The excitement of the SEMA Show 2025 comes alive as the hosts share their experiences from the event in Las Vegas. They discuss the bustling atmosphere, notable booths like Ford Racing and Holley, and innovative builds, including a stunning backlit Mustang and a Roadrunner with a carbon fiber exhaust. Interviews with industry figures reveal a passion for automotive technology and creativity, highlighting trends like 3D printing and hybrid conversions. The camaraderie and adrenaline of the show are palpable, making for an engaging and insightful episode.
"...but Holley must have 40 people working in that booth."
Holley is a company that makes parts for cars to help them go faster and perform better. They are popular among car enthusiasts.
Holley is a well-known manufacturer of performance automotive parts, particularly carburetors, fuel systems, and other aftermarket components for enhancing vehicle performance.
"...So now it's all called Ford Racing. Still Ford."
Ford Racing is the part of Ford that works on fast cars and racing. They make special parts to help cars go faster and perform better on the track.
Ford Racing is the division of Ford that focuses on performance vehicles and motorsports. They develop high-performance parts and vehicles for racing enthusiasts.
"There's a car that our friend Teresa Contreras built, a Bronco. Oh, she did."
The Ford Bronco is a tough SUV made for off-roading. It has been popular for many years and recently came back with new designs and features.
The Ford Bronco is a classic SUV that has been reintroduced with modern features while retaining its rugged off-road capabilities. It's known for its strong performance and versatility in various terrains.
"So Ford Performance, as we've known it for so long,"
Ford Performance is the part of Ford that makes fast cars and upgrades for their vehicles. They help make Ford cars go faster and handle better.
Ford Performance is the division of Ford that focuses on high-performance vehicles and parts. They develop performance upgrades for Ford cars and trucks, enhancing their speed and handling.
"... Performance would work on, like the Raptor, the GT500, things like that, that's going to fall under Fo..."
The Shelby GT500 is a super-fast version of the Ford Mustang, designed for speed and performance. It has a really strong engine that makes it one of the quickest cars on the road, and it's popular among car lovers who enjoy powerful vehicles.
The Shelby GT500 is a high-performance version of the Ford Mustang, known for its powerful supercharged V8 engine and impressive speed capabilities. It represents a blend of classic muscle car heritage and modern engineering, making it a standout in the sports car segment.
"...of them are like, I'm going to jump a river and a Ford Raptor. And then I'm going to call Holly and get a bunc..."
The Ford Raptor Ranger is a tough pickup truck made for driving on rough roads and trails. It has a strong engine and special features that help it handle bumps and jumps, making it a favorite for people who love outdoor adventures.
The Ford Raptor Ranger is a high-performance off-road variant of the Ford Ranger pickup truck, designed for rugged terrains and adventurous driving. It is significant for its powerful engine, advanced suspension system, and aggressive styling, making it a popular choice among off-road enthusiasts.
"You mean if you were an influencer, you would have sat down over at Rockford Fosgate and go, so here's my idea."
Rockford Fosgate is a brand that makes audio equipment for cars, like speakers and amplifiers. They're known for creating high-quality sound systems that many car enthusiasts love.
Rockford Fosgate is a well-known brand that specializes in high-performance car audio systems. They are recognized for their powerful amplifiers and subwoofers, often used in custom audio installations.
"I have an old Firebird and I thought we could do video of it doing a Rockford Fosgate. That would change the interview for sure."
The Pontiac Firebird is a well-known American car that was popular for its sporty style and powerful engines. It was made from the late 1960s until the early 2000s and is often associated with muscle car culture.
The Pontiac Firebird is a classic American muscle car that was produced from 1967 to 2002. Known for its sporty design and performance, it became iconic in the automotive world, especially during the late 20th century.
"...And that's the first thing I thought of is SEMA. And I went, oh my God, I know what that smells like."
SEMA is a big event where companies show off new car parts and custom cars. It's a place for car enthusiasts to see the latest in automotive technology and design.
SEMA stands for the Specialty Equipment Market Association, which hosts an annual trade show in Las Vegas showcasing aftermarket automotive products and custom vehicles.
"...I'm like, yep. I worked with BF Goodrich one year on a SEMA car."
BF Goodrich makes tires for cars, trucks, and SUVs. They are known for their performance and durability, especially in racing and off-road conditions.
BF Goodrich is a well-known tire manufacturer that specializes in high-performance tires for various types of vehicles, including racing and off-road applications.
"...they had this Mustang over there. And I'm looking at this thing and I couldn't wrap my head around it."
The Mustang is a popular sports car made by Ford. It's known for being powerful and stylish, and many people love to drive it for fun.
