Tokyo Auto Salon 2012
19 January, 2012
Tokyo, Japan

All images courtesy Mugen Co., Ltd.

Taking center stage at the Mugen display area were the two RR CR-Z concept cars. Highly modified and supercharged, these cars are test beds for Mugen’s pursuit of speed and performance for the newest Honda vehicles, including hybrids. Also on display was Mugen Forumula Nippon race car, partially disassembled live by Mugen technicians.

CAPTIONS (top to bottom):

pic 1:
Getting ready for the big show. Mugen marketing staff preparing the stage for Mugen's Type RR CR-Z concept vehicles.

pic 2:
Still under wraps - Mugen Concept CR-Z's with Mugen's Formula Nippon Race Car in the background.

pic 3:
The post-unveiling press interviews begin. Mugen's supercharged LEA-MF6 at center stage.

pic 4:
The press frenzy starts immediately after the cars are unveiled.

pic 5:
Typical Mugen attention to detail, ensuring the lighting is correct.

pic 6:
Snapping some in-house pics.

pic 7:
Q&A with the Mugen gurus!

Pic 8:
It's a fortunate few who get this close to Mugen's Formula Nippon car.

Pic 9:
A rare look at a partially disassembled Mugen road race car.

Pic 10:
A live demonstration by Mugen's highly-skilled technicians.

On the weekend of September 16th-18th, The Ohio Valley Region held an IT-Spec Miata Challenge race as a support race to the Grand-Am weekend at Mid-Ohio.  The event was open to all IT classes and Spec Miata with 48 entries.

It was a great weekend for long-time road racers and King Motorsports customers Bob and Joe Moser. Both of the Moser’s ITA CRXs chassis were fabricated and set up at King Motorsports – and both cars run King Motorsports built and tuned engines.

On Sunday the group ran two qualifying races and one trophy race, all on the pro course.  In the first photo Joe is leading the field to the start through the carrousel for the first qualifying race.  In the second photo Joe has pulled out a substantial lead at the end of the first lap while Bob races for position with two of the ITS cars.  In the third photo Joe is forced out of the first qualifying race with a grill blocked up with debris and starting to overheat.

In the second qualifying race Joe had to start at the back of the field.  He passed 44 cars in 12 laps to finish second overall behind Tim Selby in the ITS Miata and Bob Moser in the other King Motorsports ITA CRX.

The podium photos are after the feature race.  Tim Selby won first overall in the ITS Miata, Joe Moser second overall and first in ITA and Bob Moser third overall and second in ITA.

Joe Moser kept whittling down the ITA pro course lap record through the weekend, ending up dropping it by almost a half second to 1:40.35!

Check out Joe’s lead over the entire field on this rear-facing in-car video.

Congratulations to Bob and Joe on a great weekend.

FRP is an acronym for Fiber Reinforced Polymer. Some will say that it stands for Fiber Reinforced Plastic, but this is incorrect – Not all plastics are polymers. In the case of Mugen’s manufacturing process, they use a proprietary FRP composite developed in-house after much testing in the lab, wind tunnel and street.

Some of Mugen’s aero pieces are constructed from FRP exclusively; bumper covers, side sills, spoilers. But Mugen manufactures two items from both Carbon Fiber and FRP – Hoods for Fit, and S2000, and S2000 Hardtops. The reasoning is pretty straightforward, Carbon Fiber construction is the strongest, lightest material available for these parts, but it comes at a cost. FRP, on the other hand, offers a lower cost option. While not as strong or light as Carbon Fiber, FRP is still extremely strong and still lighter that most other materials. Most importantly, it can be used in the same molds as the Carbon Fiber pieces, therefore offering the same precise fit that Mugen’s Carbon Fiber parts are known for.

Here are a few common questions regarding Mugen’s FRP parts:

Q: What is the weight difference between the Carbon Fiber and FRP parts?
A: The weight difference is about 25%. For instance, the Carbon Fiber Hood for the S2000 weights 34 lbs – the FRP unit weighs X44 lbs.

Q: How well does the FRP top fit?
A: The fit is perfect, just like Mugen’s Carbon Fiber Top. The same molds are used to produce both.

