2024 Acura Integra Type S First Test: As Good As the Civic Type R?

Both the Civic Type R and the 2024 Acura Integra Type S with their manual-only transmissions are notoriously difficult to launch from a standstill. Due to their 3,500-rpm rev limit at 0 mph and grippy Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires, there's a lot of trial and error involved. We figure this is to protect the driveline from the sudden shock of high-rpm clutch engagement and thus to reduce warranty claims. With traction control disabled and with cold tires, it's possible to get a modicum of performance-enhancing wheelspin on the first or second attempt. Unfortunately, after that both cars' sets of tires warm up quickly and gain grip, which provides bog-inducing, time-sucking launches that require significant clutch slippage thereafter. A 0-30-mph time of less than 2.0 seconds is considered a "hard launching" car, but neither the Civic's (2.1) nor the Integra's (2.3) 0-30 time cracks that threshold. For reference, the hardest launch we managed in the Integra A-Spec with its six-speed manual was 2.4 seconds on its all-season tires.

After the initial launch, getting the best 0-60 time is a matter of shifter accuracy, shift speed, and gearing. The shift gates must be clearly defined and tightly spaced to achieve quick shifts. Pleasingly, the transmissions in both the new Integra Type S and Civic Type R offer short throws, robust mechanicals, and just-right gearing. The 1-2 shift just shy of the 6,750-rpm indicated redline occurs at 37 mph, but more importantly, the 2-3 shift happens in excess of 60 mph, at 62 mph. Each upshift naturally pauses acceleration; however, our data reveals we managed to keep upshifts to a maximum of 0.2 second.

Due to the deficit from launch, the Integra Type S (5.7 seconds) further trails the Civic Type R's 5.3-second best 0-60-mph time. But the Integra A-spec with a manual transmission is in the rearview mirror with a 7.6-second performance.

The quarter mile arrives after keeping the throttle pinned and then banging off one more upshift from third to fourth at 87 mph. There's no break for the Acura here as the Honda maintains its lead. The Civic Type R crosses the line in 13.9 seconds at 104.2 mph; the Integra Type S's best is 14.2 seconds at 101.9 mph. The Integra A-Spec was more than a full second and 10 mph slower, with a 15.6-second run at 91.4 mph.

Both the 2024 Acura Integra Type S and the Honda Civic Type R are equipped with the same summer tires and 13.8-inch two-piece brake rotors with monobloc four-piston Brembo calipers up front and 12-inch discs out back. From 60 mph to a standstill, the Civic shows a slight advantage by stopping in 104 feet versus the Integra's 107 feet. With its narrower all-season tires and less dedicated brakes, the Integra A-Spec needs 123 feet to come to a stop from 60 mph.

With the same hardware but with its more compliant suspension, does the new Integra Type S give up anything to the Civic Type R in terms of grip and handling? Not a bit on our proprietary figure-eight test that neatly combines acceleration, braking, and cornering within two 200-foot-diameter skidpads separated by 500 feet on center. Both cars posted identical 24.5-second lap times and nearly identical average maximum lateral acceleration at 1.02 g (Acura) and 1.03 g (Honda). Predictably, the A-Spec trails these two by nearly 3.0 seconds at 27.2 seconds—with a sporty, family-car-appropriate 0.87-g two-way average.

Given their nearly identical mechanicals, tires, and 10.0 pounds to move with each horsepower, we expected the 2024 Acura Integra Type S and Honda Civic Type R would be neck and neck at the test track—and the Integra A-Spec would be vastly outgunned. We're confident that had the Integra Type S benefitted from a better, more representative getaway from the starting line, it would have been even closer at the dragstrip. The big reveal was in the identical figure-eight numbers that combined all the various performances into a single precise test without a tricky launch. Same, same. Debate all you want about the styling (we prefer the Acura), the roughly $7,000 price difference (if you could actually purchase either of these cars at MSRP), or which better represents the hardcore version of this platform. There's no disputing they perform the same when driven at the limits.