How does the FK8 Honda Civic Type R overcome torque steer?

The just unveiled FK8 Honda Civic Type R has to be a headline grabbing hot hatch. The 310 PS and 400 Nm of torque pumped out by the 2.0 litre turbocharged VTEC 4 cylinder is a stuff of madness. Its front-wheel drive Nurburgring lap record is testament to its performance credential that will have enthusiasts worldwide drooling. 

Speaking of front-wheel drive, there's one inherent problem in sending prodigious amount of output solely to the front wheels - torque steer. Torque steer is basically a result of having the front wheels doubling as the powered and steered wheels. The introduction of copious torque to the front wheels introduce leverage against the front wheels allowing the car to be steered under the influence of torque.    

For example, if you floor the throttle and the steering wheel tugs to one side without any input from you, you have torque steer.

Jason Fenske from Engineering Explained explained the cause of torque steer in one of his video. Some of the points he outlined are unequal length half shafts being the main culprit, with road conditions and tyre wear being taken into consideration as well. 

He also stressed particularly on steering geometry which directly influence parameters such as scrub radius and spindle length. Scrub radius is basically an imaginary distance between the centreline of the wheels and the steering axis where it intersects the ground; spindle length is an imaginary distance between the steering axis and the exact centre of the wheel centreline.

Fenske showed how Honda has setup the front suspension in such a way that the steering axis is placed within the tyre as he explained. The resultant configuration lends to the reduction in scrub radius and spindle length, all which contributes to less torque steer.

Such innovation is not unique to Honda however, as manufacturers such as Renault PerfoHub, Ford RevoKnuckle and GM HiPerStrut achieved similar goals in the reduction of torque steer by making the scrub radius, and by extension, spindle length smaller.

Let Fenske explain the whole mumbo-jumbo in greater details in the video below.

It's here! FK8 Honda Civic Type R arrives in Malaysia

In its all majestic glory, everyone take a bow! Well, here it is - the no holds-barred FK8 Honda Civic Type R. Fully imported all the way from Swindon UK, the very hot hatch that proudly smashed the Nurburgring front-wheel drive record is finally laying down its tyre mark on Malaysian road; Honda taking the wraps off at the Malaysia Autoshow taking place in MAEPS, Serdang.

Based on the tenth generation Civic hatch, the FK8 packs the same 2.0 litre turbocharged VTEC inline 4 from the outgoing FK2. The engine unleash 310 PS and 400 Nm to the front wheels via a close-ratio 6 speed manual transmission (looking for an automatic? I am afraid there's none). This transmission is loaded with neat tricks to enhance driving experience, including the auto rev matching function that turns you into a heel toe 'hero'. A helical LSD ensures all 310 PS and 400 Nm is not wasted in a cloud of tyre smoke. 

The result? 0-100 kph sprint is done and dusted in a respectable 5.7 seconds and maxing out at 272 kph. A mouth watering prospect indeed.

Just looking at it tells you it means business. I mean reeeeally daring you to take it by the horns. Decked out by outlandish aerodynamic addenda, red highlights lining along the perimeter of the underside plus red highlights encircling its massive 20 inch black alloy wheels, tasteful looking blood red Brembo caliper, menacing looking LED headlights, massive front lower air intake and of course the famous 'H' emblem with blood red background. I tell you this is an angry looking beast waiting to unload its ammo when provoked.        

The eye catching feature of the FK8 rump has to be the triple asymmetric exhaust made up by 2 larger outer pipes flanking the smaller centre pipe. According to Honda, the smaller centre pipe's main brief is to regulate exhaust sound while doubling as an additional exit at full pelt, and as a 'muffler' in mid-range to keep noise down. The 2 outer pipes, well, they're there to purge spent gases.

So potent is this monster that it needs colossal 350 mm ventilated front disc brakes and 305 mm solid rear disc brakes. 

Apart from uprated braking, a new set of adaptive dampers ensure the planted, on-rail feel that eggs you to lean on it when the twisties beckons. Also, you can see on the bottom left corner of the centre console the toggle switch for changing drive mode. This alters the damping rate of the adaptive dampers. The FK8 starts in 'Sport' mode by default. Select 'Comfort' if you want a more relax ride, or put it in '+R' when the mood strikes. Plus, an Agile Handling Assist applies light braking on the inside wheel when cornering for confidence-inspiring apex warrior. 

The red theme doesn't just stop from the exterior though. It extends to the bucket seat, steering, dashboard trimming and that lovely Honda badge with red blood background embossed on the steering.

There's also a liberal dose of carbon fibre trim decking out the door panel trim and the backside of the bucket seat. 

The boot space is decently capacious for the trip to kampung or a holiday jaunt. But, as you can see above, the FK8 doesn't come with a spare tyre. In its place is a tyre repair kit which only patches up small-sized puncture (between 4-6 mm approximately). This got me thinking: What if you picked up a large-sized puncture (about the size of a fist) or a major sidewall tear? My BMW E46 had a puncture sometime in the middle of this year and it had a blown sidewall. If it had come with a repair kit, it wouldn't have alleviated the situation.

With all the frills out of the way, onto the pricing. The FK8 retails at RM320k (OTR without insurance). Want to test drive? I had a word with a Sales Consultant on site. As of now, not a single unit of the FK8 is available for test drive at any authorised Honda dealership.