I've been told that Mugen is like Honda's Nismo, It's performance accessories. I've been looking into getting some Mugen accessories but my question is, are they truly better than the aftermarket ones? Like the exhaust and such. What is the purpose of Mugen accessories? for performance? Build quality? or is it just for die hard Honda JDM enthusiasts? Just a random question that came to mind as to what Mugen truly is.

 

Yes Mugen is much like Nismo is to Nissan. As for if their parts are better or worse than other companies it entirely depends on your goals with your car.

 

For the most part Mugen parts are all of high quality. Are they always the best..... No. Remember your paying for the name also

 

Mugen is amazing quality...."oem" quality enough. Most body parts need no body shop magic to fit.
I am not 100% sure but I read once long ago that Mugen is actually an "option" in Japan Honda dealers.

 

Mugen sports was founded by Soichiro Honda's son Hirotoshi!

 

^that is true, and what I was going to say.

 

Mugen, like Nismo, TRD, etc... has its fanboys, so take that for what it's worth.

Mugen products are good and usually have a better resale value because of the above.

A classic example is the Mugen hardtop. the CF mugen top is something ridiculous like $5500. It fits very very well, but still requires a bit of adjusting to make it fit as good as the OEM.
Now, the Rockstar garage top in CF is around $2000... it also fits pretty well (although, admittedly, not as well as the Mugen, but is very very close). The Rockstar one is also much lighter than the Mugen.

Is the Mugen worth the extra $3500 when it has marginally better fitment and is heavier? Some people care about having the logo and the better resale value, others want a good quality product that is lighter. All depends on what matters to you.

You can't go wrong with either, ultimately, assuming you can handle the Mugen fanboys hating on your 'knock-off'.

 

interesting..

 

I've had Mugen parts on a DC5 and now my AP2 and take great pleasure in the build quality and aesthetics long after the sting of premium pricing has faded.