Pics from the Shop: 8th Gen Civic Si Kraftwerks Supercharger (Updated)

30 October 2013 Administrator Around the Shop, Big Mike: Tech, Customer Rides, King Motorsports (0)


In the shop this week! A fun project: 8th Gen Civic Si Kraftwerks SC installation, then tune on the dyno. All the parts are laid out, inspected and ready for installation.

Engine stripped and freon evacuated from the AC system. Ready to start bolting on the fun stuff......



8th Gen Civic Kraftwerks SC install almost complete. A session on the dyno tuning with a Hondata Flashpro up next. More to come....



8th. Gen Civic Kraftwerks SC kit installation complete! Slide in the new fuel pump and then onto the dyno to make some noise. :)

Let the tuning begin! 2010 Civic Si with Kraftwerks SC kit- stock exhaust manifold and exhaust system. Care to guess what the final numbers will be?


The final results are.......320 whp with stock exhaust manifold, cat and exhaust running 91 octane. Nice stealthy & quiet super sedan! Perhaps our customer Mitch can gives us his driving impressions after a few days!

8th Gen Kraftwerks Supercharger:
http://www.kingmotorsports.com/p-4253-kraftwerks-06-11-civic-si-supercharger-kit-without-hondata-flashpro.aspx

Dyno Tuning at King Motorsports:
http://www.kingmotorsports.com/c-173-dyno-tuning.aspx

Dyno Tuning rates:
http://www.kingmotorsports.com/c-176-dyno-services-rates.aspx


Update 10/29/2013:

A few months ago we installed and tuned one of the very first production Kraftwerks SC kits for the 06-11 Civic Si. At that time using the stock exhaust manifold and exhaust this car made 327whp and 214ft/lb torque. Now it's back, updated with a Full Race 3" exhaust and Skunk 2 Alpha header -the results 352whp and 225ft/lb torque- nice gain!!!

Watch a video from the dyno tuning sessions:


In the Shop: J35 Engine Project

17 October 2013 Administrator Around the Shop, Big Mike: Tech, King Motorsports, Racing (0)



Our next engine development project is brought to you by the letter J!

J35 teardown continues-underneath all that "stuff" there is actually an engine! Complete build pictures and info will be posted as the build progresses. We would like to thank out friends YAWSPORT for this exciting build opportunity!


http://www.kingmotorsports.com/c-206-engine-building.aspx


Update: 10/11/2013:


Cylinder head port work begins our J series engine development program for our friends at YAWSPORT.

http://www.kingmotorsports.com/c-231-cnc-heads-valve-jobs-head-porting-milling.aspx




J Series cylinder head porting completed for our friends YAWSPORT. Up next, reworking the bottom end.

http://www.kingmotorsports.com/c-226-top-end.aspx


In the Shop: K-Tuned Shifter, Drag Cartel 003.2 Cams, Turbo B18C1...

15 October 2013 Administrator Around the Shop, Big Mike: Tech, King Motorsports, Racing (0)

More pics from around the shop!


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K-Tuned Shifter- Incredible precision and beautifully crafted!

http://www.kingmotorsports.com/p-4382-k-tuned-billet-rsx-shifter-box.aspx



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Just installed Drag Cartel 003.2 cams with our King Motorsports 40 degree VTC cam gear and Toda tensioner in this 12.0/1 K20A road race engine. Next up, some tuning on the dyno!

http://www.kingmotorsports.com/advsearch.aspx?SearchTerm=drag+cartel


Update: On dyno this week with Ian G's K20A powered DC2. 12/1 compression with Drag Cartel Industries 003.2 cams with our 40 degree VTC cam gear, Hytech header and DC5R intake manifold.

Watch the video from Ian's dyno tuning!

Ian G's K20A powered DC2 race car results 242 whp with a super nice power band and flat torque curve- impressive!

Build Stats:
K20A with 12.1 compression
Drag Cartel 003.2 cams
King Motorsports 40 degree VTC cam gear
Hy-Tech Header
DC5R Intake manifold and throttle body

http://www.kingmotorsports.com/c-173-dyno-tuning.aspx


 

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Intercooler pipe fabrication for our latest turbo project in the shop.

http://www.kingmotorsports.com/c-242-fabrication.aspx



Update: Intercooler pipe fabrication complete, just about ready to head onto the dyno....

http://www.kingmotorsports.com/c-242-fabrication.aspx



Initial engine break in on the dyno begins today for this Turbo B18C1. Once completely heat cycled 2 times we will begin final tuning.

http://www.kingmotorsports.com/c-173-dyno-tuning.aspx

King Motorsports Breather Box (Custom Fabrication): Turbo EM1 Project

11 October 2013 Administrator Around the Shop, Big Mike: Tech, King Motorsports (0)



In the fab shop this morning: Putting the final touches on this custom breather box/overflow tank.



