Words: Jon-paul Ferguson Photos: Nikki Armada
NZPC: Hey JP, how did Torque Performance Developments become involved with Mugen, and what does that relationship look like today?
That’s actually quite a funny story — I received a call from Honda NZ head office out of the blue, asking if the workshop was available for a tour for some special guests. Not knowing who it was or being given any details, I just said “sure”, not thinking anything of it. Next minute, the head of Mugen aftersales global and the head of Mugen Australasia walked through my door! After some flustered introductions and some business cards were handed over, we started showing the Mugen team our development programme, parts, and dyno setup.
Mugen then invited me to Tokyo Auto Salon as a special guest at the end of that year, and really the rest is history! Supplying and sourcing those rare Mugen parts as a distributor for the enthusiasts who love the brand is something we never thought would be possible back in the day.
We are also so fortunate to have such a great account manager, and I am in touch with him weekly about orders, new parts on the horizon, and even some heritage stuff.
When Tony approached TPD with the idea for the build, what was the overall goal? Was it about chasing numbers, creating a showcase for Mugen parts, or building the ultimate street-driven FL5?
No numbers were discussed at all — Tony had a vision in mind for the car that, he explained to us, really came from his childhood. It involved those iconic Japanese brands such as HKS, Mugen, and J’s Racing, which are all companies we are involved with, and a splash of that US flavour he was missing back home in San Francisco, to combine in that FL5 to make the perfect all-rounder. We just had to take all of that and put it all into one!
Having experience with both older Honda platforms and the latest FL5 Civic Type R, how different is tuning a modern Honda compared to the classic Hondas many enthusiasts grew up with?
Good question … I don’t get asked this one much, as we generally only get customers who are die-hard fans of the heritage stuff and don’t like the new stuff, or the other way round.
The basics are the same really for any platform, but the difference between, say, a DC2 Type R and an FL5 is really night and day. A DC2, for example, is a phenomenal touge or track car and really has no right to do what it does, but would you these days drive it to Gore from Auckland? No, not really — it would be punishing. But the newer FK8/FL5 platform really just does everything well; it’s not a standout in one area, but they are the most capable of anything affordable Honda has ever made, without doubt … However, you also can’t get the raw feeling back from the newer stuff that we had with the EGs of the day, so it’s really pick your poison.
The car now produces 330kW and 650Nm with off-the-shelf bolt-on parts. What were the main performance goals when developing the engine package?
Tony’s main goal with the car really has to always be turnkey: no special fuel, no rubbing your head and patting your tummy to make it work. Being that we had spent the good part of six years developing and tuning the K20C package, we already had a good idea of the direction we needed to follow.
Knowing the car was going to be controlled by our N1 ECU from the get-go and fitted with our N2 downpipe, we really left it up to Tony for the parts side of things, and he chose Mugen Aero, J’s Racing, Spoon, and HKS as some of the engine component brands he loved as a kid. So, with that in mind, the focus was on building a balanced car. Cooling, suspension, and power all need to go hand in hand to hone in on what he was really looking for, and I think we nailed it with this car.
The HKS turbo upgrade is a major part of the build. What made this the right choice for the FL5 platform?
Tony really wanted this turbo, and being fortunate enough to be the first ones in the country to tune an FL5 on one, I didn’t really have an opinion, and we love data! We started on the dyno, and it started really showing the numbers. The most impressive part with the HKS turbo is the spool — and the punchy torque delivery is that secret sauce.
As one of the earlier FL5s running this combination of parts and performance upgrades, what challenges came with developing the package and making sure everything worked together as a complete street car?
Being we don’t use Hondata or MoTeC on these, it’s all in the calibration of the OEM ECU. This can really take some time getting it right, as it’s a torque-based ECU, and it might be the last 10 per cent of a build but can ruin 100 per cent of the experience with the car if you get it wrong.
We also took a bit of time after the dyno session just to dial in the TC. This enhances the whole thing and brings it all together with all the parts to make an absolutely awesome street car that can double as a track-day car or even a cruiser.
The finishing touch on these K20C engines running such high crankcase pressures, even from factory, is definitely turning to our other partner J’s Racing and their T-Rev system. They have spent years developing some high-performing engine components for the K20C, and the T-Rev system is no exception! Cutting crankcase pressure in half with no ugly catch cans in sight is the way — it does what it says on the box and looks the part, as all J’s Racing parts do.
Looking ahead, where do you see the future of the FK8 and FL5 platforms heading? Is there still plenty of potential left to unlock from these modern Type Rs?
There is a heap left on the table. Guys overseas with the US builds will make over 700hp at the wheels no problem, and with a bit more time I think they will get cheaper to modify, and more parts solutions come out every day.
Even for us, very shortly we will be able to do full injector coding on the OEM ECU, taking the brakes off the limits of the stock computer and allowing workshops like ours to do built motors and E85 on all the factory electronics … it’s wild!
What does this project mean to the team at TPD, and what does it represent for the future of tuning these modern Honda platforms?
This project was one of those cars and customers. We could see the vision from the very beginning. We had the privilege of using some of the best parts Japan has to offer, followed up with Tony allowing us to take our time setting the car up how we wanted, and as much time as we wanted … It was really the dream scenario to showcase what an FL5 package could look like.
Tony’s FL5 really represents, in our minds, a return to balance … the combination of power and performance, nothing crazy, but it also looks phenomenal, can be used as a daily or for a track day, but isn’t out of place going to pick up the groceries either. It really does showcase that, with the modern Type R, you can have your cake and eat it too.
Looking to unlock the full potential of your Honda build?
As New Zealand’s official Mugen distributor, Torque Performance Developments carries the ultimate range of genuine Mugen components, custom ECU calibration, and high-performance packages for both modern and classic Honda platforms. Get in touch with JP and the team to get your setup sorted properly: torqueperformance.co.nz