The Ford Mustang is a classic American muscle car known for its performance and iconic design. It has been in production since the 1960s and has undergone numerous updates and redesigns over the years.
"They took the body completely off and he did like this wide body, like carbon fiber, but there were long strands of carbon. Okay."
Carbon fiber is a strong and light material used in cars to make them faster and more efficient. It's made from very thin strands of carbon.
Carbon fiber is a lightweight and strong material often used in automotive applications to reduce weight and improve performance. It is made of thin strands of carbon atoms bonded together in a crystalline structure.
"So it's a little bit different than when you see the forged carbon. Yeah."
Forged carbon is a special type of carbon fiber that is pressed together to make it stronger. It looks different from regular carbon fiber and is often used in high-end cars.
Forged carbon is a composite material made by compressing carbon fibers into a solid form, resulting in a unique appearance and increased strength compared to traditional carbon fiber. It is often used in high-performance applications.
"which you can't see like many lines, but the LED lights from behind, it pushes through the paint and the carbon fiber."
LED lights are a type of light that uses less energy and lasts longer than regular light bulbs. They are often used in cars for headlights and other lights.
LED lights (Light Emitting Diodes) are energy-efficient lighting options commonly used in automotive applications for headlights, taillights, and interior lighting. They provide bright illumination and have a longer lifespan than traditional bulbs.
The ABS light is a warning light that shows there might be an issue with the car's braking system. It's important to get it checked to ensure your brakes work properly.
The ABS light indicates a problem with the Anti-lock Braking System, which helps prevent the wheels from locking up during braking. If this light is on, it may affect the vehicle's braking performance and should be diagnosed.
The maintenance light is a reminder that your car needs some routine service, like an oil change. It's a good idea to follow up on it to keep your car running well.
The maintenance light alerts the driver that regular maintenance is due, such as an oil change or other scheduled service. It helps keep the vehicle in good working condition.
The check engine light is a warning light in your car that tells you something might be wrong with the engine. It could be something simple or something serious, so it's best to have it checked out.
The check engine light is a warning indicator on a vehicle's dashboard that signals a potential issue with the engine or emissions system. It can indicate anything from a loose gas cap to a serious engine problem that requires immediate attention.
"Take the guesswork out of your warning lights with O'Reilly Veriscan. The service is free and provides a report with solutions verified by ASC certified master technicians. And if you need help, we could recommend a shop for you."
O'Reilly Veriscan is a service that helps you understand why your car's warning lights are on. It's free and gives you a report from trained experts on what might be wrong and how to fix it.
O'Reilly Veriscan is a diagnostic service offered by O'Reilly Auto Parts that helps identify issues with your vehicle's warning lights. The service is provided for free and includes a report with solutions verified by certified technicians.
"So when I talked to Steve Strobe, he's got the 70 Roadrunner over in the Heights booth."
The Plymouth Road Runner is a famous muscle car from the 1970s. It's known for being fast and having a fun cartoon character as its mascot.
The Plymouth Road Runner is a classic American muscle car known for its performance and distinctive design. The 1970 model is particularly sought after by collectors for its powerful engine options and iconic styling.
The Pontiac GTO is a famous car known for its powerful engine and sporty design. It was one of the first muscle cars, which are high-performance vehicles popular in the 1960s and 1970s.
The Pontiac GTO is a classic American muscle car that was produced by Pontiac from 1964 to 1974. It is often credited with starting the muscle car trend in the United States.
"And then made a prototype kit and like put it on the back of like a modern Dodge Charger Challenger."
The Dodge Challenger is a muscle car that looks like it came from the past but has modern features. It's built for speed and has a strong engine.
The Dodge Challenger is a classic American muscle car that emphasizes performance and retro styling. It is known for its powerful engine options and aggressive stance.
"And then a bonded in is like a stainless clamp with a V-band clamp on it."
A V-band clamp is a special type of clamp that holds parts of the exhaust system together tightly. It's easy to take off when you need to fix something.
A V-band clamp is a type of fastening device used to connect two components of an exhaust system, providing a secure and leak-free joint that can be easily removed for maintenance.
"It's just like a flow master. It's a chambered muffler, right?"
A chambered muffler is a type of muffler that has special spaces inside to change the sound of the car's exhaust. It makes the car sound louder and more powerful.
A chambered muffler is designed with internal chambers that create sound waves to produce a specific exhaust note, often resulting in a deeper and more aggressive sound.
"Because mostly because of the stainless couplings for the V-bands, right?"
V-bands are special clamps used to connect parts of the exhaust system together. They make it easier to put the exhaust parts on and take them off when needed.
V-bands are a type of coupling used in exhaust systems to connect different sections of piping securely. They allow for easy installation and removal of exhaust components, providing a reliable seal that can withstand high temperatures and pressures.
