King Motorsports Unlimited, Inc. - Mugen Performance Products for Honda and Acura

Mugen Factory: Machining Center



Here's a glimpse of the inner working of the Mugen factory- the Machining Center. The entire Machining Center is built on a giant pad that absorbs any vibrations caused by seismic tremors that could cause the sensitive machinery to go out of calibration.





Honda Daily Drivers: Beater with a Heater

**The following is a post from blog contributor Perry Nation and in no way reflects the complete opinions of the KMS staff and in fact we feel even more strongly about these cars than Perry has expressed.**


Tucked away in the King Motorsports Facebook page is some kind of button that allows ordinary civilians to share pictures of their Honders. And this makes me very happy. I want to share some of these pictures with you blog-reading people. These are the cars I would drive if I were banished to Winterfell.


This daily driver was shared by Justin F. Lowered on stockies, nice and tucked with special windshield spiderweb design, offset and marbled passenger front fender and CF-inspired hood. Special seat covers protect the OEM seats. Additional ventilation beneath the passenger side headlight brings in extra cooling to the brake system. This Civic is as much at home on the track as it is in the backyard next to that concrete well that came with the house!



This beaut was sent in by Charles M. Best to let him introduce us to his EF: "last pic of the first car 365k on the clock before i took it off the road because of rust. It had koni yellows purchased through king motorsports back in 1990 by my father for his 85dx (bought new in 84) also had the jackson racing springs, JR short shifter, JR front and rear sway bars and JR Bushing kit. and it had a 13" momo monte carlo purchased new in 1990 by my father. plenty more done but this is what was taken off my dads old 3g. right after this picture i upgraded the injectors, added a hedman header and a side pipe. Miss this car but not that much since i have a better 3rd gen now ;)"

Charles we are loving your black-on-red color scheme with the meaty tires and the bold primer patch with color-matched gas tank fill door. Photographically speaking this is a work of art and we appreciate how the architectural and parking lines accentuate the subtle, shy curves of your EF. The green PARK sign is the icing on the cake and brings the perfect STOP-NO-NEVERMIND-GO-palette balance to your red masterpiece. Also you must have been very close to the ground to take this picture.



Here is a proper EF wagon from Shawn D. Shawn has *only* cultivated a wee bit of rust so far because he is busy chasing down his true automotive passion, which is finding and then parking in front of ridiculously large red doors. We see some rust starting at the taillight seam which is encouraging and a good start! Shawn you must be as tall as Chewbacca because those front seats have become back seats.



Yia L. wants ya'll to meet the Red Rocket: "93 civic Dx, d16z6 swapped, 261k on Chassis, 264k on engine. rear ended so the trunk does not seal, smells like exhaust in cabin when the front window is cracked/opened. This is truly a beater with a heater! Did I mention snow tires up front for extra Wisconsin traction?"



This 93 Civic Si was shared to us by Unikeone D. He bought this green EG gem because the heater went out in his 4 door Civic. The EG has become his garage project car and presumably has heat. It's got special features like lightweight steelies up front, universal 4-lug alloys in the rear and just enough rust to let people know he's serious about living where it snows. Unusual sheetmetal deformations above the rear wheel wells belie the hidden mysteries of this car's past -- was it stanced beyond sanity? Was there a fender rolling session using a 20" rim and a speed bump? Did a snow chain that should have been installed on the front tires come loose and tear up the inside of the fender? As it is with roommates you find on Craig's List, used cars should have some secrets that you discover when you are tired and vulnerable. The rear end features defensive metallic protrusions that can knick the shins of any would-be thieves.



Dustin's Ek hatch makes me cry, bitter, rusty tears of desire. My mind wanders to days of youth, when camel statues were still magical and when hiding people inside cartop carriers was not illegal but instead encouraged. We hope to see thee again at Dyno Day, Dustin. Don't make us beg.


This next beater with a heater is owned and driven by Alvin S., which clocked an impressive 313,763 miles and counting. He's opted for a unique rear wiper *BLADE* delete, rather than the more pedestrian rear wiper *arm* delete. Alvin must work with reptiles, because there is a snake escaping from the trunk and wrapping itself around the muffler. The front seats have been upgraded to racing hammocks with ultra rare JDM material sourced from Babies "R" Us.






