CI 1.6 and MySQL 4.0 Character Set and Collation

[eluser]lookatthosemoose[/eluser]
Hi folks,

I just installed (fresh, not upgraded) to CI 1.6 using a MySQL 4.0 installation, and I'm having problems connecting to the DB. Specifically
in regards to the new parameters in /config/database.php:

Code:

$db['default']['char_set'] = "utf8";
$db['default']['dbcollat'] = "utf8_general_ci";

I get this error:

An Error Was Encountered
Unable to set client connection character set: utf8

I know that MYSQL 4.0 bunches the character set and the collation into 1 entity, and I'm assuming CI is handling the connection/setting character set for versions > 4.1. Honestly I'm not even sure what to ask here, I just need some help to be pointed in the right direction. HELP!

--Eric--