"...we probably could have done it without the mufflers. The carbon fiber absorbs the noise."
Mufflers are parts of a car's exhaust system that help make the engine noise quieter. They change the sound of the car so it isn't too loud when driving.
Mufflers are components of a vehicle's exhaust system designed to reduce noise produced by the engine. They work by dissipating sound waves and can also affect the overall sound profile of the vehicle.
The Chevrolet Camaro is a popular sports car known for its powerful engines and stylish design. The 1969 version is famous among car lovers for its classic look and performance.
The Chevrolet Camaro is a classic American muscle car that was first introduced in 1966. The 1969 model is particularly sought after by collectors and enthusiasts for its iconic design and performance.
"...they have an LS motor, but they have already made it with a,..."
The LS motor is a powerful engine made by Chevrolet. It's popular for making cars go fast and is often used in custom car builds.
The LS motor is a series of V8 engines produced by Chevrolet, known for their performance and versatility. They are commonly used in various applications, including performance cars and custom builds.
"...we were talking about hydrogen. He's really interested in hydrogen as an alternative fuel..."
Hydrogen is a type of gas that can be used as fuel for cars. When used in special engines, it creates electricity to power the car and only produces water as waste, which is good for the environment.
Hydrogen is being explored as an alternative fuel source for vehicles, particularly in fuel cell technology, where it generates electricity to power electric motors. This technology produces only water as a byproduct, making it environmentally friendly.
Select text to request an explanation
Every team, every topic, everywhere, this is Belize.
Man, can you believe it? We are in Las Vegas.
And how did all of our trips end up in Las Vegas all at once?
You know what, that makes so much sense because I was looking for some rides, like some Disney rides,
and I'm going, where's the roller coaster, man?
I woke up in a hotel room this morning and didn't know where I was.
His pants were missing and his wallet was gone.
He woke up in a hotel room? I woke up in a lobby.
Well, so you're doing way better. Well, Matt, he was in the back seat of an Uber, and you know what?
This is Shifton Stair. Welcome to the party pals.
Vegas edition.
Hey, we're at SEMA and we're having a blast.
Apparently, clearly.
Yeah, I gotta say, when we got here yesterday, I was a little bit concerned
because there weren't the amount of people walking down the aisles and outside,
and I was kind of like, wow, man, what's going on?
And then this morning, everybody came in and drove, they were coming, and I said,
okay, Brad, you gotta reevaluate here because maybe you were wrong,
and maybe the business people came in Monday, did all their stuff before the show started,
then yesterday, and now all the guys are coming in, they're going to hang out till the Friday shows.
You think that's the case?
So I talked to some people that are working in the booths,
and already they're like, no, no, no, I'm coming in for the second shift
because so many of them, the first shift isn't Tuesday, the first day of SEMA,
it's the set up and everything, so they've been here for four or five days.
So I'm talking to guys going, wouldn't you leave the like, oh, I'm not leaving until Friday
because I just got here on the second shift.
Because some of these booths you've seen are big, there's a big staff,
like I was just at Holley, Holley's got, I don't know, 30-something brands now,
and it's just thousands of SKUs in their product lineup,
but Holley must have 40 people working in that booth.
That's at any one time, like there's a whole second crew or something that has to swap out.
Yeah, there's some giant booths here.
And I saw that Ford came back, they're over in the West Hall,
I walked over to see them.
So now it's all called Ford Racing.
Still Ford.
But they're not doing like the dollar car builds with the, you know,
they're mostly showcasing the performance parts.
So there's probably some truck stuff, I didn't get over there yet,
but maybe there's like, maybe a dark horse with a Whipple or something like that.
There's a car that our friend Teresa Contreras built, a Bronco.
Oh, she did.
And it's a full race Bronco tube chassis, and it's in the middle of the booth,
then they have a later model Bronco and then a Raptor.
And that's about it.
And then it's motors and parts.
Yeah.
So Ford Performance, as we've known it for so long,
everything is now called Ford Racing.
There's one umbrella, Will Ford, one of the family,
is the general manager of the whole thing.
And then Ford Performance Parts, which is all the crate engines and parts,
is going to be Ford Racing parts.
And it's going to be under the Ford Racing umbrella.
So there's now one big entity for that.
And then all the specialty vehicles that Ford Performance would work on,
like the Raptor, the GT500, things like that,
that's going to fall under Ford Racing under the production vehicles group.
So, and the head of that is a guy I just interviewed named Carl Widman.
He's the chief engineer of Ford Racing production vehicles.
But this hasn't happened yet.
It's happening.
Yeah, it happened.
Because I didn't see an umbrella anywhere over there.
Okay.
It's all under one big umbrella.
