I am going to pick up my brand new 05 pretty soon and have budget to get Mugen header+Mugen exhaust+Mugen ECU right away. My questions are

1. how much performance can the car gain from these mods?
2. Does it worth the price? If you have the same budget, what will you get (performance wise non supercharger and non turbo)? I am a bit Mugen freak (playing too much Grand Turismo ), but I would like to know my options out there before coughing my $$$. I want to get my performance parts right away because these are parts that are not affected by wear and tear, you know what I mean? Future mods including TEIN coil over, but as you know, suspension is a wear and tear part, so I want to wear out my stock before I change my suspension setup (too get as much use as possible).
3. When is the best time to replace these parts? Before or after break in period? If after break in, at what mileage is the best time to replace the parts? If it's the best to wait, for example at 5000 miles, then I am willing to wait, but I just want to know
4. Where is the best place to buy these parts? With these mods, will it pass the smog check when it's required? I am planning to keep the car as long as possible
5. Will it void OEM warranty? I assume it doesn't since it's just a bolt on mods.

Thanks for the answers and opinions.

EDIT: I see that with the same amount of $$, I can get Comptech supercharger. Now questions for the Supercharger mods
6. If I do that, will it void the OEM warranty?
7. With this mod, what's the effect on the engine (i.e shorten the engine life with such a massive force induction)? I don't want to spend $$ on stuff that somehow later on the road will kill the engine or has any negative effect towards the drivability of the car, you know what I mean?
8. What's the numbers on Supercharger mods?
9. Will it pass the smog check when it's required? I am planning to keep the car as long as possible

 

1. not much, MAYBE 10HP
2. Not to me.
3.after break-in
4. king is the only source for mugen
5. the header and exhaust would probably void your emissions warranty, but the whole car warranty should be fine.

The ECU will void the warranty on your entire powertrain.

6. the supercharger officially voids the warranty. Now, some dealers will work with you. You have to set the terms BEFORE you buy the charger.
7. it will put strain on the clutch, transmission, and differential. they will wear faster. You should probably have comptech build your diff for more strength.
8. 280WHP regular, 300WHP aftercooled (sometimes more, sometimes less)
9. Yes

I would not get the mugen stuff. NOT WORTH IT. Do you want the car to be faster? Get a 4.57:1 final drive gear. I hear it will knock a half second off a quarter mile.

 

1. Are you just guessing? or is it based on dyno sheet?
3. When is the best time to put these mods after break in?

btw, the mod you talk about, is that a transmission mods? How much? Where to buy?

 

1. just an estimate. Intake/header/exhaust does almost nothing. That 10HP estimate is with fuel tuning which requires an Apexi VAFC at minimum.

3. anytime after breakin

The gears is a differential mod. A new ring&pinion set is put in the rear differential casing. This is by far the best NA mod. You don't get power, but you do get speed. Ever notice you accelerate better in 1st gear than 2nd? This is the same principle.

 

you should be able to buy the 4.57's @ hardtopguy.com

Shop around, though, as prices will vary.

John

ps-I thought they were between $400-450 for the set....but dont take my word on that.

 

there is a special in the sponsors section that will get you the 4.57 gearset, installed, along with a comptech casing for $1350.

That is with you pulling your diff and giving them your old one as a core (must be in servicable condition). To flat out buy a new diff with that stuff is $1000 more.

 

If I/H/E does almost nothing, then why do people buy those? Aren't those a waste of money with unsubstantial gain compare with the price you pay? besides different exhaust note, then nothing else is achieved?

Now I want NA performance, so what should I do with my $? Or should I just spend my $ on suspension? With Mugen ECU upgrade, will I gain performance with stock header and exhaust?

 

Mugen I/H/E/Ecu were designed and tuned for the JDM-spec F20c. With your 2005, don't expect to gain anything. Also...keep in mind that you may lose some in the mid-range with those mods and the F22c.

If you want NA performance and Mugen doesn't design anything for the F22c in the next few years, I advise the following: AEM ECU, 4.44 gears, tuning, single outlet exhaust with straight pipe, toda headers, and AEM intake (or ITB's).

If you're a Mugen whore at any level and still want Mugen goodies, get the exterior goodies.

 

BTW, since the F22C is a North America-only engine, don't expect Mugen to support it.

I would advise you get an exhaust to save weight, 4.44 or 4.57 gears, and an AEM ECU. skip the header, the stock one is excellent.

bear in mind the aem will need to be tuned.

 

what's the weight for stock header, stock exhaust? i want to compare the stock weight with mugen header and mugen exhaust respectively. Since the F22C is for USDM and Mugen only support F20C, so if I buy Mugen exhaust, will the car lose any performance? Or the exhaust strictly for weight saving?

how much is AEM ECU? Is the AEM ECU better than Mugen ECU?