---
title: "Canned Tune for the Honda Civic Type R Adds 47 Horsepower"
description: "No guarantees are made about the lifespan of your front tires."
date: "2018-04-03"
modified: "2018-04-03"
authors:
  - name: "James Gilboy"
    job_title: "Contributing Writer"
    link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/james-gilboy"
url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/19850/canned-tune-for-the-honda-civic-type-r-adds-47-horsepower"
categories:
  - "Honda News"
  - "News"
  - "News by Brand"
tags:
  - "Accord"
  - "Civic"
  - "Civic Si"
  - "Civic Type R"
  - "compact"
  - "Hatchback"
  - "honda"
  - "Hot Hatchbacks"
  - "sports car"
  - "Tuning"
---

# Canned Tune for the Honda Civic Type R Adds 47 Horsepower

![](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/images-by-url-td/content/2017/06/2017_honda_civic_type_r-hero.jpg>)
*\<em\>www.thedrive.com\</em\>*

In these turbocharged times, squeezing extra power from engines is easier than ever. Connect a laptop to your engine's computer, load a preprogrammed tune, and close your hood on more horsepower than before. With the size of the Honda enthusiast community, it was only a matter of time before even the company's pedestrian economy engines received retunes from performance tuning companies like Hondata. The company has retuned base model Civics to [eclipse the Civic Si's power output](<https://www.thedrive.com/article/9852/new-hondata-tune-boosts-the-2018-honda-civics-turbo-engine-past-the-si>), and even [applied its magic to the Accord](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/18593/this-tuner-can-unlock-the-civic-type-r-hiding-in-your-2018-honda-accord>), bringing its power levels to near that of the Civic Type R.

Now, Hondata has cast its spell upon the Civic Type R itself, powering up its K20C1 turbocharged 2.0-liter four-pot. For $695 of your dollars, and a tank of 91 octane fuel, the company will unlock an additional 33 horsepower, and 39 pound-feet of torque, according to [*Automobile*](<https://www.automobilemag.com/news/hondata-honda-civic-type-r-hondata-tune/>). This brings [the Nurburgring's front-wheel-drive champion](<https://www.thedrive.com/new-cars/9600/the-2017-honda-civic-type-r-break-the-fwd-nurburgring-record>) up from 306 to 339 horsepower, and torque follows, soaring from 295 pound-feet to 334.

Should you know of a gas station that carries 93 octane, however, the Hondata tune will provide further power still, adding 13 horsepower and 33 pound-feet of torque, in addition to the gains brought by the tune for 91 octane performance. This brings maximum power to 352 horsepower and 367 pound-feet of torque, enough to worry owners of the Ford Focus RS, which will [cease production this Friday](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/18487/the-current-ford-focus-rs-will-cease-production-april-6-2018>) leaving the Type R almost uncontested in the hot hatch market in the United States.

The [Hyundai Veloster N](<https://www.thedrive.com/new-cars/17689/this-is-the-275-horsepower-2019-hyundai-veloster-n>), arriving later this year with 275 horsepower, comes up short of the Honda's power output, but with a little extra boost squeezed into its cylinders and a [possible dual-clutch transmission](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/19446/hyundai-veloster-n-may-get-a-dct-option>), it may yet make a worthy rival to the Civic Type R. We'll know later this year, when the two share the battlegrounds that are the showroom and the racetrack.

## Author
James is a former staff writer for The Drive. He has changed the conversation around electrification, debunked misinformation online, and become a prominent hunter of what he calls "automotive cryptids."

### Author social links  
[Instagram](<https://instagram.com/jamesgilboy>)