Did you look up high?
Because you got to look up high.
One big umbrella.
They probably had the guys put it way up in the rafters.
Maybe there was a mistake and it's outside the building.
The umbrella's on the roof.
It's like that home insurance ad where the umbrella's over your house.
It's over that part of the house.
Did you mention we were at the SEMA show?
Yes, we did.
Right at the top.
By the way, we were at the SEMA show.
We were at the SEMA show.
You know what?
This year, things are a little bit thrown off because of the construction of the convention center.
Yeah, a lot of construction.
It was a little weird because we've been doing this for so long coming to this event.
My roots in my head, I'm going, okay, I've got an interview in Central Hall.
I've got to get to North Hall.
I got to go through this and then I get there and I'm like, I can't get there.
Right.
I can't get there.
When you left the media center and then you would just walk and go down the escalator.
I was like, the escalator's gone.
It's closed.
You got to go outside and walk around.
All the way around.
It did throw me off a little bit.
I don't know why for the life of me they keep moving the location of the new product showcase.
I thought I was in West Hall, but I'm pretty sure I just saw it in South Hall by the entrance.
By the way, I'm glad I found it because I would have been on Friday walking around West Hall going,
where the hell is that new product showcase?
Well, do you know where they moved?
If you're like, we go to the media center, but everybody else has to go to registration.
Registration is, you know where you walk through the Toyo tunnel, right?
Oh, way up there.
Okay.
That alley that runs, they send them, as they come in, they got to walk down that alley
and around the back of the building.
That's why new products is there.
Because as they exit their registration, they go through new products.
It's like getting off a ride at Disneyland.
Exactly.
They put you into the merch.
They put you in a new product showcase.
You get to why you're hot.
This place is so cool.
Yeah.
That was a cool ride.
I'm going to buy a shirt here.
I'm like, I just registered.
Yeah.
Look at the parts.
It's actually smart because it reminds everyone that that's what the whole point of SEMA is.
Right.
Is the parts.
Right.
And I'll go over there and I'll kind of tour the section.
But for me, SEMA, we're sitting here on a what day is it?
Tuesday?
End of day?
Tuesday?
It's Wednesday.
It's Wednesday.
Do our show Wednesday.
Two, did two days and I try to jam all the interviews into those two days so I don't have to carry my bag around.
Right.
And I can go meet with the sponsors and friends of the shows and see some stuff.
I'm glad that part of it is over.
It was fun to do.
But I will say this is still after all of these years, I sat down with some great people.
So I sat down with a guy that I never met before.
His name is, he has like a country singer name.
Let us guess.
Zach Luke.
Oh yeah, totally.
And he is the president of Rockford Fosgate.
Okay.
Right.
Oh wow.
He's been there forever.
He was like, I don't know, it's like an installer when he was a kid and got a job there and worked his way up and he's president of the company.
Tattoos, rides, a motorcycle.
Awesome.
You know, like unfiltered.
And I love this guy's passion.
This guy's passion.
He's like, I fucking love this industry.
And he's like, come to my factory.
He's like, my engineers are so good.
He's like, you go see that motorcycle out there.
We did the whole audio system that's a package on.
You just buy like the one DIY.
Like you can just buy the package.
Everything is plug and play.
He's like, that's my bike.
I got 8,000 miles on that thing.
It was just like, he was so passionate about it.
And I love that.
Then I went outside and talked to my kid from Tremac.
Oh yeah.
And Mike's great.
And again, it's just like, when you're getting into it and you're asking him questions about the product, like legit questions.
Like if you know something about the product, these guys, they get wide eyed and they're like, I love this.
Now, not to like knock some of the media here, but the media a lot of isn't like influencers.
And there's some like YouTube channels.
But the YouTube channels, like some of them are really great and they're very technical in their build.
But a lot of them are like, I'm going to jump a river and a Ford Raptor.
And then I'm going to call Holly and get a bunch of parts to build my truck again.
Like those guys actually don't know a lot about it.
And so it gets a little frustrating.
So when you sit down with some of the guys from these companies, they're like, the first few minutes of sort of gauging is like, do they know anything or not?
You mean if you were an influencer, you would have sat down over at Rockford Fosgate and go, so here's my idea.
I have an old Firebird and I thought we could do video of it doing a Rockford Fosgate.
That would change the interview for sure.
So anyway, talking to Mike as well, like kind of getting into it, his passion for it and just how much he still likes doing it.
And you know, these guys have been in the industry for 34 years, right?
And I go, I love that you still love this after all this time.
And that was the thing.
He's like, you know what, sometimes you do an interview, sometimes you come to an event like this and you remind you how much you do love it.
You know me, I'm a part super freak.
I love everything out here.