This Geo Metr- er, Honda Civic was shared with us by Mikle I., direct from Hungary. His Civic features custom time attack steelies, a Christmas-inspired paint job, and is the very rare lightweight bumperless edition EF that Honda only briefly offered overseas (the stuff we miss out on due to over-zealous US safety standards...). We do like the door and window trim delete, which is popular in Europe. Also, Mikle, we caught you sporting that Mugen sticker on the hood, and you know what? We are proud. There is something poetic happening there with your gas tank fill door, like some kind of stencil/spraypaint experimentation that is perched on the edge of self-discovery. Keep up the good work!




Shulong X. shared this amazing 1994 Integra DC2 LS with us. This picture was taken from a moving tram during the Universal Studios Hollywood backlot tour, which passes by famous retired film cars. That's right! This is the "Silver Flame" Integra featured in the "Jurassic Parking" TV series! Only 7 of these "picture cars" were made, 5 of which were destroyed during filming the 2nd season of the show. 1 was shipped off to the Smithsonian, and this last remaining car was actually driven on set by Gary Coleman in season 4. It features a full working interior and an upgraded suspension that has been replaced numerous times due to all the jumps it was featured in.

1985: Mugen Rear Spoiler Lineup



Flip back your calendars with us to 1985 for this look at Mugen's rear spoiler lineup for Honda...

The Prelude - painted or unpainted:



  For the Accord and Vigor:



 For the EF Civic hatch:



For the City:



For the 1st gen CR-X (feeling patriotic?):



 Wind tunnel aero testing on a CR-X Pro. No corners are cut when Mugen design & engineer aero pieces!

Mugen CRX Postcard and Wind Tunnel Testing

In 1985 American Honda mailed this postcard to enthusiasts all over the US to help introduce them to Mugen competition parts.

 

Note the spelling of CRX for the US versus CR-X for Japan. How would you like to see these guys coming up behind you in your rear view mirror?




A Mugen CRX prototype in a full scale wind tunnel back in 1984- Validating all aero mods.


 

 

 

See also our pic of wind tunnel testing for the Mugen DC2 Type-R.


1984 Mugen Apparel, Sticker and Emblem Catalog


We recently dug up these wonderful Mugen catalog pages featuring the apparel, stickers and emblems they were offering for sale in 1984.


The red, blue, and navy shirt colors remind us of shirts we might have had in high school. You can see that Mugen's apparel designers were not afraid to experiment with variations of their Mugen logo and kanji.




Back in the day could have bought your very own Mugen driver suit! The back lists some of the motorsports Mugen had their hands into, including MOTORCROSS and RACING KART. Looks like there was a typo on the price ...




This blue button down would look great in the pits and have a very retro uniform / military look to them. We dig the gold collar. The white tee with red print has a very classic graphic on the front that still holds up years later.



These red, blue and white sweatshirts tug on the 80's era fashion sense. We'd rock these at the next Dyno Day!



Here's the page with hats, stickers, emblems and patches:



I'm not sure if these two hats could be any cooler. Especially the one with the mesh back! UNLIMITED POWER UNIT!




These patches play with rainbow gradations, 3D and unique layouts of the Mugen branding. COMPETITION POWER UNIT SUPPLIER just about sums it up.



CR-X fans will love that the CR-X PRO stickers are featured in this catalog. The front visor sticker properly curves to the front glass. The door graphics come in white or black. We've always loved that cool rear sticker that replaces the OEM CR-X sticker.



Hmm, can you abbreviate "suspension" as "sus."? Works for us!



More stickers! These days you rarely see the color blue used in Mugen branding.



These classic emblems came in multiple colors and sizes.



If you still have any of these unique items, let us know on the King Motorsports Facebook page!


You can see all of the currently available Mugen shirts, Mugen apparel and Mugen stickers on our online store.


Mugen First-Gen Integra 5-Door (and 3-Door)

Sadly we don't see too many first gen Integras on the streets these days. Even rarer were the 5-door versions. Here's Mugen's take on that very rare 5-door!




"INTEGRA CURCUIT FORM"



Check out the QUINT GSi sticker as well as the more familiar DOHC SPORTS Mugen sticker.


