Project Hagane - Tacho & Spacers

It’s been a while since I updated Gordini's Pit Stop with Project Hagane, but I assure you, I have not been resting on it. Since October, the car has had a few more upgrades, and here they are now!

First off, as you may remember, I was complaining about not having any dials or gauges behind the wheel, which felt weird and was a bit annoying. Problem solved! I quickly acquired an Auto Gauge tachometer which I installed in that emptiness behind the wheel. This gauge came with a shift light, so that not only can I quickly see my RPM rate, but I also get warned when I reach the red line by the flashing red light, so that even if I concentrate on the road, I won’t over-rev the engine.
On top of that, I find it looks good, so I am wholly content.

Once I had something to look at behind the wheel, I turned my attention to the stance of Hagane. As I mentioned again and again, she was way too high, and my new rims looked lost in those wheel wells. I knew I wanted to lower her, but something else caught my eye – all the lowered Toyota Vios I see on the road have a ridiculous look with the wheels tucked deep inside the wheel arches, and I did not want my Hagane to look as such. My solution would be to get spacers.

Thanks to a friend’s recommendation, I headed down to a small shop lost somewhere in Toa Payoh to talk to the old man in charge. By the looks of it, he has been doing spacers and other CNC-built metal pieces before I was even born, and he clearly knew his trade. He made some quick measurements and set off to work. 

Four days later, I headed back to the shop to get my new spacers.

Their size is ridiculously thick, with 20mm for the front and 30mm for the rear, but that just shows how my car needed them to get a respectful stance. I rushed back to my office/garage and installed them right away.

Although still sitting high, my Hagane now looks a little bit meaner with a 40mm wider stance in the front and 60mm wider in the rear. Things are starting to look good!