So the interviews are fun.
The interviews are for me are fun and talking with the builders.
Ring brothers, I spoke to again, but your buddy Steve Strope, haven't talked to Steve in a while.
We talked about the BMX stuff, the Hall of Fame.
He's got his bikes out there.
His eyes got real big.
Yeah, yeah.
I started with that because I knew he loved that.
But you know, we were just sad they were like, man, how long has it been?
I was like, you haven't been on the show in a while.
We haven't been by the studio and you've got some cars here.
And I know you love this backstory of cars.
And so he was just, he was getting into it again.
He was getting into it again, but he's such a fast talker and kind of fidgety.
And he's like, I know he's got to run off to something else again soon.
But it was great to catch up with him.
That one has been a minute.
You know what's funny is while we were waiting for you to get here, Aaron and I were talking
and it kind of goes along with this, that I said, Aaron, I feel like I should be tired,
but I got this kind of pep in my step still.
And Aaron goes, yeah, I'm sort of the same way.
And we figured out that it's kind of like, it's that adrenaline rush that we get when we come here, right?
Yeah, yeah.
It's like drinking three jolts.
Yeah.
Well, I was kind of bummed.
Thank you.
First of all, we're in the Magnaflow booth and they let us have a quiet area to do a show.
But I do like it when they have Red Bull in here and they didn't have it at all.
You know, when I get here, I walk across the street and go to like the Walgreens.
And I grab like a heavy thing of 24 bottles of water and a couple of energy drinks.
And I bring them back to the hotel, load up the fridge.
By the way, I can buy all that stuff over there at Walgreens for $24.
You can go buy one Red Bull at the casino for $24.
Yeah, exactly.
And I was like, I got to load up the fridge and get focused on it.
By the way, you'll forget to drink water.
Oh, my lips are so dry.
I don't drink like three of them already.
So I'm starting to like track it again because I'll forget to do it.
And then it's like, if you're not drinking 70 ounces of water a day, you know what?
It's so funny you'd say that.
I said to Charlotte this morning, I woke up this morning and I woke up.
I felt good.
My face looked like it wasn't all puffy and stuff.
And I said, you know why?
I drank like five or six bottles of water yesterday.
It's made usually I don't.
So yesterday when we were at Kicker, we went upstairs to get some water and they have a dispenser with cups.
And I took a drink of it and I had to peel my lip off the cup and stuck to the cup.
It's just like you forget.
It's just like this.
Vegas and Phoenix.
Yeah, it's hilarious.
But speaking of BMX2, I ran into Tim Strange when I was over at Kicker today.
Yeah.
And it was so good to see Tim and, you know, and I forget because I haven't seen him in
a couple of years, but I forget how funny he is.
Like just that old school sarcastic give you shit kind of funny.
I had so much fun with him.
I gotta tell a story.
We're going to have to put a parental thing on this show because Matt Arnie said fuck,
so I can tell this story.
And we said he was a schmuck.
So I was standing over and Tim stopped to say hi.
And the guy goes, oh yeah, he got me in trouble.
And I go, what?
And he goes, we're at Bobby Allaway's show, you know?
And he goes, we're sitting at this old holiday inn.
And he goes, you know where you're down at the pool and every room faces it?
And he goes, well, he goes, I'm sitting there and Tim comes walking in and he goes, hey,
can I, he goes, do you want to sit down and have a beer with us?
And he goes, well, I don't drink, but I'll sit down and have a glass of water with
there or a Coke or something.
And he goes, he's sitting there.
And he goes, and he goes, you know, he's got a different sense of humor.
And I go, yeah, Tim's got a different sense of humor.
And he goes, well, I'm sitting there with all these hot rodders.
And when he got ready to leave, he.
And he goes, and he goes, he goes, oh, look at a satin gum.
And he goes, and he goes, this one woman looked over and goes, that's not gum.
And she got up and walked away in a hump.
Oh my God.
That is, that's good.
I can't even imagine.
I don't want to picture that, but I can't imagine.
I was just going to say, that's the problem with the story is you picture it and you're
in and you go, oh my God.
Oh, he just picture, what, what, what, what, what.
He just picture when he, when he's, when his tongue stuck to the.
Dumb and dumber.
When his tongue stuck to the, to the, anyway.
Yeah.
He reminded me how, how I face planted when we did that thing on the ship, the hot rod
tour on the, on the cruise ship.
Okay.
He goes, yeah, he goes, remember when he tripped over the lawn chairs and did a face plant.
I'm like, what?
Oh, that's right.
I forgot about that.
Thanks for the reminder.
Yeah.
And you're the one out there not drinking.
Yeah.
I know I was the one not drinking, but we were on a ship and I was, I think I was filming
is what I was trying to film something.
