Boise Car Audio Stereo Installation, Diesel and Gas Performance, Bluetooth, iPod and Navigation all in one spot

Vettey McVetteFace is BAAAAAACK

5/16/2018

Client didn't even last a year......his first system we put in was 'meh'......but he wanted louder and clearer!
First setup was a 5 Channel Alpine Amplifier pushing Polk Audio components with a Single JL Audio 10" subwoofer in a fiberglass box.
Client picked up some scratch and dent items off the web for a much better system.

Arc Audio 5 Channel XDi amplifier
Hertz MLK 6.5" Component Speakers
Dual 10" JL Audio Subwoofers
Dual 10" Fiberglass sub boxes

The main issue with having to replace everything on this system was that all the wires were planned out and ran into the side storage area the first time...which is now being filled by a subwoofer box......so they needed to be replaced and relocated......that, and the Hertz crossovers are MASSIVE...like the size of most newer amplifiers.....so I needed to make room for those as well.
My solution was to built a center amp rack and blend both of the boxes into each other.
I could have made a single solid cover, but budget didn't really permit......so I went with a filler section.
I molded in a corvette emblem just to break up the transition as well.

This system sounded MUCH better than the last one.....plenty more power and the sub-stage is MUCH more noticeable.....so, goal achieved!

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Camaro with Triple LED Upgraded Headlights

5/11/2018

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Love projects like these.....industry friends helping each other out.

Industry friend of mine El Stig sent a client my way after he'd purchased product from him in California.....the customer was more local to me, so i was able to help him out with the install.
Customer purchased RGBW Camaro LED Board Replacements, Demon Eyes and Halos....so I was able to get them installed.

This Chevy Camaro was already nicely equipped with many extras...so this only helps it stand out from the rest.

This was my first Camaro retrofit with the LED boards....and let me just say.....they are VERY tight and finicky compared to the rest of the GM family I'm used to working with.
The boards have to be installed just right with exact amount of pressure or else they will start to fail....which sucks because even at that amount of stress can occur from a solid bump or under normal driving experiences......but either way, I managed to get all 3 separate zones setup on this...and the customer can easily control them separately or together via his Diode Dynamics smart phone controller.

Overall, you can't hardly tell anything was done inside of these lights, minus the addition of the halo ring with the diffused cover to match the look of the OEM DRL strip.....but then once you turn them on, you can be blinded by the output.

Here are 200+ photos for you to see for yourself!

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Project QuadCeption - Chevy Silverado

4/29/2018

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This was a fun one.

Introducing.....Project QuadCeption

Customer brought in his 2006 Chevy Silverado. He'd had a bunch of work done at many different shops around the valley and wasn't happy with most of it....so he decided it was time to try someone new....
PHASE 1.....LIGHTS!

The client basically said "I'd like to take this to SEMA one day....build me some SEMA-worthy lights".
That's all I needed to hear.
I've wanted to do some gnarly Cat-Eye lights before, but never got the opportunity to do things my way....so here is what I proposed:

QUAD LED Projectors High/Low
QUAD Baja Designs Wide Cornering Flush Mount LED Pods
QUAD Upper Housing Eyebrow Switchback LED Strips
QUAD Lower Housing Eyebrow Switchback LED Strips
QUAD Multicolor Demon Eye Accent Lighting
QUAD Stage Series LED Bars in Bumper (Wide and Spot Lenses)
QUAD Tow Mirror Switchback LED Strips
Multicolor Wheel Well Accents
Interior Floor Lighting LED Upgrade (so driver can see what his Demon Eyes are doing)
Interior Lighting LED Upgrades
Subwoofer, Amp and Box Upgrade

So the easier housings to modify were the lower units. These I needed to stuff in some Baja flush mount pods and then mount the switchback strips....no problem....
I fabricated some custom ABS panels to match the external border of the internal housing....then I secure them mechanically via some gnarly heated staples....then sealed the units permanently with chemicals and body filler....then bedlinered the entire internal surfaces.
From there, I was going to blend the baja pods into the finished panel, but decided against it so they had a contrasting color (Brushed Black Aluminum vs Flat Black ABS.....it looked very nice.

Moving on to the upper housings, these were a complete mess to fabricate.....I didn't have the truck the first go-around....so I needed to make all the adjustments and tweaks as best I could without knowing clearances ......so I redesigned this bracket 3-4 times before I thought I had it just right....once I got the truck, I could easily tell I was off...so I redesigned it once more and got the fitment perfect! CBD makes these kickass brackets...but they are meant to fit smaller projectors....not necessarily the MLED units....which are MUCH wider and overall girthier....so I had to do quite a bit of trimming and a ton of spacing to make sure I clear the front lens and allow for minimal rear external protrusion.
Once the projectors were fitted, I was able to mod the truck....in order to make these fit, some of the front needed to be trimmed out and removed....this is definitely not a DIY Plug-n-Play set of headlights...so i doubt I'll be doing another set of these, unless someone wants to ship me their truck....luckily this customer was local.
The fronts were then fitted with some Ocular shrouds and trimmed to fit the mounting bracket as well as the outer headlight shroud.....one that was fitted with yet another set of Switchback LED strips.
The rear of these housings got a unique 'patch job'......I had originally planned on using the GTi-R shrouds for the front...but they didn't cover everything and they fit so damn well on the backside of the housing...so I used them to seal up the rear.....which I've never seen before...so i think it's a first :-D

