2023 Honda Type R - FL5 availability

[v8rmd]

London GT3 said:

I will be taking delivery of my FL5 on 1st March. I wanted to ask specific experiences on the FL5 of PPF or the performance of the standard paint. I am a big fan of the Xpel Ultimate product and I have it fitted in full to several cars.

I would particularly like to know what experiences other people have had with the FL5. Is the paintwork generally quite good or is it prone to damage? Are there any especially vulnerable areas? How do the edges of the wheel arches cope and the side skirts?

I am thinking about just a front end PPF (using Xpel Ultimate) but I could be persuaded to go full PPF if others think it would be beneficial. I hope that the Type R will be a long term keeper doing only 2k to 3k miles per year.

Thank you for any advice.

My Championship white one has done over 12,000 miles now 50/50 rural roads and motorways plus 4 trackdays, has resisted hedge scrapes very well and has only one stone chip on the front bumper so I think the paint quality is good and what I would expect from BMWs Merc's and VW's I have had.

I've never quite seen the point of PPF unless you were going to sit behind a gritter, in my experience stones tend to chip and crack your windscreens more often than anything much to the front of the car - I've had a 175,000 mile E46 with 3 or 4 minor chips and a 135,000 S212 that still looked like new but 7 replacement windscreens between them!

What you will find is that the FL5's party piece is collecting stones in the black winglets in front of the rear tyres!

[London GT3]

Thank you V8RMD. I have a guy who details my cars for me and we are going to buy a front end DIY PPF kit and then fit it together. If it works then happy days. If it is a lash up then I haven't lost too much. I pick my car up next Friday so very much looking forward to getting it. I have never even sat in one before!

[v8rmd]

Hi London GT3 you will love it! A couple of minor tweaks I did that I can recommend are; There is a hidden menu that lets you turn on wireless android auto (you occasionally have to delete and reconnect the bluetooth which is why I think they have it turned off by default) , There is also a trick with the fuse for the exhaust valve that lets you have the valve open all the time so it sounds grumblier at idle. I got the Carbon pack as I really like the Carbon wing but the carbon round the gear lever is very nice too. Enjoy!!

[premixer]

Straight from the dealership floor into its natural environment

[BlueJ]

Lovely premixer, enjoy!

Question for all-gen Type R fans. I have a red FL5 and think it would look great with a carbon-fibre effect wrap applied to the bonnet and everything above the waistline i.e. A pillars, roof, rear window surround (boot above rear light bar).

What are the views on this? I'm sure about the roof / A pillars etc, unsure about the bonnet.

[will-w]

v8rmd said:

… There is also a trick with the fuse for the exhaust valve that lets you have the valve open all the time so it sounds grumblier at idle…

Sounds interesting! Do you have details of which fuse you pulled? My one negative about the car is that it’s so quiet

[will-w]

BlueJ said:

Very nice looking car you have there, congratulations! I was really torn between Red and Blue, I found choosing a colour when you couldn’t see any cars in the flesh an absolute nightmare!

As for your carbon wrap, I’m afraid I’m not your man.. I think you could get away with wrapping just the central roof panel, like an M3 Competition style affair, but I think any more would be too much.

[BlueJ]

will-w said:

Very nice looking car you have there, congratulations! I was really torn between Red and Blue, I found choosing a colour when you couldn’t see any cars in the flesh an absolute nightmare!

As for your carbon wrap, I’m afraid I’m not your man.. I think you could get away with wrapping just the central roof panel, like an M3 Competition style affair, but I think any more would be too much.

Thanks Will.

I have seen a few two-tone Corollas (red body, black above the door line) and they look good, so I essentially agree - the roof will definitely look better, which I'm happy to extend to A pillars etc. It's the bonnet which I think may make it look too aggressive.

[Haltamer]

BlueJ said:

Question for all-gen Type R fans. I have a red FL5 and think it would look great with a carbon-fibre effect wrap applied to the bonnet and everything above the waistline i.e. A pillars, roof, rear window surround (boot above rear light bar).

An idea for you - To avoid doing the full bonnet / for a bit more visual interest, you could try wrapping the center of the bonnet from the vent back:


Closest example I can find

There was a very nice example of this with an ICB Bonnet on a red car, but can't seem to find it now.

[BlueJ]

Thanks Haltamer - that looks great.

Interesting idea, I can see that working well.

Cheers.

