Mat Watson's tuned Civic test puts horsepower on slippery ground

Wet tarmac, wheelspin and a loose splitter complicate carwow's test of whether expensive modifications pay off.

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carwow Story of October 31, 2026Trari Newsroom

Why this story? One of the most watched videos since yesterday, with 58,845 views.

Are TUNED cars a WASTE of MONEY? Honda Civic Type R DRAG RACE

Video summary

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1:11Tim introduces his modified FL5 and explains the spending behind its extra power.
5:22Farooq and Haider present two EP3 Civics, one supercharged and the other turbocharged.
8:16A damaged front splitter gets a temporary repair with screws before racing continues.
12:57Rich introduces his supercharged EK Civic, fitted with a swapped K24 engine.
17:34Watson switches from the standard Civic to a Honda NSX for the next challenge.

Tim has spent around £20,000 modifying his Honda Civic Type R. Mat Watson has brought a standard one, and the runway soon supplies an awkward reminder: buying more power doesn't necessarily mean getting it onto the ground.

That's the question behind carwow's new Honda challenge, which has drawn nearly 59,000 views in a little over two hours. Watson takes on increasingly powerful modified Civics, testing the difference between an impressive specification sheet and a clean run down an airfield.

Tim's tuned FL5 gets ahead in their first rolling race, but Watson takes the next as his opponent struggles with wheelspin and bogging down. The older EP3s bring another distinction: Farooq has chosen a supercharger, while Haider's car uses a turbocharger.

On the wet surface, neither route guarantees a straightforward afternoon. Haider wins an early run but loses his front splitter along the way. Screws provide a temporary repair before racing resumes. Later, Watson's standard Civic beats both EP3s over the standing quarter-mile as traction and mechanical trouble hamper the modified cars.

The comments have their own running theme: gear changes and engines repeatedly reaching the rev limiter. Several viewers ask for Sam to return whenever manual gearboxes are involved; another singles out the blue Civic's gold wheels.

Then Rich arrives with a supercharged, engine-swapped EK Civic and comfortably pulls away from Watson in the rolling races. That sends the host looking beyond the Civic family: he climbs into a Honda NSX, bringing four-wheel drive and hybrid assistance to the next stage.

Published on Trari

Where next?

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A different discovery todayVideo taking off 47x its usual first dayDiane Sawyer's Patrick Stewart interview closes World News TonightThe October 29 edition also covers Alaska's Senate probes and a Pentagon firing, but its comment section belongs largely to the actor.Channel: ABC News · Story of October 31, 2026

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The facts

Channel: carwow
Subscribers: 11,200,000 ▲ 100,000 this week
Channel views, last 7 days: 27,814,547
Channel views, pace per day: 6,508,034 (on a normal day: 3,538,312)
Video published: October 31, 2026

The numbers

The Civic challenge has reached a substantial audience in its opening hours. Its view count below is the total since today's upload, not a full day's viewing.

subscribers

11,200,000

▲ 100,000 in the last 7 days

total views

5,771,331,951

views per day

6,508,034

typical day: 3,538,312

subscribers: this channel and similar channels

ChrisFix

11,300,000

carwow