by Alex Nunez | Jun 3, 2014 | Drift
Congratulations to Enkei driver Nate Hamilton for his second place finish at the first ever Formula Drift Pro2 competition. Nate runs on Enkei Kojin Tuning Series Wheels. Photos by Larry Chen. The inaugural PRO 2 competition held at Homestead-Miami Speedway marked the start of the PRO 2 season. PRO 2 Series was introduced as an intermediary series between the Formula DRIFT Pro-Am and Pro Championship to help drivers get acclimated to the competition level and venues, while gaining valuable experience. As the first year of the PRO 2, drivers that are eligible include both licensed Pro-Am and Pro Championship drivers. In addition, the PRO 2 competition was available on the Driftstream for the fans at home and remaining events in the PRO 2 Series will be streamed live this season. “PRO 2 proved to be successful in delivering quality competition for the Friday fans,” says Jim Liaw, President of Formula DRIFT. “The PRO 2 drivers are able to compete against each other while gaining valuable experience on the professional level.” Geoff Stoneback faced off against Nate Hamilton in the ONE44 Motorsports / Enkei Wheels Nissan 240 SX in the finals. Stoneback out drove his competitor to earn the very first victory in the PRO 2 and take the lead in the PRO 2 standings. Coming in third place was Carl Rydquist in the Road Race Engineering / Berk Nissan 350Z powered by Garrett Turbo. “It was a long day running both in the Pro Championship and PRO 2,” said Geoff Stoneback, winner of Round 1 of PRO 2. “It was definitely great to run in PRO 2 as it...
by Alex Nunez | May 28, 2014 | Drift
Road Atlanta is know for being one of the craziest stops in the Formula Drift series. The fans are rowdy, the track is fast and technical, and something that nobody expects seems to work its way into the show. ONE44 Motorsports came into Atlanta feeling confident and ready to compete. At Round 1 we learned to expect the unexpected. With rain in the forecast for Friday and Saturday, we arrived focused and with a game-plan. The team was hungry for results. Thursday practice was a struggle. It forced the team to take a step back and work collectively to find a solution that would put us closer to our goals by Friday Practice. The next day we went into practice focused and ready to put down some clean passes. After the first 2 passes everything clicked. Our runs were consistent and, without a doubt, top 32 worthy. The team was confident by the end of practice but a formation of dark clouds started to roll in on us. Right as the second practice group starts running, rain. And lots of it. The track was absolute madness. Drivers were doing multiple 360’s entering the first turn and hardly had any control throughout the rest of the course. This would be the first time this chassis has seen rain. ONE44 adapted the car as best as we could and went into qualifying. Our first run was fantastic but the judges ruled that our two front tires came off track at the apex of the first turn, giving us a zero. Our second run would give us a score but would leave...
by Alex Nunez | Jan 23, 2014 | Magazine Articles, Racing Series
We worked with Alex from European Car Magazine on their 600 whp BMW e46 M3 a few months back. This M3 is running on an Enkei NT03+M 18×10 +25 square set up – looks awesome! The car has been featured in the magazine a couple of times and Alex sent over a few photos for us to share. – Alex Specs 18×10 +25 Enkei NT03+M Racing Series Wheels Falken RT615-k 275/35/18 all around Rolled fenders all around 10mm spacer out back, no spacer up front -3.5* camber up front Performance specs if you wanted: 600whp turbo setup KW clubsports Performance Friction BBK Recaro’s Bunch of others, but that’s the main stuff. A couple of more photos after the...
