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Putting together a list of the top Japanese tuning houses is one of the toughest things I’ve ever written. It’s a subject that’s near and dear to my heart, and lists, by and large, are polarizing. I’m sure to piss off a friend or two for leaving their shop off the list. Judging becomes more confounding when there are no real metrics to measure the candidates by. Sure, some lists are conclusive. Take basketball and racing for instance. There’s no denying that Phil Jackson as an NBA coach or Ferrari as a Formula One constructor would come out on top in their respective arenas, but how do you measure what makes a great tuning shop?
That was the challenge. What ingredients do I choose to decide what makes an important and reputable shop? Do you rank them by the number of builds or the quality of each? Are the number of former records important or do they have to be current? Is it the size of the shop or the scope of their work? . Had I written this list when I was building my Acura Integra during the mid ‘90s or when I started in automotive journalism eight years ago, it would have been totally different (R.I.P. JG Engine Dynamics and XS Engineering, respectively).
After much internal debate, here are the parameters I came up with: 1.) All of the above-mentioned things—history, builds, quality, achievements—come into account, along with the shop’s relevance today. 2.) The garage has to be in currently business (duh). 3.) It has to be a shop where customers can drop off their import to be worked on in-house (race shops and individual tuners were excluded). 4.) For this specific list, the operation has to be based in the U.S. (sorry, Canada). If you don’t like this list, which you’re completely entitled to, feel free to rant in the comments about how I didn’t pick some random shop from Podunk, U.S.A. I’ve never heard about. When they blow your motor up six months down the line, don’t come crying to me. These are The 20 Best Import Tuner Shops in America.
Written by Carter Jung
Related: The 20 Best Custom Car Shops in America
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20. Kings Performance
Location: Orlando, FL
Specialty: Honda S2000, Civic, Mitsubishi Lancer Evo, Nissan GT-R
Kings Performance's work with Mitsubishi Lancer Evos, Honda Civics and Nissan GT-Rs is impressive, but what they've done with Honda S2000s down the drag strip is downright incredible. Kings Performance has built and tuned a convertible Honda to run an 8.79 second quarter-mile using the stock 4-cylinder engine, earning them a spot as one of the more recent tuning royalty.
19. Evans Tuning
Location: Mount Bethel, PA
Specialty: Acura Integra, Acura RSX, Honda Civic, Honda CRX, Honda S2000
Although California and Texas have established themselves as hotbeds of Honda tech, there are some shops like Evans Tuning that are holding it down for the East Coast. Based in Pennsylvania, Evans Tuning performs engine swaps, turbo kit installations and full tunes for Hondas. For DIY'ers, Evans Tuning also offers tech articles and video tutorials to help users work on their own cars.
18. Buschur Racing
Location: Wakeman, OH
Specialty: Mitsubishi Lancer Evo, Mitsubishi Eclipse
In the history of import drag racing, there was a brief chapter when it was Hondas versus Mitsubishis (odd, I know). During this era, a small Midwest outfit called Buschur Racing started to make a name for itself, drag racing an Eclipse. As that car carved its way into the 10-second club, which was a feat in that day, Buschur carved a niche for itself amongst the Mitsubishi crowd, offering products for Eclipses, Lancer Evolutions, and a few other makes.
17. Mazdatrix
Location: Signal Hill, CA
Specialty: Mazda RX-8, Mazda RX-7
For owners of modern rotary-engine-powered Mazdas, namely RX-7s and RX-8s, tuning pickings are slim. As much power as the tiny, pistonless, 1.3-liter engines produces, the platform is about as popular as a path to citizenship in a Red State. For the few looking to port their 13B engine or rebuild it with thicker apex seals, Mazdatrix is there to warm your valve-less heart.
16. GST Motorsports
Location: Hayward, CA
Specialty: Subaru Impreza
The San Francisco Bay Area is known for tech startups that begin in garages. GST Motorsports is an operation that began in a small garage, literally, in 2001. From its humble beginnings, GST would go on to make a name for itself, competing a track-prepped Subaru Impreza in time-attack circuit racing. A few wins and a move to a larger facility in Hayward, CA later, and the company has established itself in the players club. Rappin' 4-Tay would be proud.
15. Church Automotive Testing
Location: Wilmington, CA
Specialty: Honda Civic, Honda CRX, Honda S2000, Acura Integra
For disciples of Honda, Church Automotive is the modern-day Jerusalem, just without the geo-political mess. While you wouldn't drop off your Civic at Church to fabricate a full roll cage, close ties to Hondata, the ECU gurus, places the shop at the cutting edge of Honda development.
