What Mikado Is

Mikado didn't start as a parts company. It started with a few of us wanting to sell JDM-style merch: stickers, vinyl for the cars, banners. What we really wanted was a community. We missed what the car scene used to be, and we wanted to bring it back.

Then one of us got a Prelude

That's when it got bigger. The moment we went looking for parts, we found a huge gap. No one seems to want to touch these cars, and hardly anyone wants to learn about the engine. People forget the B20A was a Formula 3 engine, and its closed deck has a lot of potential.

So we started looking into connecting rods and valvetrain, and we found there was room to make real parts. We decided to have a proper go at it. Mikado is still the sticker and banner crew, but now we're also building parts for these cars.

Why "Mikado"?

Honestly, we sat around asking what we should call it, and Mikado came up. It sounds like "my car go." That was it.

Slow, but still going

We all have day jobs, and this is a side project, so progress has been slow. In the background we've been working on parts in whatever time we have.

Our connecting rods are a good example. The first design still works great as an H-beam, but we learned from its mistakes, and the second design fixes them. Until then, we modify every set before it goes out. That's why the rods have a three-week lead time.

What we stand for

Bring the community back. We want people out on a Friday or Saturday night again, meeting up and meeting new people.
No gatekeeping. We want a community of people who answer questions and actually learn about these cars.
If we can't find it, we make it. Anything we can't get for these cars, we'll manufacture or find another way to get. We also want to work with established car companies so these parts get made properly.
Keep these cars alive. We want to help everyone in this community, do some crazy things with these cars, and keep it all going for as long as we can.

What's coming

We slowed down over the past few months, but we're ready to get moving again. One of our cars is close to being back on the road, and a lot is lined up behind it.

Sports injection kit. The design is done, and the first kit goes on our own car this year. Yes, these cars are made for boost. We just love the sound of a naturally aspirated engine, and we want to build something like the Formula 3 engine Mugen built years ago.
OBD1 EFI harnesses. Harnesses so you can convert to OBD1 easily. We've already mapped them out, and we run a plug-and-play Hondata S300 in our own car. We're also looking at getting ECUs made specifically for these cars.
Head kits. Send us your head and we'll port and polish it to our standard, fit new valves and springs, give it a full refurb, and supply camshafts so it bolts straight on.
Valvetrain and more. Camshafts, valve springs and valvetrain geometry are coming. Valves, CVs, intakes and exhausts are on the table too.
Rear roll bars. We're producing these with a partner, and they'll be available as a kit soon.
Bolt-in limited slip diff. We've found an option for both the Series 1 and Series 2 transmissions. We might have a bolt-in kit within the next two years.
Better suspension. The coilover options for these cars aren't great. We want to work with partners to fix that.
Turbo kit. Probably our next big project: a kit that bolts on and bolts off. We're confident we can make it work.

Is the B20A really that slept on?

Yes, absolutely. We think it's one of the best boost engines out there. Its weak point is the connecting rod. Swap the rods and nothing else, and these engines can make a lot of power with boost.

The problem is no one builds them, and that's fair, because the Prelude is the only car they came in. Boost is the best path to more power, so we're gathering everything we can on running these transmissions with boost, and we'll be working on transmission lines too. Anything we can think of, we'll put into these cars.

Want to support us?

Merch is the best way. Not everyone is going to modify their car like crazy, and that's fine. If you like what we're doing, grab some merch, a banner or some stickers. If you want to be part of the group, get a banner.

We are the kings of the night. We want to be Mikado, and we will be.