Our 2012 Dyno Day was the most memorable yet! It was a huge success! The weather was absolutely perfect!

Held annually at our facilities in New Berlin, Wisconsin, this year's Dyno Day was on Saturday June 2.

Thank you to the hundreds of dedicated attendees who polished and primed their rides unto perfection to show, compete and connect at this year's annual King Motorsports event. We had so many cars that we overflowed beyond our own street this year! New this year we added a detailing professional and dent repair specialist to the mix. Returning talent powerhouses included the amazing tunes of Deletah, pics by NoggsPhotography, BBQ by Boy Scout Troop 93 and shirt design by Perry Wang.

We can't forget our four-wheeled guest of honor, the Mugen Concept CR-Z: RR! This orange mechanical work of art was shipped over 6000 miles from Mugen's Tokyo showroom to New Berlin, WI just for our event! It was one of the very few times a Mugen concept car will ever be seen Stateside, and we were proud to have his one-of-a-kind beast briefly under our roof.

The persistent enthusiam of the attendees make all the hard work put in by our staff worth it every year. We had 250 entries and ran 32+ cars on the Dyno.

Already planning for Dyno Day 2013!!!!

This year's pictures can be viewed on our Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150829609646319.396707.110076751318&type=3

Also see Rob Delimat's awesome photos that he posted on honda-tech:

http://honda-tech.com/showpost.php?p=47441827&postcount=1

And another gallery of pics on 8thCivic.com:

http://www.8thcivic.com/forums/introduction-pictures/295238-king-motorsports-dyno-day-2012-project-x-pics.html

KMS VTC Cam Gear Available Now!

King Motorsports has been building and tuning high performance K Series engines with high lift camshafts and high compression pistons for years. We have seen the need for different VTC cam gears which can be used to optimize cam advance /retard for maximum performance. The Honda OEM VTC gears have a mechanical intake cam advance limit of either 25 or 50 degrees. As more aggressive engine modifications are made, the VTEC engagement can be lowered but with the need for more cam advance.

While tuning solutions such as Hondata can be calibrated for more advance when used in conjuction with the OEM 50 degree cam gear, the real risk of piston to valve contact is present. There are OEM cars like the TSX that can benefit from this modified VTC gear with as little as intake, header and test pipe or any engine build where the maximum cam advance needs to be limited because of piston to valve clearance issues from bigger than OEM cams. Even though the software controls the advance, the nature of the oil pressure dictated advance can be imprecise. By modifying the VTC cam gear to mechanically limit advance to a set level, the risk of piston to valve interference is eliminated.

Here is a dyno comparison, stock VTC cam gear versus the KMS VTC cam gear.

The King Motorsports VTC gear allowed VTEC to be lowered from 5200 to 3550 because the cam could be advanced further than the stock. In stock form the gear only had a max advance of 25 degrees. After the gear was installed the max cam advance was 40 degrees which allowed the VTEC RPM point to drop.

Check out the latest issue of Honda Tuning Magazine with additional info on the KMS VTC cam gears! Right-click an image to see it larger.

Update 3/16/2013:

Here are finishing touches to another production run of King Motorsports K Series VTC cam gears. Available for purchase online!

http://www.kingmotorsports.com/p-4294-kms-k-series-adjustable-cam-gears.aspx

** Long-time King supporter Dewi sent this product review in... Thanks Dewi! **

My family are Honda/Mugen nuts and we import all of our Mugen goodies from King Motorsports to Scotland, so when we found out we were having a baby girl we started our DB8 (4 door Integra Type R) project as our family car.  It came as no surprise we wanted the right JDM parts to finish it off. This consisted of a baby Recaro in grey to match the car and whilst trawling King’s website we came across a black Mugen fleece blanket, so we ordered it up for car and stroller duties. 