by Alex Nunez | Sep 10, 2013 | SCCA
The SCCA Solo National Championships took place in Lincoln, Nebraska last week where it’s said over 1,000 drivers attended to compete throughout the week. As you’ll notice in the photos, there were plenty of drivers trusting in Enkei as their wheel of choice. Miata, FRS, RX8, Honda, Evo, Subaru, and also a good number of Ford Mustangs drivers have chosen Enkei as their preferred weekend track and street wheel. This year, for the first time, Enkei participated in the SCCA Solo National contingency program and is looking forward to being further involve in future SCCA events! Congratulations to all the winners and to SCCA for putting on a great event. Enjoy the photos and feel free to share with your friends and family. – Alex Honda CRX on Enkei RPF1 Racing Series Wheels. Ford Mustang on Enkei PF01 Racing Series Wheels. STI on Enkei RPF1 Racing Series Wheels. Ford Mustang on Enkei PF01 Racing Series Wheels. Ford Mustang on Enkei PF01 Racing Series Wheels. Subaru BRZ on Enkei RPF1 Racing Series Wheels. Scion FRS on Enkei RPF1 Racing Series Wheels. Honda S2000 on Enkei RPF1 Racing Series Wheels. EVO on Enkei RPF1 Racing Series Wheels. Mazda Miata NC on Enkei RPF1 Racing Series Wheels. Subi on gold Enkei RPF1 Racing Series Wheels. Subaru BRZ on gold Enkei RPF1 Racing Series Wheels. Scion FRS on Enkei RPF1 Racing Series Wheels. Ford Mustang on Enkei PF01 Racing Series Wheels. Honda S2000 on Enkei PF01SS Racing Series Wheels. Mazda Miata NC on Enkei RPF1 Racing Series Wheels. Subaru on Enkei RPF1 Racing Series Wheels. Subaru on custom painted Enkei RPF1 Racing Series...
by Alex Nunez | Aug 5, 2013 | D-Sport Magazine
Check out the video portion of the DSPORT Magazine KAvSR Challenge Dyno Battle. Trash talking, big numbers and two very different yet very similar cars. Both cars are on Enkei Wheels. The S14 on NT03+M’s and the S15 on PF01’s! Also, keep track of the competition in the next few issues of...
by Alex Nunez | Jul 29, 2013 | Racing Series
WMD adds Enkei RPF1’s and Toyo R888 tires to their project Miata. This is an ideal set up for a daily/track car. Wheels and tires are usually the first upgrade or modification people do when modifying their cars. It was definitely at the top of our list as the right combination can dramatically change the look of the car and how it handles. We were looking for a light weight wheel and a meaty, grippy tire combo for our Miata. We found both with this combo: 14×7 +19 offset Gold Enkei RPF1 Racing Series Wheel and Toyo’s R888 205/55r14 meaty Proxes tires. The Miata previously had 15×7′s with 205/50/15 tires so we wanted a tire that would end up close to the overall diameter of the 15″ set up. The 55′s worked well and were only about an eighth of an inch smaller than the 15″ set up – though you can hardly see the difference. We headed over to Texas Track Works… Read...
by Alex Nunez | Jul 22, 2013 | Racing Series
WMD’s new project Miata will run 14×7 +19 RPF1 Racing Series Wheels. Check out the plans for this project >> Welcome to our first WMD project car post. The “Respect The Roadster” project will be broken down into multiple install post. This being the first post, we will give you an overview of what’s to come, and some background on why we chose to go with the Miata platform. Also, we’re not experts on the Miata platform so we’d love to hear from you. Share your opinions and/or experience with Miatas in the comment section! So let’s get going. Being part of both the Enkei team and WMD has given me the opportunity to travel to many motorsports events, conventions, and the like. I have been surrounded by car people for the past 5 years and have heard multiple people in the industry rant and rave about how the Miata as an amazing track car platform. How the Miata is a great car to track and daily drive, reliable, and has plenty of aftermarket support. In fact, my first ever business trip with Enkei included a stop at Good-win racing who specializes in Miata aftermarket parts. I can’t lie, at first I wasn’t too fond of the idea of purchasing one for our first project car, until I drove one. I drove a stock Miata and was really impressed with it’s handling and decent amount of power. But most importantly, it was just fun to drive. I attended a SCCA Autocross event at Texas Motor Speedway a week back were about half the drivers were in Miatas. I spoke...
