Every November we buy new shoes, re-pad the legs of our trusty tripods and don our Primedia battle gear as we absorb the insane automotive overdose that is the Specialty Equipment Market Association show in Las Vegas. With 100,000 attendees, 9,800 booths and a gazillion square feet to cover, finding anything useful to fill these pages is a daunting task.
This year, after snaking our way through a four-day maze of chrome, neon and bravado, we found 26 worthy products. Here they are, in no particular order. Enjoy.
AutoLc Smoke Screen KitThe press materials for AutoLc's smoke screen kit say it's for car shows and special effects. We say screw all that. Remember the '80s vintage "Spy Hunter" video game? That's what it's really for. AutoLc says the device "shoots out a huge billow of smoke from your tailpipe at the push of a button." How cool is that?AutoLc(800) 873-4038www.autoloc.com
Quaker State Q Motor Oil LineThe new synthetic from Quaker State utilizes a heat-activated blend to reduce friction. As temperatures rise above 293 degrees F, Quaker State claims, heat-activated molecules create a low-friction, heat-resistant lubrication film. Of particular interest to the sport compact market is Q high-rpm synthetic blend, which is designed to further resist oil shearing and thermal breakdown and is available in 5W20, 5W30 and 10W30 grades.Quaker State (800) Best-Oilwww.quakerstate.com
AEM Universal EMSSame great EMS, new universal harness. Sure, you've seen AEM's EMS in our SEMA coverage for the last few years. This isn't a coincidence. EMS is unique among standalone management systems for its huge plug-and-play application list, continuous software improvements and now a universal harness that will allow it to be used for almost any engine that burns fuel and oxygen.
The Universal EMS's master wiring harness comes with each individual wire function silkscreened onto the body of the wire easing installation. The harness also includes built-in fuses and relays for fans, pumps and auxiliary power.
EMS operates on windows software and can drive sequential injection on engines up to 10 cylinders. It has built-in peak and hold injector drivers, direct-drive ignition, and dual wide-band UEGO controllers. It also features electronic boost control, soft-cut rev limiters, two-step launch control, programmable traction control, nitrous control and has four EGT inputs and 16 general purpose outputs.AEM(310) 484-2322www.aempower.com
GReddy RX-8 Turbo KitWe've seen several RX-8 turbo kits since the car's introduction almost two years ago, but GReddy's kit looks the most legitimate. It uses the company's eManage piggyback computer to control fuel delivery and leaves the Renesis' emission control systems intact. That means the cast turbo manifold adapts to the stock catalytic converter and has provisions for EGR.
GReddy claims 300-flywheel hp at 7 psi from the base kit. The kit uses GReddy's T618Z turbo (that's TD0618G in Mitsubishi speak) with aluminum piping. GReddy's Mike Chung says the decision to include an intercooler in the kit hadn't been finalized at press time. He also says it will cost between $3,700 and $4,500 depending on the intercooler-steep, but comprehensive.GReddy Performance Products(949) 588-8300www.greddy.com
FocusSport 2.0-liter Zetec Supercharger KitWith zillions (OK, hundreds of thousands) of of the Zetec-powered Focus on the road, FocusSport has come up with a brilliant boost solution for the little Ford. The kit includes a Vortech V9 centrifugal blower and simple but effective engine control.
The beauty of the system is the engine management. Customers can choose between do-it-yourself flash programming with a custom calibration from FocusSport or a precalibrated chip. With the Ford ECU fully cracked, FocusSport can offer up to four user-selectable calibrations with the chip option.
The base kit will retail for less than $3,000 and makes 50-plus whp according to FocusSport. Stage 2 and 3 kits may include headers, smaller supercharger pulleys, cams and of course more aggressive engine calibrations.FocusSport(714) 630-6353www.focussport.com
Jim Wolf Technology VQ35 Turbo KitIt's all in the details with Jim Wolf's turbo kit for the 350Z. The kit's most impressive feature is its guaranteed emissions certification. Since Jim Wolf won't release the kit until it's CARB certified, you can count on having a responsive, driveable and emissions-legal turbo power.
