mailed HPD asking for cooling parts that work "for 20 minutes straight, when the car is driven at a professional pace, in 105 F weather"

I don't think it would be a waste of time to continue to call Honda North America customer service, or to comment on Honda facebook or instagram posts. They won't act without demand. (And you're covered in stock cars at the track, so don't worry about warranty issues)

Although 105 F seems extreme, that's normal for summer at Thunderhill, a local track. I know Porsche guys who has no overheating issues at 115 F there.
 


willskiGT

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Me too. It's too bad there is not a complete solution yet. I e-mailed HPD asking for cooling parts that work "for 20 minutes straight, when the car is driven at a professional pace, in 105 F weather"

I don't think it would be a waste of time to continue to call Honda North America customer service, or to comment on Honda facebook or instagram posts. They won't act without demand. (And you're covered in stock cars at the track, so don't worry about warranty issues)

Although 105 F seems extreme, that's normal for summer at Thunderhill, a local track. I know Porsche guys who has no overheating issues at 115 F there.
105F isn't even that extreme though! Track temps will easily be in triple digits if it's sunny and above 75-80F ambient. The temps directly above the track will be somewhere in between. You cannot run these cars for extended sessions for something like 5 months of the year down here. It's even worse if you're in Florida or the Southwest.
 

Learn2turn

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Honda Civic 10th gen Civic Type R at the track, goods and bads!  Let's share our experience. IMG_20190904_233144
Me too. It's too bad there is not a complete solution yet. I e-mailed HPD asking for cooling parts that work "for 20 minutes straight, when the car is driven at a professional pace, in 105 F weather"

I don't think it would be a waste of time to continue to call Honda North America customer service, or to comment on Honda facebook or instagram posts. They won't act without demand. (And you're covered in stock cars at the track, so don't worry about warranty issues)

Although 105 F seems extreme, that's normal for summer at Thunderhill, a local track. I know Porsche guys who has no overheating issues at 115 F there.
There is a solution but it is DIY not a purchase.
FULLY open the front bumper vents and hood vent.
Then remove the aluminum belly pan and weatherstripping at the cowl.

I have not even had any heatsoak power loss after doing the mods above. I did also add Hypercool to the coolant.
 

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IMG_20190904_233144.jpg


There is a solution but it is DIY not a purchase.
FULLY open the front bumper vents and hood vent.
Then remove the aluminum belly pan and weatherstripping at the cowl.

I have not even had any heatsoak power loss after doing the mods above. I did also add Hypercool to the coolant.
Please explain this DIY on the bumper and hood vents?

Also the aluminum belly pan is there for protection and to cool the transmission if i recall....
 

Learn2turn

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Please explain this DIY on the bumper and hood vents?

Also the aluminum belly pan is there for protection and to cool the transmission if i recall....
No doubt the pan is protective but it blocks a lot of air flow that can cool the engine block, oil pan and transmission. The aerodynamic affect of the openings can be and are debated but the the amount of air flowing through my engine bay is vast in comparison to the stock configuration. (I estimate 3x as much, if not more)

In simple terms, I am allowing more air in which is worthless without providing a relatively equal in size exit, which I have done with the hood vent, belly pan and cowl seal removal.

Honda Civic 10th gen Civic Type R at the track, goods and bads!  Let's share our experience. IMG_20190824_123513


Honda Civic 10th gen Civic Type R at the track, goods and bads!  Let's share our experience. IMG_20190824_122903


Honda Civic 10th gen Civic Type R at the track, goods and bads!  Let's share our experience. IMG_20190608_154048
 

JESFromASC

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Track day #2 is complete.
5 20 minute sessions at Road Atlanta.
Best lap captured when I had on RaceChrono 1:54:18
Starting temp 48.
Ending temp 58.
Sunny and dry.
100% STOCK car just as it left the lot.
[18" wheels w/Michelin Pilot Sport 4s.]

These were all 7/10th to 9/10th with a few moments of 10/10th runs. Fast - yes. Pushing - yes. 125+MPH - yes. Hard on the brakes - yes. Top of the revs - yes. Wringing it's neck for all it's worth every moment - no.

Good: Scratch that - GREAT: Power when it is cool-cold outside. This car is night-and-day different when it is 58 instead of 85. I was actually quite underwhelmed with it when at the track in August. Just shy of overwhelmed with it yesterday. It turns out that this really is a very fast car!

Good: Handling, brakes, seating, grip, cornering speeds, exit speeds, just about everything. Again 100% STOCK.

Running the heat so zero issues with overheating.

Not so good: Coming from a race Miata with R compounds the Pilot Sport 4s are really, really, really good but they aren't an "R" compound. The Michelins were doing some screaming and just lacked that little extra that an R provides.

Bad: Gas gauge is basically worthless. Guessing I'll need to bring it to dealer to get it sorted. Read full to 3/4 tank all day until the final session where I happened to glance down and it was at 1/4.

Other observations:

The sequence lights are far better than the tach. I found picking track references for shift points far better than watching the tach/lights or feel/sound. Oh, and the gear box is terrific! I think they just need some time to break in.

Did one session in SPORT because I forgot to set it to R and I think if I had been paying more attention it might (as others have noted) have been better in some places? [that would take some track time to sort out]

I need to learn how to turn off traction control and see how that goes.

Looking to VIR spring of 2020 when I'll post again.

Pretty amazing car!
 
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remc86007

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I think the gas gauge doesn't update when the car is experiencing acceleration deceleration or turning (so basically all the time you are on track). I found my gauge updated as soon as I did a cool down lap.
 

JESFromASC

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Actually I kept thinking that something was wrong so I'd check it after it was parked and it had sat for a little while and I'd switch to accessory mode on the start button.
Maybe I should have started it and drove it a few feet instead?

There it was barely off FULL after 4 hot track sessions...
Then - blink - now it is on 1/4 tank.
DOH!

Good thing is no fuel starvation issues even at 1/4 tank which is really surprising.
I suspect I was just a few minutes away from getting them.

Tank related - did what I thought was a complete top off just before heading out - drove 70 miles (65 - 75 in 5th) and it took over 5 gallons of gas when I went for another top off next to the track.
That should have been more like 2 - 3 gallons.
I'd say something is screwed up...
 

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My gas gauge is useless at the track and never returns an accurate read until I have headed home. My system is to set the trip odometer before every on-track session and divide the total miles by the 7.5 mpg I tend to average on track. The resulting # is the # of gallons i pump back in before heading onto the track again. I hit limp mode the first and last time I trusted the gas gauge at the track. When I filled up, I had 3 gallons left, not the 3/4 tank the gauge showed.
 

JESFromASC

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Thanks
That sounds like a great way to go.
 

CTR88

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Yes the gas gauge is terribly nonlinear and slow to update when on track. Despite knowing this and fuel starvation issues I still almost ran out of gas at VIR last weekend. Luckily I didn’t end up in limp mode. Day one was heavy rain, so a great day to learn balance and control. Second day was about 50 degrees overcast but dry and I managed a 2:17.6 on RE71Rs. I switched out to front Powerstop rotors and F/R Powerstop track day pads which seem to be working well. Almost no squeal in street driving and no fade or problems on track, no post-track shudders or grinding. Granted, it wasn’t as hot as the mid 90s temps I ran at CMP. The right rear pad took a bit more wear than expected because I had stability on for the rain. All in all pretty happy with the way the brakes and tires did this time out.
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