Formula Drift Round 5 “Throwdown” Moen Recap

Formula Drift Round 5 “Throwdown” Moen Recap

Posted on by Konig Wheels

**This is the official recap written by and courtesy of Lutz Performance from Formula Drift Round 5: “Throwdown” at Evergreen Speedway, Monroe, Washington July 20-21**

Round 5 was pure madness the entire time. From two weeks before the event, to the final judging call against Ken Gushi in Top 32. With a new motor in the car and with the help of a Brian Crower stroker kit and cams, we were looking to make some big power. This big power came at a cost because we broke a camshaft. Luckily the old cams were roughly the same size. We were able to get the car running in time for Hal from Dynosty to get it on a local dyno. We ran into some ridiculous wiring issues that prevented us from tuning the car and ended up spending the next 4 days sorting it out. We finally solved the issues which were related to a brand new alternator and power wire that we had put in a few days before. Then on the dyno we had and issue with the AEM base map unlocking the cams, and some fuel delivery issues which maxed us out on fuel way too soon. We then had to tune around that and only ended up making 600 HP. With the car strapped in we left Dynosty happy that we finally had the car working right and headed straight for Monroe.

Thursday morning we got in, set up, and got ready for practice. This was a true test of all of our efforts thus far. Starting out good we felt that the car may be a little underpowered after half the session, so we keep our focus on setting the suspension for the bank. By the end of practice the wiring bugs came back. This was causing the fans to cut off randomly resulting in some very extreme over-heating situations that we were lucky to stay on the good side with.

Friday morning we fixed the fan issue and swapped out the diffs to help move through the power a little easier. We also made some small alignment changes that helped settle the car and made Kenny very happy. So from here everything seemed golden….. But evil would show its face yet again. Kenny started complaining of downshifting issues coming into the infield. As practice went on the issues got worse, and mimicked the same issues that lead to our early defeat in New Jersey. Kenny powered through the issues for the remainder of practice and qualifying, even top32 practice that night. However you could still see his discomfort. So with HUGE THANKS to Bridges Racing, we got to work on getting the clutch out before the end of the night, again huge thanks to them for letting us do this.

Saturday Morning was early, chilly, but much drier than Friday. So we got in early and started immediately on clutch swap as we only had 2.5 hours before the Top 32 practice. We were able to complete this task just in time, dropped the car down and swapped on some fresh tires just as the first few cars started to make a pass. Practice went very smooth, and Kenny was very happy. We were paired up with Ken Gushi for the 2nd time this season, and we knew it was going to be a tough one. The battle ended up going to Gushi after Kenny dropped a tire over the line coming off the bank and ended our long journey early in the fight. Sucks to take a blow to the gut like that after so much work, but hey that’s racing. The only thing we can do is come back better and harder for Vegas. And we will be out for blood!

Images courtesy of Wrecked Magazine

Honda CR-Z Concepts (SPEED)

Posted on by Konig Wheels

For those of you who remember our 2010 Project Honda CR-Z build for SEMA it was recently featured on the SPEED Channel’s Honda CR-Z Concepts.

The article features a collection of CR-Z’s, which were awarded to a select few companies for a special build. Companies included but not limited to; KÖNIG Wheels, HPD, Bisimoto Engineering, Eibach Springs and DSO Eyewear.

KÖNIG’s concept featured a set of KÖNIG Milligrams in matte black, a Synergy Green paint scheme with matte black accents along the sides of the car, Thule rack, custom Kicker Audio system, Eibach Springs, Weapon-R Performance components and so much more! KÖNIG’s objective of the concept was to combine Tuner style with various lifestyle and sports attributes including Skateboarding, Surfing and BMX.

All CR-Z concepts were shown off in a special area within the Honda booth at the 2010 SEMA show in Las Vegas, Nevada.

After the SEMA show, the KÖNIG Wheels Honda CR-Z spent that entire year attending various auto shows and many large international auto shows as well as some spotlight appearances on the show floor of Honda dealerships.

KÖNIG would like to thank Honda Motors for another great opportunity. Special thanks to Whitfield Racing for their efforts in making this a successful build and all the great companies who helped make this happen.

To check out the article, Click Here

Images below courtesy of the SPEED Channel

Formula Drift Round 4 [Mertzanis Recap]

Posted on by Konig Wheels

Round 4 of Formula Drift could not have come at a better time for the Mertzanis Racing team. The Fuel Culture S13 rolled off the trailer and started ripping in practice. An Aeromotive fuel cell was loaded with VP Racing 110 octane fuel and Dennis proceeded to put down quality runs at high speeds around the Wall Speedway course.

