More Show Action With Sport Truck & Mini-Truckin' At Havoc
During the weekend of June 17-18, 2005, we'll be holding the most highly anticipated show of the 2005 season at the Louisville Convention Center, in Louisville, Kentucky. There will be more than $5,000 in cash and awards up for grabs as well as plenty of draggin' action (at the show itself) and the most incredible rides you've ever seen. In addition to draggin' and braggin', we're planning a two-day party within the confines of the Louisville Convention Center. This includes a show-'n'-shine event that'll have all the best builders of the best sport trucks of all varieties going head to head for all that prize money. We'll also have a manufacturers midway, with lots of the hottest and newest products right on site so you can get a hands-on evaluation before you buy. In addition, we're planning to have installation displays, a wild bikini contest, and live entertainment, with the entertainer to be announced at a later date.
New 425HP 6.1l Hemi
The Chrysler Group says it will offer a beefed-up version of its popular engine this spring. Unfortunately for sport truck enthusiasts, the all-new 6.1L 425hp Hemi V-8 engine will only be available in the Chrysler 300C SRT-8. The engine generates 25 percent more power (85 horses) than the 5.7L Hemi engine and is said to push the Chrysler 300C SRT-8 from 0-60 mph in the low-5-second range, with a quarter-mile time in the high-13-second range.
For you hard-core Hemi fans, the 425hp naturally aspirated 6.1L Hemi will be the highest specific-output V-8 engine ever offered by the Chrysler Group. Its 69.8hp-per-liter rating exceeds even that of the legendary 1966 Street Hemi. Its torque rating is listed as 420 lb-ft. All this performance talk has us thinking of the possibilities of this engine in a Ra - or even sicker, a new Dakota. SRT Group, are you listening?
5th Annual State 2 State Cruise/Havasu Spring Break
Entering its fifth year of existence, the State 2 State Cruise is on the move again. This year, we've moved the location, the size of the event, and the fun to beautiful Lake Havasu City, Arizona. The event is brought to you by Truckin', Sport Truck, and Mini Truckin' magazines, with presenting sponsorship provided by Chevy Trucks and Vortec Engines and official tire sponsorship provided by Toyo Tires. The cruise and show previously held in Las Vegas at the Fremont Street Experience has simply gotten too large, so a new venue was sought. With much forethought, Lake Havasu City was picked as our final destination point as the culmination of the 5th Annual State 2 State Cruise. Please plan on attending this event on Friday, March 18, 2005 as well as entering the Havasu Spring Break Nationals on Saturday and Sunday, March 19 and 20, 2005. This weekend is also the biggest Spring Break weekend during the month of March.
With an average of 300 custom trucks and SUVs, the State 2 State Cruise participants will be welcomed at five different aftermarket manufacturers' facilities, with a shop tour, goody-bag items, a chance at a raffle prize, and a poker card for the poker run. The cruise will officially end at Lake Havasu City at a culmination party hosted by AIM Industries.
As if that were not enough, on Saturday please make your presence felt with attendance at the Havasu Spring Break Nationals located at the London Bridge Resort Golf Course once you've left the confines of our host hotel, the London Bridge Resort. This is a show-'n'-shine event that promises to pit the best of the best trucks, tow rigs, classic trucks, SUVs, golf carts, and mini-trucks against one another. In addition, there will be a manufacturers vendor village with live samplings of products as well as installation displays, a super-wild bikini contest, and a live-entertainment concert Saturday night with the band to be announced later. This will be held at Kikomo's, the host bar for the entire event. Plan on attending the in-water boat show located on the beautiful beaches of the Lake Havasu channel. This is a spectacle that simply must be witnessed. Joker's Wild Promotions will be hosting an in-water poker run for any participants' or manufacturers' boats wishing to participate. This poker run will be separate from the State 2 Sate Cruise poker run, so please plan accordingly.
Keep checking back each month as we add even more exciting details.
STS First to Market With Boosted Hemi RamAdd 154 hp
Since the reintroduction of the Ram Hemi pickup, enthusiasts have gone insane over the Hemi's power, but most of all, they've been waiting for a supercharger system from the aftermarket. Well, Hemi fanatics, your wait seems to be over. STS Turbo Systems, the pioneers of remote-mounted turbocharging, offers the first-ever commercially available forced induction system for the Ram Hemi pickup.