 

And here is the version with two less doors, in black! Heavy window and taillight tint really bring out the nose-to-tail graphic stripes!

 


Check out all our currently available performance parts for the first gen Integra in our online store!


Mugen Honda Civic AT Group.A Parts Catalog


Way back Wednesday- we are going to post the entire Mugen AT Civic Group A parts catalog. We think you'll be amazed at the depth of the parts Mugen made available. You could literally build a turn key competitive Group A Civic from this catalog.


Right-click on an image to see it larger.



The Mugen Group A Civic leads the way. The Group A series was hotly contested by Honda and Toyota with Honda typically having the upper hand...



Mugen Group A Civic engine parts. Forged Mugen pistons with special material connecting rods. There were a few iterations of the connecting rods through the years- some beautifully polished. The Mugen oil pan was a work of art! It strengthened the block and added oil capacity and helped eliminate windage resulting a a 5 hp gain all by itself. The Mugen 30/50 cams were very easy on the valvetrain and had a very sophisticated profile to work with the PGM-FI system.



Part 2 of the Mugen Group A Civic engine parts list- smaller diameter pulleys and the adjustable PGM-Fi ECU and controller. The Mugen hard rubber engine mounts were sold for both race and street cars and made a great improvement! Keeping the engine and engine oil cool was very important- anything over 225 degrees oil temp caused the engine to loose HP.....



Because FIA Group A rules state you must use the factory upper exhaust manifold, considerable time was spent developing the secondary to make the most power. Chromoly lightweight flywheel and AP racing clutch.



One of the big advantages Mugen had over the competition in Group A was a wide range of alternative gear ratios and final drives. With this gearing you could always keep the engine in it's fairly narrow power band. The Mugen Limited slip has been a mainstay of all Honda competition cars all the way back to 1973....



Moving on to the Mugen Group A Civic suspension parts. Here's where things get really interesting. Mugen Showa dampers and upper camber plates, and the really trick front reinforced knuckles designed to be used with an adjustable sleeve that gave even greater camber adjustment. All the different front torsion bar diameters made it easy to dial in the handling to suit the track.




Here we have the quick ratio Mugen steering box (RHD) and 21mm front sway bar. The Mugen rear trailing arms were made specifically to help keep the correct suspension geometry. Mugen made three rear springs rates available, However most opted for an even higher rate linear spring.



The Mugen Group A rear axle with adjustable Panhard rod. The Mugen internal sway bars really worked well and we sold quite a few to street and race enthusiasts. Check out those Mugen 15" wheels......!!!!



We have covered how Mugen made the AT Civic go and handle, so how did they make it stop? 4 piston AP calipers and full floating front brake rotors, single master cylinder and rear disc conversion with all the needed brake lines.



Here's the Mugen brake proportioning assembly and yes- the FIA required a hand brake.....



The Mugen Group A fuel system. A custom ATL 90 liter fuel cell with pump and swirl tank. Don't forget the Mugen gauge cluster with 10K tach. And Mugen SW-36 steering wheel to grab onto!



Lastly the Mugen aluminum FIA roll cage.....



Add up all those Mugen parts with a few hundred hours of labor and this will be you!

Cold Cranks: Mugen SW-36 Steering Wheel

 

Flashback with us to 1984 and the Mugen SW-36 steering wheel. This steering wheel was a popular item back then and is highly coveted by Mugen collectors to this day. When it gets to around -20 degrees F, the leather steering pad could contract and could cause the horn to blow continuosly in the middle of the night-resulting in seriosly cranky neighbors and a visit from the local police. Just sayin.....



We have the latest version of the Mugen steering wheel in stock and on sale!

http://www.kingmotorsports.com/p-826-mugen-racing-iii-steering-wheel.aspx

Honda Artwork

If you're like us, your passion for Hondas is reflected in the artwork you buy and display. We have a few to share:


Years ago we bought this cloth print at the Honda Collection Hall at Twin Ring Motegi- it hangs proudly in our office.



This mural featuring some of Honda’s most iconic racing machinery hangs inside Honda’s closed-to-the-public R&D facility in Raymond Ohio.


The 100 foot long mural was produced by artist John Frye.