RKM Motorsport: Civic VTiR
Based on: Honda Civic Type R (EK) ‘97
Obtained: Brand new model at Honda or win the B-Spec FF Cup
Drivetrain: FF
Horsepower: 282 BHP (@ 169.9 miles)
Torque:---- 23 kgfm
Weight:---- 888 kg
PP:-------- 467
PARTS
GT Auto
Oil Change
BBS LM-R Wheels
Type A Front Aero
Tuning Shop
Chassis Weight Reduction Stage 3
Rigidity Improvement
Window Weight Reduction
Carbon Bonnet (Body Colour)
Engine Tuning Stage 3
Sports ECU
Sports Intake Manifold
Racing Air Filter
Titanium Racing Exhaust
Sports Exhaust Manifold
Catalytic Converter: Sports
Fully Customisable Transmission
Twin Plate Clutch
Semi Racing Flywheel
Fully Customisable LSD
Fully Customisable Suspension Kit
Sports Soft Tyres
SETUP
Body/Chassis
Ballast
Amount:-- 0
Position: 0
Engine
Power Limiter
Power Level: 100.0%
Transmission
Transmission
(Set Max Speed, then each individual ratio.)
1st:-- 2.874
2nd:-- 2.008
3rd:-- 1.500
4th:-- 1.175
5th:-- 0.964
6th:-- 0.825
Final: 4.585
Max Speed: 180 MPH
Drivetrain
Differential
Initial: 15/0
Accel:-- 35/0
Braking: 5/0
Suspension
Suspension
Ride Height: -20/-20
Spring Rate: 9.0/3.0
Extension:-- 8/6
Compression: 6/4
Anti-Roll:-- 3/4
Camber:----- 1.5/1.0
Toe:-------- –0.20/-0.25
Brakes
Brake Balance Controller
Brake Balance: 5/6
Intended Driving Options
Transmission: Manual (MT)
ABS: 1
Everything else: OFF
Tuner Comments:
For those who didn’t want to start GT5 with the MX-5, there was the EK9 Civic. This Civic Type R has received the magic touch and now storms the tracks with an N/A 282bhp VTEC scream box. As it was my first car in GT5, I gave it the VTi-R nickname. It’s easily capable of keeping up and beating up its RWD and 4WD competitors. Don’t underestimate the FF platform.
Fun Fact: This setup works on the Honda Mugen Motul Civic Si Race Car '87.
Back to the early days of RKM with this one. Like the MX-5, the EK Civic is one of the opening choices for a starter car in GT5. If you didn't choose it to begin with you certainly won it as a prize car from one of the early races. With such a widespread base car, why not open your shop with a tune for it? It becomes more relevant now with the addition of the Civic seasonal races. I could bore you with the whole VW versus Honda fanboy deal again or how I think the EK Civic's ugliness is rivaled only by its EG brother but we will skip that for now. Suffice to say, not my favorite car out in the world, but in the GT5 arena I can respect it's potential. Since mine was "riced out" for a few pics in the opening of my fanfic, I
sold it off and started with a fresh base.
With all cars of this class it is boring to drive in stock trim.A slow, easy drive blah blah blah. Blah is a good word for it too. There isn't much excitement here at all. It is a starter car and fulfills it's role nicely. It must be said, however, that it does not bounce off the rev limiter on GV's long straight, which I consider something of an accomplishment for such a low level car. The biggest weakness of the car seems to be the brakes. Loads and loads of understeer when you get heavy on the brakes. Not unexpected with the Civic's FF drivetrain but it seems to be more noticeable than in similar cars. The nice boring drive brings a nice boring time of 2'29.043". Could go faster if you put in more effort but for my purposes here it is a sufficient baseline.
The parts tune is a pretty dramatic change. The Civic feels quite good now. The steering is responsive without being hard to control and the car is now very easy to drive fast. If it was me just adding on parts without following a tune I would definitely stop here. It feels that good. Honestly, I don't know how much better the tune could make this car. If I were to nitpick I would tweak the top speed on the trans for sure. I was just getting to the limiter by the end of the straight. Also the brakes; they could use a touch more firming up to be where I would like them. Parts on the Civic will lap in 2'10.019".
