I like my Type R, but…

EdG

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… this car has so many things that could be better. This car is fine on the road and track but it isn’t a complete track day weapon. There are many improvements well documented in this forum that Honda could have included to improve the CTR.

It can over heat when on track. Why didn’t Honda increase cooling capacity? 2nd radiator, oil cooler, etc.

So many ways Honda could have given it more power. Why didn’t they increase the boost via the turbo charger? Increase fuel pressure? Better tune? More horsepower!

The interior could be better. Why didn’t Honda include power seats? Better materials? Why didn’t Honda include better infotainment?

I wish it could put power down better off the line. Honda could have made it all wheel drive or even rear wheel drive. Why didn’t Honda not put the engine in the back?

If Honda made all these changes the CTR would be the ultimate track day weapon able to set fast laps all day long!

I hope you realize by now I am being facetious in this rant. I am describing a 911 GT3 not a hot hatch. I have to roll my eyes every time I read a “Why didn’t Honda…” complaint. Do you know why Honda didn’t improve your pet peeve? Cost.

In 2019 the average price of a new car in the U.S. was a bit over $36,000. The CTR is the price of an average car in the U.S.! The CTR is NOT an average car. The Type R does so many things well if you care about driving. In addition, it remains incredibly practical. Need to haul a load from Costco? Does that. Drive it in winter? Yep (with winter tire and wheel set). Drop your kids off at school on Monday after a track day on Sunday while bringing everything you need to track day!

Do you want one of the best driving experience/track day car? Buy a 911 GT3. How much will you will drive your GT3? Not as much as your CTR! I looked up all the used 911 GT3s within 500 miles available on Autotrader, 40 cars from 2004. The median miles driven per year? 1828 miles per year. Average was 2352 miles per year so it wasn’t just some of people not driving. The 911 GT3 is one of the best driving cars available. Why don't the owners drive them more? 911 guys don’t care about driving? Of course they do. The reason is cost but in this case resale value. You don’t get to the place in life where you can buy a GT3 (without a huge trust fund) and are willing to accept a huge loss of value by adding a ton of miles (you don’t have money by losing money). I would be scared of driving a GT3 because I would cringe at the loss of value with every miles added. I don’t have those thoughts with my daily driver Type R because it costs the same as an average car in the U.S.

(Low) Cost is a significant asset for the Type R for a different reason. Want to mod your CTR? Seems expensive, right? Ever mod a high end sports car? I was talking to a friend (who is a 911 guy) about my CTR and including it tends to overheat on track. I discussed potential mods (learned on this forum) and their cost. He was very surprised at how inexpensive mods were. He is used to 911 costs. Want to track your CTR? You are paying Honda wear and tear costs, not Porsche or other high end sports car costs.

Is the CTR a perfect car? Nope. But cost is a critical factor in a car, cost to purchase, cost to mod and cost to repair. If you want to make the CTR better at something you care about, it will cost you money. But think about what else you could get for the money you spent on your CTR. Rant over.
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ayau

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Range is almost as bad as a Tesla. Why couldn’t they give the car 16 gallon capacity?
 

Byron Sexton

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Wow say it with your chest....
 

Byron Sexton

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The CTR is a fantastic car, but it wouldnt have hurt honda to put alittle bit more refinement in it
 

MadMage

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I hope you realize by now I am being facetious in this rant.
You perfectly timed that statement. AS I was already building in my mind how ignorant of design trade-offs you were starting to appear to be.

Yea, we could all have something different we wish the car could do, be or have. But I think from the professional reviews, comparisons, and the forums here that Honda damn near perfected the trade-offs inherent in designing any car.
 


MadMage

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The CTR is a fantastic car, but it wouldnt have hurt honda to put alittle bit more refinement in it
How much refinement? $2000? Or $10,000? And you do know that would be an increase in your holy non-negotiable MSRP right? Cost is one of those trade-offs. Honda could have put more of anything into this car, if they had chosen a higher MSRP.
 

goodvibes

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For the price, the car is not bad at all. There is just too much hype for this car.
 

Byron Sexton

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I came from a G35 fully loaded. Ofcourse to me refinement wise it feels like a downgrade. YET you gain so much with a CTR....its a trade off not every car you get will have everything.
 


Zeffy94

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I would've liked some more creature comforts but obviously the money you pay is for the engine and handling, which is near impossible to beat in this price point.

Is it perfect? No, but it's the leader of it's segment for a reason. It can hang with cars costing twice as much.
 

Ismael Lafluer

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All of those things would be great but when it launched it was a 35k Honda Civic, and for some that was already pushing it. Majority of the things you suggested would have brought that price to around 40k, not including accessories or ADM. At 50k id rather buy a 718 cayman, or a used used m2. Maybe your expectation was set too high, you should also check out the New type S, that may be more what you're looking for
 

iLovePho

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Agreed with everything but the overheating issues. Some people literally did all the cooling mods out there (bigger radiator, oil cooler, vented hood, radiator hoses, etc) and they still have issues. So it's a design flaw from the factory.

For previous owners of the FK8's peer competitors (Evo, STi, Focus RS), did they have overheating issues from the factory?
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