2008 Honda Civic Mugen Si Sedan

A factory-prepared 2008 Honda Civic MUGEN Si Sedan will debut in mid-October, American Honda Motor Co., Inc., announced today.

The Civic MUGEN Si Sedan is equipped with a high-performance suspension, forged aluminum wheels, aerodynamic body styling and a sport-tuned exhaust system.

“Honda enthusiasts have long been asking for factory-installed MUGEN performance products similar to what the company offers in Japan,” said John Mendel, executive vice president of American Honda. “We’re enthusiasts, too, and the ultra-premium Civic MUGEN Si Sedan offers exclusive style and elevated handling performance with legendary Honda refinement.”

The track-tuned suspension, tested at the Twin Ring Motegi racing circuit in Japan, lowers the vehicle by 0.6 inches with aggressive spring and damper tuning for enhanced handling performance while still maintaining a high level of ride comfort. Compared to the conventional Civic Si Sedan, front and rear damping force (both bump and rebound) was increased between 8- and 24-percent. Lightweight 16.98-pound 18×7.5-inch forged aluminum wheels (27 percent lighter than the stock 17×7 alloy wheel) and high-grip BFGoodrich® g-Force KDW 215/40ZR18 summer tires help to create MUGEN’s unique, rewarding and well-balanced handling performance character. The full-vehicle aero-package adds a front spoiler with a sports grille, side spoilers, a rear bumper diffuser and a rear wing.

The sport exhaust system reduces back pressure from the catalytic converter back. The Civic MUGEN Si Sedan will be available exclusively in Fiji Blue Pearl and include front and rear MUGEN emblems. Inside, a MUGEN Limited Edition placard is located on the center console along with a spherical 50 mm MUGEN aluminum shift knob.

The name MUGEN symbolizes Honda performance throughout Asia and around the globe. MUGEN, under license by M-TEC Co., Ltd., of Japan, has been closely associated with Honda for more than three decades in the design and manufacture of racing and premium aftermarket performance products.

The limited-production vehicle (maximum of 1,000 units for the 2008 model year) will have a retail price of less than $30,000 when it goes on sale and include a full factory warranty. A prototype of the Honda Civic MUGEN Si was shown at the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) show in fall 2006.

Civic MUGEN Si Sedan Specs:

* Engine Type = i-VTEC DOHC 4-cylinder engine
* Displacement = 2.0 liters (1998 cc)
* Transmission = 6 Speed MT
* Horsepower = 197 @ 7800 rpm
* Torque (lb.-ft.) = 139 @ 6100 rpm
* Ride Height = 5.3 inches (-0.6 inches from Civic Si Sedan)
* Overall Length = 177.8 inches total (+1.1 inches from Civic Si Sedan)
* Wheels: Forged GP 18×7.5 (pattern 5H-114.3 +48)
* Color: Fiji Blue Pearl

Regular Low Octane Gas May Be Costing You More Than Buying Premium

What Is Octane and How Does It Affect Your Engine’s Gas Mileage and Horsepower? Trying to save money by using a lower octane gas is almost a guarantee that you will actually spend more money on gas (depending on the cost difference of the choices between 87 octane and 93 octane).

Why? Because it’s a certainty that you will get terrible gas mileage. Isn’t that ironic? And horsepower? Forget it. Your horsepower won’t even be close to what you should have. But the worst part is that it will eventually harm your engine. Badly. Surprised? All the things that people have told you about “hearing” or “reading” that there is no reason to buy premium gas because the regular gas is just as good are wrong! Then there’s the belief that the higher octane premium gas is just another rip-off by the oil companies. Wrong again. But that’s a measure of how desperate we’ve become trying to save money on gas.We are becoming penny-wise and pound-foolish. First let’s look at what octane means. It’s not about horsepower or heat energy. All an octane measure that’s posted on service station gas pumps means is that the octane number signifies the average of two methods of testing a fuel’s resistance to detonation. They typically range from 87 octane for regular unleaded gas to 93 octane for premium fuel. If you read most of these signs you will see a notation that the octane has been calculated using the formula R+M/2. We could go into another page to explain that.

Without going into all the scientific stuff, this means that a premium fuel has a much higher resistance to detonation than does a regular fuel of 87 octane. You read it right. Resistance to detonation. So what’s this about detonation? The resistance to detonation is the primary quality of a good gasoline. This is desirable so the detonation inside the cylinder head can be ignited evenly; the spark plug ignites the flame front in the cylinder head as a mixture of gas and oxygen. The flame moves in a deliberate manner across the top of the piston and cylinder. That’s how it’s supposed to work. So the better the fuel’s resistance to spontaneous igniting the more controlled the burning of the gas and the subsequent expansion of the heated gases that pushes the piston down to turn the crankshaft. But when a fuel with a lower detonation is used where it shouldn’t be used (in an engine whose manufacturer says it shouldn’t be used) the whole process goes out the window.

Abnormal combustion is what it’s called. And that’s because the intense heat and pressure in the cylinder subjects the lower detonation fuel (the 87 octane fuel) to an environment that it wasn’t meant for. So pockets of the fuel can spontaneously self-ignite creating secondary flame flashes. When those meet in the out-of-control burning in the cylinder head, the engine gets a shock wave. This shock wave is the knocking sound we have all heard in an engine at some time or another. Sometimes it sounds like marbles rolling around in the engine.

Other times it actually sounds like the piston rods are loose and rattling. Whatever it sounds like, it’s not good for your engine . . . really not good. So now comes the part where technology almost outwits us again. In older cars – those that didn’t have computer controlled engine functions, we all knew that the knocking sound meant that either we were using el cheapo gas or the spark timing was wrong. That was easy enough to fix. Just buy better gas or have your mechanic re-set the timing.

Some guys could do that themselves in their own garage or under a shade tree. But now we have these ingenious high-tech engines that are monitored by an on-board computer and they are constantly making adjustments to correct or improve what the computer perceives as a problem. Here’s where we fool ourselves. Or rather where the engine fools us and we believe it. These little critters are equipped with knock sensors. When they detect the typical bad detonation from using low octane fuel, the little devils automatically retard the spark timing or take other precautions to protect the engine. So, in reality, the sensors are de-tuning the engine to accept the fuel’s octane. The designers put this in to protect the engine from damage, but only for the short run. But with the spark timing compromised, the engine’s performance is just shot.

This is why it looses horsepower so badly, as I pointed out earlier. In addition to robbing the engine of power, the electronic computerized de-tuning has put the engine into a mode that, by the nature of the low uncontrolled detonation, wastes the fuel’s energy to power the vehicle. So, if you think you’ve outsmarted the oil company, think again. You’re among their best customers because your vehicle’s miles per gallon are in the toilet. Said another way, you use more of their product than you need to. The techno-wizardry of this is amazing, but the down-side is that the electronic computerized controls – the techno-wizardry -- can mask the inferior detonation so effectively that you may never be aware that it’s happening. So you are merrily driving along thinking how clever you were to not fall for that premium gas trick at the service station. Meanwhile your car is running sluggishly and you are using a great deal more gas than you should be using. But you sure saved a lot of money on that last fill-up, didn’t you?