While the overall feel is about the same, Roj's tune tightens things up a little and makes the car crisp. The Civic turns quite nicely through sweepers and hairpins alike. I've seen many say that it is hard to tune understeer out of an FF car, but this seems to walk the fine line. I didn't notice any major under or oversteer anywhere save for coming into a corner way too hot. Even on the brakes it still turns in well. And the brakes do feel better. Just the slight tweak made enough difference with the other settings. In regard to the transmission, acceleration in higher gears seems slower than pre-tune. I could keep up with and pass the "parts ghost" on the end of the straight but it consistently had a slight speed advantage from the line. At lower speeds it is night and day. Particularly down in second gear I had to be careful not to shoot into the red and bounce on the limiter with the tires played catch up. With the settings change I can dump the throttle and it will pull without drama. I shouldn't be surprised but it managed to drop another second to 2'09.034".
This is a fantastic tune for your lower level and even mid level races. I could see taking on some higher level cars with this and at the least keeping up if not beating them. And it is so much fun to drive. It just works on so many levels and is an easy drive. You'll worry less about what the car is doing and can concentrate more on what line to take and hitting your marks.
Since I tuned this up to use in the seasonal races I may as well show how it did. And it did well. As a disclaimer, this will not make it into the races without a slight tweak. It is just over the PP limit so a bit of power limiting is in order. With only a handful of miles on it mine only came down to about 94-95% power, in the low 250HP range I believe. Like the NSX-R in the Japanese Championship, this makes the field look like they are standing still. By lap 2 or 3 I was alone at the front from some time trialing.
Deep Forest was pretty boring. Not my favorite track. I did find a bit of an issue coming out of the short tunnels. Between the last one and the bigger tunnel up the hill I couldn't carry as much speed as I wanted as I was running off into the grass. I felt a bit like I had the cruise control on to get through the section before the uphill portion and it was a little frustrating. No big problems though. I managed a 1'27.705" on just a couple laps. Probably quite a bit of time left here.
Clubman Stage Route 5 was my favorite in this car. These stages are some of my favorites in GT so that helps. CSR5 doesn't really have any complex sections but since it is a fairly fast track the key is to keep up your speed as much as possible through the switchbacks or you'll lose quite a bit of time. Even in traffic the car was awesome fun. Through almost every turn I could pick any line I wanted to pass up the rolling roadblocks. I could squeeze through on the inside or charge past on the outside and I could do it cleanly every time. I ran this race quite a lot and set a goal of running a lap under one minute. I only managed a 1'00.508" but I think it is certainly possible to clean up a couple corners to get that half second.
The car seemed to like Suzuka the most. Through the technical section and the speed section it felt pretty well at home. The tight hairpin was a little tricky to find a good braking point for but otherwise no problems. I experimented taking a few turns faster than I felt I would normally and the Civic handled it easily, particularly off the back straight and the tight chicane before the line. I got around here in a best of 2'28.946" with some time left out there.
Route 246 gave me more problems than I expected it to. I ran this course for several hours last week for the WRS in a GT500 NSX so I am pretty familiar with it, just not backwards. The left/tight right that would normally be the tight left/right at the beginning of T2 gave me a headache. I couldn't seem to find the right speed through the left to keep it up through the right and down into the last corner. The rest of the course was fine, just that one area that needs some thought. The car handled it well up on the rumbles that gave my Super GT car some troubles. My 2'01.799" was probably not a clean lap as I'm pretty sure I rubbed up on a wall in the first section. I could see getting much closer to two minutes on this one with the Civic.
Eifel, again, not a favorite. Most of the course maker tracks I don't really like since they are pretty much different every time you come across one. But the Civic handled the tight course well. The steering was an asset here with the crisp response and turn in. Traffic was a little dicey in some areas if you're looking to keep the bumping to a minimum and stay on the track cleanly but getting out in front was never a problem. I managed a best here of 57.705".
To reiterate, a very fun ride and something you can challenge yourself with. Set yourself a goal and chase it down. Don't worry about the car, it will keep up with you.
Lap Times
Grand Valley Speedway: 2'09.034"
Deep Forest: 1'27.705"
Clubman Stage Route 5: 1'00.508"
Suzuka: 2'28.946"
Tokyo R246: 2'01.799"
