TESTED: CIVIC TYPE R

Think the Type R’s been watered down? Seems like Honda has heard your cries.

Ask a performance enthusiast what first pops into their mind when you mention ‘Type R’, and I’ll bet a fiver they’ll use adjectives like ‘raw’, ‘harsh’, ‘rev happy’, ‘brutal’. Indeed, Honda’s Type R-badged cars are synonymous for being painfully unrefined, with the original EK9s and DC2s being stripped of anything that went against the R’s mantra of more power, less weight, and nothing in between. Sound deadening was deleted, the suspension was spine-snapping stiff, the chassis stiffened, and even the windscreen’s thickness was reduced to save precious grams.

However with each new generation of Honda, the Type R variants became softer. Creature comforts returned, the buzzing road roar – a by-product of any car that doesn’t have tar between you and the road – muted, and overall it had become, well, more compliant. Purists – and Type R fans were certainly sticklers in this respect – cried foul. What Honda was doing was nothing short of sacrilegious. This went against everything the Type R stood for.

Compounding this was a growing jealousy amongst Australian Honda enthusiasts, who looked enviously at the JDM FD2 Civic Type R. Although based on the sedan shape, the Japanese had the full strength 165kW K20A as well as a compliment of Brembo brakes.

When Honda announced a couple of years ago that the Type R badge would return to Australian shores after a brief hiatus, the purists were dejected that we would only be receiving the UK-built FN2 hatch rather than the FD2 sedan. Although few would argue that the hatch is nicer on the eyes than the four-door sedan, Type R’s were not about the aesthetics but rather the exhilarating ride that left drivers gasping for breath.

To Honda Australia’s credit however, it seems that all the bemoaning hasn’t fallen on deaf ears. This year’s line-up sees the launch of the 2009 model of the FN2 Honda Civic Type R. Unveiled at the Melbourne International Motor Show earlier this year, the new Type R addresses two of the biggest concerns the diehards have long harboured towards the Sunderland-built version.

The most obvious is the new colour option: white. But not just any white; Championship White, the colour synonymous with Honda’s racing history and the exclusive trademark of Type R pedigree. Although it’ll seem frivolous to those who can’t see the importance of a white paint option, trust us when we say the Honda fans will be nodding appreciatively. 

And seeing our Championship White test car in the flesh was certainly impressive. Put simply, there’s something just right about Type R’s in white and the way they contrast so strongly with the red badges. It just works. If we could have things our way, all Type Rs would be white, period.

Having already tested the FN2 hatch upon its Australian debut, we were keen to embark on our week-long test to see what amendments there were to this year’s model. Although not a facelift per se, there are a multitude of subtle improvements.

A poke around the cabin uncovers a USB adaptor and auxiliary connector within the centre console box. In the previous version an iPod connector was only available as an option, and so this inclusion will tick a must-have box for the majority of us who have a portable MP3/WMA player.

Although there’s plenty of glass to aid rear visibility, the rear spoiler has always been an obstruction. Subsequently, Honda has now included reverse parking sensors, which are colour-coded and nestled along the bumper. There are faint alterations along the exterior too, with a smoke chrome finish now used on the door handles and fuel filler lid. While we never needed to experience it during a seven day test, we’re told that the Type R also has an automated tyre deflation warning system, which will ping the owner if one of the tyres suddenly drops pressure.

While all of the above are nice touches, what has transformed this car is the limited slip differential. It seemed borderline incredulous that it was omitted the first time around, and the difference an LSD makes in a hot hatch like this is about as subtle as letting off a firecracker in a cinema. It’s a completely and utterly different beast to drive. Whereas in the old model there was the annoyance of the inside wheel lighting up like a banshee out of tight corners, the LSD-equipped Type R is the polar opposite. Totally poised, direct and formidable.

With two Series 1 FN2’S in ASM’s extended family, we were able to conduct back to back tests along some of our favoured twisting roads. While straight-line comparisons netted similar results, there was no competition when it came to cornering. String together a couple of tightening radius corners and the gap quickly went from two-car lengths to six. It comes as no surprise to learn that the LSD-equipped version lapped the Tsukuba circuit some 1.44 seconds faster than its predecessor.

While the Type R still retains its trademark stiff bump stroke, it remains remarkably composed, even on rut-infested entries into sweeping corners. While the days that a Type R badge signified a bare-boned boy racer’s wet dream are long gone, it’s not fair to say that performance purists are being handed a watered down offspring. This Civic Type R is compliant and comfortable, yet delivers all the point-and-shoot goodness that we come to expect from Honda’s racing breed. In our eyes, that’s a damn good thing. Here’s a car that you can enjoy day in day out, whether it be on an open road or through traffic jammed streets. And you won’t have to ask your passengers if they mind having bruised kidneys either.
 

JUN TEN volume 2

After the car was sorted out with some trademark JUN lemon-yellow paint, it was then entrusted to a shop called Art Factory in the nearby suburb of Musashi-Murayama. Art Factory’s full-colour custom printed vinyl graphics are increasingly being seen on a lot of high-end shop demo and show cars, often with a very distinct traditional Japanese woodblock-art style, some kind of high-tech cyber-machine theme, or quite often in a wild combination of the two. They even make a range of their more famous designs neatly shrunken-down for remote control car shells. The JUN Evo X doesn’t sport anything as extreme as a samurai with a lightsaber though. Rather, a more corporate vinyl style of JUN’s signature rocker-cover colour scheme of a yellow-to-green fade sweeps along the entire length of the car and up over the rear quarter, overlaid with an eye-catching black stripe pattern.

