There are accessories for your car, and then there are accessories for people. Lucky me-- Mugen makes both types, and they do it well. Mugen has never cut corners on their designs, materials or workmanship. If I could carry around bronze MF-10 wheels with me everywhere I travel, I would. But that's not practical or advisable. So instead I carry a Mugen Coin Case and Key Case -- they still make me smile when I pull them out of my backpack, especially when I'm thousands of miles from my Honda.

The latest line of Japanese-made Mugen accessories has finally hit our shores, and I was floored to get my hands on the new Mugen Carbon Leather Wallet and Mugen Carbon Leather Card Case.

The Card Case, Wallet and Smart Key Case are all part of same design line and have the same design themes throughout.

The outer covers are completely covered in a black leather that looks like carbon fiber, which Mugen is calling "carbon leather." The material catches the light just right, not too shiny and not too matte. And it feels great to the touch, with a nice grippy texture. This material really gives these pieces a premium feel and look. Stitching is black and cleanly done.

Each piece is finished with an understated metal badge, plated in gunmetal and colored in Mugen's iconic white, red and gold bars. The colors will be instantly recognizable to true Mugen enthusiasts. The absence of a traditional logo on the exterior of the pieces is a refreshing and bold choice on Mugen's part.

Open up the Card Case and you'll find the MUGEN POWER logo embossed on a soft Nappa leather. There is a main expandable pocket that can hold about 30 business cards, plus 2 smaller pockets that can each hold a couple cards. Each pocket's interior is lined with a smooth polyester material that will prevent your business cards from getting stuck inside the pockets due to humidity or friction.

The metal snap is plated in gunmetal and has a wonderfully crisp click to it. When closed, the case is slim enough to fit in a front pocket comfortably and is smaller than most smartphones at approximately 112mm x 70mm x 14mm.

The new Mugen Wallet is equally beautiful. It has a large currency pocket, with a full length divider. Since current Japanese yen banknotes are between 150 to 160mm long, our US banknotes easily fit within (US bills are 156mm).  Like the Card Case, the interior is a soft Nappa leather and all of the pockets are lined with a smooth polyester. The MUGEN POWER logo is embossed inside as well.

There is no plastic used in this wallet, which I really appreciate (plastic yellows over time and lifts ink off cards).

There are five card pockets, and a built-in coin holder with a metal snap (King's website lists the coin holder as removable, but my version was not). This expandable compartment is a generous size at about 70mm x 70mm of space, so it's large enough to carry coins, SIM cards, keys or even a small flash drive.

I measured the wallet to be 98mm wide x 110mm long and a slim 20mm.

These pieces will make an awesome gift for yourself or any Mugen enthusiast! They come in a black matte presentation box with a silver MUGEN logo. Get these limited edition Mugen Carbon Leather Wallet and Mugen Carbon Leather Card Case exclusively from King Motorsports.

Bonus pic... Here are the previous-gen Mugen Coin Case and Mugen Key Case (the Key Case is still available from King).

Here is a photo round-up of the race car that started it all- the King Motorsports GT5 Civic 1200! 138hp at 8600rpm. Mugen close-ratio 5-speed. This unstoppable car won virtually every race, including the 1981 SCCA National Championship. Enjoy our archival pics!

The King Motorsports GT5 Civic 1200 at Road America in 1988. Back then our lap record was 2:46. Pretty fast for a little 1200!

Here's a cool vintage shot of the King Motorsports GT5 Civic at Blackhawk Farms Raceway in 1984. Back then there was no chicane between Turn 3 and 4. You really started to get moving before the braking zone in 4 with very little run off. Fun stuff! We held the lap record there for many years; 1:20 was the time to beat!

This is the iconic King Motorsports GT5 Civic on its way to winning the 1983 June Sprints at Road America!

