A year later the younger Leung took the business to the next level, opening AJR for imports. Leung geared the shop to attract enthusiasts with an interest in both street and circuit performance. Taking cues from his dad, he subscribes to the principle that handling is as important as power both on and off the racetrack. The most powerful car is not always the fastest, he preaches, and a car's setup should be easy to drive and enjoyable, not exhausting.
In selling handling to the kids, A&J pushes only parts it trusts. Furthermore, it'll back the occasional track day and do some motorsports marketing whenever it's feasible by sponsoring drivers. Notably it supports the T1R/Motegi Racing Honda Civic in this season's U.S. Touring Car Championship series. It also backed Spoon's first-ever race in North America, when Tatsuru Ichishima, president of Spoon, drove the company's S2000 racecar to victory in the '02 Molson Indy Vancouver Sedan Invitational.
With a staff of only four, the guys at AJR don't get a ton of seat time. What they lack on track, they make up for in ambition. Leung says his long-term goal is to open a California facility, but for the moment there are no major plans other than to continue preaching the gospel of handling.
Bolts&Washers
Ben Leung's 2003 S2000
Propulsion
Go: The guys at A&J Racing left the internals alone in the 2.0-liter F-series engine and instead went on a JDM bolt-on binge under the hood. The engine now breathes in through a J's Racing Tsuchinoko intake and 66mm throttle body and exhales out a J's SPL header and 70RR titanium exhaust; the entire process is supervised by a J's Racing N1 ECU. Other tweaks around the F20C powerplant include a T1R lightweight battery, ground kit, V-Power voltage stabilizer, and a set of AJR custom CNC-machined pulleys.
The spinning energy of the crank is transferred from an Ogura flywheel to an Ogura Hyper single-plate clutch and the upgraded gearbox, retrofitted with J's 4.3:1 final drive kit. The gears turn a custom carbon-fiber AJR propeller shaft that leads to a diff case equipped with a J's two-way limited-slip differential.
Evidence
Leung has made pulls at 230 hp at the wheels.
Stance
Lots of weight reduction, as the S2000 was stripped of its soft top, sound-deadening insulation and air conditioning. CRUX Engineering coil-overs are tucked into the wheel wells of the AP1 chassis, each wound to compress at a remarkably stiff 1,600 lbs/in. AJR also bolted in an ALEX four-point roll cage, front and rear chassis bars, and front strut tower bar, an under-car Spoon cross beam brace, and J's fender braces. ALEX front and rear sway bars, a Spoon suspension bushing kit and a set of J's pillow-ball tie rod ends further enhance the S2's stability.
Resistance
Seido-ya N1 500 brake pads backed by Spoon mono-block calipers slow down the AP Lockheed rotors. Endless stainless brake lines carry Motul RBF600 fluid to each caliper.
Rims & Rubber
Volk Racing 10-spoke CE28N wheels, sized 17x7.5 inches in front and 17x8.5 in back, weigh a scant 13 pounds each. They're shod in Yokohama Advan A048 tires, forward sizes 215/45R-17 and aft 245/40R-17.
Fashion
Outside: With its J's Racing aero kit, carbon canards, and carbon trunk lid; and a Mugen carbon hood, hardtop, and SS rear wing, Leung's S2000 is awash in JDM cred.
Inside: Equal billing is given to the Spoon carbon bucket driver, recycled from Leung's old Civic, and Mugen S1 passenger seats in the cabin. Vehicle direction is controlled with a Momo Corse steering wheel, while the driver gnashes gears with an ALEX titanium shift knob.