Ahem...

King Motorsports - Speed World Challenge Mugen RSX, Grand Am Cup Integra Type-R, SCCA T2 S2000, SCCA GT4 Civic, IMSA RS Mugen Integra, SCCA GT3 CRX - these are their cars, not including customer cars.
http://www.kingmotorsports.com/
they have an engine building service tuned to your needs

Opak Racing - Spoon DC-5 ITR and Spoon Sports Fit in USTCC series
http://www.opakracing.com/index.htm
you can buy a race-ready Spoon S2000 for about $75k I think

Comptech USA - World Challenge Touring Car Series, CART, IMSA - GTP, Atlantic racecars, SCCA series in their RSX, Acura NSX, they even have in their possession a '84 Mugen turbo CRX racecar
Their engine helped some schmo' named Montoya win some no-name track...oh...Indy 500 in 2000.
www.comptechusa.com
they have their own engine shop for whatever your needs are.

Those are the big shops much like the way you would get support from Spoon or J's Racing. There's plenty of smaller shops (Dali Racing, Skunk2) that participate in different classes of SCCA and the Honda Chellenge series (I guess if you could call One Lap of America as insignificant) much like the smaller Jpn shops like Podio or Acid Racing.

I have nothing against AJ-Racing, I bought stuff from them before, they have great stuff. But if I set my car up for some serious SCCA racing, I would dump my car off with King Motorsports or Opak Racing looooonnnnnnngggggg before I would consider AJ-Racing. Until AJ-R, Bulletproof, or whoever, steps it up and get involved in legitimate US racing series, J's Racing will NEVER have the legitimacy among serious US racers that Mugen has long had with King's extensive involvement in racing. At least Spoon has set up a serious enterprise in legitimate US racing and the reputation of their products have improved from just "JDM-bling" status. If AJ-Racing starts participating in legitimate racing series (and it could start off as innocently as the SCCA - Honda Challenge series say with their J's Racing Fit) and build CUSTOM engines like the 3 US Powerhouses of Honda Tuning (aforementioned above), J's Racing products (and AJ-Racing) will gain true legtimacy in the racing arena. Even R&D Motorsports is trying to get into the Honda Challenge series and offer custom engine building. Come on Ben! You can do it!

The reason why there may "seem" to be a lack of US tuning shops in the US, simple, not enough attention is given to them b/c the JDM crowd could care less about them. People in Japan buy parts from ASM or Toda Racing and *GASP* take their car to the track and use it. 85-90% buyers of JDM products (or USDM products like Comptech S/C for that matter) are too scared to use the parts for its intended use: to go faster on the track. If people would stick their heads out of the sand and hit the track with their JDM parts, I guarantee you attention would be given to all of these shops that popped out of nowhere when in fact, they've always been around. I have no qualms about taking my car with a ton of Mugen parts to the track and I look taking my other car to the track despite all the Tracy Sports and ASM crap that will be on it. ASM has probably been around since 2001, but no one heard of them until their race victory in 2004. Now everyone wants ASM parts (me included).

Lastly, there are plenty of shops in Japan that want to build cars for show. Ever heard of Moda Parfum, Junction Produce, Fabulous, Grace Trim...I could go on and on and on...

 

the whole motorsports situation in Japan is completely different from the US, so the entire comparison is unfair.

Seriously I can't compare SCCA racing to racing in Japan, even if it is legitamitely similar.

I agree completely with what you said about people buying all of these parts and are afraid to actually use them. I really hate peoples theory on car tuning in the US. The majority of people building cars in Japan have the right attitude in my opinion and are looking for fun, not recognition.

I just have a different opinion on racing etc. in the US. In Japan amazing tracks are everywhere, in the US. umm well, there are tracks, but . . . .

what you said about J's not having a reputation and Spoon building a reputation in the US. that is laughable. These companies hardly need to build a reputation for building and racing cars in the US. I highly doubt they are worried about that, I am sure they are interested in people in the US buying their parts, but racing in the US is not necessarily going to do anything for their reputation. They have already developed a reputation by competing in Japan that they would have never been able to do by competing in the US.

Mugen's reputation in the US does not come from King Motorsports entering a car in SCCA. Spoon's does not, J's never will. It comes from years of unbelievable race and building experience. Le Mans, F1, F3, Formula Nippon, etc. etc. etc. etc. i think those things are a little more respectable than any racing series developed in the US.

sorry to say but motorsports in the America's really is a joke compared to Europe and Asia, but that is an entirely different thread in itself.

 

I'll agree that comparing US racing to Japan racing is apples to oranges. Japan tends to be looser with their rules than the US rules that limit mods severely in spec-classes. If US would let loose and race in the style of the classic Can-Am races, you would see more exotic mods in the US that we haven't seen in awhile.

