Hot Import Nights (HIN) is amazing.  That is obviously my opinion but if you are into tuner cars or the ‘import’ lifestyle how could you disagree?  The cars featured at the HIN events are straight off the covers of today’s hottest magazines and the energy in the cars and surrounding crowd rival that of a Slayer concert.  To up the ante even more is the blaring music of all genres, gorgeous women dancing to said music, AND top drift stars from all over the world destroying tires and whatever else gets in their way!!

We have known the HIN crew for quite some time and even traveled with them on the “Follow the Nissan Z” tour from our shop in San Jose, CA all the way to Las Vegas, NV.  They never disappoint…. good times indeed.

At this event in San Mateo I was caught off guard from the moment that I walked in because there were Zs and Gs everywhere.  It seems that we (ZCG) cater to the most popular cars in the import scene for the time being, good for us!  Modifications ranged from wild to mild as the old saying goes, everything from simple lowering springs and an intake to full-on one-off wide body kits with turbos and nitrous equipped to every possible orifice!  Oh my.

The other half of the show cars included Supras, Audis, Evos (VIII-X), Scions, S2000s, and even the occasional Mustang(?).  Engine swaps abounded throughout the show with the all-conquering 2JZGTE engine (Supra) being swapped into everything under the sun (FD RX-7, 350z, IS300, etc).  There was also a really clean Mazda RX-7 with an LS-x engine swapped under the hood.  Many of you know that we have performed one of these swaps and they are simply a blast to drive.  Do yourself a favor and get a ride in one.

The drifting competition was great, but with it comes my only beef with the entire event, no grandstands of any sort.  I had a tough time seeing on my tip-toes and I’m 6’1″ without shoes.  The skill these drivers possess is something not of this Earth, car control to the Nth degree.

When it was time to head home the ZCG crew was more than impressed with the entire event.  So impressed in fact that we have been in contact with the event organizers and we will be making our presence known at the next bay area stop in Pleasanton.  We have a few crazy ideas that we hope to pull off between now and then so make sure to mark your calenders for the HIN event on July 18th.

Please support HIN and ZCG by visiting their website and events, and make sure to tell them that ZCarBlog.com sent you!

Now onto the photos!!!  There are almost a hundred pictures after the “read more” so make sure to click at the end of this post to continue!!  (you can also click on the main post title at the top to take you to the full post)  ENJOY!!!!!

Post script:  a few of the shots look dirty and hazy due to all the tire smoke and burning chunks of rubber in the air from the drifting, wicked.

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The little touches that no one notices at first are sometimes the coolest modifications.  In this case a customer wanted the blinking side-marker lights off of the new 370z on his 350z.

Okay, no problem.  Well one problem.  The stock 350 “Z” non-flashing side emblems only use two small clips to locate the plastic part.  The new 370z flashing marker has cylindrical extrusion that is about 1.5 inches tall with a 1.5 inch diameter that needs to go through the fender and be wired to work properly.  We used a small hand saw to make the cut and everything turned out perfect.  The electrical connections simply required us to source which wire was the running light and which was the blinker and then the simple wiring changes were made.  All connections are a quick release style so that the new bulbs can be serviced when the time comes.

I’m not going to go into too much detail about how we secured the light because we need to be able to offer this as a service to customers.  I will mention that we used a couple of custom brackets to make sure that nothing moves around.  This modification is quite simple after all is said and done and I think that it bridges the gap between the new and old car nicely.  Added safety and style are always a good combination.

Please be careful if you are thinking about attempting this yourself because a new fender is not cheap from Nissan.  Feel free to contact us if you would like ZCG to handle it.  rob@zcargarage.com

See the video of the new parts flashing below!