S2000 Modifications and Parts Discussions about aftermarket products and parts including reviews, information and opinion.

Mugenless!

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Old 07-29-2015, 07:32 PM
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It's been a long time since i've posted on S2ki, and to be honest a lot of those years I don't regret not being here. I bought my stook in October of 99. It was BB, and beautiful.
After a foray into Volk (still love em), and a lot less reputable companies in both the aesthetic and performance oriented arena's I really came to the conclusion that Mugen had my number. Everything fit like OEM, and I never lost on the Dyno which is saying a lot for the stook. My S ended up being a rolling Mugen catalog. Somewhere in 1999 I saw a Road and Track cover of the silver Mugen SS2200. I was in love. Hence my love of all things Mugen. As stated above I almost have every SS part except for the rear bumper, exhaust, seat, and front sway bar. I'm lucky enough to have had all of the rest. My engine threw a rod in a spectacular fashion on an on ramp in 2005, smoke pouring out of my carbon hood. I rebuilt the motor with updated oil sprayers (Honda of course denied warranty even though I was a tech working at Honda). Iron sleeves,upper brace, Forged pistons, Con Rod's, Dual valve springs, ported head, Spoon head gasket, ARP head bolts, TI valves, endless radius seats, and a whole lot of sweat... she was running again (to 11,000rpm) and well. Power only dropped off at 10,400rpm so 11,000 was deemed safe for over rev. Since I was running 13:1 compression only a 100 + octane would do, especially with the Mugen ECU which runs very lean but has a nice torque advantage. Well at this point my car was a little unbearable to drive. The NZ suspension and the soft top removal, and Amuse single had sort of killed it for me. Yes, at 10/10th's it was a blast, but anything less and I was hating the fact that I couldn't talk to anyone in my own cockpit. So the car sat....and sat.....and sat. I got into racing motorcycles, modifying my CBR600RR with of course Mugen exhaust and other Mugen bit's. All fantastic, and well sorted. Unlike almost every other american motorcycle supplier. I wish they had offered race bodywork because even the better brands of bike bodywork sucks. Had to give that up due to new fiancee and kids. So, I find myself in 2015 with 3 kids, a lot of cars, one Aprilia SXV 450 Supermoto (love it over any superbike), and a new business.
So, one day last week I walk out to my driveway and look at my fading BB S, and see all the rust on the disk's, the bad rubber, the horrible crack in my front CFRP bumper (due to an unknown parking lot ass hat). I felt bad, and it didn't help when I walked into my bedrooms's bathroom and found my dry carbon Voltex Type 4 wing sitting there (never used). I know i've digressed quite a bit, but I feel there is a need that people understand that i've been here for a long time with a modification bug that extends to every part of my life including guitars. I am the owner of the 3259 USA S2000 made. And you have to realize I was probably the 3rd person in CA to receive one (they don't ship by numbers). At least us CA owners were pretty rare in the first few months. My car before this was a 1956 Porsche speedster that I rebuilt. I replaced the pan and had the motor rebuilt by the "maestro" and then of course sold it.I didn't want to make the same mistake twice with the s.
I've missed S2ki quite a bit and decided to write some observations from an original owner. I'd occasionally come on here to see what the rage was, but since 2000 + the FFurios, everyone and there sister was into it, and sometimes not for the right reason.
I've been lucky enough to own some of the best parts for the S2000, and in reality most of them have been Mugen. Are all Mugen parts totally hardcore racing parts? No. But they do enhance the S2000 in a way a lot of companies forget, just to enjoy the ride. I will miss knowing these parts aren't around anytime I want them. Of course a lot of stuff happened between when I bought the car and now. Turbos. 8 second S2000's (CRAZY!) widebody, stance, and a million other things. In this Forum I just wanted to say I'll miss Mugen being a part of the S2K (not every part.. but a lot!). Because of this I had a friend in Japan search everywhere for the only part in my kit that i'm missing. Out of the hundreds of call's he sourced an SS rear bumper...as it turns out one from a shop that couldn't sell it because they didn't have the exhaust. Lucky for me Kingmotorsports (who I first inquired about getting both pieces) has an exhaust. No bumper. Perhaps they were meant to be together. Sorry to have made this so long winded but I really feel nostalgic towards my S, and to Mugen who really made me smile every time I put one of their little or big works on. Thanks Mugen....you're awesome! And, to those who say JDM is crap and overpriced, PM me and I have a pic for every piece of junk I bought that I cringe to think I helped a copy industry with. Buying cheap copies is like downloading media for a fraction or free. It's stealing. The companies that replicate didn't pay to wind tunnel test or autoclave. Sorry..rant. So those of you with experiences similar to mine, I would suggest getting any S2K Mugen parts now. Especially aero, as it is done in batches.


P.S.

