On the Japan side of things, I was able to rent another parking space near my house and route a request to have 3 vehicles in my name. When you're in Japan and affiliated with a military base, you're limited to only two cars per household...and that's only if you're married and your home can accommodate two parked cars. I'm not in the military anymore, but I'm still subject to the base rules and processes.
The BN5 car, like most cars I own, is treated like an ornament. I've gathered a ton of wheels with the help of a close friend, and I decided to finally use a set I'd always wanted and never thought I'd own.
Car is on an uneven surface, and sits lower than it appears here. I even bought the Nismo smoked/clear sidemarkers although I've always thought smoked/clear lights are terrible. I think they look okay, but that's probably due to the OEM-spec fluting(?) they have.
I was able to get the AJ4 car registered. I was given an opportunity to sell the car, and after wrestling with the idea for about a week, decided to keep it. I dropped it off at local body shop, got the OEM side skirts painted and mounted, and dropped the car on HKS Hipermax IV SPs. They are marginally more comfortable than the GTs on the blue car, as they're intended to be. Funny, if ANY car gets taken to a track event, it will be the red car so I'll probably have to swap the suspension over at some point. With the current lockdown, there's no rush.
I decided the AVS were a nice departure from the TEs/LMs I usually use. It's so funny when I look at the wheels I've sourced over the years. I have a set from Russia and the AVS came from Germany..all Japanese wheels. The places you buy from/sell to when this is your hobby is gnarly...
I'd like to get both cars on the same 'level' before I dig a little deeper into the AJ4 car. I used my old tires from the silver LMGT4s on the AVS, but I'd like to get another set of the Nittos for the red car too. Ideally, they would both receive the following:
Refurbished Front/Rear Brakes
Brake Pads/Rotors
GKTech Stainless Lines
New Subframe Bushings
New Slave Cylinders
New OEM Coilpacks/Spark Plugs
Nismo Arms
New Turbo/Exhaust Manifold Gaskets
PBM Cobra Flex Downpipe
Some of these things are already done. Beyond that, the AJ4 car would get the Yashio Radiator and a few other things I've been contemplating.
I'm in no rush. I constantly catch shit for not driving my cars or going to events. With this forced lockdown, I'd be lying if I said I didn't regret doing more when I was able to, but I also don't mind being 'more ready' when that time finally comes. Besides lowering the cars and doing things that would accommodate the 'GTR-spec' wheels I like to run, I want to keep the cars as close to 'refreshed stock' as possible. When I get the red car to an event, I want to give it a go at close to stock to get a feel for it and then make a roadmap from there. Exhaust, cooling, and brakes are the only areas I want to focus on before that time comes. Making more power will always be an option and I'm not in a hurry to go down that rabbit hole. I've been stuck on SChassis cars for a long time now, and making more power has never been by main objective anyway.