After the upper and lower housings were sealed, I terminated ALL of the connectors with new Deutsche connections (2 way, 3 way and 4 way terminals) for a much more professional finish than I'm used to providing. This is much more expensive, but in the end, totally worth it...so i'll be doing this from here on out for all my clients!

The bumper got some sleek light bar upgrades as well.
I didn't want to add a bunch of cheap 50" or 85" LED bars that all the bro's are getting off Cheapazon....so I went with strategically placed 6" Diode Dynamic Stage Series light bars.
2 Wide Cornering bars replaced the factory Fog Light housings and 2 Spot bars went into the 2 small openings in the center of the bumper.
The wide cornering bars are on the factory foglight switch and can be used during On-Road use since they are DOT/SAE legal. The spot bars and the Baja Pods in the lower housings are placed on a switch near the foglight switch....these unleash the power of the sun, so are to be used Off-Road only....or to announce that another driver has done something wrong or was just plain stupid and their retina's will now pay for it!

The tow mirrors were simple....ish. He'd already purchased these aftermarket mirrors, but they still had the lame Amber running lights up front...so I swapped them for the switchback strips to mimic the front quads and then re-wired how the mirrors were hooked up so they functioned properly.
The combination of 12 Total Switchback strips (84" Total) is unreal....it's the brightest set of Running/Turn lights I've done to date and this beast looks amazing running down the road....truly sets off the lines on the front of this truck.....you can easily tell what kind of truck this is at midnight if it's coming head-on to you!

I patched in some multi-color floor well lighting inside of the truck so that the driver knows if his demon eyes are on and what they are doing.
The exterior multi-color wheel well lights are on a different controller and need no interior representation...as you can simply stick your head out the window and see what color they are on.

He also had a 12" Kicker L7 in a super custom box under his rear seat....that was hitting said seat and shredding the woofer surround apart....so i removed that and installed our 10" bedlinered sub/box/amp combo and gave him 800w of true power.....it was a much nicer install, gave him so more room under the seat and played the lows perfectly!

Overall, this was a fun, tiring and stressful build; but I'm glad he gave me the opportunity.....this is one of the brightest, most useful builds I've done. Not only does he have plenty of light, but every aspect of the build was purposefully done to provide ample light output in multiple conditions and situations.....plus...it just looks mean as hell!

Enjoy the 250+ photos below!

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Minnesota Silverado goes full LED

4/6/2018

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Client sent me his Chevy Silverado headlights for a slight make-over.
He'd previously purchased some Klearz sidemarker lenses to get rid of the Amber lenses....and then I upgraded the rest of the lights. I replaced everything halogen with LEDs.....we're talking Low Beam, High Beam, Switchback Turn Signals, Fog Light Beam, Brake Lights, Cargo Lights and all Interior Lights....I shipped him a whole gang of LEDs from the dudes over at Diode Dynamics.

For the headlights....something as simple as removing the Amber lenses can make the headlights look dramatically different.....it's crazy!
When you turn on the Highs, Lows and Running lights....ALL of the Profile LED products truly shine! They look great together!

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Base Model Camaro is now SS-ish

3/31/2018

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This was....uhm.....and interesting last minute build.
Local dealership had a mix-up with a client of theirs. He wanted an SS Camaro...but they didn't have one in stock...so they sold him a base model Camaro and told him they can upgrade the look of it to resemble the SS.....so they added a spoiler, a new hood and then said they'd do some custom lights on it.

I got the call that they need some SS lights upgraded with some color changing options....so I ordered the SS DRL Board upgrades and waited for them to drop off the housings.......which, when I received them, a massive red flag went up.....these aren't SS lights.
The mix-up with the dealership to me was they wanted me to make SS lights out of these Base lights.....and get them done in a day or two.

So the SS lights are completely different internally...in that they have a more centrally located HID projector with a nice factory DRL strip.
So.....I 'could' have built them a set from scratch...but Budget and Time didn't permit....so next best thing......add RGB Multi-Color demon eyes and a Switchback LED strip to these and call it a day.

All-in-All....these do give the lights a different look and they match well with the existing bumper DRL strips.....the added touch of the switchback feature and multi-colored Demon Eyes helps it stand out from the rest of the base model Camaro's......but I feel like the owner will be back for an Actual SS conversion....which we'll post up once we get it hammered out.