If you want to take full advantage of the bolt-on modifications to your K-Series or B-Series Honda engine, take it to the congregation at Church for a full tune. If you have no idea what the letters K or B refer to, this isn't your kind of Church.
14. Dyno-Comp
Location: Scottsdale, AZ
Specialty: Subaru WRX, Mitsubishi Lancer Evo
Having earned its street cred building well-sorted Subaru WRXes and WRX STIs, Dyno-Comp also offers its tuning services to a variety of makes of models in its Scottsdale, Arizona location. Expanding on its day-to-day modification operation, Dyno-Comp brokers the sale and purchase of built vehicles as well as hosting VIP Driving Academies where owners take their cars for a weekend retreat to learn how to drive their cars on a track.
13. Forged Performance
Location: Marietta, GA
Specialty: Nissan GT-R, 350Z, 370Z; Infiniti G35, G37; Mitsubishi Lancer Evo, Subaru WRX
With a full facility, including AWD chassis dyno and seven lifts, Forged Performance puts it down for the Dirty South. On top of the installation, fabrication and dyno services that most of the shops on this list offer, Forged Performance features driver coaching sessions to help you properly drive your newly tuned car on the track. In addition, Forged also offers complete trackside racing support for busy weekend warriors who want to get to the track and drive a car that's been fully prepped for racing duty. They even bring along technicians to service the vehicle throughout the event. Think of Forged as your personal pit crew. And you get to play Danica Patrick. We mean ... Jeff Gordon.
12. Switzer Performance
Location: Oberlin, OH
Specialty: Nissan GT-R
With a background working on Porsches and AMG-tuned vehicles, Switzer diverted some of their engineering efforts from Europe to Japan, building gnarly Nissan GT-Rs. As a result of their efforts, Switzer has developed 600-, 700-, 900- and 1,000-horsepower packages to meet the need any GT-R owner. What about an 800hp package, you ask? Stop being a douche.
11. T1 Race Development
Location: Rowlett, TX
Specialty: Acura Integra, Honda Civic, S2000, Subaru WRX, Nissan GT-R
After establishing themselves in Texas as Honda-heads with a penchant for drag racing, T1 has since evolved its business model to incorporate Nissan GT-Rs. It seems the horsepower potential, not to mention the customer potential, was compelling enough. And with in-house fabrication and tuning abilities, the transition was easy.
10. Crawford Performance
Location: Oceanside, CA
Specialty: Subaru WRX, WRX STI
Flat-configuration engines have been popularized by Porsches and made accessible by Subaru. The problem with flat engines is that they're finicky. They're not rotary engine fussy, but they require a delicate touch and certain experience, especially for high-horsepower builds. That's where Crawford comes into play, as they have engaged in time-attack circuit battles and rally racing. Most notably, Crawford helped build the two Subaru WRX STIs that starred in Ken Block's first and second Gymkhana videos. Check out the videos again and look for the Crawford shout-out.
9. Evasive Motorsports
Location: Sante Fe Springs, CA
Specialty: Scion FR-S, Honda S2000, Mitsubishi Lancer Evo
The last decade has been tough in the tuning industry. It seems for every shop that opens up, two disappear. Few last, let alone survive. Evasive Motorsports is one of the few that not only survived but has thrived. Embracing the art of time-attack circuit racing during its peak, the Evasive boys built a class-record-setting Mitsubishi Evo 9 and a Honda S2000. Now, with the buzz surrounding the Subaru BRZ and Scion FR-S, they've built a track-prepped FR-S with the likes of Japanese tuning giant HKS.
8. Boost Logic
Location: Austin, TX
Specialty: Toyota Supra, Nissan GT-R
For two weeks out of the year, Austin is known for its annual SXSW conference. For the other 50 weeks, Boost Logic holds it down for the Texas town, building badass Toyota Supras and Nissan GT-Rs that murder it on the drag strip and in top speed runs. Have the itch for four-digit horsepower? For $58k, they'll turn your Supra into a 1,250hp terror. Throw down $73k and you'll drive away in 1,300-hp GT-R that will punish million-dollar exotic supercar owners with way too much disposable income.
7. Cobb Tuning
Location: Fountain Valley, CA; Plano, TX, Portland, OR
Specialty: Mitsubishi Lancer Evo, Subaru WRX STI, Nissan GT-R, Mazda Mazdaspeed3
Cobb Tuning has been an integral part of shaping the modern-day tuning scene. The shop's relatively affordable Accessport allowed professional tuners to reflash ever-complicating factory ECUs with custom maps, changing the game for street builds. Beyond developing and distributing the Accessport, Cobb has three retail locations in California, Oregon and Texas to tune customer cars. The result has been some spectacular specimens.
