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

rnh204 said:

Glad you didn't have any issues.. my rotors warped, with me doing a cool down lap.

I think if you leave the heat on in 80 degree weather, water temps will stay in the middle.

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Was it your front or rear rotors that warped?

atc5 said:

Stock tires and wheels - What tire pressures are you guys running HOT?

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I'd recommend not using them at the track unless you don't mind destroying them. 38psi hot should be a good target.

CPT CTR said:

Was it your front or rear rotors that warped?

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It should be fronts. My rear ones are still stock and holding up well.

Last Saturday I went to Streets of Willow for VTEC club. It was my 1st time there with this car. Temperature was 100F during the day and 80F at night. I had overheating issues at 100F, but not at 80F.
I ended up scoring the fastest time of the event for all sessions. 1:24.4 in the day session and 1:24.9 at night.

A few updates

Article about the Type R at VTEC Club rd4.
http://www.superstreetonline.com/event-coverage/motorsports/1809-top-5-from-vtec-club-rd-4-2018/

One of my laps at Global Time Attack last saturday where I finished 1st in Street Class FWD.




Have you guys been hitting the track lately?

Best
Steven

Congratulations Steven on first place

I am due to pick up my new Civic Type R next week and have already lined up a track day for the end of September

Car will be stock and just run in but will be a good point to assess what needs upgrading to have maximum fun on track

CPT CTR said:

Hi Jeff,

I have tracked my car three times already, most recently at Hallett in Oklahoma, track that can be pretty brutal on a car's brakes and engine, and in 80-85 ambient temps I did not have any overheating in any of my five 15-20 minute sessions. My engine temps def did get up there, but no limp mode or overheating warnings. My car is completely stock and the only mods I made to the car are lighter wheels (Titan7 TS-5 18x9.5)and better tires (Falken RT615K+ 265/35/18). From what I have seen, almost all the CTRs that are experiencing over heating issues have been tuned (more power=more heat). You are probably better off leaving the car as stock as possible, it has plenty of power for the track, just needs better wheels and tires.

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Just out of interest why is the 20 inch wheel not so good for grip ?

I would have thought that dropping to 18 inch wheels would reduce grip on the road ?

Any reason for going down 2 sizes also ? why not 19 inch ?

Can you not get grippier tyres in 20 inch size ?

At least in North America, there is a wider variety of tires and sizes and rim widths available in 18" than in 20" (with 19" in between. This will eventually change in a few years.)

While your point is true when comparing, say, 245/40x18 on 18x8.5 wheels vs. the stock 245/30x20 on 20x8.5, a 265/35x18 on 18x9.5 should work better on a dry circuit.

I replaced my stock rims with 18x9.5 and 265 tires. They are 1in wider, tires are 20mm wider and each wheel/tire is 9lb lighter than stock. Also used much better tires. All of this together, makes a huge difference. My friend did the same and also improved 4-5s in the same track. Needless to say 18in tires are cheaper and easier to find.

gavinsan said:

Just out of interest why is the 20 inch wheel not so good for grip ?

I would have thought that dropping to 18 inch wheels would reduce grip on the road ?

Any reason for going down 2 sizes also ? why not 19 inch ?

Can you not get grippier tyres in 20 inch size ?

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When you drop to 18 inch wheels you are also upgrading to higher sidewalls and wider width. Compared to OEM, a 265/35/18 is 8.3% wider and has 27.6% more sidewall. The problem with the OEM tires is that the sidewall was so thin that when you drop the tire pressures for tracking, the tires would ride on the sidewall during sharp turns. So much that most people who tracked with the OEM tires would often find the designs/imprints on the sidewall all worn off by the end of the track day. With the higher treadwall you are able to run lower tire pressures, which increases the contact patch of the tire on the road, thus improving grip. Also true track tires come with very stiff sidewalls, so excessive flex due to the higher treadwalls is not a concern as long as you have track tires.

Two reasons for 18 vs 19 inch. There are just so many more tires available in 18 inch vs 19, and usually a better price point. But also going 18 inch allows you to have a slightly shorter diameter (-1.9% compared to OEM) which equals faster acceleration at the expense of top end speed, and for 99% of the tracks in america, you will never reach the advertised top speed of this car, no where near it, so the tradeoff is very much worth it. If you went with 265/35/19 on a 19 inch rim, your tires are slightly taller than OEM (+1.9%).

You can get grippier tires in 20 inch size, such as Cup 2s that come in 20s, but you still face the problem with the short sidewall, and also the tires are a lot more expensive in 20 inch sizes and a lot of the good ones arent available in that size either. And if you go for a higher treadwall size such as 35, you are increasing the diameter of the tire which hurt acceleration.

Congrats to OP - didn't you used to have those exact same wheels in +35 Offset wheels and now you have the +45 Offset? How much of a difference do you notice in handling between the two? Did you have any problems specifically with the +35?

Driveitlikeuboughtit said:

Congrats to OP - didn't you used to have those exact same wheels in +35 Offset wheels and now you have the +45 Offset? How much of a difference do you notice in handling between the two? Did you have any problems specifically with the +35?

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I started using CE28s 18x9,5 ET35 with 245-40, then moved to 255-40. No issues, other than a slight rub on the rear with 255 tires. Then I bought a set of Titan7 18x9.5 ET45 so that I could go wider (265) and I didn't have any issues with it. The car was slightly faster with 265s compared to 255 or 245. Now I am using a staggered setup (10.5 with 275 front and 9.5 with 245 rear) that I only recommend for those trying to get the maximum out of the car and are ok with some good amount of turn-in oversteer. Also, you need to max-out camber up front (like 3.0-3.5) to be able to clear. Still, this setup is not much faster than the square 265, it's just more exciting to drive

Stig_jdm said:

I started using CE28s 18x9,5 ET35 with 245-40, then moved to 255-40. No issues, other than a slight rub on the rear with 255 tires. Then I bought a set of Titan7 18x9.5 ET45 so that I could go wider (265) and I didn't have any issues with it. The car was slightly faster with 265s compared to 255 or 245. Now I am using a staggered setup (10.5 with 275 front and 9.5 with 245 rear) that I only recommend for those trying to get the maximum out of the car and are ok with some good amount of turn-in oversteer. Also, you need to max-out camber up front (like 3.0-3.5) to be able to clear. Still, this setup is not much faster than the square 265, it's just more exciting to drive

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Thanks for the detailed response - did you rub on the ET35 because you're lowered? I've seen others on 18x9.5 ET35 with 265/35 and they claim no rubbing.

10.5 with 275 up front sounds insane - grip for days. Is your 0-60 much improved as well with the increase in tire patch?

Driveitlikeuboughtit said:

Thanks for the detailed response - did you rub on the ET35 because you're lowered? I've seen others on 18x9.5 ET35 with 265/35 and they claim no rubbing.

10.5 with 275 up front sounds insane - grip for days. Is your 0-60 much improved as well with the increase in tire patch?

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I was not lowered with the ET35. It would rub with 4 people in the car or at the track in some bumpy turns. I doubt 265 would work with ET35 and no rub.
I've never done a 0-60mph in my car I'm a track guy and the staggered setup was focused on car handling/rotation.

Did you need to have camber in the front for 265 18x9.5 in the front? Or stock suspension would be good?