Continuation

The future has a way of arriving unannounced. In the automotive industry it has often been the case that a particular part is already widely used even before one can get to fit it on his car…Following are some of the more prominent aftermarket products that have since become must-haves for every car. It is interesting to note that most, if not all, of these aftermarket auto parts have an OEM counterpart.

Coilovers

Suspension tuning has transgressed into a new generation of performance tuning as today’s sport compact cars and their owners demand a suspension that can handle the demands of both road racing vehicles and street-tuned machines.

In 1990, TEIN Japan, established in 1985, began production of aftermarket suspension products (Type H damper) and became one of the more popular companies to develop a full body aftermarket coilover setup at a reasonable price. The TEIN H damper was designed primarily for the sport compact market in Japan during an era when spring and shock combinations were commonly used.

 

Exhaust Systems

In the late ’80s, if you were old enough to drive at the time, you found yourself sitting at the local muffler shop for over two hours as the resident welder concocted a pinch-bent exhaust system complete with a popular oval-style muffler known back then as the “Sonic Turbo exhaust.” As time evolved, so had the design of the aftermarket exhaust system for import vehicles.

Aftermarket auto parts manufacturers such as A’PEXi, were one of the first JDM manufacturers to offer a bolt-on exhaust system called the “Dunk,” complete with a canister-style muffler which was unheard of or seen at the time. While the exhaust canister was larger in size compared to the oval muffler, the DUNK canister setup quickly caught fire throughout Japan and filtered to the US as the new must-have product.

 

Front End Converters

Chances are, at one time or another you either owned or knew of someone who upgraded their cars with a set of clear corner lights. As quickly as the clear corner light trend grew in popularity, it slowly became a dying fad.

The more serious aftermarket enthusiasts stepped things up a notch as they enlisted the help of various companies to ship complete front ends from Honda Type Rs or Nissan Silvias with the goal of replicating aftermarket products and authenticate the genuine look.

 

Aftermarket Wheels

Today’s aftermarket wheels and their eclectic designs have been a major contributing factor among the growth of the aftermarket import market. Today’s more popular aftermarket wheels are more subtle in appearance, with less chrome and more focus on performance. The first three-piece rim developed in the aftermarket segment was in 1971 by Speed Star Racing otherwise known as SSR. The Mark -1 (MK-1) which looked similar to America’s Centerline rims, was proceeded by the next generation of three-piece wheels known as the MK-2 during the same year.

In 1972, the MK-3 completed the Mark series as the first-known company to develop a true three-piece aftermarket wheel within the JDM market. Over 30 years have elapsed since the debut of the MK series, but exciting news has recently developed as all three rims have recently been on the comeback trail after more than three generations. Tanabe USA has begun selling new batches of these once-rare wheels to the general public along with its optional center caps.

 

Carbon-Fiber Hoods and Aerodynamics

Carbon fiber spawns the dawn of a new era as fiberglass body panels, hoods, and wings have become second best to this lightweight and durable product. Carbon fiber has been available for over 50 years with its earliest history in the aerospace and military industries.

Although Ford Motor Corp. designed a carbon-fiber composite prototype vehicle in 1977, it was the aftermarket segment who implemented CF onto their daily drivers and weekend track cars. Aftermarket manufacturers began using carbon-fiber products to decrease weight while other companies sold the CF concept from an aesthetical approach, offering its unique looks and contemporary styling to sport compact enthusiasts.

Carbon-fiber GT wings, diffusers and canards made their way onto the aftermarket industry as all three products brought aerodynamics and functionality to vehicles participating in time attack or drifting competitions.

The HKS CT230R EVO, shod in a full carbon body is a prime example of sophisticated engineering and lightweight carbon body construction as the vehicle set a new course record at Tsukuba Circuit in 2006 with a time of 53.999 seconds.

 

Turbo Timers

While we can’t prove that the aftermarket segment was first to develop the turbo timer, we found an intriguing piece of history from HKS of Japan that dates back to the early 1980’s—and by the looks of ancient piece, you know this thing is old school!

The turbo timer proved to be an invaluable tool among performance enthusiasts as the engine goes through a cool-down period to prevent premature turbo wear and failure. Today, we find this simple, yet effective electronic device used in every performance turbo vehicle, ranging from mild to wild.

This entry was posted on Friday, July 6th, 2007 at 11:50 pm and is filed under Aftermarket Performance Parts news, Aftermarket Performance Parts community. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.