A Faster Pregnant Civic
First off, let's get this out of the way. We have not become some sort of wimpy publication with a soft cottage cheese butt. We don't really care about cargo space, cup holders, or powdercoated brushguards. We still curse the day Nissan announced it would stop importing the 240SX. And we only watch reruns of Matlock when there is nothing else on. That said, how has another Honda CR-V squeezed its way into the semi-rarefied pages of Super Street?
Answer: Mugen. Yep, the Japanese parts manufacturer from Japan that's dedicated to improving Hondas and Acuras. Talk to Honda enthusiasts here in the States and you will hear Mugen (pronounced moo-gen) obtain praise worthy of the Pope. Maybe even more. But they will also tell you that Mugen parts are very expensive.
So when we saw this King Motorsports CR-V at 1998's SEMA show, we figured it was our negative-paycheck duty to drive it and see just how much the magic of Mugen could work on Honda's only true entry into the SUV market (the Passport is built by Isuzu). King Motorsports the exclusive importer of Mugen parts in America, and it decided to build up this '98 CR-V LX to showcase available parts.
Before our time with the Honda, we were hoping that these Mugen parts would address some standard deficiencies. The biggest gripe about CR-Vs has always been the lack of power. Back in 1997, Honda introduced the Civic-based CR-V with a 2.0L engine. Tuned to provide useful power lower in the rev band, it produced 126 hp at 5,400 rpm and 130 lb-ft at 4,300 rpm. However, the only available transmission was an automatic. In its July '97 issue, Motor Trend reported a lethargic 0-60 time of 11.7 seconds. Listening to its customers, Honda offered a five-speed manual transmission in 1998. This helped, but 0-60 times were still above 10 seconds. So for this year, Honda has bumped the compression ratio and revised the intake and exhaust for an additional 20 hp.
Being a '98 version, the King Motorsports CR-V lacks the bonus '99 factory horsepower. But it does have some serious engine parts. Exhaust gases are now routed through a Mugen header and exhaust system. There is also a ported and polished cylinder head, lightweight valves, a larger throttle body, 10:1 compression, billet cam a lightweight flywheel. King says horsepower is 134 at the wheels. Underneath, the CR-V wears Mugen high-performance springs, shocks, top-mount bushings, and antiroll bars. The Mugen body kit includes side skirts, a rear valance, and a chin equal to Jay Leno's. There's also a molded spare tire carrier instead of the factory soft cover. The 16x7-inch MF10 wheels are shod with 225/50R16 Bridgestone Potenza S02 tires. The only interior change is a blue Mugen shift knob.
All of the changes worked as advertised. Acceleration was noticeably better than that of the last CR-V we had. While the only testing equipment available was a Tesla Electronics G-Tech Pro, three averaged 0-60 runs netted us a time of 8.7 seconds. This compares nicely to a '99 CR-V's time of 8.6 seconds. Replacing the stock 205/70R15 tires with the Potenza S02 tires also had a major effect on grip. We hammered the CR-V on curvy mountain roads normally traveled by Honda CBRs and Kawasaki ZX-9s. We were reserved at first, worried about the CR-V's normally tipsy nature. But with the Mugen springs and shocks and factory 53/47 percent front/rear weight distribution, it stayed firmly planted to the pavement. At one point during this abuse, one of our editors distinctly recalls blurting, "This thing rocks!" That's something not normally said in the confines of a CR-V, boys and girls.