Our President/CEO Scott Z travelled to Atlanta for the SCCA American Road Race Championship this past wekeend. Scott was there to support and perform Crew Chief duties for long-time King race customers Bob & Joe Moser.

Scott decided to keep everyone updated with pics and tweets from his Android smartphone. Here are his travelogue pics!

Trip off to a slow start - flight to Atlanta delayed in Milwaukee.

The laptop faithfully doling out ARRC info while waiting for the flight to board.

First stop on every Road Atlanta excursion.

Welcome to Road Atlanta.

Hurry up and wait...

Wet and cold @ Road Atlanta

All calm before the first session.

On the false grid. The Miatas are favored to win. We'll see about that...

Night falls at the track.

Joe does his post-race interview.

2010 ARRC ITA Podium Finishers.

A jubilant Joe Moser after his hard-fought win.

** 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!!!"

Review and announcement by Scott Zellner, President & CEO of King Motorsports and SCCA Road Racing Champion:

In stock form, Honda's new CR-Z is both under-dampened and softly sprung. This combination really masks the sporting characteristics of the CR-Z. 

The Mugen 5-Way Adjustable Suspension Kit was designed with both street and occasional track use in mind. The result is a more controlled ride with much less lean, dive and squat. Each damper adjustment changes both the compression and rebound calibrations so you can tailor the suspension for any driving environment.

The average ride height reduction is 1” front and rear for an aggressive stance, lower center of gravity, and better aerodynamics. This kit comes pre-assembled which makes installation quick and easy.

This kit is without a doubt the best handling upgrade you can make to your new CR-Z.

King Motorsports is proud to be the sole provider of these Mugen CR-Z suspension kits in North America. They will be in-house and ready to ship the first week of November.

Follow us on Twitter (@KingMotorsports) or Facebook to be the first to know!

In the meantime, be sure to download our exclusive Mugen/King CR-Z wallpapers.

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.

** Many thanks to Brain Dopp for sending this in! **

Hey guys, I just wanted to say thank you for all of your help and support.  Here are some recent photos of the car and all of the parts at work at Road America and Autobahn Country Club!

Upon its release in 1997, I knew that I had to own a 5th generation Prelude.  From the factory, the car was a lot of fun but as I started attending track days, I quickly began to realize the potential of the car.  Having been a long-time fan of sports car racing, I already knew the King Motorsports name and upon many recommendations and days on the race track with King prepared cars, I knew who I was going to trust with my car.

The very first modification I made was the Mugen Header and Exhaust combination.  It really cleaned up the mid-range power making the car transition into VTEC more smoothly than ever.  The additional power and torque not only helped straight-a-way speeds, but also exit speed out of corners.  Construction of any Mugen part is un-surpassed, so there were more parts to be ordered from King.  To keep things cool under such conditions, a Mugen fan switch and Mugen radiator cap were added.  Next was a Honda Prelude Type-S (JDM) airbox to further build mid-range power.  Another little tweak was a machined and lightened flywheel that was recommended and done by King.  To make my driving experience even better, a set of Mugen sport driving pedals were added.

Over the last few years, most of my work has been focused on the suspension.  Working with King, I added a set of Koni Sport dampers with SPS3 race valving along with Koni coilover sleeves.  To accompany the Koni dampers, are Swift Racing Springs at each corner.  To balance out the handling further, a Progress adjustable rear anti-roll bar was installed.  Another easy way to make the car corner better is to reduce weight.  I added an Odyssey 680 MJT battery (30lbs savings!) a carbon hood and some other miscellaneous weight savings equaling a loss of nearly 100lbs!  To slow things down at the end of the straights, I added a rebuilt set of NSX calipers along with Legend rotors which are 28mm thick.  To maximize the clamping power of the brakes, I use Hawk Blue racing pads at the track and Hawk HPS pads on the street.  To increase feel and reliability, Techna-Fit brake lines were installed at all four corners.

And there is much more to come ranging from more suspension tweaks to additional power from an H23 VTEC!


Engine Performance Modifications:
- Mugen Header
- Mugen Exhaust
- King Motorsports custom race pipe
- Mugen Fan Switch
- Mugen Radiator Cap
- Honda JDM Type-S AirBox/intake
- King Motorsports Lightened Flywheel
- Exedy Stage II Clutch

Exterior Modifications:
- Honda OEM Body Kit
- Honda JDM Fog Lights
- King Motorsports Exhaust Heat Shield
- VIS Carbon Hood

Interior Modifications:
- Mugen Sport Driving Pedals
- Honda JDM Si-R carpet
- Honda OEM Carbon Trim
- Honda JDM Type-S Carbon Bezel
- Honda/Acura OEM RSX Shift Knob

Suspension/Wheel Modifications:
- Koni Sport SPS3 Race valved dampers and coilover sleeves
- Swift Racing Springs 10k front/12k rear
- Spoon Strut Tower Bars f/r
- Progress Technology Rear Swaybar
- Energy Suspension Bushings
- SSR Integral Wheels 17 x 7
- Dunlop Direzza Sport Star Spec Tires 215x45x17

Other Modifications:
- NSX Brake Upgrade w/Legend Rotors
- Techna-Fit Stainless Brake Lines
- Hawk HPS/Blue Brake Pads
- Ate Super Blue Brake Fluid
- Odyssey 680 MJT battery (15.5 lbs!)

** Thanks to Brian Lang for sending this in! **

Just wanted to share some photos of my TSX -- now Accord Euro -- thanks to you guys.

The car looks amazing in person. I'm planning on getting some CCW LM 20's for it but right now I'm dropped on Tein springs and Axis Mod's 19x8 +35. I installed bolt on/off CF panels on the bottom corners of the front bumper but it barely scrapes if driven right.

Here is a picture of one of the cars we are currently working on. It's a King Motorsports built K20 with a Kraftwerks C38 Supercharger system.