And I just, the lawn chair, it wasn't in line with the others.
And I saw the line out of my eye.
I mean, while tripping over the one that was out of place.
Yeah.
Anyway.
We're going to get one of those little headbands with the, with the camera on it.
So I've got, I've got headbands with good lighting now.
Yeah.
But then you have to do your hair.
Keep your arms free and everything.
So I, because I've been running around to an interview is I haven't left central hall.
Where have you guys been?
What have you seen?
I've gone everywhere.
I think you have too, haven't you?
Well, no, I still need to go out and see Kendra Tyres and see Levrack.
I haven't seen Ryan at Levrack yet.
We still need to go this way.
I went past Levrack, couldn't find Ryan.
A lot of different faces there.
But my God, upstairs where the tools are, it was jam packed.
Wasn't.
And that's east.
That's on the south hall.
South hall.
Upstairs.
Okay.
No, I'm serious.
It was jam packed.
And like the Carlisle booth, the tool company that sponsors Ron Capps.
And now they have another top field dragster coming out.
They have a gigantic booth and it was piled full of people.
And then I walked down a little farther and Milwaukee tools.
It's the biggest booth I've seen here.
I did see that.
I walked in early on the first day with the press pass.
And I was going to get the press pass and they had a meeting there.
And I was like, what is that?
It's like 60 people wearing red shirts.
And then they like broke, like immediately it was like a huddle.
And they're like, okay, go.
High five, go.
Like right when they walked over, they're like, okay, let's do this.
And they all scattered.
I was like, oh, that was Milwaukee tools.
It's massive.
No, it's massive.
And they had so many people in there.
I was pleasantly surprised to see because that one's one of those halls that it's kind of remote.
It's kind of up there.
And I think people discovered it.
And they've got a lot of tool companies up there.
And I mean, the bottom line is you said the word tools.
Yes.
So the tools are checking out the tools.
Oh, come on now.
I like the tool section.
Oh, I got you.
I ran past it real quick.
I didn't see Levrack.
I saw what's it called bad ass work benches.
Yeah.
And I think they're friends, those guys, right?
I hope so.
They're neighbors.
Yes, they're both in Nebraska.
Yeah, like Levrack and bad ass work benches, I think they're very close.
And maybe the chair guys.
Oh, yeah.
The Viber chairs.
The Viber chairs, yes.
Like I think they're all drinking buddies or something.
Or if they're not, they should be.
And you know who else has a big booth up there?
It's Harbor Freight.
Yeah, so Harbor Freight's been advertising everywhere.
They're all over.
Yeah, and they got signage like everywhere.
Yeah, you walk into other halls and they say, come see us at our booth.
Excuse me.
But so I've been up there.
I've been to the West Hall.
Okay.
Where it's a lot of, you know, overlanding.
They have vehicle wraps.
They have the Ford Performance booth.
And then let's see, I went to Mopar, you know, to the Dodge booth.
Are they in West Hall?
They're in the South Hall.
Yeah, because they're normally South Hall.
Downstairs.
And the only section I have not been to yet is the front of South Hall.
I walked into the back of it where New Products is.
Okay.
And where the tires are.
Smells funny in the tire.
Yeah, man.
Boy, that will give you an instant headache.
My nose starts burning.
But it's so awesome.
It smells like you're in a tire warehouse.
Yes, if you've never been in a tire warehouse.
I was watching something on YouTube and they walked into a tire warehouse to get tires for
their drift thing.
I think it was TJ or someone.
And they walked into this warehouse and you just see millions of tires.
And that's the first thing I thought of is SEMA.
And I went, oh my God, I know what that smells like.
Yeah.
Their eyes were all watering in the show.
Like they didn't talk about it.
But you can see their eyes are all watering.
I'm like, yep.
I worked with BF Goodrich one year on a SEMA car.
And they said, okay, now you can just go out to our warehouse out in Ontario and pick the
tires up.
And I said, okay, great.
A million square feet of nothing but tires.
And you walk in and you're waiting at that desk for them to bring them out.
And it's like, you got to smell that forever.
I mean, if you work there.
Yeah.
When you go home, you probably smell that.
I don't know if you get immune to that.
You blow your nose and it's black.
I don't know.
Yeah.
But okay, what about cars?
What about cars?
What did you see, Aaron?
Oh my gosh.
Aaron Hagar.
Yesterday I was prepared to answer this.
And today I'm just overwhelmed.
Okay, pass.
What have you seen?
Oh, you know what?
You know what?
We did see.
Okay.
So my friend Adrian's with me and we were over at Rupaz.
I wanted to see Rupaz's new buffers and stuff.
And they had this Mustang over there.
