Prerunner Articles

SEMA Show 2007

SEMA 2007

Even though Prerunners are not yet “mainstream”, there was quite a bit to see at this year’s SEMA Show.

We started our coverage outside during booth set-up where we found this Pro-Lite CORR truck sponsored by Bully Dog.

 bully dog prolite

Next we found a Trophy Kart sponsored by Fall Advertising. These things are a blast, and a lot safer for your kids than a quad, full roll cages and 4 pt. harnesses ensure your kids have a fun time and your hair won’t turn gray from worrying.

 

You might recognize this CORR truck if you watch Extreme 4X4. This was not completed for SEMA as the drive train was not installed, but it still looks cool.

 

If you have been to a SNORE race here in Southern Nevada then you might have seen this truck.

 

Then I spotted this Tacoma that was a work of art. Fully caged and linked in the back with a Total Chaos long-travel front kit on it, this Tacoma was a favorite of ours.

Next we ventured out to the “Proving Grounds” sponsored by Toyota. This man-made rock garden was the scene for those that wanted to test the muscle of the new Tundras. I could not believe people were climbing some of these obstacles in stock Tundras. Occasionally you would hear the scraping of the front bumper fascia as it climbed the concrete obstacles. Also on hand were a few rock buggies and jeeps that were better suited to this rugged terrain.

 

That concluded our day, as the media was not allowed inside when the booths were being setup. The next day was going to be the official start of the show.

We started on the second floor of the South Hall as that is where the Off-Road and SUV segment of the show was to be. Once inside we were somewhat disappointed. The showroom floor was littered with lift kits. I had to tell myself that the Prerunner Lifestyle has not made it to mainstream yet. With that in mind we started to browse. 

Our first stop was at the Pro Comp booth where we found their new Triple XXX Coil Over/5Link System for the 2008 Super Duty. The heart of the Triple XXX is Pro Comp’s performance proven “M 2.75CR” aluminum bodied coil-over shock absorber. These mono tube remote reservoir performance shocks are Doubled Up in the front and replace the original equipment configuration of a stand alone single small volume shock and coil spring. In the rear, the same M 2.75CR shock absorber controls and complements the performance engineered “5 Link” spring replacement system.

 

This front and rear ultimate shock upgrade system is only part of the complete package. Other key components included are

  • 4130N Chromoly Tube, Rear Upper Control Arms.
  • CNC Formed, Rear Lower Control Arms w/Chromoly Pivot Eyelets.
  • 2″ Nitrogen Charged Rear Hydraulic Bump Stops controlling 10″s of wheel travel.
  • Laser Cut and CNC Formed front Replacement Radius Arms.
  • Heavy Duty front and rear track bar and shock mounts..
  • Forged Pitman Arm
  • Dual Steering Stabilizers

This kit will greatly improve your ride on road and offroad but if you are a serious hauler it is not recommended. Due to the nature of this kit there had to be some small sacrifices in towing to get this awesome ride.

Our next stop was at the KC Hilites booth. We met with our friend Tony, a Representative of KC and he gave us a tour of their new Sand Car they featured in their booth. On it you will see a bank of new KC HIDs. These new HIDs are supposed to be completely different from the normal HIDs on the market today. We will bring you more details once the product is released to the public.

Also in the KC booth was their insane RZR we featured last month.

After leaving the South hall we headed for the main hall to see what else might interest us.

If you keep up with the JeepSpeed racing series you’ll know they have added another class to include the TJ model. We were stopped in our tracks when we saw this new Jeep Unlimited built for Speed. Equipped with a full cage and a linked 9in. rear-end, this JeepSpeed racer by Bilstein was unreal. The pictures tell the story on this one.

Our next stop landed us in the GM booth where we found a number of interesting concepts that I hop make it to the public. First was the H3R Concept. This H3 was outfitted with a 7.0L LS7 V8 rated at 505 HP. Inside you found racing seats with 5 pt harnesses and the spare was mounted prerunner style in the rear. I don’t think we will ever see this one of the show room floor, but it shows you can build one yourself.

This concept seems like it could be on the showroom floor soon, a Suburban HD Z71 Diesel. Though the engine was labeled, “concept”, the 4.5L diesel engine was rated at 310 HP and 520 lb-ft. This is exactly what America needs to feed their desire for large SUVs. Great kid capacity with great towing capacity and you’ll actually get more than 5 MPG.

We were on our way to the Ford booth when we came across this new long travel kit from Rancho for the Polaris RZR. You should see it at your local UTV retailers soon.

 

At the Ford booth we were immediately drawn to this giant silver and lime green F-450 Super Duty built by GAS (Galpin Autosports). Now what made this F-450 so unique is its “Green Nature”. OK you say to yourself how can a giant diesel guzzling truck be Green? This truck was made to be a Biodiesel/Hydrogen Hybrid. Did you know you can inject Hydrogen into your diesel and get better performance and the amount of hydrogen injected replaces that same amount of diesel fuel giving you better fuel mileage and it lowers emissions. That is how a big truck like this is “Green”.

Check out this Super Duty, the paint job looked so real it was hard to believe it was paint. Check out how the rear was converted to a dual rear wheel.

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