Q: Does the top come with all of the mounting hardware?
A: All the necessary hardware is included, as is the Polycarbonate rear window.

Q: What is required to get FRP parts ready to paint?
A: All of Mugen’s FRP parts come primed and ready for paint. Your body shop will only need to give them a light scuffing and thorough cleaning.

Q: Should I test-fit my FRP parts first, or can I go ahead and paint them knowing that they will fit?
A: It’ll fit, period. Paint it, install it and enjoy.

Below are some technical data regarding FRP (source: American Composites manufacturers Association):

Not all plastics are composites.  In fact, the majority of plastics today are pure plastic, like toys and soda bottles.  When additional strength is needed, many types of plastics can be reinforced (usually with reinforcing fibers).  This combination of plastic and reinforcement can produce some of the strongest materials for their weight that technology has ever developed...and the most versatile.

Therefore, the definition of a fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) composite is a combination of :
-a polymer (plastic) matrix (either a thermoplastic or thermoset resin, such as polyester, isopolyester, vinyl ester, epoxy, phenolic)
-a reinforcing agent such as glass, carbon, aramid or other reinforcing material such that there is a sufficient aspect ratio (length to thickness) to provide a discernable reinforcing function in one or more directions. 

FRP composite may also contain:

- fillers

- additives

- core materials

... that modify and enhance the final product.  The constituent elements in a composite retain their identities (they do not dissolve or merge completely into each other) while acting in concert to provide a host of benefits ideal for structural applications including:

** High Strength and Stiffness Retention - composites can be designed to provide a wide range of mechanical properties including tensile, flexural, impact and compressive strengths.  And, unlike traditional materials, composites can have their strengths oriented to meet specific design requirements of an application.

** Light Weight/Parts Consolidation - FRP composites deliver more strength per unit of weight than most metals.  In fact, FRP composites are generally 1/5th the weight of steel.  The composite can also be shaped into one complex part, often times replacing assemblies of several parts and fasteners.  The combination of these two benefits makes FRP composites a powerful material system- structures can be partially or completely pre-fabricated at the manufacturer's facility, delivered on-site and installed in hours.

** Creep (Permanent Deflection Under Long Term Loading) - The addition of the reinforcement to the polymer matrix increases the creep resistance of the properly designed FRP part.  Creep will not be a significant issue if the loads on the structure are kept below appropriate working stress levels.

** Resistance to Environmental Factors - Composites display excellent resistance to the corrosive effects of:

** Freeze-thaw: because composites are not attacked by galvanic corrosion and have low water absorption, they resist the destructive expansion of freezing water.

** Weathering and Ultra-Violet Light: FRP composite structures designed for weather exposure are normally fabricated with a surface layer containing a pigmented gel coat or have an ultraviolet (UV) inhibitor included as an additive to the composite matrix.  Both methods provide protection to the underlying material by screening out UV rays and minimizing water absorption along the fiber/resin interface.

** Chemicals and Temperature: Composites do not rust or corrode and can be formulated to provide long-term resistance to nearly every chemical and temperature environment.  Of particular benefit, is composites ability to successfully withstand the normally destructive effects of de-icing salts and/or saltwater spray of the ocean.

** Fire Performance of Composites - FRP composites can burn under certain conditions.  Composites can be designed to meet the most stringent fire regulations by the use of special resins and additives.  Properly designed and formulated composites can offer fire performance approaching that of most metals.

John Hinrichs really likes his Honda CR-Z. Apparently he also really likes Mugen.

For his fourth major Mugen modification on his CR-Z, John opted for a set of Mugen 17x7 GP wheels in Gunmetal. As with his other mods, John worked directly with King Motorsports President and CEO, Scott Zellner. Scott: "The color of the Gunmetal GP's are a perfect compliment to the Black CR-Z." John is equally happy with his purchase, "I love the way these wheels look!" After each upgrade, John usually sends a picture and a note, or stops by to show us the results, as he did recently with after the GP wheels were installed.

John's other Mugen mods are the Mugen 5-Way Sport Suspension, Mugen Carbon-Fiber Air Intake and Mugen Cat-Back Exhaust.

Congrats to Rob Delimat, our 2011 Dyno Day Photo Contest winner!

