throtl Built a 2020 Civic Type R (FK8) — The Brand Partners Behind the Build
Video by throtl — “Building a 2020 Honda Civic Type R In 18 Minutes!” We’re covering the build; all footage and credit belong to throtl. This is informational commentary, not the seller of any part shown.
The FK8-generation Civic Type R is a strange car to modify. Most project cars start from a blank slate — throtl’s 2020 Type R starts from one of the most complete factory hot-hatch packages ever sold. A 306-horsepower turbocharged 2.0-liter K20C1, a six-speed manual with rev-match, adaptive dampers, Brembo front brakes and a wing you can see from space, all standard. So when throtl set out to “build” one in their 18-minute transformation video, the interesting question isn’t how do you fix it — it’s what do you even add to a car this good? Below we walk through the brand partners named alongside the build and what each category actually changes on an FK8.
A note on how we’re reading this: throtl’s video lists the brand partners featured in the build rather than a line-by-line spec sheet. We’re grouping those named brands by what they make and explaining the role of each category — we’re not claiming to know the exact part number of every component fitted. Where the video doesn’t specify a model, neither do we.
Why the FK8 Type R Is a Different Kind of Project
The tenth-generation Civic Type R landed as the fastest front-wheel-drive car around the Nürburgring at its launch, and it earned that reputation honestly. The factory already did the hard engineering: a limited-slip differential, a dual-axis front strut design to tame torque steer, three drive modes with configurable damping, and aggressive real aero rather than stick-on drama. That changes the entire logic of a build. On an older Honda you’re adding capability the car never had; on an FK8 you’re refining, personalizing and shoring up the few areas Honda left on the table — mostly heat management, wheel weight, exhaust character and cosmetic carbon. throtl’s parts list reads exactly like that: targeted upgrades rather than a ground-up rebuild.
Carbon and Aero: Seibon
The most visible change on almost any FK8 build is carbon fiber, and Seibon is the brand throtl leans on here. Seibon builds the familiar catalog of Honda carbon parts — hoods, lips, spoilers, mirror caps and vents — in the OE-style and race-inspired designs that photograph well and shave a little weight off high-mounted panels. On a car that already wears a huge factory wing, carbon is less about downforce and more about theme: it signals intent and lifts the FK8’s already-busy bodywork into “built” territory. It’s a cosmetic-first category, and that’s a perfectly honest reason to fit it.
Wheels and Tires: TSW and Falken
Nothing modernizes a Type R faster than getting off the heavy factory wheels. throtl’s build pairs TSW wheels with Falken tires — a combination aimed at a lighter, more aggressive fitment than stock. On a front-drive performance car, wheel and tire choice is one of the highest-impact decisions you can make: unsprung and rotational weight shape how quickly the car changes direction, and the tire is the single component that turns all that chassis engineering into actual grip. Get the size, offset and compound right and the whole car feels sharper; get them wrong and you can dull a genuinely brilliant chassis. If you’re speccing your own set, our wheels & tires hub and tire buying guide cover the trade-offs between weight, width and rubber.
Suspension and Chassis: KW and Cusco
This is where an FK8 build gets genuinely interesting, because the factory car already has adaptive dampers. Replacing them is a deliberate choice, and throtl’s build features KW — a suspension brand known for coilover systems that trade the stock adaptive setup for fixed, tunable ride height and damping. The upside is a lower, more planted stance and adjustability dialed in by the owner; the trade-off is stepping away from Honda’s clever three-mode system, so it’s a decision about priorities rather than a straight upgrade. Alongside it, Cusco supplies chassis reinforcement — the strut and chassis bracing that stiffens a shell and makes steering inputs feel more immediate. Springs and dampers control the car, bracing sharpens it: the two categories work together, and our performance mods hub explains how a coherent handling package fits together.
Cooling and Engine Support: Mishimoto
Here’s the upgrade that matters most on a turbocharged Honda and gets the least attention: heat. The K20C1 makes its power through a turbo, and turbo cars live or die on how well they manage intake and coolant temperatures, especially when driven hard on a hot day or a track session. Mishimoto is the cooling specialist named in the build, and that category — larger radiators, intercoolers, oil coolers and the associated plumbing — is arguably the most functional money you can spend on an FK8. It won’t show up in a photo the way carbon does, but keeping intake temps down protects power and consistency exactly when you’re asking the most of the engine. It’s the quiet, sensible half of a build that too many people skip.
Exhaust and Sound: MBRP and Revel
The one area almost everyone agrees Honda left on the table is exhaust note — the factory FK8 is famously muted for a car this focused. throtl’s build features exhaust work from MBRP and Revel, both brands in the cat-back and axle-back space. A well-chosen exhaust wakes up the character of the K20 turbo, and on a modern car the tasteful goal is more presence without droning boom on the highway. This is a category where restraint pays off: the best result is a car that sounds alive under throttle and civil on a commute, not one that’s exhausting to live with.
Shifter Feel: Acuity
The FK8’s six-speed manual is one of the best gearboxes on sale, which makes it a strange thing to improve — but Acuity Instruments is a Honda-focused specialist that builds exactly the kind of shifter and shift-linkage components that tighten an already-good throw. Shorter, more mechanical, more precise gear changes are pure engagement upgrades: no power, no lap time, just a better connection between driver and car every single shift. On a car defined by how it feels to drive, that’s a category that earns its place even though it never appears on a dyno sheet.
Lighting: Morimoto
Rounding out the build, Morimoto covers the lighting side — the headlight, bulb and retrofit category that improves both output and looks. It’s a finishing touch rather than a performance change, but modern lighting upgrades are one of the few areas where a cosmetic mod also has a real functional benefit, since better nighttime visibility genuinely makes a car safer to drive after dark.
The Takeaway: Refinement, Not Reinvention
What throtl’s FK8 build really illustrates is how you approach an already-excellent car. You don’t tear it down and start over — you find the handful of areas the factory left open and address them with intent: cooling to protect the turbo, wheels and tires to lighten and sharpen it, suspension and bracing to personalize the handling, exhaust to give it the voice it was missing, and carbon and lighting to finish the look. The common thread across the brands named — Seibon, TSW, Falken, KW, Cusco, Mishimoto, MBRP, Revel, Acuity and Morimoto — is that each one targets a specific, understood weakness or preference rather than chasing a headline number. That’s the lesson for anyone eyeing their own Type R: respect what Honda already got right, and spend your money where it actually adds something.
Planning your own build? Start with our performance mods, wheels & tires and tire buying hubs — and keep a modified engine healthy with regular oil changes and a periodic look at your brakes.