I usually participate in another S2000 forum that shall remain nameless, but the crowd there tends to be older and go to the track more often than a typical s2kier. While I would say most of us would laugh at the JDM mods, many have the utmost respect for Mugen parts and many of us track our cars with Mugen parts. This comes from years of respect garnered by King Motorsports with their Mugen RSX and Mugen Integra Type-R. Also Mugen's involvement with Formula 1 Racing and Le Mans Racing helps a bit too.

The attitudes are both similar in both countries when it comes to tracking their cars. It's just the younger crowd in Japan that buy track mods whereas the older crowd are the ones tracking the car (they buy track mods too, they just don't show-off that's all). The younger crowd here just mod their car for shows.

Through Opak Racing, Spoon is beginning to garner a better reputation. They're getting coverage in Grassroots Motorsports magazine for their Spoon DC5, Spoon Fit, and Spoon Legend (Acura RL). Their involvement in the 25-Hr Thunderhill races suggest that Spoon is trying to gain a credible foothold in American racing which equals better exposure and the bottom line, money.

J's Racing has its own reputation in Japan, that's a no-brainer. They're gaining acceptance in the US and AJ-Racing should be lauded for tracking their cars and getting the exposure out for J's parts. While J's Racing doesn't necessarily need to compete in US to sell parts, neither did Mugen back in 1984. But Mugen did anyway through KMS and now they have a firm foothold in the US not only in selling parts for wannabes, but also people who actually track their cars. J's Racing can be a tour de force in US racing and mix it up against Mugen and Spoon. While you might not pay attention to Opak Racing, steadily there are more people who are taking notice to the blue/yellow racecars on the track.

Unless you have personally tracked at Suzuka, Twin-Ring Motegi, Thunderhill, TMS, and other Japanese/US tracks, that's quite unfair to make such claims that US tracks are subpar compared to what Japan offers.

American motorsports is alive and well, you just don't keep up with it that's all.

 

that is fair medicalstudent, that is fair, i really don't keep up with it, and I don't know if I will.

I just don't think that these companies need to increase their reputation in the US because the motorsports they are involved in, in Japan seem much more interesting to me. Including the "motorsports" that you don't hear about unless you are interested in.

Racing on the Touge has rules in itself, and un mapped "circuits" as well, haha.

to me this kind of racing, and not necessarily racing, just peole having fun, is what shops should be doing to build their reputation, and then if they get the chance they should move into more notarized forms of motorsports.

 

Circa86 and Medical Student:

You both have your valid points, but i think that we have gotten away from the original question.

If we want to talk about shops and tuning ability, or their knowledge or experience building race or street cars, there are some things to realize.

Spoon Sports/Opak Racing - All of the Race cars currently being used for competition here in the USA have been built by Spoon Japan. I know this because i have done business with them for about 3-4 years now. I have also worked pit crew for their 25hr. race teams the first 2 years. Opak has definately been learning alot over the past 3 years with the help of Spoon Japan, but they still do not build their own competiton cars at this point.

King Motorsports/ Mugen - King definately has experience in tuning and building race cars from scratch. I give them much credit because of that. They have built a number of competative cars that were a combination of off the shelf mugen parts, as well as custom chassis development. They too, have recieved some technical support and technical knowledge from Mugen Japan.

Bulletproof - Though i dont know a ton about them, but from what i can see they do have experience with alot of parts, but i dont see their cars tested, tuned, and raced etc. I would say they are not typical "shop" but more of a parts supplier.

Comptech - They do quite a good amount of parts development etc, but all their own brand. I havent seen them do any work on customers cars etc, or offer normal tuning or building services to customers.

Just my 2 cents on the matter.

 

1. I agree with J's Racing, the thread is getting rather abstract and should be brought back on track.

2. AJ-R's S2000 did beat J's Racing's S2000 (the first S2000 race car J's had, the Spa Yellow one) in a private race between the two about a year ago. Granted AJ-R's car was using mostly J's Racing parts, I was simply agreeing with you and saying that that win proves that AJ-R knows how to set up a track car very well.

3. Spoon da bomb.

4. I don't think that I, or many other people, judge Japanese tuning companies and their parts solely based on their performance in American races. Japanese racing is a very intense competitive environment and I trust that parts that win races in Japan will win races in the US with a good driver -- aside from the rules of whichever sanctioning body you are racing under (specifically the parts they allow vs. the parts allowed in different Japanese races) I don't think that it is comparing apples to oranges at all.

5. I once again want to reiterate my statement that AJ-R is awesome, I would have bought my parts from them if I could have afforded to wait for shipping from Canada. That is the original point of this thread, discuss amongst yourselves

 

i fully agree with you.