The blanket is lightweight but warm, also very easy to keep clean if any spillages occur and our daughter loves the softness of the fleece. When it’s all tucked in, it keeps her very warm and she sleeps well without irritation.  We like to call her the ‘Mugen Slug’ so from a happy mum and dad we rate this product 5 stars for Mugen pervyness and 5 stars for performance and functionality.  Thank you very much King Motorsport for supplying us with this awesome quality product.

** This was sent in by Perry W... Thanks Perry! **

Gotta send a big thanks to Scott and the guys at King for their help picking out new rims for my 2002 Civic Si hatchback (EP3).

Because the 02-03 model Si has a 4x100 bolt pattern, wheel options are limited. Scott pointed me to Volk and Enkei -- but ultimately I had my heart set on the rarity and heritage of the forged Mugen rims.

My ideal Mugen rim (for my bolt pattern) was long out of stock: the Mugen MF-8. Those would have been awesome. But just as ideal would be the MF-8's big brother: the Mugen MF-10 (10 spokes instead of 8, with a deeper "webbing" where the spokes converge around the center). King has limited number of these -- in stock and on sale -- so I snatched a set up.

But there was a catch. In order to mount these beautiful new rims, I would have to convert my Si from a 4-lug bolt pattern to a 5-lug bolt pattern (the MF-10s are a 5x114 bolt pattern). More on this later.

First let's talk about these magestic MF-10s.

The set of MF-10s arrived a few days later from King: 16"x7" +43, in bronze, complete with valve stems and black center caps. They look terrific and have a semi-machined lip that reminds me of the fine workmanship that goes into the Mugen shift knobs. The spokes of the MF-10 have a matte texture that offset the lip. These rims are a work of art and perfection. You can fall into a JDM-induced trance staring into the rich bronze color.  I love these rims so much I even recorded The World's First Mugen MF-10 Unboxing Video for YouTube.

I couldn't wait to get these on my car. But I would have to. I had to do that 5-lug conversion, all by myself. In my garage. I live roughly 2000 miles from King's shop. So driving out there wasn't an option. I don't really trust any of the shops out here yet. So it was up to me.

At this point I should stop to say that I have absolutely ZERO experience with suspensions. I think I might have rotated tires once. The most technical thing I ever did to the exterior was install side skirts, a wing, a short-ram air intake. Easy stuff.

I kept replaying the two comments Scott had given me:

The encouraging: "Just do a 5-lug conversion. It's not that bad."

Then the more ominous: "There's definitely a lot involved for the conversion. It's not for the faint of heart."

So I started by planning. I bought myself a shop manual, read every forum thread I could find about the 5-lug swap. I bought a bunch of tools, a breaker bar, fluids, ball joint puller etc. I was stocking up and studying nearly every night!

The 5-lug came from a donor car in Tennessee -- a 2003 RSX Type-S (DC5). The DC5 shares many of the same parts as my EP3, so the swap is possible and has been done by many EP3 owners. Because the donor car was a Type-S (not the base model), I had the benefit of getting much larger front calipers & rotors as a bonus. But that bonus was offset by the need for new axles (to fit the larger Type-S splines).

Here's a picture of the donor RSX parts before they were shipped to me:

Assembling all my tools and parts took about 3 weeks. Lots of mail order, and help from Big Mike and Jude. Jude's advice was something about using beer and copious amounts of swearing. That turned out to be good advice.

The actual install happened over 2 weeks, nights and weekends... I lost half a week when I realized the ball joint puller I had purchased was inadequate for the job. And had to hire a mobile mechanic to help me with a stuck axle (lesson learned: get a "BFH," bigger floor jack, bigger jack stands).

Picture of the work in progress. You can see the original 4-lug assemblies still on the car. On the floor is the new 5-lug, a fresh socket set, and an old rim (bronze C8).

A picture of the stock EP3 front rotor next to the larger RSX Type-S replacement:

New replacement axles from an RSX Type-S:

My tires are dismounted from my C8's and re-mounted to the MF-10 set! The de-throned old rims shrink back in shame.

Conversion is complete now, and my shiny MF-10s finally mounted on the car. Look closely to see my smiling face in the reflections!!

