JDM vs USDM Differences

[Superhatch]

New to the forum and picking up an FL5 soon and wondering if there are any interior/exterior/mechanical differences of note between the USDM and JDM versions? Did a forum search and google search and didn't find anything.

The last new car I got was a '14 BRZ and I hated the silver accents in the cabin. The JDM model had a variant with all matte black trim and I did a full interior trim swap and it made a huge difference in the cabin.

Wondering if there are any good bits that they got that we didn't?

Sponsored

 

[onepointsix]

Stock for stock the JDM version gets suede rear seats (US and Canada get cloth) , clear turn signals in the headlights, and parking sensors in the front and rear bumpers (though up in Canada we get them). Think that's it. There's JDM specific stuff, like the ETC system, but we don't have that here in North America.

 

[Shrapnel]

JDM(and other regions besides the US) model also gets alcantara wrapped steering wheel and alcantara shift boot.

 

[hhkb]

I think rear seats are red on JDM

 

[JDM_DOHC_SiR]

Japan model also gets rain sensing wipers.

 

[Clark_Kent]

Mechanically the cars are largely identical with some variation. Many big ticket items are shared across the USDM and JDM FL5. For example, the intercooler, dampers (F/R), springs (F/R), brake discs, calipers, exhaust system, and radiator, are shared between the two cars. This is by no means an exhaustive list; however, I've been able to glean the following differences:

Headlights: The JDM headlights include a level adjuster and a clear reflector instead of an amber sidemarker like the USDM vehicle.
Tailights (outer, not inner): The outermost tails are different on the JDM vehicle as the part numbers are different. It's not clear to me at this time how they're different; however, I presume the difference lies with functionality and not aesthetics. I will confirm and update this post when I receive that information.

UPDATE at 10:04pm: The JDM tailight does not have a sidemarker, the USDM car has the sidemarker.

Steering Wheel: The JDM FL5 comes standard with an Alcantara® steering wheel. Except for the shift boot, the other suede-like material in the car is not Alcantara. The USDM FL5 has a leather steering wheel and shift boot. Honda offers an Alcantara steering wheel as an accessory.
Shift Boot: Similar to the previous item, JDM = Alcantara, USDM = leather.
Rear Seats: The JDM FL5 has rear seat covers made of the same suede-like material as the front seats in both the USDM and JDM cars. The rear seat covers are black with red stitching.
Bumpers (F/R): The bumpers include proximity sensors on the JDM car. There are no proximity sensors on the USDM vehicle.
Side Mirrors: The JDM car has automatic fold functionality.
Accessories: The accessory catalog is much richer than what we have in the United States. There are many carbon fiber interior bits (door panel trim, center console panel, door sill trim), red mirror caps, key fob covers, rear hatch LED lighting, horn, pattern projector, license plate frame, paddle lights, pattern projector lights, and the list goes on.

There are other obvious differences like the infotainment screen's buttons are on the opposite side compared to the USDM version as to be closest to the driver. The software on the infotainment and gauge cluster are different to show Japanese characters and the speedometer readout is in km/h instead of mp/h.

 

[Clark_Kent]

Updated my initial post to include the note about the difference between the JDM and USDM taillights.

 

[Trey]

I think rear seats are red on JDM

Nope. The red ones you see are seat covers.

 

[nttran98]

Stock for stock the JDM version gets suede rear seats (US and Canada get cloth) , clear turn signals in the headlights, and parking sensors in the front and rear bumpers (though up in Canada we get them). Think that's it. There's JDM specific stuff, like the ETC system, but we don't have that here in North America.

One of the feature i really like is that JDM/EUDM got a wide angle mirror partition, which I would like eto get at some point, even though they already came with blind spot monitor

 

[Biscuitpie]

Pretty sure we have a fake oil temp sensor and they have a real one

 

[Superhatch]

I use Megazip.net and Amayama.com for JDM parts for the NSX but neither have the FK8 or FL5 listed. I've made an inquiry to see if they can get parts for us and will report back in this thread.

https://www.jauce.com/search/Honda+Civic+Type+R+FL5

^ That is another good resource for JDM parts. They will bid and win Yahoo.jp auctions for you and then ship those parts over. Not cheap, but you can get some pretty cool stuff, especially for older Hondas.

 

[CTRifecta]

Any pictures of the JDM rear tail lights? I didn't know about that

 

[Clark_Kent]

Any pictures of the JDM rear tail lights? I didn't know about that

The difference is so subtle you can miss it. No photos, but here are two videos for each - first two are JDM, second set are USDM. Scrub to the time stamp on each video. What you're looking for is the light passing through the outer tail light on the portion that wraps around the rear fender which essentially creates a sidemarker.

JDM Rear Tails

2:04


5:40


USDM Rear Tails

20:35


25:10


The JDM and USDM headlights are similar with the difference being the amber sidemarker on the USDM car. The clear reflector on the JDM, Euro, and other markets headlights are not a sidemarker. In other words, light does not pass through the clear reflector like it does on the USDM car.

 

[Trey]

No reflector.

 

[Clark_Kent]

No reflector.

It's not so much a reflector as it is a sidemarker. The tail lights look nearly identical with the lights off. There is a small recess where the light passes through on the USDM version. Once illuminated you can see the difference. It's the same for the headlights. There's a small recess in the amber sidemarker where the light passes through. That same recess does not exist on the JDM headlight. Too much information and a minor detail but there's a distinction nonetheless.

Sponsored