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Elderly Clients can now see and be seen with LED upgrades

3/23/2018

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This was another one of those fun projects.
Client from out of State was worried about his parents here in Idaho.
His father said he had a hard time seeing at night and was also worried about them getting rear-ended because of all the texters nowadays.

So, for the front, I added Dual 6" Diode Dynamic Stage Series light bars and they are activated off of the factory low beams....so this way they'll be on during the day via DRLs and on automatically at night so his father doesn't have to worry about turning them on/off.
These are an SAE legal auxiliary light and since they are below the factory headlights and aimed properly, they can be on and not illegal and will not obstruct the view on on-coming drivers....which this is all done in the matter of safety and that was taken into account.

The rear end was a fun little custom job.
We discussed MULTIPLE different ways to attack this issue of drivers to the rear of the car not paying attention.
After we decided on upgrading the factory 3rd brake light to a much brighter version (via Morimoto's DRL LED bar)....I then added a super slick Brake Pulsing module that allowed me to program the pulses any way I felt was necessary.
We decided on CONSTANT RANDOM PULSES....so whenever the brakes are depressed, the 3rd brake like will constantly and randomly pulse....
Now, some of you are saying "Hey, that'd be annoying during stop/n/go traffic".....well....Too Bad.....I'm helping the elderly out and giving them annoying tech so that they stay safe!
Actually...the though process around this is that MOST texters/drivers look down/away more than the average distracted driver...so a single triple or quad brake pulse isn't enough.....a constant pulse is better; because you never know when they eventually look up...might as well make sure they know you're stopped the entire time!

In the end, this was a fun project and I love helping people out....especially with my knowledge of automotive lighting...it's good to put it to use in a safe manner rather than always for 'show'.
The customer was super happy....just check the yelp review below!

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Remove, Re-install, Repeat

3/18/2018

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So I'd just barely installed this system in a clients Toyota 4Runner.....but she needed to upgrade shortly after that...luckily her new Chevy Traverse could be upgraded as well....so I pulled the Kenwood unit and installed it in her new SUV.

With the use of this harness, I was able to retain the factory backup camera and all of the other features of the vehicle.
The owner can now utilize her Apple Carplay or AndroidAuto to get Pandora, Spotify and much more!

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Chevrolet Colorado gets equipped for the road

3/16/2018

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This one was another team effort between Ryan and I....and unfortunately someone (not naming names....but it doesn't start with a 'T') forgot to take before/after pics of the truck fully finished......actually...the customer is supposed to come back for some adjustments and we'll snag pics and upload them here later.

Here is what we did:

ZONE leveling kit
FabFour Front and Rear Bumpers
30" Baja Designs S8 Light Bar
Tinted Windows
Echomaster GM Specific Front Camera
Pac-Audio GM-specific Video Integration Module

The bumpers on this one were a fun one.....the rear bumper wasn't too bad, went on with minimal issues.
The front, however, needed to have the factory bumper/fascia trimmed to manufacturer specifications.....which we did meticulously....and after we bolted the bumper on, we noticed their measurements and bumper were OFF. Normally we don't point fingers....but after measuring the bumper, we noticed it was tweaked a bit......nothing noticeable to the average Joe (sorry Joe, your mum gave you that name and now everyone uses you to compare to normalcy).....but when mated up with the factory fascia lines, it was off about 1/4".....so after continuous tweaking and fitment, we got the bumper to fit as best as possible and the customer was stoked with it.

We also tinted the windows all around to give the owner a sense of cover....as well as block harmful UV rays.

The front camera integration wasn't a big deal now that we've done a few of these modules...they are SUPER nice and really highly un-used as far as the the full capabilities of them.....but for this purpose, they are the perfect match.
The owner now has factory backup camera and can easily access the front camera with the touch of a button.....if that's too much work, this module integrates with the factory speed sensors and when he's going 10 mph or slower, the front camera kicks on to show objects that may not be seen from the drivers position.....super slick.
In the future, the owner can add side blind-spot cameras and they can be activated via button or turn-signals....

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Tahoe Can See Clearly Now the Fogs are In

2/15/2018

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Local Dealership needed to upgrade this brand New Chevy Tahoe with some factory fogs, since they didn't have that option installed.

The install was pretty straight forward....remove factory blank plates, insert fog housing....call it a day.

SKREEEEETTTCH

JK

I was just going to originally hooked them up to an aftermarket switch...but the dealership wanted to install a factory light switch and enable the fog light circuit as if fully installed as a factory option.
Fast forward 4 hours of re-mapping the factory ECU...it's not possible....
So....a hole was drilled in the lower dash area below the factory headlight switch and a low profile switch was installed.

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50th Anniversary Camaro gets techy

2/13/2018

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This was DEFINITELY a learning experience for me.
Dealership introduced me to a very nice farmer (who actually kinda sorta knew me and my family)(small world) that purchased this new 2018 Chevy Camaro 50th Anniversary Edition and quickly realized he couldn't' see a damn thing out of this windows.
Biggest issue is that he didn't want to take out his stylish front end when it battled with curbs and whatnot.