This car would just about touch 8600 rpm in 5t in the dip at the old Road Atlanta which equaled 128 mph. This is really flying in a car with an 86" wheelbase. You knew when got a good run off turn 7 at Road Atlanta because the car would pick up a harmonic vibration that made the entire car buzz over 125 mph, right about at mid point of the dip. Hard on the brakes just before the bridge downshifting to 3rd. and then flat all the way from the bridge to the front straight, hitting 5th. at the start/finish line.

1989 Pocono Double National. Two wins and a new lap record! Crew Chief Randy Preiss takes the KMS Civic through impound.

Road Atlanta 1981 SCCA National Championship. The KMS Civic 1200 on its way to a GT4 championship!

1982 Road Atlanta Runoffs. Pabst Blue Ribbon was one of our sponsors that year. Before the Runoffs the motor home would be loaded with cases of PBR. This came in handy as a "bargaining tool" to get a primo parking spot in the pits. The Atlanta region SCCA loved PBR! :)

Loading up the crew for a victory lap at Road Atlanta at the 1981 SCCA Runoffs.

Racing factoid: King Motorsports built the first U.S. road racing Honda, including fabrication of every performance part.

When it comes to accessories, Mugen's designs are hard to beat. With premium materials like Nappa leather, carbon leather and carbon fiber, Mugen's accessories, apparel and textiles never fail to impress.

Here is a preview of some of the new items available now! Click on a product name or image for more info and to order. Check out the review of the new Mugen Wallet and Card Case as well.

Mugen Carbon Keyholder B

Mugen Loop Key Holder

Mugen Carbon Leather Smart Key Case

Mugen Carbon Leather Card Case

Mugen Carbon Leather Wallet

Mugen CR-Z GT T-Shirt A

Mugen CR-Z GT T-Shirt B

Our very special orange guest at this year's annual Dyno Day was the amazing Honda CR-Z MUGEN RR Concept vehicle. After months of careful planning, Mugen and King Motorsports were proud to bring Mugen's newest concept all the way to Milwaukee -- exclusively for our Dyno Day. This is the first and possibly only time that these wheels will ever be in the States.

Shipping a hand-built, one-of-a-kind concept vehicle over 6200 miles from Tokyo to Wisconsin (and back again) is no small accomplishment.

The process starts in April, months ahead of June's Dyno Day.

Moving the car out of the Mugen showroom:

In this picture, Mugen technicians charge the battery and do all the final prep:

Then the super-low hatch is eased up the ramps for transport to where it will be crated up and shipped out!

And here's what a shipping label for an entire vehicle direct from Mugen looks like! Made in Japan!

Box within a box!

6229 miles later the Mugen CR-Z RR Concept Car arrives in Wisconsin!

After two hours of uncrating!!

You just can't walk by this car without marveling at all the details....

Wanna see what's under the hood of the Mugen CR-Z RR???

Rotrex supercharged beauty!

Another view. The carbon work is just amazing! Approximately 200 hp and all the weight savings from the carbon body work should perk up the CR-Z!

Finally we moved the CR-Z into the King Motorsports showroom. We moved out all of our regular showroom cars to give the CR-Z center stage! Here it is covered the night before -- ready for its unveiling on Dyno Day June 2.

Grand unveiling the morning of Dyno Day!

YouTube user FLBFLY posted up this video walkaround of the Mugen CR-Z: RR!

Dyno Day over and a great success, the day for us to return the orange Mugen beast back to Tokyo came all too soon.

Charging up the battery one last time before we say goodbye to the CR-Z: RR! A huge thanks to our friends at Mugen for helping make this happen!

The King Motorsports International Shipping Division goes to work crating the Mugen CR-Z RR for its return trip!

Our Japanese colleagues built a very clever shipping container that clips together. Reassembling all the pieces was a bit challenging. :)

This is the Mugen CR-Z's last glimpse of North America! :)

Once the container was built, the fork lift pushed it into the back of the shipping company's truck. Sayonara!

Mugen's newest seats have arrived, and we have some beautiful detail photos!

