Hondata co-founder Doug Macmillan loves all things automotive data (pun intended), especially if it’s Honda data (pun intended again). After recording 327 horsepower and 359 pound-feet (487 Nm) at the front wheel hubs of the FL5 CTR, this gentleman is much obliged to report how much of a difference higher octane makes in this particular vehicle.
“We all know California 91 is not the best,” said Macmillan, “so we’re going to bring it up to 93 octane.” Being a high-performance lump, the 2.0-liter turbo in the FL5-generation Civic Type R produced a bit more power and torque. The dyno graph shows 340.76 horsepower compared to 336.35 horsepower, whereas torque jumped to an impressive 374.05 lb-ft (507.14 Nm).
Doug and company then mixed a drum of VP HP 101 racing fuel with whatever was left in the fuel tank, improving the octane from 93 to 95 to no avail. “Higher octane helps, but even higher than that for this car in stock form doesn’t seem to make any difference,” concluded Macmillan.
The latest and greatest Civic Type R is crankshaft-rated 315 horsepower at 6,500 revolutions per minute and 310 pound-feet (420 Nm) from 2,600 through 4,000 revolutions per minute. Over in Japan and the European Union, the FL5 is a bit punchier, boasting 330 metric ponies or 325 bhp.
Regardless of region, prospective customers have to make do with a close-ratio manual transmission complemented by a helical-type LSD. It’s a bit curious why Honda didn’t adapt the dual-clutch transmission of the now-discontinued Acura ILX for this application, but nevertheless, a row-your-own affair is the right tranny for a sizzling hot hatchback like the FL5.
Excluding destination charge and the loathsome dealer markup you can’t escape given this car’s desirability, the 2023 model can be yours from $42,895 at the very least. By comparison, the five-door hatchback on which it’s based currently starts at $25,450 as per Honda’s configurator.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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