Woah been a while since I've been on Zilvia haha. Last 2 posts glitched hence the double post. Had to dig my archive for the previous stages of the car. Fun to see how I totally changed in style again. Atleast I now know what I'm set on.
Let's start where I last left off. When the pandemic started to cool down I had to get the car inspected. In Belgium that pretty much means almost stock. So getting all the OEM suspension arms on etc.
After inspection I started on refinishing the GX01 Grenades.
These had some of the most stubborn paint ever on them lol. But the wheels themselves were in excellent condition.
Started stripping them myself. Let the powdercoater do the rest.
Finished in a nice simple silver metallic.
These were my front wheels at the time so I put on some grippy 215/40 sized Federal RS-Pro's.
Then I started to mess around with vinyl for the first time. Just a generic early 2000s styled layout with chrome vinyl. I did very much like the Grenade logo. This setup stayed on the car for quite a while.
I guess after this stage the change in vision/inspiration began. I began to look at different wheel setups as I wanted 17/18 stagger for a while now.
Got rid of the Cerberus'. They went to a guy in Ireland.
Also got a new daily around this time. Had been dreaming about getting this car for years and finally made it happen.
A manual E92 335i with the N54 engine. Very clean and low mileage car. Very happy!
Made my decision and started looking for a set of Work CR-Kai's in 17/18. I've always loved the original CR-kai's. IMO one of the best looking monoblock wheels ever. And yes I'm one of those CR-kai purists lol, I dislike the newer CR kiwami's as they have too much concave in certain sizes. Where as the Kai's have just the right amount in my opinion. I love them in the white and WMB finish. I'm planning to get another full set in white.
First pair I bought were 18x9.5 +30 in the WMB finish. From auctions through @jo34200. These ended up buying a nightmare and the last to show up but more about that later.
Second pair came from JDM Distro, 17x9 +28. To be honest in a very poor state but they ended up being drift spares so can't complain.
Here's how the car sat on a 17/18 stagger for the first time (with the pair from distro). Loved how 17s up front looked. And they have 0 clearance issues.
Ended getting another WMB 17x9 +28 pair from yahoo auctions through @jo34200. These were in very nice condition! Also found a new set of blue CR Kai stickers for them.
Then got tyres mounted on all 17s so got a chance to see how CR Kai's looked front and rear. 17's all around is definitely not a bad look !
215/40 front and 215/45 rear.
Also bought a Bride Brix from a friend for a very good deal back then.
This ended up not being an ideal setup for me personally. The high bolsters had my legs in a weird position. Cons of being tall and having long legs I suppose lol. It looked very cool tho.
So about that pair of 18" CR Kai's. They arrived in Belgium at customs. After about 3 months still no trace of them. Called the post service about every single day. They ended up saying it was lost. Until they just randomly showed up at my door by a delivery van. Very random as I didn't get any info or updates about them. Anyway i was glad they showed up, less happy about the state they were in. The chrome finish was very flaky. Not an uncommon thing to happen so I didn't mind that much. But i hope to get another set that I just can refinish in white with blue stickers.
Anyhow this is how the car looked on the 17/18 CR Kai stagger
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17x9 with 215/40 and 18x9.5 with a 225/40.
Car stayed like this for a bit. I added a few details like a D1 style air duct. Always loved how that looked. Late 2021 I had my first dry drift day booked.
Basically a large skid pad type of event. Held at Hockenheim ring in Germany.
Prepared for the event and got an alignment for the first time since I had this thing ( I know lol ).
Crazy how good it drove after a good alignment. Also bought some Valino Greeva 08D tyres to try out. Got them in 215/45 R17 as I wanted that little more wheelspeed compared to the big 18" Kai's.
Valino's before and after the whole day of drifting. Held up crazy good !
The very next day I went to Japfest at the TT Circuit in Assen.
This is a 600km (373 miles!) day trip and the little CA18 didn't skip a beat!
Talk about reliability and a true street car !
Not much after that weekend I bought a very cool piece of a good S13 friend of me. @kamilftcln
A Vanquish hood spoiler for 180sx ! These seem to be very rare as I never see them pop up for sale ever. It definitely needed some work as it was in a rough state. Here's the Vanquish demo 180sx running their hood spoiler. And a little testfit on my car.
One of the things I had procrastinated for the longest time was audio. My stereo and speakers did absolutely nothing and i was always too lazy to do something about it. So for the longest time I just drove around with a big ass bluetooth speaker haha.
About time I did something about that.
So got me some JL Audio C1-650x 2-way speakers (6.5") and a nice Pioneer SPH DA160DAB head unit with Apple carplay etc. Got a little usb with loads of doriten and option videos on it for extra coolness.
Started by doing a little of sound deadening in the doors.
Then made some plans for speaker adapters. Had a local company cut them out in acryllic.
System sounds so good for only having changed the front speakers (rears will be done too soon). Planning to do a nice small underseat subwoofer too as it does lack a little bit of bass when on the highway.
Went around and just enjoyed the car as it was. Took my dad with me to a little classic car meet in a village nearby. Lots of the older dudes loved it and didn't hesitate to ask questions about it. Always nice to have conversations with those kinds of people.
Looks so out of place lol. Great background though.