King Motorsports custom fabricated breather box completed and installed in this super clean Turbo EM1!



http://www.kingmotorsports.com/c-242-fabrication.aspx


Update: 10/11/2013

Almost ready for tuning on our dyno- sleeved B Series 84.5x89 with PT 6235 turbo.



Final touches complete on this Turbo 84.5x89 build. Busy week on the dyno!

King Motorsports: Engine Builds (Updated)

05 April 2013 Administrator Around the Shop, Big Mike: Tech, King Motorsports (0)

King Motorsports is a leader in building Honda engines that balance power and reliability, and we've been doing it for nearly 30 years!


Read our staff interviews with Mike Lindquist and Chad LeBeau for a glimpse into the care we put into builds.


Here are some of the motors we've been working on recently...


This is a B Series cylinder head we are putting the finishing touches on. We're doing a King Motorsports Ultra cylinder head prep which will be shipped out to its new home in Brazil shortly!



This is a 85 x 89 KMS B Series Turbo engine just finished up for a customer. Ready to install!



Here's another angle for the newly-completed King Motorsports Turbo B. Note the KMS valve cover venting with fresh powder coating.



The finishing touch on every King Motorsports prepared engine is this uniquely-numbered authentication tag. All engines we prep are serialized and all build specs achieved.



Here is an unclothed 87.2 x 81.5 B Series turbo build in the engine room waiting for final dressing:



The Turbo B Series long block build ... now fully dressed and awaiting installation.



Update 2/14/2013:

This week on our Flow Bench we are dialing in a customer's cylinder head. There is no substitute for real world numbers-- no guesswork here....

http://www.kingmotorsports.com/c-231-cnc-heads-valve-jobs-head-porting-milling.aspx


King Motorsports factoid: In the over 30+ years we've been building engines, we have found the majority of advertised piston dome values to be off. The only way to calculate true compression is to CC the cylinder head and measure the piston dome volume as shown below. This is important step is part of EVERY engine build we do at King Motorsports.

http://www.kingmotorsports.com/c-206-engine-building.aspx



Here we are CC'ing a cylinder head. Once we have the volume of the combustion chamber, combined with the volume of the piston dome plus a little math- we arrive at our compression ratio. Oh- and don't forget to measure the valve to piston clearance, but that's another chapter :)

 http://www.kingmotorsports.com/c-231-cnc-heads-valve-jobs-head-porting-milling.aspx



Just finished up the D series race engine. Next up some header and exhaust development on the dyno, then off to hopefully win another SCCA championship :)

http://www.kingmotorsports.com/c-194-engine.aspx




Update 2/21/2013:

Full Race Turbo AP1 S2000 project just burst to life in the shop! Checking vitals then on to the dyno for tuning.....

http://www.kingmotorsports.com/c-173-dyno-tuning.aspx





Making sweet AP1 turbo noise on the dyno.....



Update: 2/28/2013

This morning in the engine room we are checking piston to valve clearance on a set of Kelford Stage 2 cams on a K20A bottom engine. We use a cutway cylinder head so we can actually see and measure the clearances.

http://www.kingmotorsports.com/engine_building.aspx



Here's a look at what you can see with the cutaway cylinder head..



The stock K20 VTC cam gear gives 50 degrees of advance. When installing a higher lift camshaft set there can be piston to valve clearance issues at maximum advance. Previously the only way to limit the VTC advance was to use a TSX VTC gear which is 25 degrees. Through our dyno development program on the K20 engine we saw 25 degrees advance is not enough to make optimum low/mid range power. Using this knowledge we designed a new King Motorsports VTC cam gear that limits the advance to 30, 35 or 40 degrees. Now you can have the not only great top end power with a solid mid range to match!

