These cars were completely stock down to the tires. Ran a respectable time, but clear room for improvement as we get more familiar with the car. I didn't have the perfect line, but with time things were coming together nicely. The biggest challenge we had was adapting to the pressures on these factory sport contact 6 tires while gaining a grasp on the cars handling characteristics. Overall, very pleased with the vehicle. See the points below that can hopefully help others:
1: The factory 245/30/R20 tires are simply lacking in sidewall height to push safely under 40psi in the front with the factory camber. If you want to save money (by saving these tires), start with the fronts at 40-42 psi and adjust up to 45 psi depending on the track/surface. With a single session at 32psi the tires were rolling almost completely down the sidewall under load. For this track and our driving, the fronts were wearing correctly at 45psi. Thankfully my friend had a full second set of wheels/tires that helped up reach this conclusion since we baked the front tires so quickly. The rears at 35-38 were a good range for proper wear.
2: What we've all heard about the car not understeering hardly at all is true. It's almost odd at first, but you'll quickly adjust. As you get comfortable you'll learn how the rotation of the car can be controlled with modulation of the throttle. Turn 2 at barber is a great example. If you feel like you're washing out trying to pull the nose back in towards the apex, you simply modulate the throttle and it will rotate very easily to where you point the wheel. Trusting this over time would fix a lot of my entries on this track. For fear, remember that it's a powerful front wheel drive car, so if the rear is getting out of hand just apply power and it can pull itself out of a hairy situation.
3: DO NOT TRACK UNDER HALF A TANK! You might get away with it, but if you're under very heavy braking you risk fuel starvation. You'll either feel the fuel cut happen, or you'll enter limp mode. When it hits limp mode you'll get warnings of every electronic system in the car malfunctioning. It will still drive under a limited RPM, but get to the pits, unplug the battery for a bit to reset the ecu, and then clear any codes if needed. Once the car is back on you'll need to drive a short distance for the stabilization systems to calibrate (the dash will inform you).
Overall, great car to track straight off the dealer lot. Next event we will likely do what we can with -camber up front on the factory setup, and re-visit pressures once more.
Track: Barber Motorsports Park
Lap Time: 1:44.5
Car: 2021 Civic Type R
Lap Timer: Honda LogR (via Android Auto) + AiM Solo DL