And I'm looking at this thing and I couldn't wrap my head around it.
It's a contemporary modern Mustang.
They took the body completely off and he did like this wide body,
like carbon fiber, but there were long strands of carbon.
Okay.
So it's a little bit different than when you see the forged carbon.
Yeah.
And then he backlit it.
So he said it's black, but when he puts enough light from behind,
which you can't see like many lines, but the LED lights from behind,
it pushes through the paint and the carbon fiber.
And where is this at?
This is over at the Rupaz booth.
And Rupaz normally doesn't have cars in there.
Probably in North Pole?
It's over where the 4x4 stuff is.
Oh, West Hall.
Yeah, West Hall.
All the way at the back.
Oh, oh, oh, oh Riley.
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Oh, oh, oh, oh Riley.
Auto parts.
Like over towards the corner, but this Mustang is stunning.
I mean stunning.
And I thought it was under black light because the LEDs were blue at the minute.
And I'm looking for the black light.
And I'm thinking, how did they get the depth?
They must have painted it and then put like a real open-weave carbon fiber over the top.
So it shows from underneath like this neon blue.
Yeah, it's got to get through it somehow.
And then you look in the wheel well and you can see like the little edge of like an LED,
you know, with the wire on it.
I'm like, oh, it is backlit.
I mean, it's like I couldn't wrap my head around it because I'd never seen this.
Amazing.
Yeah, that sounds amazing.
Amazing.
Really, really, really amazing.
I'd like to see it, but I don't feel like walking all the way over to a place to pull out a picture.
Well, tomorrow.
Tomorrow's a new day.
That's true.
Let me pull out a picture.
That's true.
Wow.
Right?
That's the backlit area.
We're looking at a photo and it's just amazing.
Yeah.
But beautifully done.
That's pretty cool.
So what was it, the Magic Man Customs or something?
You know, he wears a gas mask.
He's got a whole gimmick.
Okay.
It's great.
But yeah, so that is all backlit.
And they really break up the strands nicely so there's no parting lines, no seams.
So it's a spaghetti strand type of a carbon fiber and it's all backlit underneath the
car.
When you see it on the body, you get different colors coming through.
Yeah, so that's when it was blue.
It really was.
We'll have to get some of those photos posted on the website.
It is really, really impressive.
But I mean, the build is so over the top.
It's just crazy.
Here's a quick...
But they're from San Bernardino.
Okay.
Like they're from our hometown, which is pretty cool.
So I've been messaging with them like crazy.
A quick carbon fiber thing for you guys.
So when I talked to Steve Strobe, he's got the 70 Roadrunner over in the Heights booth.
He brought two cars.
The other one is in...
The Pontiac GTO, right?
Yeah, the Dynabat.
But the Roadrunner from the headers back is a complete carbon fiber exhaust system.
So he made it first out of metal to make a tool, right?
Weighed 80 pounds.
So like a plug.
So 80 pounds.
So he worked with a company.
They developed...
They worked on a couple of different types of resins to handle the heat and everything.
And then made a prototype kit and like put it on the back of like a modern Dodge Charger Challenger.
I forgot what he said.
And they just drove it for a couple of months and just used it as like a daily driver heat cycle.
They drove it around elements and they got it to work.
So this car, it's got headers on it.
And then a bonded in is like a stainless clamp with a V-band clamp on it.
It goes to a muffler that they made out of carbon fiber with...
It's just like a flow master.
It's a chambered muffler, right?
So it's just got a couple of like baffles in it.
So there's no stuffing or anything.
So the muffler is carbon fiber.
And then the tailpipes go and it's carbon fiber.
And if you crawl into the car and you see it and he said,
what's amazing about it is, first of all, it works.
It's cool.
The whole exhaust weighs nine pounds.
Wow.
Because mostly because of the stainless couplings for the V-bands, right?
It weighs nine pounds and it runs great.
He goes, it doesn't really get hot.
Like you can grab the exhaust.
And I was thinking about it.
I was like, you know, if you do a carbon fiber drive shaft, it absorbs so much vibration.
And I go, what does it sound like?
He's like, he goes, we probably could have done it without the mufflers.
The carbon fiber absorbs the noise.
I was going to ask if it's polished inside or if it's coarse.
It's not polished inside.
Because that'll absorb.
It's not coarse, but because it has a little bit, like the weave has a little bit of texture.
It does give it...
I was wondering, yeah.
But does that affect the flow and change the back pressure?
I mean, on that car, I don't know.
I'm fascinated by this idea.
I don't know that they did any sort of flow testing.
I don't think it needs to be that kind of thing.
But it would be such a fine grit, you know, like that's in there.
