SEMA 2008 Friday Coverage

[mark@stangtv]

It is the last day of SEMA. Everyone is beat and our shoes and cameras are worn out. Below is even more great product reviews.

You can fast forward to coverage of the show each day here:

• Tuesday New Products & SEMA Cars - Click here
• Wednesday New Products & SEMA Cars - Click Here
• Thursday New Products & SEMA Cars - Click Here
• Friday New Products & SEMA Cars - Click Here

We also shot over 30 videos during the SEMA show below is the list of videos shot today:

• MSD Releases a Trick New MSD 6AL-2 Programmable - Click Here
• FAST's New EZ EFI at SEMA - Click Here
• Eaton Gets Inducted into the Hot Rod Hall of Fame - Click Here
• Edelbrock's New Street/Strip Suspension Kits - Click Here
• HP Sales 100 mph 400 HP E85 Mustang - Click Here
• Garrett's New Outlaw 10.5 Turbo - Click Here

I went over to MSD to cover some of their new products. Todd Ryden of MSD takes me over to a 6AL-2 box. Initially, I was confused as the 6AL-2 is not THAT new. But this isn’t your normal 6AL-2 box, it’s an all-new programmable box. The only way you can tell on the outside of the box is the serial port and no dial knobs for RPM. Now you can fine your ignition timing on your carbureted engine. No more vacuum advance, you can electronically control your timing curve over your entire power band, similar to a fuel-injected vehicle. There is three stop functions and mapping to name a few of the options.

*** VIDEO: MSD's New Programmable 6AL-2 ****

The Programmable 6AL-2 is an all new digital ignition designed for the street and strip. The ignition delivers the multiple sparks and capacitive discharge power you expect from MSD. Modern components efficiently produce nearly 23% spark energy and voltage improvements of 15% (135mJ and 535 primary volts) so there’s plenty of fire to light up your muscle car, street rod or weekend racer.

The Ignition delivers laptop programming giving you total control over your timing curve, rev limits and more! Plug-in your PC and call up MSD’s Pro-Data+ software and you can easily map out a timing curve, boost timing map and a variety of performance building controls.

Visit www.msdignition.com for more information

[Tom@StangTV]

I found one of the most interesting parts at the Tech Line booth. Their coatings have an almost endless list of possible uses. With these coating you can coat parts such as the piston tops, valves, or heads. Doing so you can turn reduce the amount of heat that soaks into your engine.

What you end up doing a few different things. You create a thermal barrier, protect the part, and/or add lubrication. For example if you were to coat your pistons, heads and valves you would be keeping heat in the chamber by not allowing it to be soaked into the bock or other parts. This effect results in a more complete burn due which can mean more power. But the most interesting part is the coating that Tech Line has to retain oil on it to aid in lubrication. Now you can coat your piston with it to help keep your new block in prime condition.



The other product that Tech Line was showing was their new Headlight Restoring Kit. The kit is a complete do it yourself kit so you don’t have to worry about paying big money for this kind of work anymore. The other thing about Headlight restore is that you save the money for new lights, and in some counties, they are requiring clear headlights and if you have an older head light that is hazed, they will right you a fix it ticket. Pretty cool.

Visit www.techlinecoatings.com for more information

[Chris DeMorro]

Keeping your engine cool is key to producing horsepower and increasing the longevity of your engine. Classic cars commonly employed mechanical fans that while simple, stole parasitic amounts of horsepower from the engine while inefficiently cooling the engine at lower RPMs since they were driven off the crankshaft. A common solution has been to upgrade to electric fans, but these can be bulky and difficult to hook up in a classic Mustang where clearance can become an issue with bigger engines.

