Pic 1: Outside HKS Thailand
I was in Bangkok a couple of days ago (yes yet again!) for a little time off to de-stress. Besides visiting the usual places; this time round I found time to drop by HKS Thailand. Yes there is a HKS branch in Thailand!
HKS only has branches in USA, Europe and Thailand, so it's quite cool to drop by an official branch to take a look around. There were not many parts around there, and anything to do with the R34 had to be ordered in as the R34 is a very rare car in Thailand. According to the HKS guy there's only about 10 units of the BNR34 in Bangkok. And guess how much it costs? A whopping 5.5 Million Thai Baht (USD 160,000)!!
Lucky for me there were a unit of the V-Spec II Nur BNR34 and also a R35 GT-R in the facility! The R35 costs the owner 9 Million Thai Baht (USD 263,000)!!
HKS only has branches in USA, Europe and Thailand, so it's quite cool to drop by an official branch to take a look around. There were not many parts around there, and anything to do with the R34 had to be ordered in as the R34 is a very rare car in Thailand. According to the HKS guy there's only about 10 units of the BNR34 in Bangkok. And guess how much it costs? A whopping 5.5 Million Thai Baht (USD 160,000)!!
Lucky for me there were a unit of the V-Spec II Nur BNR34 and also a R35 GT-R in the facility! The R35 costs the owner 9 Million Thai Baht (USD 263,000)!!
Madness indeed!
Here is some history with regards to HKS Thailand:-
During 1998-2001, Mr. Hazegawa, President of HKS Company Limited visited Thailand and surveyed the local market for automotive accessories and tuning parts. He saw Thailand as a potential market and planned to open his business in Thailand with the same standard as Japan. In 1998, the HKS Project was initiated by a Thai team and HKS (Thailand) was planned to be setup. After four years of planning, HKS Co., Ltd. (Thailand) was formed and became one of the agents like HKS USA INC and HKS Europe. Their technicians are all trained directly from the HKS Head Office in Japan.
Here is some history with regards to HKS Thailand:-
During 1998-2001, Mr. Hazegawa, President of HKS Company Limited visited Thailand and surveyed the local market for automotive accessories and tuning parts. He saw Thailand as a potential market and planned to open his business in Thailand with the same standard as Japan. In 1998, the HKS Project was initiated by a Thai team and HKS (Thailand) was planned to be setup. After four years of planning, HKS Co., Ltd. (Thailand) was formed and became one of the agents like HKS USA INC and HKS Europe. Their technicians are all trained directly from the HKS Head Office in Japan.
The location of HKS Thailand is quite far away from the city though; it will take one about 35 minutes by taxi from the city centre if you decide to visit it. Was it worth the trip? Well yea just for a look see but as for parts purchase.....perhaps not so though.
Here are some pictures of the facility:-
Pic 2: HKS Thailand shop floor
Pic 3: HKS Thailand showroom
Pic 4: BNR34 undergoing major mods
Pic 5: The RB26DETT with HKS T04Z turbine
Pic 6: R35 GT-R undergoing servicing
Pic 7: Rear shot of the R35 GT-R. Note those 20" Volk Racing TE37s
Pic 8: HKS Thailand parts storage room
Pic 9: Dyno facility
Pic 10: A track prepared Evo VII
Pic 11: Drift spec Silvia S15 with NOS
Pic 12: Rear shot of the drift spec Silvia S15
Pic 13: Engine bay of the drift spec Silvia S15
Pic 14: Stripped S15 with BNR34 brakes. Preparing for drift?
Pic 15: A shot of the HKS Thailand facility from the rear
Pic 16: Widebody drag spec S14 Silvia - front
Pic 17: Widebody drag spec S14 Silvia - rear
Pic 18: BMW E36 with 2JZ-GTE engine
Pic 19: A shot of the showroom exterior
Posts
Won't mind having anything from that garage!
ReplyDeleteWow! Bro, u sure have a lot of contacts to these places. Next time if u happen to go these places, do let me know. I am in need of a new fuel pump for my beast.
ReplyDeletetransparent101, me too bro. :P
ReplyDeleteJason, a new fuel pump? Internal ones? I'm considering one too. Whatcha looking at? Those Walbro ones got to make sure it's genuine coz lots of copies from China. Tomei or NISMO ones are very costly indeed. Both are made by the same manufacturer tho.
bro... do you have any contacts in Tokyo Japan, where I can go buy some OEM, as well as Aftermarket parts? I will be heading to Japan next month.. just wondering if you may have some contacts there...btw.. nice facility HKS has in Bangkok.. but sad that we can't buy parts off the shelf for our rides.. :(
ReplyDeletejoethurr, you're going to Japan? Envious bro. :P
ReplyDeleteWill you be in Tokyo only? You can drop by Super Autobacs. This place is mega huge. But if you have time, try to get out of the city to places like Chiba where the tuner shops are located. Their prices are cheaper compared to Super Autobacs. But getting to Chiba takes about an hour by train and bus.
Check out this post for more info:-
http://er34.blogspot.com/2007/04/my-visit-to-land-of-rising-sun-japan.html
Thanks for the info bro... just checked, and I will be headed to these places, Makuhari, Chiba, tokyo, Roponggi Hill... I will be sepnding quite some time in Chiba...Hopefully can get some stuff while i'm there.. Needs vs Neccesity... so I guess ill get the belts and pumps, and if i have some extra $$ maybe 1 or 2 gadgets... ...So hard to spare some $$ these days... everything is sooo expensive..
ReplyDeleteforget abt robbing banks. id target a hks yard lol.
ReplyDeletebro i dont think that maroon/candy red silvia is an rps13. rps13's are hatchbacks. the one pictured has a boot as well as s15 face.
if im not wrong that white drift spec s15 belongs to kiki, thailand's team toyo drifter, who came down here a few months back to compete. he got 3rd place i think.
Never knew HKS had a shop in Thailand... great coverage as usual ej... btw, hows the ride? Hope all is well and looking forward to the next fraser's hill DILYSI trip... :)
ReplyDeletezul, you are right bro. Didn't pay that much attention to that car. Yes it is indeed a S15. Will correct my post.
ReplyDeleteYea, the white S15 has Kiki written on the door. Guess that is the driver's name. Sounds like a girl's name eh?
Russ, how and where are you bro? Ride is all well and yes looking forward to another drive as well. So when you are available? Hehehe :P
bro,can we just walk-in and visit all those stuff in HKS Thailand?
ReplyDeleteor need to do appointment first?
ilovegrip, yes you can walk in to HKS Thailand. But do get permission to the work area as they are meant for staffs of HKS Thailand only.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the great post Eu Jin. I have always meant to visit HKS Thailand but nv gotten the chance. Now I live vicariously through your post. :)
ReplyDeletecharcoalx, no worries man. I was expecting greater stuffs from there tho like R34 stuffs....
ReplyDeleteI am looking for performance parts for my TOYOTA SUPRA Mark 4, JZ, Please email me on : mineel.mkraft@gmail.com
ReplyDeletehi Eu Jin nice blogs
ReplyDeletetry visit our blog at
Bruneidrifter-xclub.blogspot.com
there have cbox so we can chat there.
my nick is Drifter-X