Dyno Run Shows New Honda Civic Type R Has More Horsepower Than We Thought

Nov. 11, 2022 7:15 AM ET by Chase Bierenkoven Industry News / 5 Comments

Hondata threw the Type R on a dyno to find out.

Hondata tunes Hondas and it's just gotten a hold of the new Civic Type R. And its first course of acting was putting the car on a hub dyno. The result? Honda soft-balled the power figures on the new Type R.

Hondata's Type R made 316 horsepower and 334 lb-ft of torque. Before we get into that, know Honda has a history of doing this and has done so as recently as the new Civic Si, which was found to be pushing more power than quoted. In the industry, we call this "sandbagging."

This way, when customers, media, and dealers get a hold of a new performance car, it feels way faster than the, say, 315 hp and 310 lb-ft official ratings would lead you to believe. Porsche is notorious for doing this, as is Ferrari.

Rear-Facing View

Rear-Facing View

Brands also underrate their cars to be conservative. A Type R at 10,000 feet above sea level in Colorado won't make the same power as one in LA, for example. We also don't know what kind of dyno Honda used to get its numbers. Hondata's hub dyno may be slightly off a rolling road-style dyno.

Asterisks, caveats, and mitigating factors aside, Honda probably did sandbag the new Type R. Eleven more horses and 25 more lb-ft of torque is a pretty sizable jump. Drivers will certainly feel the torque bump. It's much easier to feel than an increase in horsepower, especially in a turbocharged car like the Type R.

We've got more evidence of Honda sandbagging as well. Another shop, AHC Garage, tested an Acura Integra on the dyno and got the exact same result as it did with the Civic Si - more power. This means we'll see loads more power from the Type R by the time Hondata is done with it, just as we've seen with the Integra and Civic Si.

How much is hard to say, but we do have something of a baseline. The previous generation FK8 Type R with a Hondata tune got a bump of 47 hp and 72 lb-ft. With any luck, we'll see similar increases.

Join The Discussion

Gallery

Rear-Facing View

Tags: #Honda News #Industry News #Sports Cars #Video

Back

To Top