PRL Motorsports Brings Home a 2022 Honda Civic Touring 1.5L Turbo

[PRL Motorsports]

Big brother meets little brother. Yesterday we welcomed home our new 2022 11th Gen Honda Civic 1.5T and will begin extensive R&D. Stay tuned to our social media, PRL Army Blog and forum(s) as we post updates throughout the product development process. We can't wait see how far the PRL Motorsports Team and community can push this platform!

Shout-out to Valley Honda for getting our hands on this ride so soon!

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[suhhh]

Wow - very nice. It's awesome they gave you a car so early and so quick

what are the plans for it? Is end goal making big power for this car or will you be waiting for the Si variant and just using this car as a test mule for parts?

 

[JBCutlerson]

Looks good in black. I put a deposit down at my dealer last month for a black touring. Now if Honda Canada would just get its @#$% together. My dealer has told me twice now they have a chip shortage but I think that's bull. I've contacted three other dealers in the area and told them to contact me as soon as they get Civics and none of them mentioned a chip shortage.

 

[MaxPower]

Looks good in black. I put a deposit down at my dealer last month for a black touring. Now if Honda Canada would just get its @#$% together. My dealer has told me twice now they have a chip shortage but I think that's bull. I've contacted three other dealers in the area and told them to contact me as soon as they get Civics and none of them mentioned a chip shortage.

The chip/semiconductor shortage is real, and global news. Auto manufacturers are getting hit hard.

 

[JBCutlerson]

The chip/semiconductor shortage is real, and global news. Auto manufacturers are getting hit hard.

I know but as has been pointed out to me, it seems strange that there's been no news of Honda having to delay anything. Plus new Civics have been shown in the Alliston factory under construction, then lined up at shipping facilities or on trucks. They're now arriving at dealerships in a couple of cases. Plus we had someone who seems to be a Honda employee post on this very forum that there's been no problem so far.

 

[MaxPower]

I know but as has been pointed out to me, it seems strange that there's been no news of Honda having to delay anything. Plus new Civics have been shown in the Alliston factory under construction, then lined up at shipping facilities or on trucks. They're now arriving at dealerships in a couple of cases. Plus we had someone who seems to be a Honda employee post on this very forum that there's been no problem so far.

Clearly production is ongoing, but who knows what the overall volume looks like? Maybe they're on target, or maybe they're falling way short of anticipated production numbers. It's also the kind of issue that may impact certain trims/features more than others. For example, say one specific chip is required for widget A, and Honda can't get those chips in sufficient quantities. So any cars outfitted with widget A are rolling out of the factory much less frequently than other models.

All that said, based on the pics & videos I've seen in this forum, there certainly do seem to be quite a few Touring models out there. Certainly possible that the dealer is just jerking your chain.

 

[delfinom]

New car models don't just suddenly appear on car lots like any smaller goods you can at a retail store. They need to be moved 6 at a time by truck, they will take a week or more sometimes to get transported depending on trucking company and distance. Dealers will be prioritized by internal sales metrics, desire for geographic distribution, etc, whatever Honda wants.

There's even an actual shortage of truck drivers in the US because many retired during COVID and others quit the sucky long haul life.

 

[PRL Motorsports]

Wow - very nice. It's awesome they gave you a car so early and so quick

what are the plans for it? Is end goal making big power for this car or will you be waiting for the Si variant and just using this car as a test mule for parts?

It's nice to see so many members already here and active!

We didn't exactly plan to have our hands on one quite yet - many dealers were not accepting orders quite yet, or claimed to have no real information on them. Luckily, Valley Honda pulled through. Though, the majority of the vehicles delivered with Civic Sports with the 2.0L engine, this was the only 1.5L Turbo allotted.

You hit the nail right on the head. Much like what we did with our 2016 Civic Touring, we will use this vehicle to develop parts that will most likely be universal between the Si and Non-Si models, such as intake, intercooler, exhaust system components, Flex Fuel etc. We will also be datalogging under various driving conditions and inspecting the entire chassis to learn as much as we can. Big power-adders like a turbo upgrade will most likely be developed on the Si, where we will aim to push this platform as far as possible.

Looks good in black. I put a deposit down at my dealer last month for a black touring. Now if Honda Canada would just get its @#$% together. My dealer has told me twice now they have a chip shortage but I think that's bull. I've contacted three other dealers in the area and told them to contact me as soon as they get Civics and none of them mentioned a chip shortage.

We're digging the black as well. I suspect we will all see delays into the foreseeable future with just about everything. From chips to random raw materials, everything has been quite a struggle lately. If Honda hasn't an announcement, I don't suspect there will be any major setbacks. The car has only been scheduled to start hitting lots about this date for quite some time now.