The vitals on the new seats:

Mugen MS-R Full Bucket Seat

* Carbon fibre shell
* Belt holes for 3 inch full harness
* Lumbar support (pad insertion type)
* Deep side support
* Divided seat cushion
* Non-slip seat cushion
* Alcantera
* Shoulder grip
* MUGEN Logo (embroidered)

(see the product page for more info and to order)

Mugen MS-Z Semi Bucket Seat

* Stepless recliner
* Forward folding backrest
* Lumbar support (pad insertion type)
* Belt holes for safety harness
* High grip side support
* Alcantera
* Shoulder grip
* MUGEN Logo (embroidered)

(see the product page for more info and to order)

Here is the MUGEN MS-R seat installed in an S2000 (Check out the Mugen roll bar too). Seat details include unique shoulder stripes in Mugen gold/red/white, a large MUGEN logo in white and smaller RECARO logo. You'll find Recaro's premium materials, precision engineering and high-end features throughout.

Detail of the MS-Z carbon fibre seatback and 2nd rear-facing white embossed MUGEN logo.

The craftmanship and level of detail down to the stitching is unreal.

Detail shot of the lower seat cushions on the MS-R.

Best seat in the house! The Mugen MS-Z stepless reclining seat installed in a CR-Z.

We've partnered with Mugen for decades. Along the way we've been able to collect some very cool catalogs and images from a time period of Honda tuning that we personally love and focus on. Here are some of the pics we've posted on our Facebook page over the last year or so. Be sure to LIKE us on Facebook to see more!

Right-click and select VIEW IMAGE to see the full size versions.

Tubular artwork- rare Mugen exhaust manfold/exhaust system catalog circa 1996:

Mugen DA- awesome! Very few folks were interested in hot rodding these cars back in the day. Everyone was all about the CR-X and Civic. However the DA offered just a touch more sophistication- a great sports coupe! The parts list include the Mugen MR-5 wheels, special spoiler and steering wheel.

Mugen MR-5 2-piece wheels! Black with polished silver lip, silver Mugen spoke logo and polished center cap, rivets and lug caps.

The Mugen Civic "Ferio" 4-door. Talk about a sports sedan! Note the unusual placement of the Mugen livery under the black door trim.

Mugen EG Civic circa 1992. What a great car- B16, great gearbox, 4-wheel discs- way ahead of its time! Check out the lesser-seen NR-10 Mugen wheels with blue center caps.

Back in the day, slapping one of these on the back of your '84 CR-X was worth at least 10 HP. At least it did on ours! ;) Note the older non-italic san-serif font and lower-case "mugen power".

The first official USDM Mugen Competition Parts Catalog cover, circa 1985. Is that JDM Stig in the background?

Here is the catalog page for the body kit on the original Integra. Good to see Mugen had a sense of humor in its description of their decals: "Rumors of significant increases in horsepower resulting from the application of the Mugen Die Cut Decals should not be taken seriously ..." Right-click to view the full size image and read more.

Here's one from deep in the vault. This is a Mugen decal circa late 1970's!

Here is a shipping label from our very first shipment from Mugen as the "Sole Authorized North American Distributor." As we recall, the container itself was a work of art. It was a beautiful wooden crate that was so large and heavy three of us had to hang off the end of the forklift so it could lift the crate and not tip over! Among the contents were what would become our best sellers at the time- 86-89 Integra rear wings, CR-X and Civic exhausts and MR-5 wheels!

Here's one for you Mugen nostalgia buffs! A Mugen Genuine Parts Dealer decal, circa 1984. How many of these have you seen?

Catalog page for the MUGEN CR-X PRO.3 Del Sol (thanks Chris!)

Recently a customer brought his Civic in for dyno tuning. On the first dyno run, the motor hits VTEC and goes dead rich -- but makes no horsepower.

We pulled off the aftermarket header. Here's a pic:

We look inside the header -- a generic one from eBay -- and examined it more closely. What we found was shockingly poor construction yielding almost total blockage. See for yourself:

We replaced the header with a quality Skunk2 Alpha Series header. Ran it on the dyno again, and saw a *dramatic* power and torque increase.