So, I went in guns-a-blazin' and installed my EchoMaster Front Sensor kit that will audibly alert the owner of anything in front of the vehicle.
THIS is where the problems started.
So these sensors have an average range of 2-4' in which it will pick up anything in front of it on a spherical 180 degree plane...which is all fine and dandy, but you can only mount them at a certain height off the ground before they start to pick up said ground.
That's usually not a problem on larger SUVs or Trucks...where you have unlimited vertical surfaces to mount them to.
This Camaro bumper was so edgy and concave that there was no real aesthetically appeasing locations to put the sensors so they would ONLY detect 3-6" curbs and NOT the road or leaves or cigarette butts.
I had to redo the mounting and angling about 4 or 5 different times before we were both happy with the outcome.

Where it's at now, the sensors will audibly alert you when you are within 2-3 feet of a curb...but will stop after you are within 1 foot....because it's no longer within the range of detection....so it's more of a mental note that the client needs to keep...which is better than the first attempt where if you braked too hard, it'd start beeping...which was insanely annoying.

All-in-All the customer is happy and can now park/drive with confidence!

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Colorado ZR2 is back, and it's brighter than ever

1/9/2018

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Was really glad to see this return client's number pop up on my phone....he's such a joy to work with....him and his wife....they really do make me enjoy doing what I do.

I'd previously added brighter headlights and some safety features to this truck.....but JUST HID headlights wasn't enough.....so....we went BIG!

30 Inches to be exact!

This truck, due to it's performance package from the factory, did not come with Fog Lights....so we needed to add more light somehow....so I opted for the light bar route....but not how most 'dude bros' add them.

I removed his entire bumper, modified factory air intakes and plastic panels to fit this Rough Country 30" Black Series LED light bar.
It tucks nicely into a factory opening in the grill/bumper area.
I ran the switch into the cab and mounted it next to the factory light switch for easy use.

Now he'll not have a single issue seeing what's in front of him...whether that's 20' for a 1/4 mile!

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Slowly but efficiently building a C10

12/9/2017

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A Good Buddy of mine brought in his GMC C10 truck that he recently-ish purchased.
He came to me asking how much it costs to restore one of these and how much those SEMA trucks are that he sees me post pictures of. That kind of a loaded question....but basically breaks down to "How much do you wanna spend on it".....because restoring old vehicles can be VERY spendy.....but they can also be managed financially well if you have a plan.
That's where we started.

I told him let's get some of the mechanical things out of the way first, then we'll move on to the feel good interior/audio/lighting upgrades, then you can figure out the look of it and just keep building on it as we go......so, a month or so ago, he brought it in and we did a few things to it:

Lowered entire truck 3"
Relocated Interior Gas tank to Rear of Truck bed, under truck bed
New Long Tube Headers with Full Exhaust System
Fixed minor leaks and mechanical issues

Now that the beast was awoken, it was time to make the truck more fun to drive....mainly the ability to drive.
The owner is all of 6'-5"-ish.....and the super awesome JDM seats someone put in there made it impossible to drive and not fly off the road if you happened to laugh or so anything that would cause your stomach or kneed to move slightly...as they were resting on the steering wheel and gear shifter.....basically, he was making love to his truck everytime he got in the thing because the seat was much to large and close to the dash.

Solution?

Full Interior Swap-Out.
Easier said than done....and after looking in lower profile seats, I found that short of going to the junk yard and finding newer seats and having them re-upholstered to have no headrests so they'd fit below the window line of the rear of the truck.....this was going to be tricky.......then I found TMC interiors. They offered a fully fabricated interior kit for a very reasonable price.
This came with Dual Bucket seats, a center console, full dash cover and full door panel covers.....in your choice of two color combos...or you could get fully custom with it...but I knew the two-tone brown/tan combo would work flawlessly with the Teal paint of the truck.

The new bucket seats saved us about 6-9"s of room and now the owner can comfortably drive this beast.

Next up...the lights.....the owners other truck has more lights than what most could dream of, so this truck had to be the same.....but tastefully done....so I went the non-traditional route and swapped out the separate high and low beam headlights for Quad high/low beam LED projector pods......Hiese Lighting offers affordable Chrome 5.5" Dual Beam headlights that fit right in place....ish. I just needed to fabricate some wiring harnesses to tie them into the factory wiring and BOOM....he's got 8000 lumen to work with.....about 7000 more than most people :-D

How bout that audio setup?

Well, since, as you can tell by the pictures, the interior is FAR from done due to the floor pans being rusted out, we went simple for now on the audio side.
Most important part, get a Retro headunit in there to look the part and then get some noise going.
Started with the Retrosounds Hermosa Bluetooth headunit with C10 faceplate and knobs.
Then did the C10 Kick panels with the Retrosounds 6.5" Component speakers....which got some sound deadening behind the plastic panels.
This setup sound good...but needs some lower end help once the floors are re-welded/patched, sound deadened and carpeted....THEN some BOOM can go in and this truck will be audibly perfect!