All information that Mugen
is stopping production on
"most" S2000 parts came from a
Mugen distributor in Japan.
The "official" word was "we
aren't pursuing that line
right now". But the dealerships
translation is it's done. A few
items have officially been marked
as discontinued. More to follow.
Old 07-29-2015, 07:42 PM
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So you are selling your Mugen parts ??

curious to see any pics you have of the early days and current state of your car.
How much was hardtop back in 99/00??

P.S Check the for sale thread, there is a user now that is selling the rear bumper
Old 07-29-2015, 08:23 PM
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Saw that... no reply unfortunately. I do believe in fate however, so my bet is since Mugen always sold the bumper and exhaust as a pair to the dealer maybe I have two long lost loves reuniting. Actually I don't mind documenting the last SS bumper to be sold. I got it from a real Mugen distributor so I feel everyone's covered. Even King, who i'm sure would not have sold that exhaust without a bumper. Regardless, I do have old pics...just have to dig them up. As far as price....you don't wanna know (so cheap!). In fact I forgot to mention that in my post but i'm usually 3 month's ahead of the curve (maybe not this time) but old school JDM is making a comeback due to old guys like me. It's expensive of course, but nothing like what it was in my day. Count your blessings young ones and buy your JDM parts now if you want them. My gut says the yen's gonna recover and we have a whole revival of the motor sports community. If my friends are any indication their kids just slowed them down for 5 years.... I'm going to buy accordingly. Also, be nice to us old folks...we have some understanding of what's going on. Although we may not agree on 'sport" we agree the S2000 is the only ride worth having IMHO.
Old 07-29-2015, 08:48 PM
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sorry about the double post but I thought this was something a lot of old schooler's out there would like.


It's oHere's one from an 05 autocross. My engine hasn't blown at this point
so I don't have the Mugen baffled pan, engine mounts, hard bushings, etc.

n stands. It look's horrible. I'll post a pic tomorrow.
Old 07-29-2015, 08:58 PM
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Old 07-30-2015, 10:57 AM
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Cool read. You referring to Kings Motorsports in Orlando, FL?
Old 07-30-2015, 11:34 AM
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Originally Posted by Davo307
Cool read. You referring to Kings Motorsports in Orlando, FL?
No:

http://www.kingmotorsports.com/
Old 08-02-2015, 04:49 PM
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Great post and very good points made too sir.

I consider myself an old-schooler of sorts like you, and do enjoy my Mugen Sports exhaust and 3 piece spoiler, among other mods. Been an original owner since 2002, driving the unicorn of S2ks in the U.S, a GPW with red interior AP1. Still appreciate it to this very day.

Mad props....
Old 08-03-2015, 04:06 PM
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Originally Posted by RIDGERCR
Great post and very good points made too sir.

I consider myself an old-schooler of sorts like you, and do enjoy my Mugen Sports exhaust and 3 piece spoiler, among other mods. Been an original owner since 2002, driving the unicorn of S2ks in the U.S, a GPW with red interior AP1. Still appreciate it to this very day.

Mad props....
Your so lucky, I wanted GPW but fell in love with Berlina. My dealership had one S2k in November of 99. Told me that
it'd be a 6 month wait if I wanted the white. I'm not sure why Honda didn't make more those first few years.
I mean it was silverstone than black then NFR then white. I didn't see a white s2K until the middle of the year 2000!
But, I am about to be the owner of one when I get mine painted. She needs new clothes badly.
Old 08-03-2015, 08:26 PM
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Originally Posted by sodacraft
Saw that... no reply unfortunately. I do believe in fate however, so my bet is since Mugen always sold the bumper and exhaust as a pair to the dealer maybe I have two long lost loves reuniting. Actually I don't mind documenting the last SS bumper to be sold. I got it from a real Mugen distributor so I feel everyone's covered. Even King, who i'm sure would not have sold that exhaust without a bumper. Regardless, I do have old pics...just have to dig them up. As far as price....you don't wanna know (so cheap!). In fact I forgot to mention that in my post but i'm usually 3 month's ahead of the curve (maybe not this time) but old school JDM is making a comeback due to old guys like me. It's expensive of course, but nothing like what it was in my day. Count your blessings young ones and buy your JDM parts now if you want them. My gut says the yen's gonna recover and we have a whole revival of the motor sports community. If my friends are any indication their kids just slowed them down for 5 years.... I'm going to buy accordingly. Also, be nice to us old folks...we have some understanding of what's going on. Although we may not agree on 'sport" we agree the S2000 is the only ride worth having IMHO.
I'm not sure that the Yen will recover this year. The dollar is increasing in value and the economy in Japan is struggling, and for everything I've read it seems that analysts are saying it won't be recovering any time soon. I live in Korea currently and I exchange USD to won all the time and the dollar has been steadily gaining for the past 6 months or so.


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