This is the first banked track of the season we venture to in the Formula Drift series and it results in serious adjustments to the suspension overall and some minor tire pressure adjustments. The result allows Dennis to enter into the bank aggressively and stay flat out for the bottom figure 8 part of the course.

Things became super tricky as qualifying kicked off and the weather changed to rain pouring down. Dennis’ first qualifying run was the key to locking him into the show which ranked him 21st overall.

The draw for Top 32 was a battle against the Go Pro x Mobil 1 Chevrolet Camaro driven by Tyler McQuarrie in a tough first round battle. With Tyler qualifying higher, Dennis’ first duty was to put down a follow run which he performed flawlessly. Dennis then held a tight line against the very fast Camaro going through the complete course.

When Dennis was leading, he took such a high and aggressive line into the bank that he was pushed out into the wall coming off the bank and crashed into the barrier at the last second in an attempt to pull out a giant lead on Tyler McQuarrie. The car came out of it with very minimal damage, luckily, but it did allow Tyler to continue into the Top 16.

For more exclusive coverage of Formula Drift Round 4 and future events visit Wrecked Magazine

Check out the KÖNIG Milligram HERE

Images courtesy of Fuel Culture and Wrecked Magazine.

2012 Honda Civic Tour

Posted on by Konig Wheels

Linkin Park and Incubus have joined forces for this summer’s Honda Civic Tour. The tour begins this August in Bristow, VA, and tickets are on sale now!

KÖNIG Wheels is proud to be a product sponsor of the Honda Civic Tour for yet another year. This year, Linkin Park and Incubus have teamed up to create an incredible show, which the Honda Civic Tour has been known for. This will be a very unique blend of talented musical artists, and a great turnout for fans and car enthusiasts alike.

The 2012 Honda Civic Si Features 18″ KÖNIG Deception wheels in a matte black finish, which were then painted two-tone. The spokes were painted bright orange, which pop in contrast to the Civic’s custom airbrushed paint job that gives off the illusion of the car breaking out of a cocoon. Other features of the car include Toyo Proxes 4 Plus tires, and an Exclusive Honda Factory Performance Kit, which boasts a complete aero body kit with front, side and underbody spoilers.

To view the KÖNIG Deception on our website click here: Click Here

For more information regarding the 2012 Honda Civic Tour such as Dates & Tickets, Bands, Sweepstakes and the Custom Civic visit: Honda Civic Tour

Waterfest 18

Posted on by Konig Wheels

Privat Wheels is always proud to be an official sponsor of Waterfest.

Now in it’s 18th year, Waterfest is the largest VW and Audi Car Show and Motorsport event in North America, and the second largest of its kind in the world.
This is a 2-day event, which is held at Raceway Park in Englishtown, New Jersey.

Waterfest 18 is expected to have a total attendance of over 21,000 including over 2,500 participants in the event. The event is July 21st and July 22nd 2012.

Privat Wheels is now having a Call for Entries for vehicles for our booth. If you have a nicely done VW or Audi, and would like to be considered for our booth, please email us at sponsorship@konigwheels.com. Please include your full name and contact information along with images of the vehicle and a current list of modifications.

We are looking forward to a great turnout this year as we do every year.

Privat Wheels | Waterfest 18 | Raceway Park

Kenny Moen / Lutz Performance to the Top 8

Posted on by Konig Wheels

For the second time this season Kenny Moen / Lutz Performance has made it to the top 8.  

This passed weekend at Formula Drift Round 3: West Palm Beach, Florida, Moen and the entire Lutz performance team came out firing. 

Showing up to an FD event is hard enough but Moen continuously proves he is able to attack and conquer.   On Friday, during Round 3 at West Palm Beach,  an abundance of bad weather including heavy rain came down on the event.  The on and off rain really fluctuated and adjusted the temperature. But cooling down the track did not prevent Moen from doing well in the first qualifying round.  Moen and the Lutz Peformance / KÖNIG Wheels sponsored 350Z had a very aggressive practice and smooth transition going into the Top 32.

The weather did not seem to let up in the second run either.  This caused the car to have major traction issues. With such a high rate of speed, Kenny ended up receiving a 0 due the fact that the track was wet.  Over coming his scored 0, Moen ended up defeating his first competitor in the top 32 , Matt Powers, which progressed him into the Top 16.

