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

Tokyo Auto Salon 2012
19 January, 2012
Tokyo, Japan

All images courtesy Mugen Co., Ltd.

Taking center stage at the Mugen display area were the two RR CR-Z concept cars. Highly modified and supercharged, these cars are test beds for Mugen’s pursuit of speed and performance for the newest Honda vehicles, including hybrids. Also on display was Mugen Forumula Nippon race car, partially disassembled live by Mugen technicians.

CAPTIONS (top to bottom):

pic 1:
Getting ready for the big show. Mugen marketing staff preparing the stage for Mugen's Type RR CR-Z concept vehicles.

pic 2:
Still under wraps - Mugen Concept CR-Z's with Mugen's Formula Nippon Race Car in the background.

pic 3:
The post-unveiling press interviews begin. Mugen's supercharged LEA-MF6 at center stage.

pic 4:
The press frenzy starts immediately after the cars are unveiled.

pic 5:
Typical Mugen attention to detail, ensuring the lighting is correct.

pic 6:
Snapping some in-house pics.

pic 7:
Q&A with the Mugen gurus!

Pic 8:
It's a fortunate few who get this close to Mugen's Formula Nippon car.

Pic 9:
A rare look at a partially disassembled Mugen road race car.

Pic 10:
A live demonstration by Mugen's highly-skilled technicians.

(Andy Noggle with his girlfriend / assistant Taylor at Dyno Day 2011)

The relationships we have with our cars are permeated by photos of all kinds. It all starts with a photo. It might be a glossy, Photoshopped dealer brochure. Or maybe a grainy camera phone pic on Craig's List. Sometimes it's love at first sight. Sometimes we see past the picture and see deeper potential.

At the other end of the relationship, we hope our pics attract a great new suitor who will baby our cars as well as we did. In more tragic endings, we document total losses for Allstate, snapping shots of irreversible damage to a once perfect frame.

Somewhere between these book ends, we take pictures that represent our best moments with our cars. They happen at gas stations, on long interstate trips, under the harsh fluorescent lights of parking structures, at crowded meets, on the track and back home in the garage.

These best moments are the ones Andy Noggle zeroes in on. He has turned his passion for automotive photography into a professional trade, shooting up numerous events and auto meets along the way. We were able to pick his brain about how he got his start, his photos, and a few tips.

How did you get started with photography? Did you immediately gravitate to cars, or did you go through an embarrassing phase where you took hundreds of pictures of your feet?

Every time we took a family trip when I was younger, I always had the camera, I always loved making photographs, I don’t remember taking pictures of feet though. In high school, I learned just enough to be dangerous with a camera, and have excelled since, continuing on to an Associates Degree in Photography. I have always loved cars, and grew up around them, and they say you should do what you love, and I love cars. Cars were also very easy to access for photos, I could be driving along and see a great background and snap a photo of my car in front of it. Or say…”Hey, I want to try some photography things, can I borrow your car?” But I do also shoot other things besides cars. I also love doing product photography as well as architectural shots.

Do you have a specific niche?

I have no preference in car, old school muscle, or new school imports, or vice versa, I appreciate all types of cars as long as the owner has a passion for it, and enjoys the automotive culture in some way.

I take a photojournalistic approach to each car, and cover all of the things that make it what it is and what the owner did to it. So it depends on the vehicle. If it has a completely custom interior, I would focus on that, and do detailed shots of the stitching, seats, sub boxes, door panels, and headliner. But if it’s all go-fast parts, and little interior work, there would be more detailed shots of the engine, turbo/supercharger, gauges, exhaust, wheels/tires, etc. If I had to pick shots that I specialize in, it would be rolling/rig shots and detail shots.

Are there any current trends in automotive photography that you like? Any photographers you admire?

I’ve always been a fan of QuickWorks Photo, great automotive stuff coming out of there.

Are there any photography trends that you think should die?

HDR, or black/white/selective color. They can be appreciated in some cases, but in most, it’s just something you have seen over and over again!

Are there any myths or misconceptions about what makes for a good photo?

“Things look better with a fisheye”…I hate when I see photos like this. They are ok in certain instances with the proper equipment, but when somebody just adds a vignette to every photo or uses one of those cheap eBay “wide angle” devices on their lens, they just look terrible, but yet, every car show, when the pictures show up online, at least a few people have done that to their images…

Do you have any advice for mere mortals who want to take a good "show off" pic of their car?

Nail your exposure and focus. Countless times when I scroll through websites and forums and see photos by “___________ Photography” -- all I see are images that are poorly focused, and poorly exposed... and still, people think they are well done. I just don’t understand. Shoot Aperture Priority if you have to, don’t use Manual if you don't know how to expose your images.

What's your advice for picking a good location for an outdoor shoot?

Backgrounds with leading lines, or a contrasting color to the car/wheel color usually work well. Use a color wheel to pick backgrounds.

Do you have a "dream shoot"? What car, location, time of day, etc.?

Hmmm, I’m not sure; I wouldn’t like to call it quits with just one car or setup. I would rather shoot lots of cars and experience all sorts of vehicles rather than just one.

What kinds of shoots do you do?

The most popular thing I do are rolling rig shots, people love them, and I love doing them. But I do everything from full magazine shoots, multiple locations, interior, exterior, night, day, rolling, all the way to shots of stickers, or single car parts for promotional purposes with companies.

Is there any car, event or situation you won't shoot?

I’m up for the challenge, but I do not like indoor car shows very much because the lighting is not up to par at most locations for proper photos.

Can you share what your typical equipment and setup look like?

I have used a Nikon D80 for a number of years, not really looking to upgrade yet, because I don’t think the camera makes the photographer. Also, I have a full array of lighting equipment, lenses, and grip equipment for any situation. The most important piece of equipment is in the next question: my gear hauler.

What cars have you owned, and what do you drive now?

I’m not quite old enough to have a collection of cars yet, but my first car was a 2000 Mercury Cougar, I4, 5-Speed, I turned it into a stripped interior, race seat/harness, autocross/track car. During that time my winter car was a 1999 Subaru Legacy Sport Utility Sedan 30th Anniversary Edition. I have to say the whole name because it is ridiculously long. But that had a run in with an older driver, and is no longer with us. As of now, I have a 2006 WRX Wagon, which is my camera gear hauler and all around awesome wagon.

(Andy's current ride)


What's the favorite shot that you took at King's Dyno Day 2011?

I had a lot of favorites, but I would have to say this one was my favorite:

How did you get connected with King Motorsports?

My friend Connor was talking to Scott [King's CEO] about detailing some cars, and somehow the topic came up about my photography, and a few emails later, I was on board to shoot their next event.

(Andy's work is everywhere, including this pic that was printed in the 2011 issue of Honda Tuning magazine)

Andy Noggle

NoggsPhotography

www.NoggsPhotography.com