HKS returning to the Land of the Rising Sun

[zaxrex]

HKS has announced that it is wrapping up and pulling operations from the US and going back home. The US will still be supported by HKS, but from the home office.
Good bye tech-support.

[PGT]

Not surprising

[complacent]

oh boo hoo... they can't charge $texas for exhausts for hondas anymore.

i guess that's not really fair. they were one of the first to offer performance parts here for imports.

[Sabre]

Funny, I know they were some of the first people with aftermarket stuff out... but I can't for the life of me think of anyone running their stuff right now.

[zaxrex]

Didn't Darin run an HKS boost controller?

[Sabre]

Hmm, could be. It's either HKS or Apexi.

[drwrx]

Mine is the HKS EVC IV with "fuzzy logic." It is still on the WRX as is the Turbo Timer. Both came from my Galant VR4.
HKS used to make nice (expensive) stuff 20 years ago.
Not surprised to see them go.

I have thought for a while that the end of the "mod" days are coming. Fewer and fewer people are doing performance upgrades to cars and the market is shrinking. There is just less room for the multitude of suppliers out there. This is just the first of the big names to fall. I expect more to be following suit.

[Sabre]

I wonder if it's because it's becoming harder to tune them. The 2011 S4 has an ECU that is encrypted with a 1024bit key... that's not easy (as in it would take a long time) to break with a standard PC.