The top 16 put Moen against Ken Gushi.  Gushi provided an entertaining match up but Moen was able to defeat him and move into the Top 8.  Drawing a former FD Champion, Chris Forsberg, in the top 8 is always going to present an extremely tough battle.  Moen was mentally focused and had an amazing first run against Chris Forsberg giving him the lead.  While the matchup between Moen and Forsberg was heating up, the Lutz performance car seemed to have its own major opponent which it would not be able to overcome.  Clutch difficulties and the attributed loss of power in the 350z, allowed Forsberg to catch up.  Ultimately this would be the day ender for the Moen / Lutz / Konig team.  All  in all it was a fantastic event.  While the Lutz 350z sustained body and mechanical damage during RD 3, but this won’t hold the team back as they are now in the repair process to prepare for RD 4 in Wall, New Jersey on June, 22nd and 23rd.

KÖNIG would like to congratulate Kenny Moen and Lutz Performance on their fantastic effort and top 8 finish. We look forward to the next event. Stay tuned for more pictures and videos from Round 3 as well as upcoming coverage from RD 4!

Mertzanis Puts Down Best Qualifying Score in his Career

Posted on by Konig Wheels

Before the Fuel Culture S13.4 was shipped to the East Coast to Road Atlanta, the car headed to the Sea Otter Classic at Laguna Seca for the huge 2012 bicycle show. Over 60,000 people came through the doors in Monterey, California, to see the show and catch a glimpse of the drift car. The 240sx was parked in the center of the Kenda Tire booth who built out a virtual garage around the car to attract visitors. This was one of the only vehicles at the whole show this year, gathering tons of attention.

After leaving the Sea Otter Classic, the car headed east across the United States to Atlanta, Georgia in preparation of Formula Drift Round 2. Some tweaks to air pressure and our KW Suspension between rounds really set the team up for success after Road Atlanta.

During qualifying, Dennis managed to put down his best career qualifying run of 89.5 at his hometown course Road Atlanta. The car didn’t require as much setup adjustments to accomplish this huge career accomplishment. He was one of the few drivers to meet the speed trap minimum for the weekend.

After qualifying, we found out that we would be lined up against Top 10 driver, Kyle Mohan, who didn’t qualify at his usual top level performance which gave us one tough draw in the first round. Dennis and the team made some last minute adjustments and put down some of the best lead runs he has driven in his career by far. After one round, the judges were stuck at 1 vote for Dennis, 1 vote for Kyle, and 1 vote for OMT.

On the OMT tandem battle, Dennis performed top notch on his lead run but made a wide turn on his follow run which let Kyle Mohan pass into the Top 16 with 2 votes for Kyle and 1 vote for Dennis. A tough break for the team who performed near perfect all weekend but we are looking forward to Palm Beach International.

The next day after Road Atlanta, the Mertzanis Racing team attended what might be the last event at Turner Field with several other Formula Drift professional drivers. The city council in Atlanta, Georgia, signed an ordinance that bans drifting specifically in the city of Atlanta within 1,000 feet of residential zoning. This made it very personnel for Dennis Mertzanis as he first learned how to drift and hone his skills in this very parking lot.

Sadly, the weather didn’t cooperate with this final Turner Field event but Dennis brought out his Fuel Culture S13.4 in the rain to tandem with local drivers and promote the sport within the local area. He talked with various media outlets on the importance of the sport and the need to continue in grassroots events and why it’s best to create events and have safe, controlled environments so as to keep drivers off the streets.

It has been a busy month in back to back travel. And with Round 3 at Palm Beach International Raceway just right around the corner, Dennis Mertzanis will continue onwards and upwards by shooting for another career best finish at Round 3.

//Images courtesy of Fuel Culture & Wrecked Magazine 2012//

Attention New York City: Have you seen this vehicle?

Posted on by Konig Wheels

We are always getting some really cool stuff shared by our fans and friends. Ali Arsham is no exception. Mr. Arsham runs GoGoGear.com. GoGoGear specializes in Custom Graphics, Apparel and Promotional Products. Ali Arsham has been racing for 22 years. He is also a fabricator and one of his more recent builds was the 2010 Hyundai Genesis Coupe. If you follow our blog, then you know the exposure this car has received since it was debuted. The car has traveled to various Auto Shows and Events across the country. However, this Genesis Coupe is by no means just a sweet race-built show car. On May 22nd, 2012 at Thunderhills Raceway in Willows California it shared 3rd place in the 2nd round of the Nitto Tires United States Touring Car Championship (USTCC).

Ali and the GoGoGear team just shared this image of the Genesis Coupe in action on the big screen in Times Square, New York, NY. This is certainly exciting for KONIG Wheels, GoGoGear and the USTCC. Check out the image below. Let us know in the comment section if you were walking down 7th Avenue in Times Square and saw this on the screen!

Image Courtesy of Del City and GoGoGear