SBPerformance
Senior Member
- First Name
- Steph
- Joined
- Feb 22, 2019
- Threads
- 13
- Messages
- 141
- Reaction score
- 143
- Location
- California
- Vehicle(s)
- 2003 Evo, 2003 350z, 1998 CRV, 2019 Civic Type R
- Vehicle Showcase
- 1
- Thread starter
- #1
I purchased this car in February 2019 new. Since then, I have put on 3,500 miles and have attended 3 track events and 3 autocross events. Here is my update:
They are right when they say this car is "track ready" from factory, I made no changes to the car besides flushing my brake fluid to Motul 660 before I hit my first track event after putting 600 miles of casual driving on the car. I was a bit worried about the "over heating" issue everyone apparently has, but even in temperatures of 95 degrees in Rosamond California, I was able to complete all sessions no issues (20 minute hot laps, 5 sessions a day) my only issue was the stock tires were getting destroyed in the heat and feeling "greasy"
I have completed 2 events at Buttonwillow and 1 event at Streets of Willow along with 3 local autocross events. I have been participating in autocross events for 5 or so years now with an occasional HPDE event on the local go-kart track, but I decided to venture out and try a road coarse with this car (I previously had an evo 8 I wanted to race, but unfortunately that car left me stranded one two many times and towing gets expensive fast over the period of 4 years) So, I was ecstatic to finally hit the track in a reliable, fun car to replace my evo.
Being my first time out on the big tracks, my best lap at Buttonwillow (13 CW) was 2:10 (Temperature outside of 89 degrees Fahrenheit) and my best lap at Streets of Willow (CW) was 1:32 (Temperature outside of 95 degrees Fahrenheit)
After completing these events, my stock tires and brake pads are toast, as you can see:
They did hold up surprisingly well considering the abuse they've been through the past 3k miles and I have absolutely no complaints about the stock tires and brakes. Although, I did decide to upgrade and purchase a set of 18" Titan7 wheels wrapped in an RE71r Tire (Not only do I find this looking great, the additional traction is a bonus. Not to mention I lost about 8 pounds per wheel and tire of rotational mass) and installed the Eibach Pro-Kit springs (to help with the wheel gap)
Wheel Specs: 18 x 9.5 + 45
Tire Specs: 265/35/18
I have not had a chance to test out the new wheels/tires just yet for I am still deciding on a brake pad replacement (wanted Winmax W5 but they are back-ordered, might go with Raybestos ST43) My next event will be at the end of August, so, I still have some time...
My transmission does feel "notchy" not so much grinding, but just the notchy feeling. I installed a set of Acuity shifter bushings after reading countless reviews on how they "made the transmission shift feel MUCH better" but noticed absolutely no difference from the stock bushings. I may try a weighted shifter next as its just a personal preference feeling, but can tolerate it.
Finding an exhaust for these cars is hard, especially when I want something that looks stock and not too loud. I decided to order a Remus for I could change the settings and it looks excellent. The exhaust was light weight, bolts on perfectly, the electronic valve controller is awesome BUT I did not like the sound, again, personal preference. I found myself driving around with the valve closed (sounds just like stock) so found no point in keeping the exhaust. Removed it, put my stock exhaust back on and am waiting on PRL to ship their intake. Perhaps the noise I am seeking can be fulfilled with just the intake.
First oil change was done at 2500 miles, I put 0w20 Amsoil XL in the car and sent the old oil out to Blackstone labs for tests (factory oil had 2 track days and 1 autox event. This is just something I wanted to send in every other oil change for nerd reasons... I for some reason am fascinated with oil and how it breaks down) here are the results:
I do plan on changing the oil every 3-5k miles or every 2-3 track events. I have had no issues with 0W20 and plan on keeping that weight oil unless issues arise because of it (in which.. I doubt will happen on a stock car) I replaced the oil filter with a stock Honda A01 filter as that is my personal preference in Honda filters.