For now....we're done.....but watch out for more on this one!

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Red Colorado becomes Rad Red 'Rado

11/15/2017

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This was a fun one.
Local dealership had a customer that wanted to trick out his new 2017 Chevy Colorado.
They had already put on a load of accessories and needed help with some custom stuff....that's where we come in.

First thing first...customer wanted a Red Back-lit Chevy Bowtie.
After some searching online, the dealership couldn't find what they were looking for and called us.
So I got to work on the router and had a 1/2" copy made up fairly quickly and then wrapped some RGB strips in behind it.
I've seen these done before where they fire lighting INTO the emblem and hope that light emits through the sides...and it does look ok....but you can barely see the light......this guy, setup the correct way, emits a TON of light.

After that was done, the client wanted a way to know the light was on....so we opted to do Red Floor lighting inside....so when he flicks the switch I placed in the center console, his feet light up as well....pretty nifty!

He also wanted a GPS Dash-cam installed....which we hardwired to the trucks electrical system so there is nothing that needs plugged in with wires hanging everywhere.....looks very OEM.

After all the electrical was done, we also painted the brake calipers red with high-heat brake paint.....it's the little things that can truly transform your vehicle...whether a ton of people recognize the effort, or just another similar vehicle owner recognizes it......it's all in the details!

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Huntin' rig gets new audio and video gear

11/13/2017

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Return client brought in his hunting truck for a backup camera upgrade.....but after hearing options and weighing the needs/wants category, we replaced his OEM stereo for a newer Pioneer unit that'll give him better audio inputs as well as a nice big 6.5" screen to see what he's backing up into via his new license plate camera.

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Aftermarket isn't always better, unless you Traxize it

11/13/2017

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Customer brought in his 2011 Chevy Tahoe for some much needed lighting upgrades.

He had purchased some aftermarket eBay speaker projector headlights in hopes that they would be better than his factory lighting....but after a long discussion about how 99% of aftermarket pre-built lights are actually WORSE than your factory lights, we decided what needed to happen:

HID Retrofit.

So....instead of trashing his aftermarket headlights, I informed him he's got multiple options and directions he can go...but the best bang for his buck is to retro his new lights with aftermarket HIDs....which we went with Hylux 35w HIDs in the low beam projectors.....after shimming up the projectors internally, they aligned perfectly with plenty of adjustment (usually an issue with aftermarket lights) and some trimming/cutting on the vehicle itself, these lights fit good and provide PLENTY of light output.

He'll be back to re-wire the Halos and LEDs a bit differently as well as upgrade the factory Turn Signals and DRL bulbs...and I'll post those pics later.

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Some serious suspension upgrades on this Chevy

11/1/2017

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Here we have a 2016 Chevy Silverado 1500 a client brought in with some parts he purchased from another parts store and needed them installed.

Here is what we installed:

2.5 King Coilovers with Reservoirs
Upper Control Arms
KMC Robby Gordon Wheels
General Tires
Removed Rear Blocks

Here are just a few of the reasons someone would want to do a setup like this:

1. Lightweight hard anodized 6063 aluminum alloy reservoirs dissipate heat quickly and will not rust due to gas charging contamination.
2. High quality fittings are mated to Aeroquip high pressure hoses which resist abrasion and kinking.
3. Internally threaded top cap design threads over the shock body to enable maximum piston travel inside the shock body.
4. 2.5" Shock cylinders are precision bored to within +/- .001, then honed after cadmium plating to remove buildup for a tight piston seal and optimum valving function.
5. Coilover shocks are machined with our own truncated thread design for ultimate strength and trouble free spring preload and height adjustments.
6. Pinch bolt coil adjuster nut offers superior clamping force to retain your coil preload adjustments without crushing the threads like set screw style collars do.
7. The heat treated 6061 aluminum alloy piston has our highly developed port configurations that contribute to the unique damping performance and famous King ride quality.
8. Wear bands are made from a Rulon composite that offers incredible wear resistance, low deformation under load and high compressive strength. Overlapping end design enhances sealing.
9. Large 3/4" or 7/8" diameter shafts have a minimum tensile strength of 100,000 pounds per square inch. They are hard chromed and micro-polished to a 6 RA finish for extended seal life.
10. High strength rod end designed for proper clearance on your application. Steel Teflon lined spherical bearings for smooth articulation and long life with no metal to metal contact.
11. Aluminum components and vehicle specific mounts are machined from aircraft quality billet. Front and rear kits all include all necessary vehicle specific mounting brackets and hardware along with detailed installation instructions. Technical support, if needed, is only a phone call or email away.

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Lifted Chevy goes Lower? and Smaller?

