GREENCASTLE Ind. — In case you missed it, the verdict is in. The Honda Civic Type R is the hot front-wheel-drive car for the track, while the Acura Integra Type S is the ideal setup on the street. Today, I’m in a Civic Type R, so it’s only right that I’m also on a race track.
Honda brought me down to Putnam Park Road Course in Indiana for a number of reasons, but number one on the list was to drive the 2023 Civic Type R and explore its fascinating LogR tech in its natural environment: the race track.
What is Honda LogR? In short, it’s a sophisticated telemetry system baked into every Civic Type R that allows you to analyze your performance both on and off the track. It’s a system that initially debuted on the previous generation Type R for its mid-cycle refresh, but it’s been revamped and improved for this totally new generation. Everything is accessible via the Type R’s infotainment system, but there’s an accompanying app that you can view all of the data on after a lapping session, too.
The main screen it opens to is a much-appreciated page of gauges to monitor all of your vital lubricants during hard driving. You get gauges for some (but not all) of these items in the cluster, but being able to monitor oil temperature, coolant temperature, transmission oil temperature, oil pressure, intake air temperature and boost pressure while pushing hard provides the peace of mind any frequent track day enthusiast would love.
Swipe over, and Honda provides friction circles for all four tires to give you real-time loads on the tires — the circles light up in yellow when grip is being efficiently transmitted to let you know you’re doing a good job. Another neat feature is the “3D Motion Display” which will give you a real-time visual of the car’s direction and inclination around a racetrack. Of course, you won’t want to watch this little animation play while driving, but you can watch it back once outside of the car and compare how you maneuvered the vehicle versus professional drivers (or your friends) on the same track. You can even ensure the accuracy of the animation by choosing your specific exterior color in the infotainment system.
That brings us to one of LogR’s other big pluses. All of the data that you log on the track goes into a database so that you can compare your laps and driving skill versus other Type R drivers. Assuming someone has driven on and logged their lapping on a track that you’re on, their lap times, telemetry and all other data will be viewable via your LogR app. You’ll be able to see where you braked, accelerated, your driving line, amount of Gs and all the intricate data that real race teams use, then compare it to others. Dive deeper, and LogR will tell you things like “You are close to the limits of the car,” or “Try braking earlier and focus on getting a good exit speed to improve your lap times.” The LogR app even gives you a numerical score and a letter grade based on how you did. It’s never been easier to claim driving skill superiority.
If a track isn’t in the system already, you can easily add it via a mapping function — all you need to do is set a start point, and drive a lap. Honda says it’s even possible to map a “lap” on public roads, but, of course, followed that up with the disclaimer that you should not treat public roads like a race track.
Beyond track day monitoring, LogR is happy to grade your everyday driving using an “Auto Score” function. Honda will judge your acceleration, deceleration, turning and straight-line driving to give you an assessment based on what Honda engineers deem to be good driving. It looks for things like smooth clutch and shifter operation, acceleration efficiency through the gears and stable cornering. Honda provides paragraphs of feedback on what elements you could improve to be a better on-road driver. Whether folks take Honda’s advice is another story.
So, how’d the Type R and LogR do at Putnam Park Road Course? I stepped out of Honda’s super-hatch grinning ear-to-ear after every lapping session. Riswick found the Type R to be a lovely track day companion on his first drive of the Type R, and he did so in the wet. On dry pavement, and shod with the Type R’s optional Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires, the Type R is a grip magnet. I drove a Type R with the standard Pilot Sport 4S summer tires on the road, and even that setup felt like it had endless grip. Upgrading to the Cup 2s is like entering a cheat code on your favorite racing game for unlimited road-holding performance.
Of course, even the Type R has limits, and when you find them, you’ll notice that this front-drive, front-engine car is remarkably well-balanced. Its rear end is constantly keeping you honest with rotation just a throttle lift away, but that fills me with the confidence that it won’t understeer unless I’m incredibly irresponsible with corner entry speed. Easing back onto the power provides just another reminder of how brilliant the torque steer-defying dual-axis front suspension design is. Let that limited-slip differential do its job, and you can come flying out of turns with more momentum and stability than any other front-drive road car in existence.
Honda’s perfect shifter and feelsome steering simply make the track driving experience all the more enjoyable and easier. Its rev-matching downshift program will keep you smooth and steady when you’re learning a new track layout, but don’t view it as a crutch — the Type R’s record Nürburgring lap was set by a pro with the rev-match downshifting program on.
Once I got out of the car and started looking at the LogR data, I got to see how slow I was versus Honda’s pro drivers, who were also on hand and setting fast laps. Granted, the lead-follow organization of events like these have us lifting and even braking on straights sometimes, but still, LogR had advice for me.
For example, as it concerns my “Average G,” LogR tells me that “The average G tends to be low. Try to be able to raise the average G consciously little by little.” Feedback on the car’s balance, friction circle, tire saturation and grip variation is also provided, and it’s all advice that I could take back to the track given more laps.
LogR aims to teach you how to drive your Type R faster on the track and become a better driver, and short of a personal racing instructor or attending a racing school, this is about as good as you’re going to get. It’s hard to dream up a more perfect companion for someone to go from a track day novice to an expert than the Type R, too. This hot hatch won’t bite all-too-eager beginners thanks to its front-wheel-drive layout, but it also rewards the experienced driver with a beautiful balance and the most satisfying inputs on this side of the $100,000 mark. If you have a Type R, get reading up about LogR, and don’t forget to use it on your first (and subsequent) track days. It’s no gimmicky lap timer feature; it’s the real deal, and it’s hooked up to the best-driving front-wheel-drive car ever.
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