NightDrive Type X Hatch P.3
All right, part three of the Type X build and we are back at Garage Emperor for some aero tuning. So initially the car was going to be OEM Type X, but then I got bit by the Hot Road bug and decided to go HR. If some of you out there don’t know about Hot Road, here’s a quick little bit about them through my personal experience. They were (and still are) an aftermarket parts manufacturer for the 180SX chassis (others as well) in the early 2000s, made popular by the infamous black Koguchi Power 180 which had a Hot Road front bumper out front and the blue 180 owned by Teruaki Itai which was full Hot Road.
My first ever look at Hot Road was Koguchi’s red 180 which he drove at Irwindale Speedway back in ‘03 rocking those 5 Zigen Typhoons and FN01RCs. Ugh, I thought this car was sooooo cooooooolll and those three vents in the front bumper always remained engrained in my memory, at the time I had no idea that was Hot Road.
I decided to go HR instead of OEM Type X like I originally intended. I promised myself that I wouldn’t cut any corners on this build but unfortunately, I cut a corner. It was a mix of not wanting to wait and it being considerably cheaper. But instead of getting legit Hot Road aero from the Motherland, I opted for a replica instead. That was a bad idea.
The kit out the box did not fit, the side skirts were longer, the front lip technically fit but it was super tight and clearly had to be extended, as for the rear valance….well the rear valance was about an inch too short. I know FRP parts need a certain amount of work to fit and yes this was a replica kit, but still I got pretty mad & frustrated. I just cut my losses and instead of badmouthing this particular brand on social media, I took the L and made the decision to change up the aero completely and go full OEM aero instead of aftermarket like I originally intended.
We did get it on, after literally working on it an entire day. Don’t be fooled by the rear valance the entire middle of it is missing, which is the part that wraps around the license plate. We cut it purposely with the intention of extending it so it can actually fit. All four pieces are still sitting in my garage.
Moral of the story, don’t get fake parts. Period.
I'm a Wheel Whore
I love wheels. I’ll discuss my favorite wheel of all time on a later post but as I was hunting for OEM parts I found great deals online on some of my favorite wheels. My buddy Rick (@driftclub_closeup) found a pair of 5 Zigen Pro Racer GN+ in 17x9.5 on ebay for an amazing price, so I had to pick them up. While hanging out with Mark, we were dreaming of how cool it would be to find an 18x9.5 pair. So we did a quick search on Japan Yahoo Auctions, and there they were. As if they were waiting for me, an 18x9.5 5 Zigen Pro Racer GN+ pair. They were a different finish, but it was cool because I was going to get them powder coated to match anyways.
While checking the Crooober used wheels section, I happened across a set of Advan Model T5s in 18x9 +22. I was originally looking for a set of Model 5s, but the specs were perfect and the price was just right. Had to get this set and try them out on the car. Oh and you can see the cut rear valance on that third pic, smh.
So the car sat like this, for a good while as I hunted down OEM parts in order to eventually get it ready for paint. Spoiler, I ended up finding all those OEM parts and got it ready for paint, until next time!
NGTDRV