Rob's picture was chosen because it captured so much about what Dyno Day is all about: Race Cars, Street Cars, People, and Cars on the Dyno. For his efforts Rob's photo will be featured on the front page of our website and he will receive a King Motorsports TShirt. Rob's uncropped photo can be seen here.

Rob's pics on Facebook.

Thanks to everyone who entered.

First off, thanks to EVERYONE who sent in photos from Dyno Day 2011. We received a lot of great images, but after some tough decisions, here are the finalists (in no particular order):

Rob Delimat

Brandon Adkins

Nick Campos

Here they are, 150+ photos from Andy at NoggsPhotography.

A stormy weather forecast couldn't keep a record crowd from attending King Motorsports' 4th Annual Dyno Day - the only thing that didn't show up was the rain. 300-plus attendees were greeted by warm temps and sunshine, and that's how it stayed throughout day.

Starting early on, Deletah (formerly DJ Macabre) starting spinning and playing great sets throughout the day. Food was provided by local boy Scout Troop #93, who did an excellent job. Scout leader Dennis Glazewski: "It was a great opportunity for us to raise funds, the boys had fun and it was really loud!." Continued Dennis, "Everything went smoothly - it was a really good crowd, very nice. We definitely want to come back next year and the only thing we'll do differently is bring a lot more Mountain Dew!"

The reserved and grass parking filled up quickly, and soon the parking lot, cul de sac and street followed suit. After a short computer glitch early on, King's Dynojet Dyno saw its first car, and ran non-stop for the entire day. The few dyno spots still open on Saturday filled up quickly. King employee Jude Zimmermann: "The demand for dyno runs was incredible this year! Tim (Tim Martin, King's Head Tuner and Dyno Crew leader) and the dyno crew did an incredible job as always. They made sure all of the pre-registrants got their run, plus an additional 10 or so, but there was a waiting list of at least another 10."

Designer Perry Wang once again came up with a very cool, contemporary shirt design that truly captured what Dyno Day is about. In addition, he designed a similarly-themed limited-edition poster that was featured in the raffle.

And speaking of the raffle - the swag, products and gift certificates were amazing. There were 8 drawings total, culminating with the drawing for $600 in King Motorsports gift certificates. King President and CEO Scott Zellner: "The annual raffle at Dyno Day has taken on a life of its own. The buzz on the social networks was huge this year!" Continued Scott, "Our vendors really came through this year, and we were pleased to offer such an array of great prizes to our customers."

Zellner, "Each year this event gets bigger and better - it's a really great way for King to support our customers and the Honda/Acura community. In addition to saying thanks to the attendees, I'd like to thank all of the friends and family that volunteered their time. In addition, thanks to our event sponsors: Mugen, ASR, Buddy Club, Brockway Engineering, Blox, Gamestop, K-Tuned, NoggsPhotography, Function7 Engineering and Toda USA."

Andy Noggle of NoggsPhotography spent the day shooting the event. The full slideshow is posted to our blog here.

Check out this video courtesy of Alex Weyer:

**

George Doganis is a Rally and Solo/Pro Solo Racer and long-time customer of King Motorsports.

He has multiple championships including:
4 California Rally Series Class Championships ('06,'07,'08,'10)
Bilstein Rally Cup(2010)
4 SCCA Solo National Championships
2 SCCA Pro Solo National Championships

George's rally car is a fully-prepped EK hatch. His latest King-supplied additions include WPC-Treated Gear-X close-ratio gears, Mugen Limited Slip Differential, and AEM adjustable cam gears.

Other notes on his car:
The car is built with an FIA-standards cage for Rally America/NASA 2WD class. The shell has been seam welded and strengthened in critical areas. Suspension has been reinforced and some of the links have been replaced with heim-jointed, chrome-moly custom pieces. Shocks are modified Bilstein units. Steering quickener was added and PS pump modified. Engine is 2-liter B-series VTEC. Trans has Gear-X gears (WPC’ d as well) and Mugen LSD. Brakes are Fastbrakes 11” F&R. Gravel tires are Pirelli(as of the next event) on Team Dynamics Pro Rally 1 wheels.

Congratulations on all of your success George!