by Alex Nunez | Jul 15, 2013 | Racing Series
Skullcandy Team Nissan by CA Sport competes in Grand-am’s Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge. For the 2013 season the team is campaigning two Nissan Altima Coupe ST cars in the series’ eleven races. Lara Tallman is the principal and owner of the Salt Lake City based team, originally from Southern California Lara is a product of that car culture and grew up helping her dad rebuild hot rods. Driving duties in the #33 car are shared by Lara and by lead driver and scrapper Vesko Kozarov—known for his aggression and relentless drive. Aside from driving, Lara’s team responsibilities include partner relations, marketing and the many logistics of motorsports. Vesko heads up the car development and design side of the company and has a proven track record of developing many competitive platforms over the last decade. Skullcandy Team Nissan uses the 17×9 Enkei PF01 Racing series...
by Alex Nunez | Jul 1, 2013 | classic series
Our car needed tires, as the ones it came wearing were simply aged-out. Back in the day, finding sporty tires for a car like our 1991 Nissan 240SX was easy: You simply ordered a 225/50R15, a suitable upgrade from the original 195/60R15 size. Guess what? That size isn’t so popular any more. Sure, you can find full-on, DOT-approved race tires in that size, but the current extreme and ultra-high performance models skip that size since it has simply fallen from favor. More on this 240SX on the Grassroots Motorsports...
by Alex Nunez | Jun 24, 2013 | Racing Series
With Pikes Peak International Hill Climb around the corner,we felt it was a good time to show Kern’s Pikes Peak EVO IX featured earlier this year on MotoIq. Kern’s EVO uses 18×10.5 RPF1 Racing Series wheels. The Kerns are no ordinary team and this is no ordinary Evo. It all started innocently enough with David dodging cones in a parking lot. He then started getting sideways in dirt at rally-x events. The joys of playing in the dirt were too strong to resist and he started to get serious about racing. Perhaps the biggest coup was convincing his wife to go play in the dirt too. Follow along to see what it takes to be successful at Pikes Peak. Here is the story as David Kern tells it: “I got my start racing back in 2001 sliding around on a frozen lake near Woodland Park, Colorado. After a couple years of doing auto-x and rally-x events I got the itch to go faster and had decided I liked sliding sideways. In late 2004 I got a roll cage installed in a 1988 Mazda 323GTX and convinced my wife to ride shotgun as my navvie. We raced with the Colorado Hill Climb Association (CHCA), a group that puts on 4-6 all dirt hillclimb events in Colorado every summer. Despite running an underpowered 17 year old car, we had a blast and posted up some decent times. Somewhere about the 3rd or 4th race Allison asked me what it would take to start running with the fast guys and my reply was “Evo.” It would take a few years to find...
by Alex Nunez | Jun 17, 2013 | Drift
As we started our weekend into Round 3 : Palm Beach I felt more comfortable than I had all season in the car. A good place to be, right? I finally felt like the car was beginning to work with my driving and not AGAINST it. The Team was also excited to come back to a track that we had been to a number of times before. As we got settled into our pit space, our team prepared for a track walk with the FD judges, I was particularly stoked for this! Being that it was the third round, our team was starting to get a feel for the intense schedule of FD events and that made it possible for me to have a clear head going into practice. We really had nothing to lose and I decided to give it my all, hoping to focus on what would be a great qualifying run for Friday’s competition. There I was, the first run of practice and things really started to take a turn for the better of this season. We were starting to drive and handle this car like we knew we could! After practice was over and the driver’s meeting was attended, I knew if I laid down a run like yesterday’s practice we could surely qualify here at PBIR. So here we go… What I had developed in practice would have been good enough, but did I join this series to be “good enough”? I am competing against 10 year veterans, drivers like Fredric Aasbø, who will not stop until they are consistently running the “perfect line”...
by Alex Nunez | Oct 23, 2012 | Uncategorized
The Kojin takes the traditional 5-spoke design and adds just the right contours to give it an aggressive tuner look. The Kojin is built using Enkei’s original MAT technology to achieve the ultimate in strength and light weight. The Enkei Kojin is where art and science meet to create the next big step forward in aftermarket wheels. The Kojin will be available in 17 and 18 inch, in matte black or matte silver and in offsets ranging from +15 to +50. Available in early 2013. Stay connected with us here on our blog and on Facebook for more 2013 updates. Also, make sure to stop by our booth (#47043) at SEMA next week to see more new Enkei wheels. Click here for size chart...
