FK8 Mugen kit

Sure, sure… Let’s get it all out right now. “Fk8 StArTeR PaCk” or “YoU hAvE gOoD mOnEy BuT nOt GoOd TaStE”. Yes, it’s true, the Mugen aero kit is one of the most played out things on a FK8 other than maybe TE37’s, Pilot Sport 4’s, PRL HVI, or AWE exhaust.

Almost a year ago, I purchased my FK8. And like most, I too had a list of things that I wanted to do to the car long before I even took ownership of it. One of those things was the Mugen lip and side skirts. In my opinion, it really helps the car “pop” more. I feel like the black lip and side skirts that come stock on the car get sort of lost, and there isn’t much focal point there. The black kit makes the car appear higher than it really is. I feel like Honda realized this, so they tried adding the red stripe around the car to accentuate and further define the bottom of the car.

When I first bought the car, I really wanted to buy the Mugen front under spoiler and side garnish kits, but due to the Covid crisis, finding it in stock anywhere was darn near impossible. I put the Mugen kit on the backburner and focused my attention on things like: wheels, lowering springs, cooling modifications, chassis bracing, rear camber, and a rear sway bar. After the first couple of track days and realizing there were many other things that I needed to further sort on the car like brakes, more negative camber upfront, more cooling, another set of wheels, a bucket seat, intercooler, and an oil cooler, I kept pushing off the Mugen kit. I couldn’t justify buying it when it really doesn’t do anything for me other than look really cool.

So, in April 2022, 11 months after I became the owner, my amazing girlfriend, Angie, ordered me the Mugen aero kit for my birthday. Despite taking a little over a month to arrive, it finally did, and below, I’ll be installing it.

Both the front under spoiler and side garnish kits come with instructions, hardware, and adhesion promoter. It’s just too bad that the instructions are all in Japanese.

No Alibaba stuff here.

Look at the condition of the box when it was delivered. When the UPS guy pulled it out of the truck and I saw that, my heart instantly sank. I opened the box in front of the driver and, to our surprise, there was absolutely no damage to either of the side skirts!

Here is what the car looked like in its stock form. Yes, I did remove the red stripe from the car because I thought it looked tacky. I actually removed it on my second day of ownership, along with the chrome Civic badge and the silly fake exhaust sound that the 2021 models come with. See the link below.

First three FK8 modifications

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You can see how the black lip hides the accents and shape of the car, and it also doesn’t provide a defined bottom for the car.

Same thing goes for the sides as well.

It almost seems like the car body ends at the bottom of the white, but in reality, there is about 2 more inches of car.

There will be some drilling necessary to properly fit the lip and sides on. So, start off by jacking up the car with all 4 wheels off the ground.

Rig’s is always finding that sun spot.

You will want to get all the wheels off the ground because you will be doing some drilling into the lower sides of the wheel arches. Nothing major, but having the wheels off will allow you to get a drill in.

I like how the Mugen lip kit gets rid of this sharp “fang” looking part of the OEM front lip. (You’ll see what I mean later on in this post.)

This is what the Giro Discs looks like after two track days.

The front lip is installed very easily. There are two body clips that are removed from underneath the front bumper (not pictured, but very easy to figure out), one screw hole on the wheel arch lip is reused, and another hole needs to be drilled where a rubber expansion nut is inserted. Lastly, there is double-sided tape across the entire lip, which is mainly how the lip is held on.

The Mugen kit will come with all the necessary hardware needed to complete the installation. Below, you can see my finger is pointing to the top screw. This is the one where you will need to drill a hole in the OEM lip and insert the rubber expansion nut into the hole you drilled.

For the lower screw, there is already a hole there. You will simply screw the new one supplied by Mugen. I recommend not fully installing the lip with the adhesive tape until after you drill the hole and install the two screws. This will ensure that the under spoiler is properly fitted on the factory lip.

The tape is pressure activated. Make sure you use a clean, soft cloth to rub along the lip where the tape is to ensure proper adhesion.