10/30/2017

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Return client brought in his 2008 Chevy Silverado 1500 for some long-road driving upgrades.
He'd previously had a lesser quality lift kit installed with some big American Force Wheels and tires....but not of that promoted for good highway driving and wore down pretty quick......so we did the opposite of what we normally do.

We lowered it and put on some more road worthy wheels/tires.

We Removed the massive lift and installed a smaller lift.
Then we installed some 20x10 Fuel Triton Wheels with 33/12.50/20 Nitto Ridge Grappler tires.

Truck still looks killer and will hold up much better on his Cali-runs!

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New Colorado can see better forward and backwards

10/27/2017

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Client brought in his 2017 Chevy Colorado for some tech updates.
The ZR2 Package doesn't have any convenience features that he desperately needed....so Trax Customs was there to help out.

First things first...he couldn't see at night....so we upgraded the OEM Halogen lights to 5000k 35 watt HID lighting from Morimoto.
These pair perfectly with the OEM Projectors and provide plenty of light output for much safer nighttime driving.

Next was the fact that the customer was worried about backing out of spots and not being able to see obstructions that weren't in his factory backup camera.....so we added ultra-sonic reverse sensors into his bumper.
These weren't too difficult to make look factory, the matte black sensors paired up perfectly with the matte black bumper.
Then I installed an audible/visual display up on his dash so that he can get within 12" of an obstacle and know exactly, down to the inch, where he is at.

He'll be back for more in the near future!

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New Camaro Looks and Feels Different

10/18/2017

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Client brought in his new 2017 Camaro SS for some performance upgrades.

Under certain conditions, some GM high-performance cars with manual transmissions force a 1st to 4th shift. Everybody but Nancy Pelosi and the EPA hate it. Here's step-by-step instruction on how to defeat it for $7
It's called "Computer Aided Gear Selection" or CAGS — and it's a system which works by using a solenoid in the transmission to force the driver to shift from first to fourth when you're driving in a leisurely fashion in 1989-and-on GM vehicles using certain 6-speed transmissions. It's purpose is to improve gas mileage and avoid the "gas-guzzler" new car tax.
CAGS comes into play under the following conditions:
* you're in 1st gear (of course)
* you're at 35% throttle or less
* you're between 15 and 21 mph
* engine coolant temperature is greater than 171 F (77 C)
We've noticed this annoying but necessary evil which allows cars with monster power to avoid the dreaded gas-guzzler tax by squeaking out a few extra miles per gallon in late-model Corvettes, but also, most recently, in the Pontiac G8 GXP. Which is what got us thinking about how to get around this little bugger of a dilemma. Luckily, it's pretty easy to defeat.
So.....we wired up the bypass and now the customer doesn't have to worry about it :-D

Next up, it need a better stance, so we lowered it with Eibach's 1.1" Pro Kit.
Eibach Pro-Kit is the perfect answer for most frequently-driven street cars. It's our legendary spring system that dramatically improves both a vehicle's performance and appearance.
Pro-Kit lowers the Chevy's center of gravity, reducing squat during acceleration, body roll in corners and excessive nose-dive under braking. When combined with Plus-1 or Plus-2 wheels and tires, the Eibach Pro-Kit is the finishing touch to a winning recipe for performance. Pro-Kit also reduces excessive fender-well clearance, making your car look just as hot as it performs.
Every Eibach Pro-Kit is designed and tested by our suspension engineers and performance driving professionals, to deliver aggressive good looks and high performance handling, without ever compromising safety or ride quality. By using our proprietary, progressive spring design, Pro-Kit provides the ultimate balance to take your passion for driving to a whole new level

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Blown Head Gasket, Oh that's a quick fix....

9/21/2017

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Customer brought in his 2011 Chevy Duramax with some issues that spelled out a ton of work...but nothing we couldn't handle.

There was some prior work done to the truck and another shop said it'd be fine....well because there was too much boost on the motor, the truck started blowing coolant out of the reservoir under heavy load.
So we did just a little bit of work and PULLED THE ENTIRE CAB OFF and took the motor apart!

We replaced the head gaskets and added the ARP Stage 2 Head Studs while we were in there.
Reason for that is clear....here is a snippet from their site showing the quality you can expect from ARP:

ARP manufactures fasteners from a wide assortment of materials ranging from popular stainless steel and 8740 chrome moly to exotic alloys that have been developed to handle space travel.
You should also know that there are grades within specific alloys. For example, 8740 is available in four grades:

SDF (guaranteed seamless and defect free).
CHQ (cold head quality).
Aircraft.
Commercial.

