13 New Hot Rod Products LIVE from SEMA 2013

Posted by pikesan on Nov 9, 2013 in How-To & Tech, Shows & Events | 3 comments

Best Hot Rod Parts at SEMA 2013

 

What is SEMA? A reason to meet friends, drink too much and gamble? No! Not during the day!

 

It’s a trade show for all things automotive aftermarket… I tell people, “Anything with wheels” is at the SEMA Show. Lucky for me, helping out with the Live from SEMA website, I get to cover my favorite part of the show: Hot rod parts! So here’s 13 of my picks for cool new hot rod products from SEMA 2013.

Blown LS – For Function and Style

 

Edelbrock’s E-Force Supercharger system for Chevy LS engines is a hard piece to miss! Who wouldn’t want to have this polished positive displacement bad-boy poking out of their hood? The E-Force Systems run dual 4150 style bolt pattern flanges, so bolt up your favorite carb or run a set of EFI throttle bodies…  Your final choice? Get your blower polished like this one, or go with a satin finish, either way, both get the job done better than the stock intake setup. No? See a tasty 750+ HP in the video here.

 

Boost, RPM and Pressure Control from Auto Meter

 

Auto Meter crushed it at SEMA. They took  1st and 2nd place for new products in Street Performance.

 

The first product is this boost controller. Scrambling to take notes, I learned this is a cool piece! To start with, you can have to boost settings: Stun and KILL!! Choose high or low boost settings for tooling around town, or crank it up for a fun night at the strip. On top of that, you’ll have separate boost settings for each gear. Less for lower gears to keep wheel spin down, then max boost when you’re wide open in higher gears. It’s a poor man’s traction control!

 

From there, you configure just about anything else you can think of… the display, overboost warnings or peak boost recall are all at your fingertips. The boost controller kit comes with everything you need from the harness to the boost control solenoid.

 

 

Maybe a little less sexy, but still good for 2nd in Street Performance Products is this LS motor tach adapter kit. If you’re not running an LS motor, you might not care, but if you are, don’t worry about cutting into the factory-style wiring, simply plug in this harness and get a clean tach signal.

 

 

Finally from Auto Meter, what toolbox is complete without a quality tire pressure gauge? Choose either a 60 psi or a low pressure 15 psi max analog gauge. Or for serious racers, go digital. The Pro-Comp is designed for high precision measurements, within 0.25% that can make the difference at the track.

 

Look Mom, no keys!

 

If you own a new car, chances are, you’re used to keeping your keys where they belong, in your pocket! After using “I-keys” or “Smart Keys” it gets to be a hassle to pull out your keys to start the car. Painless Performance provides this modern touch for your hot rod with their “Phantom Key” kit. Use it to lock/unlock the doors, pop the trunk and of course start your car at the touch of a button.

 

Intelligent Battery Charging from Optima

 

One of Optima’s newest products is their 4 amp “trickle” charger. Use this a battery minder for storing your hot rod for the winter while keeping your battery fresh, or use it as a standard, low current battery charger for Optima AGM style batteries, or regular flooded batteries. It does both equally well. With easy to follow info or warning messages shown clearly on the LCD, along with a state of charge meter, this baby’s a ready for anyone to use.

 

Looks like Bias-ply, rides like Radial Tires

 

It’s often a trade off: Complete the look of a traditional car with a set of bias plys, or run a radial tire and miss a few style points while enjoying the benefits of radials. I know this trade off first hand, that’s why these wide white wall radials are a big hit! They look just like bais ply tires, but you can see the radial construction in the pictures above. These are only available in wide white wall right now, but if we ask nicely, I’m hoping for some black walls for my hot rod!

 

TCI Bolt-Together Powerglide Planetaries

 

Maybe another hit or miss product, but if you’re running a Powerglide transmission and want to change gear ratios, you’ll like this one. TCI has redesigned its Powerglide Planetaries with a unique bolt-together design, allowing quick and easy at-the-track changes to gear ratios and output shaft sizes and lengths. All that’s good enough for a 1st place award in Racing Performance Products from SEMA.

 

Easy Electronic Fuel Pressure Kit

 

Like Auto Meter, Comp Performance Group cleaned up in Racing Products. They took 2nd place with this Electronic Fuel Pressure Kit. This good looking, black anodized piece is for use with FAST’s EFI system, or any other EFI kit. The kit comes ready to install with harness and mounting hardware.

 

Low Inertia, High Torque Triple Clutch

 

Talking with my buddies at  Centerforce Clutch, they showed me what Pro-touring and hard charging drivers were asking for: A triple clutch, low inertia, high torque holding clutch. At only 8 3/4 inch diameter, the rotational inertia is significantly reduced from a larger diameter clutch, but you’re still able to hold up to 1100 ft lbs of torque. And yes, the polished aluminum pressure plate is a standard part of the kit.

 

Goods from Goolsby and Lokar Performance Products

 

It’s hard to miss this beautiful dash insert, even at a SEMA survival pace ripping from one building to another… Designed by Trendsetter Award winning Goolsby Customs then supplied by Lokar, look for this combination in a great hot rod near you! For a more sophisticated look, go with the white pearl inlay!

 

 

Also from Goolsby are these pedal products. When the whole car’s custom, the pedals should be too, right?  As good looking as these are, you’d want to leave your door open all the time!

 

Pre-Filled Battery Lugs

 

Sometimes the coolest products are also the easiest to miss! I was cruising by the Del City booth when I decided to stop in to see what was new… These guys may need some  Booth babes to draw in foot traffic. When I finally looked, I found these clever battery lugs and connectors pre-filled with solder. Just heat up, then jam in the heavy gauge wire and you’re done. I tried this once without pre-filled. It’s a pain! The picture shows a wide variety of ends that all come pre-filled.

 

Hot Rod Rubber Hose

 

Last but not least from TechAFX, take a close look at this hose. At first glance, it’s a simple rubber fuel line. BUT WAIT! It’s actually a teflon hose, wrapped in stainless, then wrapped in a low gloss, rubber-looking layer for an “old school” style. TechAFX makes a line of fittings that slip right into the teflon hose and fit nearly every carb you can think of. Use a hose clamp for double security, and to complete the look, or you can still use AN-style fittings for higher pressure applications.

 

Well… that’s it. 13 of the 13,000 new products at SEMA. I’ll cover the rest, uhhh… next week or so? Thanks for having a look!! Anything you can use?

 

Catch all the action from SEMA – “Live from SEMA” – Click the banner below or follow this link to see all the coverage from SEMA and Nitto Tires ace reporting team.