6. Bisimoto
Location: Ontario, CA
Specialty: Honda Civic, Honda CRX, Honda S2000, Honda CR-Z, Honda Insight, Acura Integra
Southern California-based Bisimoto is a product of the Honda drag racing era. Bisi Ezerioha, the owner of Bisimoto (Bisi-moto, get it?), set numerous records down the quarter-mile. Thus, it's natural for Bisimoto to specialize in Hondas. From vehicle restoration to chassis design to tuning, Bisimoto does it all. Need validation? His website has enough magazine tearsheets from previous builds to make any import model green with envy.
5. Twins Turbo Motorsport
Location: Signal Hill, CA
Specialty: Toyota Supra, Mazda RX-7, Scion tC, Nissan 350Z
If you were twin brothers who loved to wrench on turbocharged cars, what name could be better fitting than Twins Turbo? The Siamese fusion of Eric and Marc Kozeluh, Twins Turbo is not about building a vast quantity of cars, but rather a few of superb quality. If you look at their builds, the Twins' work is impeccable, transforming vehicles like they ran on Energon. If you have an import and you just want some bolt-on products installed, Twins Turbo is not the place to go. If you need some really cool shit built, like a custom turbo kit or fuel injection system, hit these guys up.
4. Jotech Motorsports
Location: Garland, TX
Specialty: Nissan GT-R, Nissan 350Z, Nissan 370Z, Honda Civic, Honda S2000, Mitsubishi Lancer Evo, Scion tC
When Honda drag racing was all the rage in the '90s, California was the epicenter. Almost all of the significant Civics, CRXs and Integras owed their routes to shops based in Cali. The exception was Jotech.
This Texas-based operation held claim to the quickest Civic in the world in 1999, running a 9.78-second quarter-mile. Jotech also built a Scion tC that would win back-to-back class championships in drag racing. As import drag racing waned, Jotech continued building customer cars to reflect changing tastes, offering various stage packages for Acura, Honda, Hyundai, Mitsubishi, Nissan and Scion makes.
3. Titan Motorsports
Location: Orlando, FL
Specialty: Toyota Supra, Toyota Celica, Scion tC
If you followed import drag racing the past decade or so, Titan Motorsports is a name that should be familiar; they campaigned an arsenal of wicked fast Toyotas down the 1,320 (the number of feet in a quarter-mile for you noobs), including Supras, Celicas and tCs. Most recently, a Supra utilizing a chassis and engine that was built by Titan clicked off an astounding 6.237-second quarter-mile with a 227.77 mph trap speed. A Titan in the tuning game? Yes, indeed.
2. AMS Performance
Location: Chicago, IL
Specialty: Mitsubishi Lancer Evo, Subaru WRX STI, Nissan GT-R
AMS is an organization that has stormed the scene in recent years. First establishing their name by terrorizing quarter-mile dragstrips with Mitsubishi Lancer Evos, the knowledgeable gearheads at AMS cemented their reputation by building stupid-fast time-attack Evos. With the GT-R landing Stateside, the Chicago-area shop applied its engine expertise, building numerous 1,000-plus horsepower examples. AMS even offers several turnkey "Alpha" performance packages, one of which is the Alpha 12, a 1,500-plus horsepower GT-R that has the capability of blasting 8-second quarter-mile runs.
1. SP Engineering
Location: Industry, CA
Specialty: Nissan GT-R, Toyota Supra
The '90s were the Golden Age of tuning. Dragstrip-prepped Hondas were breaking front-wheel-drive paradigms and rear-wheel-drive Japanese sports cars were easily tuned to double their factory horsepower. Sadly, few of these shops are around today. SP Engineering survived.
Known for building Toyota Supras, Mazda RX-7s, and imported Nissan Skyline GT-Rs that pulled high horsepower numbers on the dyno, many of the shop's builds graced the covers and pages of tuning magazines worldwide. With experience in GT-Rs and monster power, the guys at SP applied their expertise on the new R35 Nissan GT-R. Among SP's numerous 1k-plus pony builds across the globe is a GT-R owned by Hing Yim. An avid enthusiast, Hing’s GT-R was the first customer-owned Nissan to break the elusive 8-second quarter-mile barrier. To put that into perspective, a $2.4 millon Bugatti Veyron Super Sport "only" runs a 9.7-second down the 1,320.