** We just got this note and review from John Hinrichs - Thanks John! **

This afternoon I was able to take my CR-Z out for its first fun drive since I picked it up from KMS.  I've driven 30 minutes home, eaten dinner, made myself comfortable on my couch and there is still a big goofy grin on my face.  As much as i love the car itself, I have to give credit for this persistent smile to the Mugen suspension and exhaust you installed.

The factory suspension on the CR-Z was skewed to the comfort side.  Nice for running up and down the interstate, but when it came to corners the car would roll to the outside before it set into the turn.  With the Mugen system the car just turns in. 

Before I set off, I set all four shocks to 5 (full hard).  On the way to my choice bit of road, an area of backroads just south of Friess Lake, I rode over miles of lumpy concrete highways, chewed up blacktop side roads, and more than a few potholes.  The Mugen suspension let me know exactly what kind of surface I was on, but it was never harsh or abrupt. 

The roads I set out to drive are not the newest.  A patched, narrow, blacktop ring of roads that wind around and over the wooded hills of the area -- including a beautifully tight little switchback (which is a rare thing in southeastern Wisconsin).  The car just devoured it, staying flat and collected throughout.  Even in places where the corners were pieced together and uneven, the tires were held down tight, following the rough pavement without any hint of the skittishness that comes with a tire bouncing over the bumps I knew were there.

After driving the 7 mile loop once in each direction, I pulled over to set the shocks to full soft.  Five minutes later I was driving the loop for a third time just to listen to my car.  The stock exhaust note isn't non-existent, and the Mugen system isn't overly loud (I don't get complaints from the neighbors when I get called out to work at 2am like i do with my CRX), it just dials up the bass a couple notches.  In the last few weeks of commuting it has never been intrusive or droning.  I didn't even have to adjust the volume on the stereo.  But on these roads, full throttle from 4k to 6k RPM, the sound echoing off the trees was incredible.  It makes me want to find a tunnel just to listen.

Oh, and in regular highway driving I'm up 2 MPG since the new exhaust was installed.  Win/win.

Thanks for everything,
John Hinrichs

We have a freshly-baked B21 shipping out to the Great Northwest!

Specifications for this King-built engine:

2.1 Litre, Skunk2 Pro 2's; King Hand Ported Head; 12:1; King custom ported Edelbrock Intake - cut apart, ported and re-welded.

The engine is pictured here in our B-Series test vehicle for break-in and Hondata S300 tuning on our Dynojet Dyno. In final form this motor will be running a King custom header, and tuned to 91 octane, since the customer cannot get 93 octane in his area. The motor will then be crated and shipped to the customer... ready to drop-in and run!

Read more on King's dyno break-in services here:
http://www.kingmotorsports.com/c-176-dyno-services-rates.aspx

Read more on King's engine building services here:
http://www.kingmotorsports.com/c-318-king-motorsports-engine-build-prices-process.aspx

(L-R: Mick, Bob Schroedter Jr., Mike Lindquist, Bob Schroedter Sr.)

It was an incredible finish to a trying season for the Schroedters, Bob and Bob Jr., as well as their driver, Mick. It was a year of shakedowns and testing, turbo upgrades and tuning.

The Schroedters had been running their turbo EK coupe for several years. They had been using the same engine - a modified turbo B16, still displacing 1.6 liters, but with substantial boost. The problem was, they knew the car had the potential for much faster times than they had been running, but they just couldn’t get there. After many frustrating trips down the strip, Bob Sr. knew some changes were in order, so he picked up a new turbo and some additional parts and gave our service manager Mike Lindquist a call.

Once Mike and Bob Sr. ironed out the details, the EK and its new parts were brought to King and handed over to our head fabricator and tuner, Tim. With input from Mike, Bob Sr. also decided to upgrade the axles to Driveshaft Shop 5.9’s as well as a Twin Disc Kit from Competition Clutch. Tim re-fabricated the entire turbo setup and installed a Borg-Warner 362. He also re-engineered the fuel system, including the installation of a fuel cell.