Here's the comparison chart:

If you've read Mike's interview, you know our philosophy about buying from eBay is to use extreme caution. We're not saying every auto part on eBay is badly made or a knockoff (and eBay is trying to fight that image too), but there are still dreadful products out there that can cost you power, money and sometimes even your safety. Ebay sellers know they will probably never meet you, so their motivation to simply move product overshadows *doing the right thing for the customer*. And even if the seller does care, customer feedback doesn't always make its way back to the seller.

We do the right thing for our customers. If it won't help your build, we won't sell it to you.

And we have the dyno charts (and decades of experience) to back it up!

It really is true: "When you buy cheap, you buy twice."

Our 2012 Dyno Day was the most memorable yet! It was a huge success! The weather was absolutely perfect!

Held annually at our facilities in New Berlin, Wisconsin, this year's Dyno Day was on Saturday June 2.

Thank you to the hundreds of dedicated attendees who polished and primed their rides unto perfection to show, compete and connect at this year's annual King Motorsports event. We had so many cars that we overflowed beyond our own street this year! New this year we added a detailing professional and dent repair specialist to the mix. Returning talent powerhouses included the amazing tunes of Deletah, pics by NoggsPhotography, BBQ by Boy Scout Troop 93 and shirt design by Perry Wang.

We can't forget our four-wheeled guest of honor, the Mugen Concept CR-Z: RR! This orange mechanical work of art was shipped over 6000 miles from Mugen's Tokyo showroom to New Berlin, WI just for our event! It was one of the very few times a Mugen concept car will ever be seen Stateside, and we were proud to have his one-of-a-kind beast briefly under our roof.

The persistent enthusiam of the attendees make all the hard work put in by our staff worth it every year. We had 250 entries and ran 32+ cars on the Dyno.

Already planning for Dyno Day 2013!!!!

This year's pictures can be viewed on our Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150829609646319.396707.110076751318&type=3

Also see Rob Delimat's awesome photos that he posted on honda-tech:

http://honda-tech.com/showpost.php?p=47441827&postcount=1

And another gallery of pics on 8thCivic.com:

http://www.8thcivic.com/forums/introduction-pictures/295238-king-motorsports-dyno-day-2012-project-x-pics.html

KMS VTC Cam Gear Available Now!

King Motorsports has been building and tuning high performance K Series engines with high lift camshafts and high compression pistons for years. We have seen the need for different VTC cam gears which can be used to optimize cam advance /retard for maximum performance. The Honda OEM VTC gears have a mechanical intake cam advance limit of either 25 or 50 degrees. As more aggressive engine modifications are made, the VTEC engagement can be lowered but with the need for more cam advance.

While tuning solutions such as Hondata can be calibrated for more advance when used in conjuction with the OEM 50 degree cam gear, the real risk of piston to valve contact is present. There are OEM cars like the TSX that can benefit from this modified VTC gear with as little as intake, header and test pipe or any engine build where the maximum cam advance needs to be limited because of piston to valve clearance issues from bigger than OEM cams. Even though the software controls the advance, the nature of the oil pressure dictated advance can be imprecise. By modifying the VTC cam gear to mechanically limit advance to a set level, the risk of piston to valve interference is eliminated.

Here is a dyno comparison, stock VTC cam gear versus the KMS VTC cam gear.

The King Motorsports VTC gear allowed VTEC to be lowered from 5200 to 3550 because the cam could be advanced further than the stock. In stock form the gear only had a max advance of 25 degrees. After the gear was installed the max cam advance was 40 degrees which allowed the VTEC RPM point to drop.

Check out the latest issue of Honda Tuning Magazine with additional info on the KMS VTC cam gears! Right-click an image to see it larger.

Update 3/16/2013:

Here are finishing touches to another production run of King Motorsports K Series VTC cam gears. Available for purchase online!

http://www.kingmotorsports.com/p-4294-kms-k-series-adjustable-cam-gears.aspx