Flex-a-lite, who specializes in radiators and fans, has developed a fully integrated radiator and electric fan kit which increases the cooling efficiency while also delivering improved fuel mileage of up to 2 MPG. These cooling systems come with an aluminum dual core radiator that provides a 300 percent increase in the cooling area over a stock Ford radiator, dissipating heat better and providing signifigent horsepower increases. These kits are direct bolt in replacements and also comes with an electronic temperature control unit which allows the S-blade fan to operate anywhere between 20-100 percent power, depending on the water temperature. The radiator is available separately or as a complete bolt-in kit.

For more info visit www.flex-a-lite.com

[Chris DeMorro]

Computronix is a New Ignition company at SEMA with some very innovative products. At SEMA 2008 we checked out their new Chevrolet DIS8, Ford Small Block DIS8, and Ford 2.0/ 2.3 DIS4 systems.

The Ford 2.3 engine is the redheaded stepchild of turbocharged 4 bangers. Even though the mid-eighties Mustang SVO was nearly as fast as its V8 brother, the car went unloved and discontinued after a few years. With the recent surge in gas prices howevear eyes have turned back to the 2.3 turbo and a slew of new products has emerged, among them Comp-tronix’s Distributorless Ignition System, or DIS.

The DIS replaces the distributor with a self-contained triggering system that achieves spark through multiple processor controlled coils. The DIS replaces the cap and rotor and instead all of the electronics are contained in a dust and moisture resistant chamber. The DIS offers improved fuel economy and high RPM reliability while providing a maintenance free ignition system and a cleaner look inside your engine bay. Compu-tronix also makes DIS systems for a number of other engines.

Check out their web site at www.compu-tronix.com

[poweradmin]

Billet is introducing their new Comp Series Drag wheels -- serious Drag wheels created for speed and engineered to put down the power, launch after launch, round after round. Features include 6061-T6 forged centers and a lightweight package. Available in 15X3.5 spindle mount or bolt-on front and 15X8 thru 15X15 rear, SFI 15.1 and 15.2 approved. The front wheels are one piece in design while the rear wheels are two piece.



For more information, visit www.billetspecialties.com

[Chris DeMorro]

Methanol injection is a great way to run more power through your car while increasing the longevity of your engine. Snow Performance is an aftermarket leader in methanol injection and they make cooling systems for just about any application, from big block to diesel to sub compact.



The advantages of methanol injection are increased horsepower and fuel efficiency as the water-methanol mix is flushed into the combustion chamber to absorb heat and suppress detonation. The detonation suppression allows you to run higher compression or more boost or nitrous while maintaining a cooler engine temperature, all key elements in producing power. Snow Performance tailor fits each application with specially designed controllers to regulate injection depending on your application. Even better, you can get your methanol at any service station since you can use commonly found blue windshield wiper fluid in the tank, making this a cheap and effective way to boost power and engine longevity.

Check them out at www.snowperformance.net

[mark@stangtv]

A Slew of New Parts from Nitrous Express.

NX InstaBoost Turbo Lag Controller

If you have ever owned a big turbo on a smaller displacement motor, then turbo lag is nothing new to you. Nitrous Express now has a kit called InstaBoost that will turn off your nitrous after your desired boost level is met.

Their first controller is an economical version that looks like a typical fuel pressure safety switch that turns into a pressure switch for your airflow. You can adjust the nitrous to turn off between 1-8 PSI on this kit with a mechanical adjuster on the sensor.



Their second version is a full digital system. This kit uses an internal map sensor that is good for 80 PSI. The unit will also control two stages of nitrous that uses RPM or boost for dialing in your ramp. The remaining is a simple wiring harness that connects through the corresponding sensors.



NX Traction Control Progressive Controller

Tire spin can be one of the biggest enemies on nitrous fed vehicles. Nitrous Express Traction Progressive Controller can help dial in your nitrous when you experience tire spin. The kit uses a driveshaft speed sensor in relation to your engine RPM to detect the wheel spin. Once wheel spin is detected, the kit will limit the amount of nitrous flow, depending on your internal adjustment. There are two different ramps, depending of harshness of wheel spin. Adjust on the fly as well as on your computer using a USB hookup. This also has the ability of standard nitrous controller for ramping.