by Alex Nunez | Oct 18, 2012 | Uncategorized
The Enkei Tenjin is the latest addition to the Enkei lightweight tuning line. In keeping with Enkei’s design philosophy, the Tenjin exhibits 9 spokes carefully designed to achieve ultra high rigidity while maintaining low weight, all the while remaining stylish. The Tenjin’s spokes go on to link an aggressive center area with a polished lip. The Tenjin’s design cues allow it to be at home on street just as much as on the race track thanks to its MAT technology, allowing for a much lighter and stronger wheel than one cast by traditional methods. MORE PHOTOS & SIZE CHART...
by Alex Nunez | Aug 7, 2012 | Racing Series
We had the opportunity to work with Yokohama on their Ride and Drive program once again (Schedule). This time with the new Scion FR-S. Yokohama and Scion are traveling the country giving people a chance to test the FR-S, Yokohama Tires and of course Enkei Wheels. A couple of the FR-S are equipped with 17x 7.5 +38 PF01 and a couple with 18×8 +35 RPF1 Racing Series Wheels. More photos after the...
by Alex Nunez | May 23, 2012 | Racing Series
Check out Tony B’s Formula Drift 800 horse power Ford Mustang on Enkei NT03+M Racing series wheels. Click MORE for lots more photos and specs. Custom painted NT03+M’s. Stroked 5.0 liter V8, forged bottom end with head work, stage 3 cams, Vortech YSI supercharger with cog belt with 18lbs of boost. Custom LCON fabrication sheet metal intake manifold. Spearco air to air heat exchanger. Full fragola fuel and coolant lines. 800whp, 700ft/lbs of...
by Alex Nunez | May 15, 2012 | Drift
Formula Drift Round 2 at Road Atlanta was action packed and full of cars on Enkei Wheels. Here’s pic of Michael Essa in his BMW Z4 on Enkei NT03+M Racing Series Wheels. Essa qualified first on Friday and finished 16th on Saturday. Read on for more coverage. Photos: Alex Nunez Here is Tyler McQuarrie in his Mobil1 GoPro Yokohama Tire Camaro on Enkei RPF1’s. Tyler had some aggressive runs but had some electrical issues in Top 32, and was not able to advance to top 16. Joon Maeng was on fire pretty much the entire weekend and advanced to Top 16. Toshiki Yoshioka in his S15 on Enkei RPF1‘s made it to top 16 and was put against another Enkei equipped car Joon Maeng’s RX8 on PF01’s. Joon advanced to the Great 8. Rhys Millen driving the Hyundai Genesis on Enkei PF01’s also had a great weekend making it to the Great 8 as well. Rhys was put against last year’s rookie of the year Fredric Aasbo and had super close battle but was not able to advance to the Final 4. As you can see by this photo, Rhys was on his A game and mirroring Aasbo in their final run. Aasbo went on to win second place. Rhys finished 5th and is now 4th in points for the season. Joon Maeng had excellent runs throughout the event in his Nitto Tire Bergenholtz Racing RX8 on Enkei PF01’s. Joon advanced to the Great 8 but had some traction troubles and could not keep the RX8 on the track. Joon put the car on the grass a couple of...
by Alex Nunez | May 14, 2012 | Enkei Wheel Features
Check out this 2012 Honda CRV on Enkei SVX Truck/SUV Wheels! The SVX is available in 18 or 20 inch in Silver Machined or Black Machined. Click HERE for more info on the SVX wheel. More photos after the jump...
by Alex Nunez | May 9, 2012 | Featured Cars!
Had the pleasure of shooting this beast of a truck on Enkei ST6 truck wheels yesterday. The ST6 is available in 18 and 20 inch with color options of silver or matte gunmetal. Click HERE for fitment info. – Alex...