So far, this car has exceeded my expectations in every way, EXCEPT the air conditioning and TPMS. For some reason, my AC gets cool but not cold. My 98 CRV has colder AC but I have not had a chance to bring it up to the dealer yet and have read a few other people who have had this issue. The TPMS light comes on around every 200 miles or so, I just re-calibrate it and continue on. I am also not a fan of the large seat bolsters because I am short and have to hop in and out of the car to try avoiding rubbing on them too much. But, they sure hold you in place exceptionally well when spirited driving. This would be something that would irritate me if this was my daily driver. My average MPG is around 20mpg, which is fair for how I drive, haha. On the highway, I average around 28mpg when setting the cruise control at 70mph.
I had paint protection film installed on the hood of the car, partial bumper and rear quarter fender flairs to help with track debris since often times you are riding close to other drivers kicking up rocks, this was installed by a local installer for around $800 and has a 10 year warranty. The rest of the car is ceramic coated with CarPro UK 3.0 making it a breeze to clean (Except when dirty water continues to leak from all the curves and creases in the car for the next 2 days, haha!) which I did myself for $50, took around 12 hours to prep and coat the car but was well worth it. Interior of the car seems to be holding up well, I see quite a few people complaining about the seats wearing and suede on the arm rests but I am extremely cautious to not continuously rub the car on these sensitive areas (especially when sweaty/dirty) My floor mats are wearing under my gas pedal, I plan on ordering the all season mats for this. I did manage to get a small scratch on my head unit display, so I ordered a screen protector (for those of you who have the 2019s and a volume knob, these protectors worked great for me https://www.tuffprotect.com/store/p1597/2019_Honda_Civic_Navigation.html )
I don't have too much more planned for the car, just drive and enjoy. The PRL intake should be here next month and I have an EVS tow hook I need to install but am slightly hesitant to cut my front honeycomb bumper insert yet. I heard Evasive will release their license plate adapter soon, in which I will then be able to cut the insert and hide it behind the plate when my toe hook isn't installed. As far as "upgrading" it seems very limited, these cars offer great stock reliable performance. I do plan on testing out a few different brake pads and tires and measuring stopping distance, this may take a while to complete but I will eventually upload that data along with future oil change lab results.
Hopefully the car continues to be problem free and I look forward to putting on more miles and racking up seat time at the track!
They are right when they say this car is "track ready" from factory, I made no changes to the car besides flushing my brake fluid to Motul 660 before I hit my first track event after putting 600 miles of casual driving on the car. I was a bit worried about the "over heating" issue everyone apparently has, but even in temperatures of 95 degrees in Rosamond California, I was able to complete all sessions no issues (20 minute hot laps, 5 sessions a day) my only issue was the stock tires were getting destroyed in the heat and feeling "greasy"
I have completed 2 events at Buttonwillow and 1 event at Streets of Willow along with 3 local autocross events. I have been participating in autocross events for 5 or so years now with an occasional HPDE event on the local go-kart track, but I decided to venture out and try a road coarse with this car (I previously had an evo 8 I wanted to race, but unfortunately that car left me stranded one two many times and towing gets expensive fast over the period of 4 years) So, I was ecstatic to finally hit the track in a reliable, fun car to replace my evo.
Being my first time out on the big tracks, my best lap at Buttonwillow (13 CW) was 2:10 (Temperature outside of 89 degrees Fahrenheit) and my best lap at Streets of Willow (CW) was 1:32 (Temperature outside of 95 degrees Fahrenheit)
After completing these events, my stock tires and brake pads are toast, as you can see:
They did hold up surprisingly well considering the abuse they've been through the past 3k miles and I have absolutely no complaints about the stock tires and brakes. Although, I did decide to upgrade and purchase a set of 18" Titan7 wheels wrapped in an RE71r Tire (Not only do I find this looking great, the additional traction is a bonus. Not to mention I lost about 8 pounds per wheel and tire of rotational mass) and installed the Eibach Pro-Kit springs (to help with the wheel gap)
Wheel Specs: 18 x 9.5 + 45
Tire Specs: 265/35/18
I have not had a chance to test out the new wheels/tires just yet for I am still deciding on a brake pad replacement (wanted Winmax W5 but they are back-ordered, might go with Raybestos ST43) My next event will be at the end of August, so, I still have some time...