OH BOY! It looks amazing. See how the white completely defines the very bottom of the car now. This, in some sort of optical illusion way, makes the car appear to be lower than it is.

You can also see how the formerly protruding “fangs” are now covered, resulting in just one straight line.

Installing the side skirts might prove to be slightly more challenging. The process requires a higher level of commitment as it involves drilling multiple holes, which may cause some FK8 owners to feel uneasy. These holes need to be drilled underneath the car, specifically along the OEM plastic side skirt/rocker panel area. Additionally, a small hole needs to be drilled on the lower part of the rear wheel arch into the rocker panel area. One of the OEM screw holes in the front wheel arch can be reused, and double-sided tape should be applied along the entire side skirt for added stability.

Above, you can see the holes that need to be drilled into the plastic rocker panel. Again, Mugen supplies all clips and hardware needed to complete the installation; you just need to supply the drill and drill bits.

Below, you can see I’m pointing to the bottom screw. This one is there from the factory, and you’ll just be reusing the existing hole. There is no need to drill this one out.

However, the top screw (as you can see me pointing to below) will need to be drilled out. Again, you will only be drilling through plastic, but it is a part of the factory rocker panel.

The Side Garnish Kit will also come with some washers that I assumed were to be used as spacers to ensure a proper fit. I didn’t use all of them; I only used a few where the rear part of the side garnish bolts to the wheel well. I don’t have any pictures, but it’s pretty easy to figure out. Despite the instructions being in Japanese, the illustrations do a good job depicting what needs to be done. I did try using Google Translate, but that only seemed to make things more complicated.

I also use the ZL1 rock guards. They didn’t cause any interference or difficulty in installing the side skirts. So, if you’re wondering (like I was) if you can use both the ZL1 rock guards and the Mugen side skirts at the same time? Yes, you can.

Just like the front, I recommend getting all your holes drilled and all hardware installed (plastic clips included) before you remove the tape backing. Once all screws/clips are installed, you can then pull the tape off and permanently install the garnish. Pro tip! Pull about 2-3 inches of the tape back off so when the garnish is on the car, you can easily grab the “dog ear” part of the tape backing. Then simply pull that all the way, exposing the adhesive to the plastic.

Beautiful!

The seamless setup process left the dogs floored — they couldn’t resist enjoying the comfortable garage space. Perhaps their intuitive nature sensed my unwavering confidence as everything fell into place effortlessly. Alternatively, the delightful weather this season might have also played a role in their cozy exploration.

Wheels back on and car on the ground. *Chef’s Kiss

Unlike the front, the sides do add a little more material downward towards the ground to make the car look slightly lower. There is so much material that I can no longer jack under the side of the car, and now I must drive the car onto a 2×4 before jacking it up. Regardless, you can now see a much more defined bottom of the car and clearly see the body of the car.

The car looks so FUCKING sick now. It crazy how such a small thing can totally transform the car.

I know that pretty much every FK8 owner has this on their car, and there isn’t much individuality with it. But you can’t deny that it really makes the car look so much better. There is a reason this kit is so popular, and it’s because Mugen really hit it out of the park with this design. I feel like Mugen is hot or cold. What I mean by this is… Mugen stuff is either right on the money and looks beautiful, or it is way too gaudy and abstract. In the case of most of their 10th-gen stuff, I feel like they nailed it. I’m not alone in thinking this either, that’s why most people with FK8s choose to have Mugen parts on their cars.

Sure, there are other front lips to choose from, but for me, this meant that I wouldn’t be able to get out of my driveway. As it is now, I’m only a few chin hairs away from scraping the Mugen lip when I back out. And I also prefer the white lip over black/carbon. Maybe in the future, I’ll change my mind, but for now, I love it.

Thank you all for taking the time to read my blog. I hope you enjoyed this week’s content, and if you have an FK8, hopefully I encouraged you to get a Mugen kit for your car too. As always, if you have any questions, comments, hate, love, or anything in between… Please don’t hesitate to reach out. Email me at Billy@Functiontheory.com, find me on Instagram at @Functiontheory, or simply comment on the post below, and I will get back to you.