There won’t be many people who drive the current Honda Civic Type R - either on the road or on a circuit - and be left wanting more. It’s an obscenely capable car, redefining (again) what can be expected by a roadgoing, front-drive hot hatch. But the best can always be made better for those that really must, and so KW has a coilover kit for the FL5.
Designed for use with semi-slick tyres (so something a little more aggressive than the standard Michelin Pilot Sport 4S), the KW V3 Clubsport setup ‘surpasses’ the coilovers available for the old Type R. Said to be much closer to KW’s motorsport suspension than ever before, the Civic upgrade uses ‘upside-down’ KW Single Tube racing dampers (they’re rotated 180 degrees) with 16 clicks of low-speed compression and rebound adjustment. There’s no high-speed tinkering possible. Modifications to the damper valve springs and coil springs should make the V3 setup stiffer than KW’s Street Performance offerings. It also permits 10-30mm of ride height reduction, for an even meaner stance and, presumably, even keener cornering.
KW’s Brand Manager Florian Johann said: "With our Street Performance applications, such as the KW V3 coilover suspension, we always aim for a setup as firm as necessary while maintaining maximum comfort. Our focus is ensuring that the Honda Civic Type R remains safe and manageable, even when pushed to its limits on dynamic tracks like the Nurburgring Nordschleife."
That perhaps the most famous circuit of all is mentioned by KW indicates what it sees as this car’s intended use; for even fairly regular track day appearances, a standard car will surely be fine. The V3 Clubsport is there for folk who make regular pilgrimages to the Green Hell, and want one of the fastest front-wheel drive cars there. The wheels seen here are BBS CI-R Unlimiteds on the same size Michelin as standard - 265/30 R19. They certainly look smart, though to make the best of the suspension it’d surely be tyres that are upgraded first. Not least because the V3 package will cost a pretty penny - it’s listed at £4,721 plus shipping on the UK site. Still, with early cars now getting closer to £40k, a budget of £50k doesn’t seem daft. And the promise of a car that further improves on one of the hot hatch heroes isn’t half tempting.
1 / 8