Remote-mounting the turbo replaces the factory muffler, boosting power a reported 59 percent and torque by 61 percent on pump premium fuel. The company reports that by mounting the turbo in the back of the vehicle, turbo temperatures are lower and intake air temperatures drop significantly, due to ambient airflow over the intake tubing. The key to the STS technology is the patented oiling system, which lubricates the turbo without tapping the oil pan.
In addition to the added power, one of the chief benefits of the remote-mount system is the super-easy installation. The Hemi turbo system uses the factory tailpipe and leaves the undercarriage as well as the engine compartment unscathed from cutting and welding. With easy-to-install instructions, the Hemi STS kit can be bolted in place in four to six hours with simple handtools, producing 5 to 15 psi of boost.
The company says it recently dyno-tested a Hemi Ram test mule on a Dynojet dynamometer and it showed a 154 hp and 175 lb-ft of torque gain at the rear wheels. We drove one at the 2004 SEMA Show, and the STS system offered a significant improvement in power, with no impact to the driveability of the truck.
Each Hemi kit comes complete with TiAL wastegate, Garrett T04E 60-1 trim turbocharger, K&N filter and Precharger, patented turbo oiling system, HPC-coated plumbing, electrical harness, stainless-steel hose clamps, silicone turbo hoses, and proprietary engine and drivetrain management. To boost performance even further, STS says it offers upgrades such as easy-to-install in-line water/air intercoolers, methanol injection systems, TiAL blow-off valves, Electronic Boost Controllers (EBCs), and Garrett GT turbos.
The kits are backed by a manufacturers warranty on parts and craftsmanship for 12 months, and each STS kit is hand-assembled in the USA. STS claims CARB exemption was in final stages at press time, but you can call the company to get the latest. For more information, contact Squires Turbo Systems at (866) WE-TURBO (938-8726), www.ststurbo.com
Toyota to Create Consolidated R&D and Manufacturing Operations
Toyota announced that it plans to consolidate its North American engineering and manufacturing into one company. The new company will be called Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America (TEMA) and will be launched during the first half of 2006.
TEMA will operate with three centers: The Toyota Technical Center will continue to direct R&D activities from Ann Arbor, Michigan; the Toyota Operations Center will oversee Toyota's manufacturing locations in North America from Erlanger, Kentucky; and the Toyota Planning Center will oversee planning and administration from Erlanger, Kentucky.
TEMA will use existing facilities and workforces, and there are currently no plans for a new building to house the combined company. The workforce of the combined organizations, including manufacturing operations, will be approximately 27,000.
GM Reminds FullsizePickup Owners to Respond to Safety Recall on Tailgate Cables
General Motors is reminding owners of certain '00-'04 fullsize pickup trucks to have their tailgate cables replaced at their dealers as soon as possible.
GM is conducting a safety recall of 4.1 million trucks, because on some of these vehicles, the galvanized-steel tailgate support cables that retain the tailgate in the fully open horizontal position may corrode, weaken, and eventually fracture. Owners of the trucks were mailed letters about this recall in March and October of 2004 and will receive reminder postcards every two months until repairs are completed.
If both cables fractured, the tailgate could suddenly drop and strike the top surface of the rear bumper. Anyone sitting or standing on the tailgate could be injured in a fall.
Regardless of the condition of the tailgate cables, the GM owner's manual cautions against standing or sitting on the tailgate when the truck is moving.
Involved in the recall are certain '00 Chevrolet CKs, '00-'04 Chevrolet Silverados and GMC Sierra trucks, and '02-'04 Cadillac Escalade EXT and Chevrolet Avalanche trucks.
GM dealers have stainless-steel cables available as free replacements, and owners are urged to contact their dealer to make a repair appointment.
'06 H1 Alpha: The Original HummerGets Duramax 6600 Diesel
The '06 H1 Alpha, featuring GM's Duramax 6600 diesel engine, takes Hummer performance to its ultimate extension and represents the single greatest advance in the 14-year history of the original Hummer. Arriving in dealerships in early 2005, the H1 Alpha delivers more power, more torque, and enhanced on- and off-road capability, with significantly improved fuel economy. GM's award-winning Duramax 6600 (6.6L) turbodiesel engine and Allison 1000 five-speed automatic transmission give the H1 Alpha dramatic performance improvements and add to the H1's legendary off-road capabilities.