[Jimmy Rich]

I recently purchased the 2023 type R from Crown Honda in Hendon ..was easy only had wait 2 weeks. But sales guy did say there being limited on number they can sell ....hopefully good investment for me then. Love the car as well. Looks so much nicer than the previous model and is super quick even in comfort mode which I near always use due to state of UK road surfaces at present!! Got mine in championship white which looks great and didn't think to much of the other colours tbh...Crown Honda Hendon but also they have sister dealership in Bushey. Hope this helps ask for Ram in sales he sorted it for me and was very helpful.

[v8rmd]

will-w said:

v8rmd said:

… There is also a trick with the fuse for the exhaust valve that lets you have the valve open all the time so it sounds grumblier at idle…

Sounds interesting! Do you have details of which fuse you pulled? My one negative about the car is that it’s so quiet

Couple of links I used to do it :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ob5aCCGGwEM

and https://www.civicxi.com/forum/threads/fl5-stock-ex...

The pictures on the civic xi link are for non UK cars and have a slightly different fusebox layout and they get a fuse puller included!

and another recent USA one that is well detailed https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OdvxZWUcR3g

You'll know it's worked because the valve will stay open even when engine off , and on cold mornings just one big jet of steam from the middle pipe!

[Jimmy Rich]

Is there any downside to pulling fusevlike damage to parts!? And where's best UK instructions on how to do?!

[v8rmd]

Jimmy Rich said:

Is there any downside to pulling fusevlike damage to parts!? And where's best UK instructions on how to do?!

I followed the instructions I posted and they worked for my UK car. The only downside I can think of is that the exhaust valve might stick open through lack of use eventually, but that wouldn't affect the cars operation in any way , and you could just put the fuse back every so often to keep it moving!

I was at a track day at Cadwell with it yesterday and a couple of people said it sounded good as it went up the mountain.

[Familymad]

If you are out looking for one, looks like deals are there for March

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202312184...

[undred orse]

I’m seriously thinking of getting one as a keeper. I really can’t get interested in electric cars so the Type R would be one to keep forever as the best of its type and one I love the look of. It would join a 4.0 Boxster Gts, Abarth 595 comp and a Countryman JCW which is the daily.

I’ve never owned a Honda before so have no experience with any dealers, servicing etc. Any recommendations regarding dealers to buy from would be appreciated. I’m in south wales but as there is no part exchange travelling to collect the car is no issue.

I’d also be grateful for info on any owners’ clubs and forums.

Thanks.

[BlueJ]

Nice fleet undredorse - is the Boxster manual?

Like you I can't get excited by smooth, quiet EV propulsion, and I bought my FL5 about 5 months ago (swapping from an F90 M5) deliberately to have a more involving drive before this type of car disappears!

I'm thoroughly enjoying it and as hoped for it has brought fun back into everyday driving (the M5 was mighty, but not what I would call fun - too heavy and simply too competent at everyday speeds).

I can't tell you much - my dealership experience has been positive (one service so far under the 5 year service plan) and it's a Honda so I'm hoping for good reliability.

As a last of the type, best in class keeper I can thoroughly recommend you get one!

[JAMSXR]

undred orse said:

I’m seriously thinking of getting one as a keeper. I really can’t get interested in electric cars so the Type R would be one to keep forever as the best of its type and one I love the look of. It would join a 4.0 Boxster Gts, Abarth 595 comp and a Countryman JCW which is the daily.

I’ve never owned a Honda before so have no experience with any dealers, servicing etc. Any recommendations regarding dealers to buy from would be appreciated. I’m in south wales but as there is no part exchange travelling to collect the car is no issue.

I’d also be grateful for info on any owners’ clubs and forums.

Thanks.

I don’t think you’ll be disappointed, your use case is ideal. I chose it as a daily to have some fun and it never quite worked, it’s a little too focused for daily duties (I should have known that would be the case).

https://www.civicxi.com/ has a lot of owners and information.

[undred orse]

Thanks for the encouragement both.

The boxster is manual. I’ve had pdk in the past and as good as it is, the manual is so much more involving.

I sold an m4 to get the boxster and I know exactly what you mean about the M5. I always thought the M4 - one of the latest shape ones- was a car to respect but without enough character to connect with.

I’m trying to sort out availability and prices of the Type R at the moment.

[will-w]

undred orse said:

I’m trying to sort out availability and prices of the Type R at the moment.

How did you get on?

There is loads of availability at the moment, and due the completely flat sales there are some good discounts to be had!