 

[TypeSiR]

@PRL Motorsports Any driving impressions compared to the old car since it’s a privately-owned car and you’re not bound by the press embargo?

 

[CivicVA]

I was one on the fence about this new generation and was not feeling it. Currenlty have a 2016 Touring that I love. One dealership where I live got 2 in and the other got 6. I was able to check the Touring and Sport out as they were unloading them off the truck. I must say, these cars look MUCH MUCH better in person. Even the taillights and the angle of them is a little more satisfying to me than the pics. Other than the tablet on dash look, I LOVE the interior. I think Honda has a home run here. It is a departure from the current gen. I think people that did not like the current gen will love this gen and the people that love the current gen will def warm up to this one. The second dealership I stopped at today had several people checking them out. Civic has a big fanbase. I think a lot of the upgrades - wireless charging, airbags in the rear - Bose. etc.. are a good value proposition. I am cringing a littel that a Touring Civic is now basically a $30,000 car.

 

[TypeSiR]

I was one on the fence about this new generation and was not feeling it. Currenlty have a 2016 Touring that I love. One dealership where I live got 2 in and the other got 6. I was able to check the Touring and Sport out as they were unloading them off the truck. I must say, these cars look MUCH MUCH better in person. Even the taillights and the angle of them is a little more satisfying to me than the pics. Other than the tablet on dash look, I LOVE the interior. I think Honda has a home run here. It is a departure from the current gen. I think people that did not like the current gen will love this gen and the people that love the current gen will def warm up to this one. The second dealership I stopped at today had several people checking them out. Civic has a big fanbase. I think a lot of the upgrades - wireless charging, airbags in the rear - Bose. etc.. are a good value proposition. I am cringing a littel that a Touring Civic is now basically a $30,000 car.

This new Civic interior will effective kill the Mazda3. The new Mazda3 had a chance to increase rear leg room and perfect the platform but didn’t. Meanwhile Honda only needed to upgrade its interior to take the crown in this segment.

OT: For those well heeled, spend a little more and get this boat:

 

[PRL Motorsports]

@PRL Motorsports Any driving impressions compared to the old car since it’s a privately-owned car and you’re not bound by the press embargo?

Thus far we literally only drove about 20 miles from the Dealership to our Shop, so it may be a bit too soon to tell. Initially the car "feels" a bit more solid, maybe trying to give more of a luxury feel, at least to the touring. The electronics are crisp and better than the 10th Gen, and the Bose sound system sounds nice. Driving wise, feels very similar to what I remember the 10th Gen CVT feeling like. It has been about 5 years since my last personal drive in a stock car, though haha. All-in-all, it's a very nice car.

I was one on the fence about this new generation and was not feeling it. Currenlty have a 2016 Touring that I love. One dealership where I live got 2 in and the other got 6. I was able to check the Touring and Sport out as they were unloading them off the truck. I must say, these cars look MUCH MUCH better in person. Even the taillights and the angle of them is a little more satisfying to me than the pics. Other than the tablet on dash look, I LOVE the interior. I think Honda has a home run here. It is a departure from the current gen. I think people that did not like the current gen will love this gen and the people that love the current gen will def warm up to this one. The second dealership I stopped at today had several people checking them out. Civic has a big fanbase. I think a lot of the upgrades - wireless charging, airbags in the rear - Bose. etc.. are a good value proposition. I am cringing a littel that a Touring Civic is now basically a $30,000 car.

The $29.xx price tag is a bit on the higher end for a Civic, but everything is on the rise. All of the models are identically priced to the previous 10th Gen, so not too bad given the added technology.

Our engineers have been busy scanning the engine bay and moving into product development since parking the car.

 

[hobby-man]

Seems like a very similar setup overall, would you expect any existing parts to carry over? Or I wonder if everything is just so slightly different.

 

[PRL Motorsports]

Seems like a very similar setup overall, would you expect any existing parts to carry over? Or I wonder if everything is just so slightly different.

It's a very seemingly similar setup, but virtually nothing carries over. I'm not sure if you folks are aware, but the 11th Gen 1.5T uses a dual exhaust port cylinder head (much like the 1.5L Turbo 10th Gen Accord), unlike the 10th Gen's single exhaust port head. The 11th Gen also has VTEC/camshaft differences and quite a few other things implemented, again, very like the 10th Gen Accord. Though Honda's factory power rating for these cars are similar to the 10th Gen, we suspect that this platform will have a bit more power potential. The turbocharger's routing (compressor outlet) and turbine very, as do virtually every other component such as intake, downpipe, front pipe, exhaust, etc. We will be looking more into this as we go and including in-depth information as we go.

 

[TypeSiR]

Stage 1 Intake coming in record time. First thing I bought for my 1.5T and FK8. Can’t wait!

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