FL5 Civic Type R Exhaust: AWE Touring vs AWE Track vs Borla ATAK

The FL5 is a hard car to improve. Honda gave it a genuinely good factory exhaust with a proper triple-outlet layout, and the K20C1 makes a sound that most owners already like. So the question isn't "how do I fix this" — it's "what am I actually gaining, and what am I giving up."

We have 15 sound clips of FL5s on aftermarket systems, covering 2023 through 2025 and three different setups. Here's what separates them.

What you're replacing

All three systems here are cat-backs — everything from the catalytic converter to the tips. That's the largest change available on this car without getting into emissions hardware, and on a turbocharged 2.0-litre it's a more meaningful change than a cat-back would be on a naturally-aspirated engine, because there's more gas moving and more restriction to remove.

AWE's system is a 3" cat-back with an integrated front pipe and a mid-pipe resonator. Both their Touring and Track versions share that entire front half.

AWE Touring Edition vs AWE Track Edition

The difference between these two is one section, at the back, and it is the whole decision.

Touring Edition carries AWE's 180 Technology resonator in the rear. AWE describes it as routing gas "through strategically located ports, and into reflection chambers," timing the return so the reflected wave is 180 degrees out of phase and cancels the problem frequencies. It's targeted cancellation, not general muffling — which is why the Touring stays loud on throttle rather than just being a quieter version of the Track.

Track Edition replaces that rear resonator with a straight section. AWE's own description of the result is that it's "known to get rowdy in mid range acceleration/deceleration and cruising." That's not a warning label someone else wrote — it's the manufacturer setting expectations.

Both keep the mid-pipe resonator. Neither is a straight pipe.

The weight numbers

AWE publishes these, and they're worth knowing because they're one of the few hard figures in this whole category:

System Weight
Stock 50.5 lbs
AWE Touring Edition 46 lbs
AWE Track Edition 36.5 lbs

Fourteen pounds off the back of a front-drive hatchback isn't transformative, but it's real, it's unsprung-adjacent, and it's free with the sound change.

The power numbers

AWE quotes 14 horsepower and 13 lb-ft from their FL5 exhaust suite on the dyno. Treat that as a manufacturer figure on a specific car rather than a guarantee for yours, but it's a specific, published claim on a specific application, which puts it several rungs above the vague "5 to 15 hp" ranges you see quoted for cat-backs generally. On a boosted engine, exhaust restriction genuinely matters.

The drone question

The FL5 is an inline-four. Firing frequency is (RPM × cylinders) ÷ 120, so at a 2,500 RPM cruise you're producing an 83 Hz wave, and at 3,000 RPM you're at 100 Hz. Sixth gear on the highway in an FL5 sits low enough that you'll spend real time in that band.

That's what the 180 resonator exists to deal with, and it's what the Track Edition doesn't have. If you commute, this is the deciding factor. If the car is a weekend thing, it's an opinion.

Hear them side by side:

We hold eight Track Edition clips and six Touring clips on this car, including a 2025 Touring if you want to confirm nothing shifted across model years.

Borla ATAK

The third option is a different philosophy. Borla's ATAK — Acoustically-Tuned Applied Kinetics — is their most aggressive sound level, above Touring and S-Type. It's a straight-through multi-core design, tuned per application rather than using a proprietary cancellation chamber.

Where AWE gives you two clearly separated versions and asks you to pick, Borla gives you one tuned answer. Owners who find the AWE Track too much and the AWE Touring too composed sometimes land here.

The visual difference matters on this car too. The AWE systems use triple tips that echo the factory three-outlet arrangement. The Borla ATAK cat-back we have a clip of uses 4" tips. On a car as visually specific as the FL5, that's not a footnote — decide whether you want the factory triple-outlet look preserved or replaced before you decide anything about sound.

Hear it: 2023 Type R — Borla ATAK cat-back with 4" tips.

Things to check before you order

Your factory valve. The FL5's exhaust includes active valve hardware. Confirm on the product page whether the system you're buying retains, replaces or bypasses it, because that determines whether you keep a quiet mode. Don't assume — ask, or check the manufacturer's fitment notes for your exact year.

Whether you're adding a downpipe later. If a high-flow or catless downpipe is in your plans, you're removing a large silencing element upstream. A system that's comfortable now can become unbearable afterwards. Owners who have gone the Track Edition plus sport downpipe route generally describe it as a lot. If that's the plan, lean Touring.

Tip finish. Chrome silver versus black is the thing you'll look at every day and the most annoying part to change later.

Picking one

AWE Touring Edition is the default recommendation for an FL5 that gets driven. You get the full character change, 4.5 lbs off, the power, and a highway cruise that doesn't wear you down. It's also the safe choice if a downpipe is coming later.

AWE Track Edition is for a car that doesn't commute. It's the lightest of the three by a clear margin, it's the loudest of the AWE pair, and the manufacturer has been honest enough to tell you it gets rowdy. Believe them.

Borla ATAK is for someone who wants aggressive without the two-tier Touring/Track decision, and who's happy with a 4" tip look in place of the factory triple.

All three are good systems. None of them will make you regret the money — but the drone decision will decide whether you're still happy in a year, and it's the one you can actually test in advance. Play the Touring and Track clips back to back on headphones, listen to the quiet parts rather than the pulls, and buy accordingly.

Browse all Civic Type R sound clips or see current AWE Tuning availability.

Sources

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