With the mechanicals ironed out, Tim strapped the car onto King's DynoJet and went to work on the electronics. Trying to squeeze major power out of a B16 running GSR cams was a bit of a challenge, but Tim was up to the task. By tuning the Hondata S300 to run the motor with 33 lbs. of boost, the upgrades were good for an impressive 581 WHP AND 358 ft. lbs. of torque.

With Mike's many years of success running an all-motor B-Series EG hatch, he had valuable knowledge and driving experience to offer, so for the post-upgrade shakedown runs, Bob Schroedter asked Mike if he would pilot the Coupe to see what it could do. Mike agreed of course, and having never driven the car before, ran a 10.786 @ 133.70 MPH - the first 10-second pass ever for the EK. 

With the final Import Wars only a few weeks away, the Schroedters and Mick took every opportunity to get familiar with their improved car -  and it paid off, big time. Running 10.8's @ 135 MPH, they won the Super Quick class at Great Lakes Dragaway’s final Import Wars as well as the Super Quick overall championship. An incredible ending to a tough year.

Bob Schroedter: "I can't thank King Motorsports,  Tim and Mike enough for all of their help. We knew the car had more potential, and Mike proved it with its first 10-second run." "In addition, our team appreciates King's involvement and we are really looking forward to working with King again next year." Said Mike, "That car is fast! - we're also looking forward to continuing King's involvement. We're currently working on plans for more upgrades over the winter that should allow the car to turn the corner and run in Pro FWD next season."

Editor's Note - This is a comment posted on King's Facebook page by Bob Sr.:

"There is a lot more to this story...First the 10.78 pass Mike drove was on pumped up slicks, not hitting target boost in second gear and Mike hitting second gear and the ass end breaking, but he stayed on it. There was and is more in the b16 in terms of et and mph but I made the decision to move on. We would like everyone to know that these guys are no BS: Mike, Tim and King. Stay tuned for the new build it should be a good RIDE!!!"

Ride along as we take the yet-to-be-released Mugen CR-Z Exhaust System out on the open roads outside our shop!

This video compares the sound and performance of the OEM exhaust against the stainless Mugen system. You'll get a great look at the distinctive triangular-shaped exhaust tip that Mugen designed for this system.

> IN CAR OEM Exhaust: 1st, 2nd, 3rd Gear / WOT
> IN CAR OEM Exhaust: 4th Gear Roll On / WOT / 40mph-70mph
> IN CAR Mugen Exhaust: 1st, 2nd, 3rd Gear / WOT
> IN CAR Mugen Exhaust: 3rd Gear Roll On / Partial Throttle / 30mph-60mph
> BEHIND CAR Mugen Exhaust: Exterior Startup, Rev, Pullaway
> DRIVE BY Mugen Exhaust

Unleash the GRRR in your CR-Z -- shipping soon from King Motorsports!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AcV6gsSdVwQ

See all of our videos on the King Motorsports YouTube Channel.

Welcome to the King Motorsports blog!

King Motorsports has a rich racing history that goes back to 1981. We were racing Civics and Hondas back when nobody even gave them a second look.

Today, King tunes amazing project cars destined for serious track battles. We love to hear about customer wins at race events across the country, and look forward to sharing them with you on this blog.

We love working with discerning enthusiasts -- it doesn't matter if you're pro, amateur or just starting out! We work with you to make your goals a reality.

As the only authorized distributor of Mugen performance parts in North America, King Motorsports works closely with our Mugen collegues in Japan. We do test fits on new vehicles, provide design & manufacturing feedback, and make sure our customers get the most from their genuine Mugen parts. We've had a direct line of communication with Mugen's engineers in Japan for over 25 years -- so look to us first for Mugen products, information and more.

Is there something you'd like to see talked about in our blog? Let us know by leaving a comment.

You can also find us on Facebook and Twitter (@KingMotorsports).