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



One of the current projects in the shop is this EK Turbo coupe. We just finished up the engine, now are working on the fabricating the intercooler, intercooler piping, air filter setup, dump tube and exhaust system- then onto the dyno for some tuning!

http://www.kingmotorsports.com/c-173-dyno-tuning.aspx





Update: 3/3/2013

After mapping out where we are running the intercooler piping, etc., we are hard at work fabricating a battery box for a lightweight battery on the our Turbo EK Civic Coupe project.

http://www.kingmotorsports.com/c-242-fabrication.aspx



Work continues on the Turbo EK Coupe project in the shop. Here we begin wiring the Hondata Coil on Plug retrofit kit.

http://www.kingmotorsports.com/p-4122-hondata-coil-packcoil-on-plug-retrofit.aspx


In the fab shop today- just finishing up a King Motorsports prepped B series intake for a client.

http://www.kingmotorsports.com/p-4048-king-porting-service-edelbrock-performer-x-intake-manifold-b-series.aspx





Update 4/5/2013:

In the shop this morning- fabricating intercooler tanks for a B series turbo build.

http://www.kingmotorsports.com/c-242-fabrication.aspx



We just completed this H22 build. King Motorsports cylinder head prep, sleeved 13:1 with Skunk Pro 3 cams and a Euro R intake. Installation and dyno work next!

http://www.kingmotorsports.com/c-194-engine.aspx





UK S2000 Exhaust Mod

02 April 2013 Administrator Around the Shop, Big Mike: Tech, Customer Rides, King Motorsports, New Product Release (0)

We'd like to share some of the performance work going on the shop today -- the UK S2000 exhaust mod. This mods diverts a portion of the exhaust flow past the first part of the twin-loop muffler for a more pleasing exhaust note without the typical droning of common aftermarket exhausts for the S2000. We use a 1" stainless U bend and cut to fit. Here is a picture of the tube held up for fitment check.

Work begins on the UK S2000 exhaust mod. Cutting the stock exhaust for the stainless bypass tube.



Next the we grind the opening for exact fitment.



TIG welding the stainless bypass pipe completes the UK S2000 exhaust mod.



Complete UK S2000 exhaust mod. Ready to test on the dyno!

http://www.kingmotorsports.com/c-173-dyno-tuning.aspx



We've had lots of requests for dyno results after the UK S2000 exhaust mod- so here ya go. The customer AP2 S2000 is equipped with a header and test pipe and tuned using a Hondata K-Pro. Blue line is with the stock AP2 exhaust, the red line is the UK mod AP2 exhaust. A slight increase in power with the UK mod, but most importantly the exhaust note has improved dramatically. Nice and mellow without any harshness building to a pleasing wail at 9000 rpm- just what the customer wanted...





Dyno Testing: Skunk2 Alpha vs eBay Header

28 June 2012 Administrator Around the Shop, Big Mike: Tech, Product Reviews (0)

Recently a customer brought his Civic in for dyno tuning. On the first dyno run, the motor hits VTEC and goes dead rich -- but makes no horsepower.


We pulled off the aftermarket header. Here's a pic:



We look inside the header -- a generic one from eBay -- and examined it more closely. What we found was shockingly poor construction yielding almost total blockage. See for yourself:


 

 

We replaced the header with a quality Skunk2 Alpha Series header. Ran it on the dyno again, and saw a *dramatic* power and torque increase.

 

 

Here's the comparison chart:

 



If you've read Mike's interview, you know our philosophy about buying from eBay is to use extreme caution. We're not saying every auto part on eBay is badly made or a knockoff (and eBay is trying to fight that image too), but there are still dreadful products out there that can cost you power, money and sometimes even your safety. Ebay sellers know they will probably never meet you, so their motivation to simply move product overshadows *doing the right thing for the customer*. And even if the seller does care, customer feedback doesn't always make its way back to the seller.


We do the right thing for our customers. If it won't help your build, we won't sell it to you.


And we have the dyno charts (and decades of experience) to back it up!


It really is true: "When you buy cheap, you buy twice."

 

King Motorsports VTC Cam Gear - Now Available!

16 March 2012 Administrator Big Mike: Tech, King Motorsports, Product Reviews (0)

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.


King Motorsports has designed modified VTC cam gears to limit advance to 30, 35 or 40 degrees. These cam gears are made from new OEM gears which are cut using ultra precise CNC machining that exceed OEM tolerances. Custom cut gears are also available upon request.

Pricing:
New Gear $300.00
Used Gear $250.00
Customer Supplied Gear $200.00


Call us at (262) 522-7558 for more information and to order.




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.


Car is an unmodified 06 TSX with Hondata FlashPro

The red line is the KMS VTC Cam Gear
The blue line is the stock VTC Cam Gear


Right-click the image to see it larger.



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


What is “FRP”, and why does Mugen use it for S2000 Hardtops and other aero enhancements?

02 September 2011 jude_z Big Mike: Tech, Miscellaneous, Mugen, Product Reviews (0)

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.