ARP uses only the first two (SDF and CHQ), even though they cost more than double “Aircraft” quality.
Stainless Steel: Ideally suited for many automotive and marine applications because stainless is tolerant of heat and virtually impervious to rust and corrosion. ARP “Stainless 300” is specially alloyed for extra durability. It’s polished using a proprietary process to produce a beautiful finish. Tensile strength is typically rated at 170,000 psi.
8740 Chrome Moly: Until the development of today’s modern alloys, chrome moly was popularly considered a high strength material. Now viewed as only moderate strength, 8740 chrome moly is seen as a good tough steel, with adequate fatigue properties for most racing applications, but only if the threads are rolled after heat-treatment, as is the standard ARP production practice. Typically, chrome moly is classified as a quench and temper steel, that can be heat-treated to deliver tensile strengths between 180,000 and 210,000 psi.
ARP2000®: ARP2000 is an alloy steel that can be safely heat treated to a higher level, producing a greater strength material than 8740. While 8740 and ARP2000 share similar characteristics – ARP2000 is capable of achieving a clamp load at 220,000 psi. ARP2000 is used widely in short track and drag racing as an up-grade from 8740 chrome moly in both steel and aluminum rods. Stress corrosion and hydrogen embrittlement are typically not a problem, providing care is taken during installation.
L19: This is a premium steel that is processed to deliver superior strength and fatigue properties. L19 is a very high strength material compared to 8740 and ARP2000 and is capable of delivering a clamp load at 260,000 psi. It is primarily used in short track and drag racing applications where inertia loads exceed the clamping capability of ARP2000. Like most high strength, quench and temper steels – L19 requires special care during manufacturing to avoid hydrogen embrittlement. This material is easily contaminated and subject to stress corrosion. It must be kept well-oiled and not exposed to moisture.
Aermet®: With a typical tensile strength of 290,000-310,000 psi, Aermet is a new martensitic super-alloy that is stronger and less expensive than the super-alloy austenitic materials that follow. Because it is capable of achieving incredibly high clamping loads, it is ideal for short but extreme environments like top fuel, funny car and some short track applications. Although Aermet is a maraging steel that is far superior to other high strength steels in its resistance to stress corrosion, it must be kept well-oiled and not exposed to moisture.
Inconel 718: A nickel based material that is in the high temperature, super-alloy class, it is found to be equally suitable in lower temperature applications. This material delivers tensile strengths in the 210,000-230,000 psi range and exhibits improved fatigue properties. Best of all, Inconel 718 is completely immune to hydrogen embrittlement and corrosion.
ARP3.5® (AMS5844): While similar to Inconel 718, these super-alloys are found in many jet engine and aerospace applications where heat and stress attack the life of critical components. The high cobalt content of this alloy, while expensive, delivers a material with superior fatigue characteristics and typically tensile strength in the 260,000-280,000 psi range. The immunity to hydrogen embrittlement and corrosion of these materials is a significant design consideration. These materials are primarily used in connecting rods where extremely high loads, high RPM and endurance are important factors – Formula 1, NASCAR and IRL applications.
Custom Age 625 Plus®: This newly formulated super-alloy demonstrates superior fatigue cycle life, tensile strength and toughness – with complete resistance to atmospheric corrosion and oxidation. ARP is the first to develop manufacturing and testing processes for fasteners with Custom Age 625+. Best of all it is less expensive and expected to soon replace MP-35 as the material of choice in the high strength, super-alloy field. Typical tensile strength is 260,000-280,000 psi.
Titanium: ARP now offers special order fasteners made of an alloy (Ti6Al-4V) that is specially heat-treated (a process developed by ARP's own Russ Sherman) and provides superior strength to other titanium alloys employed in racing and aerospace. The material has a nominal tensile strength of 180,000 psi, and is very corrosion resistant. The main advantage of titanium, of course, is its weight – which is about 40% lighter than a comparable fastener made of steel. Head studs and accessory bolts are ideal applications for this lightweight material

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Going UP UP UP

9/20/2017

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Customer brought in his 2014 Chevy Silverado 1500 for an exterior overhaul.
We put on a 7-1/2" Rough Country Lift Kit with 2.5" Wheel Spacers.....as well as some Amp Research Automagical Drop-Down Steps.

What better way to deck out that brand new GM 1500 than with the aggressive stance and jaw-dropping ride height of Rough Country's brand-new 7-inch Suspension Lift for 2014-up Chevy / GMC 1500 Pickups? This massive lift is designed to retain the stock track width! This affords the truck the ability to run up to an impressive 35-inch tire on factory 20-inch wheels, and gives you a nearly limitless choice in aftermarket wheels and tires that other kits just can't fit.

This kit comes with Stout upper strut spacers, a beefy front and rear skid plate, Heavy Duty Front and Rear Crossmembers, and a set of differential and sway-bar drop brackets - all designed by their in-house Research and Development team with 100% laser-cut materials for the best possible fit on your vehicle. This whopping 7-inch Lift also comes with a set of rear 6-inch fabricated anti-wrap lift blocks that offer a huge boost while helping combat dreaded axle wrap issues on inferior big lifts.

Also included are a set of our Nitrogen charged N2 Shocks! Offering the best in balanced performance for on and off-road use, these shocks feature a 10-stage velocity sensitive valving custom tuned for this specific application. That means these shocks are specifically valved for use with this vehicle and lift combo, giving you unparalleled performance for any driving situation.