Since the Evo X hasn’t been available for a very long time, and new owners are probably still coming to grips with their cars in standard form, JUN can be forgiven for not coming out with a ridiculously full-house build just yet. Rather, the car has been built with a “stage one” level of tuning. The difference here is that it yields “stage four” benefits. 280kW at 7000rpm and 473Nm of torque at 4000rpm is a decent figure for a street car, but what’s most impressive is how little needed to be done to the Evo to get a good power figure out of it. The turbo on the 4B11T has an aluminium alloy turbine and a titanium-aluminium alloy compressor, the same durable materials as used in some of the previous generation of JDM Evos. A custom JUN wastegate actuator, Trust Profec B-Spec II boost controller and Trust titanium exhaust system were the only things needed to bump up the power to something respectable.

Even though most owners of the Evo X will have nicely bolstered Recaro front buckets fitted as standard, the RS model was supplied with regular old passenger recliners, since they were never really expected to serve any purpose other than being a place to sit while driving the car away from the dealership and into a workshop before being replaced. Bride Zeta III full-bucket seats are an appropriate choice in this case. The only other changes in the interior are a Works Bell detachable boss and steering wheel, and a set of GReddy gauges in a carbon-fibre trim panel where the non-existent stereo system should be. The AWC bias control switch, which used to live on the standard steering wheel, has been relocated to roughly the same position, mounted on a metal panel bolted to the steering column cover.

The nicely lowered suspension is composed of a full set of Zeal Super Function R coilovers, which feature remote oil reservoirs and adjustment capabilities for both damper bound and rebound. The remote reservoir model is the latest version of these high end coilovers to be released, and are a suitable choice since JUN have been using Zeal Super Function suspension in everything from their Tsukuba time attack cars to their 400km/h+ Bonneville Supra.

The standard Evo X is equipped with 18-inch Enkei wheels and 245/40 tyres as standard, so JUN went the requisite inch-up, and fitted four Yokohama Advan Racing RZ 19x10-inch rims with Yokohama Advan Sport 265/30 street tyres. Behind these, the standard Brembo brakes have been replaced with a set of Endless Racing six-piston calipers on the front, and four pistons on the rear.

Even though the JUN workshop is capable of ridiculous feats of engineering and tuning, they chose to go relatively mild with this demo car, but the end result is neat and inspiring for owners of the new generation of Lancers. Once the Evo X model matures a bit, it should be interesting to see how far the new engine and platform can be pushed. If previous JUN demo cars are anything to go by, it should be something worth waiting for.

JUN TEN

When you’re a leading aftermarket industry figure like JUN Auto Mechanic, having anything other than the latest model on your Tokyo Auto Salon stand just isn’t an option.

Unless this is the first time you have picked up a modified car magazine that features imports (in which case, what took you so long?), the name JUN should be instantly recognisable. Custom engine component manufacturer, high-power tuner, and competitions in top speed, timed circuit and drifting events both in Japan and internationally are what they are best known for. JUN’s bossman Koyama-san is also a regular feature in domestic tuning magazines and videos, often seen with a smiling face as his machines perform well out on the track.

When the yearly Tokyo Auto Salon aftermarket tuning industry trade show is held every January at the Makuhari Messe exhibition center, it’s a given that all of the biggest tuning shops will bring out their latest project, be it either a demo car they’ve built based on an older and more popular model, or more interestingly, something based on the latest performance model still found on the showroom floor. This year, JUN picked out the latest in one of the longest running and most popular domestic sports AWD models for their demo car; the tenth iteration of the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution.

Based on a 2007 Evolution X RS model, the JUN Super Evo X demo Lancer is not what you could call a highly modified car compared to some of the others on display at TAS, but it’s by no means an un-noteworthy car. The Evo X is the first of an all-new design generation externally, with an entirely new engine to boot, so it’s obviously important for a shop with as high a profile as JUN has to get a head-start in modifying the latest model and set some styling and tuning trends.

When the original Lancer Evo I was released in 1992, it was fitted with the now long-serving 4G63 engine. Successfully used in the World Rally Championship for many years, as well as every generation of Evo until now, the 4G63 has been pushed to its limits in drag, rally and race in countries all over the world. In the tenth version of the latest Lancer to be released, Mitsubishi has replaced the powerplant with their new 2.0 litre 4B11T engine. While it’s still a transversely mounted in-line four cylinder, and not dramatically different from the previous engine at first appearance, many small changes have been made to increase the efficiency and decrease the weight and running costs of the engine. Most interestingly, Mitsubishi’s MIVEC variable timing now features on both the inlet and exhaust cams, increasing power at every place the tacho needle can point.

With all of this new potential, the Evo seemed to be the best choice, but since the car was to be modified straight after it was picked up from the dealer, it didn’t make much sense to go for a full-spec model with leather interior and luxury options. Instead, JUN bought the discounted RS version of the Evo X for the dealer-listed price of ¥2,997,750 (about $31,000). For this kind of money, you get a stripped-down car with a simplified equipment list, such as no ABS, 16-inch alloy wheels with useless 205/60 tyres, no power windows and regular halogen lights instead of HIDs. On the upside though, there’s no heavy sound deadening to strip. The RS model is specifically manufactured for builders to buy and put straight into proper competition use, like in rally and circuit events. This made it a perfect base for JUN to build their next shop demo car.

While it might not seem obvious at first glance, the yellow hue on this Evo is not something that can be found in the catalogue on the Mitsubishi dealer’s brochure rack. Coming from the factory, normal Evos are only available in the typical Japanese domestic market colours of white pearl, lightning blue mica, phantom black pearl, metallic red and cool silver metallic. In fact, the RS model was never even available in all those colours to begin with, so unless your team or shop colours are mainly red or the standard RS solid white, the car will need a respray.