• The Turn 14 Distribution FL5 Civic Type R is being well-modified throughout the week to prepare for its SEMA debut in a couple of weeks.
• Our esteemed partner list includes ARP, ClutchMasters, DBA, LiquiMoly, Mahle, Turbosmart, and more.
• The second round of mods includes components from Eibach, a leading high-performance suspension manufacturer, and HKS, a renowned Japanese tuner and manufacturer.
• All of the modifications are being performed at our local speed shop, R/T Tuning, in Montgomeryville, PA.

Enthusiasts will rarely take chances on components that matter the most. If some do, those parts are quickly replaced with better ones as soon as they have the means to do so. In the case of the Turn 14 Distribution FL5 Type R, it didn’t make sense to gamble—especially with the SEMA show on the line. As a result, we phoned some of the biggest names in their respective fields—Eibach and HKS—to sort out the Type R’s suspension, exhaust, and intercooler upgrades.

BOX OF SURPRISES

Pat at R/T Tuning had disassembled the car thoroughly during the first part of the build,  which put us in a good spot to unbox all of the parts that’d arrived and get them onto the car. The order of operations seemed pretty straightforward: get the Eibach springs, rear swaybar, and rear control arms installed, tackle the DBA brakes, and then get the  Fifteen52 wheels and Yokohama tires mounted. But this is where we ran into our first surprise.

The box that we thought was Eibach Sportline springs (E20-40-043-04-22) was actually the 25mm rear sway bar (E40-40-036-03-01). This wasn’t technically a bad thing—we needed to install the sway bar at some point—but we discovered that the springs were one of the items that hadn’t shown up yet. Fortunately, this wasn’t our first rodeo, and instead of sitting idle, we got to work fitting the Eibach sway bar and its rear camber arm kit (5.67476K) right away. The diameter upgrade (20.5mm OE vs 25mm Eibach) will help give the T14 Type R a more “neutral” handling personality. By reducing the car’s tendency to understeer, the FL5 will rotate more readily, adding confidence behind the wheel at the limit.

Eibach’s rear camber kit (something it calls its Pro-Alignment Kit) helps add vital camber adjustment to the rear suspension—up to 3.0° positive or negative—after the car is lowered to prevent excessive tire wear. Since the FL5 also comes with a square wheel set up from the factory (19×9.5+60), the additional adjustment helps make sure they fit appropriately underneath the wheel arches.

The additional benefit of fitting these arms is the superior build quality. Each arm has been machined for strength and lightweight performance (1.6 lbs saved per pair) with an adjustable rod end. Pat from R/T set them up to match the factory arm before installing them.

OVERNIGHT FROM JAPAN

Since we couldn’t finish the suspension, we turned our focus on three boxes with a very recognizable name: HKS. The well-recognized Japanese tuner sent us an FL5-specific intercooler kit (13001-AH007) and a Legamax Sports exhaust (31021-AH005).

The HKS aluminum intercooler is massive—so much so that I had my doubts it’d even fit behind the FL5’s front bumper—but that size (22.4% bigger than OEM) is important. It contributes to creating a much higher ceiling for the Type R’s cooling proficiency. The larger diameter aluminum piping kit that HKS includes also cures one of the FL5’s flaws —the OE hose is prone to expand under high boost conditions—and also helps smooth out the airflow through the intercooler unit.

My worries about inner bumper clearance proved unfounded, though HKS does require you to modify the air guide inside of the front bumper and relocate the outside air temperature sensor. All easy work and well worth the extra effort to get this massive cooling upgrade.

The finishing touch was spraying the “HKS” logo onto the intercooler face. HKS includes a template which makes this super easy. Pro tip: you should factor in where the logo will appear with the bumper on. We chose to place the template three rows up from the bottom so that it’d be dead center through the front grille area.

THREE TO TWO

Although the FL5 toned a lot of the FK8’s boy racer styling back, the triple-tip exhaust system carried over. Thankfully, the Legamax Sports exhaust rights this very big wrong; there are twin 4.7” (119mm) titanium tailpipes instead of that undersized OEM trio. Don’t think, in any way, that “downsizing” has compromised the way the HKS exhaust sounds or performs. The exhaust profile has been optimized and deletes the front resonator for better flow. The piping diameter is up from 2.38” (60.5mm) to 2.95” (75mm), which helps reduce back pressure by 30%.

Don’t expect to blow your eardrums out at cold start, though. The HKS Legamax Sports exhaust is a big improvement over the stock note, but it’s still neighbor-friendly—approximately 73dB at idle and 93dB at full chat.

TWO DAYS LATER

Mercifully, the shipping gods were kind to our fast-depleting SEMA timeline: the Eibach Sportline springs finally showed. Compared to the standard Pro-Kit springs, the Sportlines lower the FL5 an extra 0.2” all-around (-1.2” and -0.9”, respectively). I’ll be first to admit that putting springs on a SEMA car raised an eyebrow, but I was forced to put a foot in my mouth once I saw the car back on the ground. For anyone who wants a budget option that really improves the look and feel of the newest Type R, the Eibach Sportline springs are worth considering.

Since we’d left everything relatively “unbuttoned”, it was easy to slot the rear springs into place, bolt up the sway bar, and fasten the rear camber arms before moving onto the front. Another pro tip: the OE bump stops need to be trimmed in half before the whole shock assembly gets re-installed. We’re going to make you wait to see the final result of how the FL5 looks on the ground, but know that it’ll be worth the wait. Next, we’re tackling some upgrades from Turbosmart, EVS Tuning,  Antigravity Batteries, and LiquiMoly, so stay tuned! Thank you to our esteemed build partners for helping transform this Type R into a SEMA-worthy machine.

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