The kit makes 128-wheel hp more than stock on Wolf's Dynapack dyno at 6 psi. And that's on an otherwise stock car. Cast manifolds and downpipes with separate wastegate exhaust paths don't hurt. Two Garrett ball-bearing water-cooled turbos with enough overhead for 500 hp are included. The kit can be installed without removing the engine or the radiator, and there's no modifcation of the front bumper on any of the applications (350Z, G35 coupe, G35 sedan). Engine control is via a piggyback timing controller and larger fuel pump with a rising-rate fuel pressure regulator.
Cost is estimated at $6,999.00. If all goes as planned with CARB, kits should be on sale about the time you read this.Jim Wolf Technology(619) 442-0680www.jimwolftechnology.com
RSM Ecotec Supercharger KitCanadian tuner RSM racing now offers a centrifugal supercharger kit for the 2.2-liter Ecotec engine. Again, with so many Ecotec-powered cars on America's road this is hard to ignore. The kit includes the blower, belt, blow-off valve, air filter and install CD. Engine management is via a reprogrammed ECU and fuel pressure regulator. RSM claims an 80-hp gain at 8 psi. Kits are available for both manual and automatic transmission cars.RSM Racing(416) 705-121www.rsmracing.com
Full Race Motorsports Turbo ManifoldsFull Race Motorsports' turbo manifolds rank among the sexiest parts we've ever seen on display at SEMA. Constructed from eight-gauge forged 304 stainless steel and welded inside and out, they should be indestructible. Equal-length runners with long radius bends and a unique merge collector designed to optimize pulse tuning make them serious hardware. Full Race's Pro Street manifold is flanged for T3 or T4 manifolds and your choice of wastegates
The Full Race line includes Honda K-, B-, D- and H-series manifolds as well as manifolds for Mitsubishi's 4G63, Toyota's 2JZ-GTE and Nissan's SR20DE and SR20DET and the VW/Audi 1.8t.Full Race(602) 437-2101www.full-race.com
Pennzoil Platinum SyntheticThis new formulation from Pennzoil combines a highly refined base oil with a proprietary additive package.
Designed primarily to neutralize engine contaminants, Pennzoil claims Platinum's additive package protects against sludge and harmful deposits, producing a cleaner running engine.Pennzoil(800) 990-9811www.pennzoil.com
Turbo XS DtecWe've found just the tool for those of you who always wanted to play John Madden Football and monitor your exhaust gas temperature on the same device. The Turbo XS Dtec, that's Data Transfer Engine Console, turns your Nintendo Game Boy into a tool for vehicle tuning, data logging and diagnostics. Using Dtec software, the Game Boy Advance can display up to five inputs, including boost pressure, exhaust gas temperature, intake air temperature, rpm and air/fuel ratio. All sensors are available from Turbo XS and are designed to interface with the Game Boy through the Dtec module. It retails for $229 plus sensors.
For $100 more the Dtec can also be used as a piggyback fuel controller. Designed to work with 5-volt MAP and MAF sensors or Karman Vortex sensors if you're in the world of DSM, the Dtec-FC provides a 18x4 cell map to make fuel changes. All rpm and load points are user definable and users can select from up to four preprogrammed fuel maps.
Turbo XS plans to incorporate knock sensor, boost control and accelerometer applications into the Dtec in the future.Turbo XS(877)231-3234www.turboxs.com
Sparco ModenaSparco outdid itself again with the only full carbon-fiber reclinable seat in the aftermarket. The Modena's chassis is assembled using a unidirection pre-impregnated epoxy resin carbon-fiber weave, which is bonded using a vacuum bag pressuring autoclave polymerization technique. That's a lot of complicated ways to say this seat is bitchin'. And bitchin' rarely comes cheap. In fact, the Monaco retails in full carbon and leather trim for $3,999.99. Or you can have a fiberglass version for $1399.00, which is still covered in leather.
The Modena is TUV homologated and meets FMVSS section 207 as well as ECE 17 in Europe. All those acronyms means the Modena meets virtually every safety standard for reclinable seats the world can offer. It's only available in leather and comes in six color combinations.Sparco(800) 224-RACEwww.sparco-usa.com