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This Colorado sounds and looks good with MBRP

9/7/2017

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Customer brought in their 2017 Chevy Colorado for a bit of a performance bump and a muuuuch nicer tone when they step on the acceleration!

We handled that with the MBRP 3" Cat-Back Exhaust upgrade:
Built from heavy duty aluminized steel the Installer Series performance exhaust systems offer a value price without compromising on the quality built into every component. While the seams are a major point of rust through with some budget systems their fully sealed tubing adds years to the system. Constructed to the same specifications as our top of the line Pro Series we back this line with an industry leading 3 Year Warranty.

Built to Perform
MBRP's performance exhaust systems are built to perform. Designed to maximize exhaust flow and minimize exhaust temperatures their truck will use less gas, last longer and perform better. Every system they sell has been built to the most exacting standards in the industry.

Dyno Proven
The MBRP performance gas exhaust system has undergone countless hours on MBRP's in-house Mustang 1100 AWD-SE Chassis Dynomometer, hundreds of miles on road and track and numerous tweaks and modifications to get the most out of the truck. From the vehicle specific muffler design to the fully mandrel bent tubing to minimal bend degree angles, the MBRP performance system gets exhaust out fast. An MBRP performance exhaust system is the starting point to getting the most from cold air intakes, programmers, modules and downloaders.

Sound & Style
Performance is one thing but at MBRP they believe that appearance and sound are just as important. Every MBRP performance exhaust system has been specifically tuned to get the optimal sound from your pickup. With their stamped logo on the tip and their unmistakable styling, there's no question that our client will have the hottest performance exhaust on the road....in Idaho....on a Colorado....which makes sense if you don't think about it.

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72 Chevy C-20 now has das bumps

8/4/2017

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Returning Client brought in his beautifully restored 1972 Chevrolet C-20 Pickup Truck. This beast is wicked.....only thing it needed to finish it off was a nice stereo system....which entailed quite the list:

Retrosounds Hermosa Motor2 Bluetooth Headunit
Retrosounds Din-Repair Kit with custom faceplace and knobs
Retrosounds Quadraphonic 4 Ch Amplifier
Retrosounds 8" Powered Subwoofer
Retrosounds 6.5" Coaxial Speakers
Retrosounds Chevy 6.5" Kick Panel Adapters
Retrosounds Hide-away Amplified FM Antenna

First things first, the previous owner had cut in a DIN style radio and removed the old radio with the knobs...which isn't necessarily a problem....especially now that they make face plates to cover them up....though not as nice looking as if the knob cutouts were still there....but the faceplate matches perfectly with the existing dash in the truck.
The Hermosa radio gives you everything you'd need in a classic truck like this; Am, FM, (2) Aux Inputs, USB and Bluetooth. I installed the Bluetooth cable into the glove box without cutting any holes anywhere.

Next in line is the Quadraphonic 4x45 Amplifier that's got a nice hide-away design. Made some custom brackets to mount it behind the radio, up and out of the way and tuned it so the customers gets clear highs and mids at all volumes.
That powers the new 6.5" speakers in the kicks and the existing speakers in the dash....which when setup with a high-pass crossover filter, these work together as a quasi component system.

To fill in the bass, the 8" powered subwoofer fit under the bench seat without a single issue and provides plenty of bass in this single cabin area. There is a bass-knob I put under the key solenoid so that his keys will hide the fact that he's got bumps underneath until he turns it up.

Final Thoughts:
Without going completely aftermarket with no budget, this Retrosounds package is exactly what music should sound like at the budget range you're in. Yes, it could sounds better....but it could definitely sound worse as well.
If you want really good sound and have it look like it came that way from the factory, then this is the route I'd suggest.

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New Chevy gettin' that new-new

7/24/2017

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Customer brought in his brand new 2017 Chevy Silverado 1500 for some upgrades....because while Chevy does a good job at building trucks.....the aftermarket world doesn't think so.

Here is what we installed:
3" Suspension Lift
Fuel Sledge 20x9 Wheels
Fuel Gripper MT 33x12.5x20 Tires
Front Window Tint to Match OEM

Minor upgrades to most....but sometimes less is more.
The dramatic difference from how it rolled off the lot not to long ago to where it's at today shows that even with slight upgrades, you can totally change the way your truck Looks and Drives!

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2500HD Going Up for some new rubber

6/28/2017

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Here we've got a 2016 Chevy Silverado 2500HD that needed some extra clearance for some bigger tires....in order to properly do that, we needed it to go a bit higher.
So, a 4" lift was installed to clear the new 35" Fuel Gripper MT Tires.
Easily visible what even a small-ish upgrade can do to your truck.
These beast is ready to go now!

Hit us up for all your Truck and Off-Road needs...whether it's Wheels and Tires, Lifting or Lowering and even Performance needs!