Maximizer III Progressive Controller

The Maximizer II has all the functions of a progressive controller that one could desire for their racecar. The problem is, it isn’t cheap enough for the street/strip racer. Nitrous Express realized this and came out with a progressive controller that uses all the most important adjustments that a weekend racer needs, in an affordable package. You can even ramp the nitrous depending on how much you apply the throttle! Adjustments include:

• % TPS trigger point – 25-99%
• Ramp Start Percent
• RPM Trigger
• RPM Cut Off
• TPS idle voltage
• TPS WOT Voltage
• Number of Cylinders
• 12 volt Trans-brake input to disengage nitrous while on the brake



New Lightweight 10 pound composite bottle

Nitrous Express has had a composite bottle out for a number of years, but now they introduce one that is lighter then the first. These bottles are based off the same technology that firemen use for their oxygen bottles. The new weight drops 2.5 pounds over the first generation, ending at 7 pounds. This is half the weight of a traditional 10 pound bottle. The bottle is also coated with phosphorescent that will glow after subjected to a light source.



Check out more NX products at: http://www.nitrousexpress.com

[Tom@StangTV]

Red Line Synthetic Oil is releasing a whole slew of zero weight oils.

Zero weights became popular by the OEM's as a substitute oil for colder climates. The false perception is that 0W30 is thinner than 5W30 at normal operating temperatures. “0W30 will offer a broader temperature coverage, as most modern-day vehicles don’t operate at optimum oil operating temperature anyway”, explained Cameron Evans, Red Line's Director of Marketing. Their offering's in zero weight range from 0W20 to 0W40.

Another new addition to Red Line's line up is engine oil break-in additive. “Good oil is too slick, and petroleum based oils don’t have enough anti-wear additives that enthusiasts need," said Cameron. Red Line suggests to use their break-in additive with petroleum based oils for the correct amount of break in wear. This is especially important for engines equipped with flat tappet camshafts and lifters, but really important for all engines. One bottle treats 12 quarts of oil.

For more information on these new oils from Red Line, check out: RedlineOil.com

[Tom@StangTV]

Corsa Performance uses a unique straight-through design on their mufflers that reduces back pressure and engine drone at highway speeds. Instead of baffling or packing, the Corsa mufflers uses a principle they call special Reflective Sound Cancellation to eliminate low frequency pulses which produce bone rattling drone at high speeds.

Corsa says this allows for higher horsepower gains because of the straight-thru design. The complete exhaust systems come in two models: Sport -- which offers a bolder sound, or Touring, which isn’t as throaty and is made for extended cruising. They also recently released systems for the Shelby GT-500

For more information check out www.corsaperformance.com

[Tom@StangTV]

Stainless Steel Brake Corporation brought their entire line of products down to Vegas this year for the SEMA show. With everything from brake boosters to calipers, SSBC has something for everyone.

Billet Master Cylinder

This a good way to dress up your engine bay with some function. This polished billet aluminum master cylinder has a dual bowl for safety and a built in wiring pigtail for a rear brake light switch. With the adjustable proportioning valve you can regulate the rear brake pressure to maintain a correct brake bias between the front and rear. All that makes it a good fit in a disc or drum brake systems in both power (1-1/8 in bore) and non-power (1 in bore) set ups. It even comes with two short brake lines to help connect the master cylinder to your existing system and you also have the option to add SSBC’s chrome booster to go with it.



Electric Vacuum Pump Kit

If you are running a big cam or even a supercharger you know the problems that are caused when there is not enough vacuum being generated by your engine. For one thing, your power brakes may not work quite right. Power brakes need at least sixteen inches of vacuum to run correctly. SSBC’s new Vacuum Pump Kit uses a 12v source to run a pump that will create enough vacuum whenever your engine needs it.