My transmission does feel "notchy" not so much grinding, but just the notchy feeling. I installed a set of Acuity shifter bushings after reading countless reviews on how they "made the transmission shift feel MUCH better" but noticed absolutely no difference from the stock bushings. I may try a weighted shifter next as its just a personal preference feeling, but can tolerate it.
Finding an exhaust for these cars is hard, especially when I want something that looks stock and not too loud. I decided to order a Remus for I could change the settings and it looks excellent. The exhaust was light weight, bolts on perfectly, the electronic valve controller is awesome BUT I did not like the sound, again, personal preference. I found myself driving around with the valve closed (sounds just like stock) so found no point in keeping the exhaust. Removed it, put my stock exhaust back on and am waiting on PRL to ship their intake. Perhaps the noise I am seeking can be fulfilled with just the intake.
First oil change was done at 2500 miles, I put 0w20 Amsoil XL in the car and sent the old oil out to Blackstone labs for tests (factory oil had 2 track days and 1 autox event. This is just something I wanted to send in every other oil change for nerd reasons... I for some reason am fascinated with oil and how it breaks down) here are the results:
I do plan on changing the oil every 3-5k miles or every 2-3 track events. I have had no issues with 0W20 and plan on keeping that weight oil unless issues arise because of it (in which.. I doubt will happen on a stock car) I replaced the oil filter with a stock Honda A01 filter as that is my personal preference in Honda filters.
So far, this car has exceeded my expectations in every way, EXCEPT the air conditioning and TPMS. For some reason, my AC gets cool but not cold. My 98 CRV has colder AC but I have not had a chance to bring it up to the dealer yet and have read a few other people who have had this issue. The TPMS light comes on around every 200 miles or so, I just re-calibrate it and continue on. I am also not a fan of the large seat bolsters because I am short and have to hop in and out of the car to try avoiding rubbing on them too much. But, they sure hold you in place exceptionally well when spirited driving. This would be something that would irritate me if this was my daily driver. My average MPG is around 20mpg, which is fair for how I drive, haha. On the highway, I average around 28mpg when setting the cruise control at 70mph.
I had paint protection film installed on the hood of the car, partial bumper and rear quarter fender flairs to help with track debris since often times you are riding close to other drivers kicking up rocks, this was installed by a local installer for around $800 and has a 10 year warranty. The rest of the car is ceramic coated with CarPro UK 3.0 making it a breeze to clean (Except when dirty water continues to leak from all the curves and creases in the car for the next 2 days, haha!) which I did myself for $50, took around 12 hours to prep and coat the car but was well worth it. Interior of the car seems to be holding up well, I see quite a few people complaining about the seats wearing and suede on the arm rests but I am extremely cautious to not continuously rub the car on these sensitive areas (especially when sweaty/dirty) My floor mats are wearing under my gas pedal, I plan on ordering the all season mats for this. I did manage to get a small scratch on my head unit display, so I ordered a screen protector (for those of you who have the 2019s and a volume knob, these protectors worked great for me https://www.tuffprotect.com/store/p1597/2019_Honda_Civic_Navigation.html )
I don't have too much more planned for the car, just drive and enjoy. The PRL intake should be here next month and I have an EVS tow hook I need to install but am slightly hesitant to cut my front honeycomb bumper insert yet. I heard Evasive will release their license plate adapter soon, in which I will then be able to cut the insert and hide it behind the plate when my toe hook isn't installed. As far as "upgrading" it seems very limited, these cars offer great stock reliable performance. I do plan on testing out a few different brake pads and tires and measuring stopping distance, this may take a while to complete but I will eventually upload that data along with future oil change lab results.
Hopefully the car continues to be problem free and I look forward to putting on more miles and racking up seat time at the track!