Ninja Ed’s Custom SEMA Tundra
“Ninja Ed” might have started with a stock 2008 Toyota Tundra, but the mod bug bit hard. So hard, in fact, that he ended up putting together one of the most eye-catching custom Tundras in the country.
Ninja Ed's Tundra and its imposing front view.
Jason ran into Ninja Ed’s masterpiece at the 2010 SEMA show and after snapping some photos was able to get in touch with Ed and get some of the details behind the build. Check it out. Read more…
Tailgate Theft – A Growing Concern, and How You Can Protect Yourself
Is there anyone lower on the evolutionary chain than car and truck thieves? How about the lowlifes who steal your pickup’s tailgate right out of your driveway while you are sleeping at night?
That’s right – the latest trend in oddball vehicle component theft, after the recent run on catalytic converters (stolen for the small amounts of precious metals they contain), are tailgates. A recent report in The Detroit News chronicles the growing scourge of this type of theft that targets not just individual owners but also dealerships whose inventories contain hundreds of trucks. Read more…
The Auburn Pro LSD for the Toyota Tundra
Last month, we ran a post discussing the benefits of the ARB Air Locker differential for the Toyota Tundra. Today, we’re going to talk about a different type of aftermarket differential, the Auburn Pro LSD, which is also designed to help Toyota truck owners out wherever traction might be at a premium.
LSD = Limited-Slip Differential
Unlike the Air Locker, the Auburn Pro is actually a limited-slip unit, not a full-on locking differential. The Auburn Pro makes use of a cone clutch design that is capable of maximizing straight-line traction and efficient torque transfer from one axle shaft to the other during cornering and hard acceleration.
A look at the internals of an Auburn LSD.
Since the LSD clutch setup allows the inside and outside wheel to rotate at different speeds – up to a certain point – the chatter and binding that can be associated with a full locking differential is absent. This helps to make the Auburn Pro design very streetable in a daily driver while still providing the extra grip that Tundra owners are looking for.
Differences between Auburn Pro LSD and Toyota’s Auto LSD
To get a better idea of how exactly the Auburn Pro LSD improves over the electronic Auto LSD feature provided in the Tundra, I spoke with Ralph Traycoff, Sales Manager from Auburn Gear. Read more…
Ford Announces New ‘Merican Edition F150
Today’s announcement of a new Ford ‘Merican Edition F-150 is an attempt by the automaker to capitalize on the commonly held (and incorrect) belief that Ford’s truck is the most “American” truck available on the market today. From Ford:
Our new ‘Merican edition F-150 is a vehicle that was mostly built by ‘Mericans for ‘Mericans celebrating ‘Merica as the greatest country on Earth. Don’t tread on me, these colors don’t run, various patriotic sentiment, etc.
The new Ford F-150 Mexican 'Merican edition logo
When asked about the fact that the new ‘Merican Edition F-150 was only mostly built in the USA (only 55% of the parts in an F-Series truck come from the US or Canda), Ford’s spokesman replied “What do you want us to do – build a $1.2 billion dollar factory in Texas, bring in dozens of suppliers to build their own factories next to ours, and then hire thousands of American workers to build our truck? Do you have any idea how cheap it is to buy truck parts from Mexico? We’d like to hire Americans to build our truck and keep our domestic parts content at 90%, but we can make a lot more money if we build a lot of our parts in Mexico.”
More info about the new Merican’ Edition F-150: Read more…
Which Tires are Made in the USA?
The industrial world is increasingly the province of multinational corporations. The call to “Buy American” has been met with muddy results over the past decade as major automakers from almost every country involved in the production of automobiles build vehicles at plants located both inside and outside of the United States.
Tires are in a similar boat. Major players in the tire industry that are headquartered outside of the United States include Michelin, Continental, Yokohama and Bridgestone, but each of these companies also manufactures tires within American borders. Many of these U.S. soil tire plants were acquired as part of brand buyouts, such as Michelin’s purchase of Uniroyal-Goodrich and Bridgestone’s acquisition of Firestone. Even Yokohama has a plant in Virginia, giving an American dimension to its primarily Japanese operations.
The question is, which tires are made in the USA? Read more…
