Honda's Performance Division?

[Acura/subarufan]

I was just wondering what is honda's performance division/licensed tuner. I know that they used to work with mugen but i heard that the contract expired and they switched to somone else.

[brightpeto]

there's HRC , Honda Racing Company. But I don't know if they take care of cars (they are the official Honda motorcicles racing divison/team

[CHEESE-TACULAR]

ive heard of FP (factory preformance). they were around in the us but then went by "A-spec" for acura. i think theyre still around in Japan under "FP"

[johnnyperl]

Mugen still, most race engines still seem to be branded mugen. but maybe wht you heard is true.

[balenopower]

nah they're just for motorcycles......i guess mugen honda's still present....
http://world.honda.com/HRC/
check the link....

[CHEESE-TACULAR]

hmmm...maybe im wrong, but if anybody has Road & Track issue #7 from volume 54 they will see what im talking about.

[gregvl52]

IIRC, there was some financial fiasco at Mugen, so they broke off the "official" relationship (yeah, right)

[KnifeEdge_2K1]

mugen is nice, translated to english it means no limits, with a name like that you know they'll get things done

[gregvl52]

here's an article about it:

From correspondents in Tokyo
September 5, 2003

FORMER Honda-owned Formula One engine supplier Mugen is to hand over all of its operations to a new company following the arrest of its president for massive tax evasion.

The new firm, named M-TEC, will be set up on October 1 and based at Mugen's headquarters in Asaka on the northern outskirts of Tokyo, while retaining Mugen's brand name and 150-strong workforce, a company statement said.

Mugen board member Shin Nagaosa, 54, will become president of the new firm which will be capitalised at $256,000 and strive to secure "transparency" in management, the statement said.

"We will not just seek a new image or frame of mind. We need to create a new environment in which we work flat-out to maintain good relations with our associates," Nagaosa said.

Mugen president Hirotoshi Honda, the eldest son of Honda founder Soichiro Honda, and auditor Norio Hirokawa were indicted in July on charges of evading one billion yen in corporate tax.

Honda 61, earlier said he would step down as Mugen head although he had never been involved in the case.

"We reached the conclusion that a new entity is necessary to continue our operations while being involved in criminal and civil court proceedings over the charges," Nagaosa said.

The indictment said Honda conspired with the auditor to hide billions of yen of the company's income to evade taxes by moving the funds to a subsidiary under the guise of payments for machine-leasing and other transactions in the three years to October 2000.

Mugen, meaning infinity, was established in 1973 as a key affiliate of Honda's racing division.

After a brief F1 stint, Mugen re-entered the premier motorsport circuit in 1975 with the Ligier team.

Mugen-powered machines won four F1 races before the company pulled out at the end of the 2000 season, making way for Honda's full return to Grand Prix racing.

Mugen has since been producing engines and machines for races, mainly the Formula Nippon series, in a tie-up with Honda.

Agence France-Presse

http://foxsports.news.com.au/

I don't know what exactly happened with this, if everything went as it was supposed to. Japanese scandals often don't mean much, top executives seem to resign in shame and then become highly paid "outside consultants" and things like that.

[spi-ti-tout]

Years ago I suggested that Honda come up with NATES (New Advanced Technological Evolution Systems) to counter big threats like the Evo and STi, as well as making sure that there aren't as many ricers in the process. If anybody wants to read more about it search for the thread "Honda in Rallying?", should be around here somewhere. The idea originally came to me when I was reflecting upon how Honda would do and compare with the other major rallying manufacturers out there on the stage. The caar I proposed was the Civic, with enough power, a good company reputation and a name, Civic NATES, that wasn't half bad.

[Blue Supra]

Mugen is def Honda's race divison. The equivalent of "Nismo" or "Ralliart"

[clutch-monkey]

i want them to bring out an awd integra, maybe turbocharged, that would be awesome.

[spi-ti-tout]

I never understand why people want AWD. Isn't it heavier and so won't it make the car slower? And then since it's AWD it won't drift as much as RWD would. And it would cost most. I simply cannot understand just why people love AWD in small cars so much.

[Rockefella]

Originally Posted by spi-ti-tout

I never understand why people want AWD. Isn't it heavier and so won't it make the car slower? And then since it's AWD it won't drift as much as RWD would. And it would cost most. I simply cannot understand just why people love AWD in small cars so much.

People think more is better.. four wheels moving your car instead of two. "Honey, let's get AWD, I want to feel safe when ever I'm driving in the snow because the four-wheel traction is uber-1337. RWD/FWD is for noobs honey."

[clutch-monkey]

Originally Posted by spi-ti-tout

I never understand why people want AWD. Isn't it heavier and so won't it make the car slower? And then since it's AWD it won't drift as much as RWD would. And it would cost most. I simply cannot understand just why people love AWD in small cars so much.

i just want an integra to compete with wrx and evo