But between that, it was like if you looked at like egg crate sound deadening on a wall,
but imagine like you zoomed out, you know, and it was like that kind of texture, right?
Like if you think about, we were talking about car audio, like car audio stuff.
And the day like sometimes you would add, like if you're showing a box,
and it had like a clear lexin cover and so you weren't stuffing it with stuff, polyfill or whatever.
You might do a paint with a texture or something that's not perfectly, perfectly smooth,
or even a bed liner, like that kind of...
So the inside of the exhaust, I would think like almost a finer grit than that,
but it works great.
He said it's quiet.
Is the underside of the car painted a color or is it just blend in?
I think the underside, I didn't get that far because I looked from the back and there's a fuel tank,
and the fuel tank has kind of done that color like a dark gray,
but the car is, he has a special name because they developed the paint for it,
but it's a purple.
I haven't seen it yet.
What year is it?
70.
So not a lot of body changes, like just all the subtle changes, like get all the gaps,
you know, the bumpers are tucked in,
but it's meant to be kind of stock looking,
and then he was sort of influenced by some fashion.
So it's got like the stainless trim along the side has like an etching in it,
and in the seats it has kind of like a pattern that was like a funky shirt.
It's in the hide spoof, but the Roadrunner didn't have like the massive cross-ram intake like on the Chrysler,
but they liked it, so he took it and he, this is really cool.
He made a carbon fiber cross-ram intake, right?
But because those carbs are so far out, right?
It would be carbs.
It would be a big wet system, and they never work great because they pool fuel, right?
So it's fuel injected, but the injectors are like right on into the head.
So the whole carbon fiber intake is dry.
It's just a dry system.
It's a dry system, and then it's fueling.
So it's just throttle bodies.
That look like a little car.
That's cool.
It's a cool system.
Basically, I mean, this is the epitome of SEMA.
I mean, you could see it with Chris, with Ruffian cars, the 35 Plymouth, you know.
The technology, the out-of-the-box thinking, even with this Mustang,
the stuff you've never seen before and never thought of is everywhere.
And use of materials.
Yes, absolutely.
Creative use of materials.
I mean, and all the builders that I'm talking to, they're like,
we're scanning like original things, and we're making like a buck or a mold,
like not full on like tooling because they're not reproducing.
Like if you're doing carbon fiber pieces, maybe we made out of something,
maybe even building it, right?
Maybe with 3D printing and stuff now.
Yeah, so they're making it out of like a high, high density, heavy foam,
like almost like the thickness and density of Bondo.
Yes.
Right?
Yeah, I know it gets that dense now.
Yeah, so they're doing that and making these pieces.
Wow.
That is really impressive.
It's cool.
We're seeing the creativity just run rampant because of that,
because they can do things that they never could have imagined before.
And they can get finishing and precision like Chris was talking about from Ruffian
was talking about building the fenders and building, I keep wanting to say,
a tool or a buck.
A buck.
It is a buck, okay.
But he was saying that too, that dense foam, they were like 300 pounds for a fender
because the foam is so dense.
Yeah.
And he said that the precision of the machining and milling for that to get it perfect,
he says is on a micro level that they don't need to do much finishing.
They just, they take the plug, they make the mold and it's finished
and it's just perfect.
It's incredible.
Yeah.
And a lot of 3D printing as well.
And you're at the 3D printing now.
Geez.
You know, we talked to, I think it was last year, we talked to Dave Salvaggio
and walking through his car.
He was just like, well, now we just 3D print stuff and it's final.
It's done.
Like we're doing pedals, you know, like, and we're doing like trim rings around the lights,
you know, the side markers and all kinds of stuff.
And yeah, so I, when I was over at Holly, Holly's got a Camaro over there.
They did like a bunch of bolt on parts and they wanted to do a build in I think 34 days.
So it's like a Gen 5 Camaro and, you know, a month to do it.
But they looked everywhere to, they wanted to get some sort of like front splitter kind of thing
and like a wing, kind of more aggressive like duck tail wing on it.
And they couldn't do it.
So they couldn't find anything that they liked.
It was too racy or whatever.
So just kind of at the last minute, like days before SEMA, they sat down internally
and designed the pieces, 3D printed it, they ended up 3D printed it
because if you imagine like a splitter, it's as wide as a car, it's as long,
not a lot of 3D printers are that big.
They did it in three sections.
They bonded it together and they sent it out quickly to the body shop
and they, you know, they did the body work.
They smoothed it out, painted it, did it like it's just a satin black.
It almost looks like it's done like a plastic piece.
Both of it on, it's fine.
Like they just 3D printed the piece.
And that's the thing is when you 3D scan stuff, you know, you can get that precision of fit.
It's pretty amazing.
I was talking to my friend Craig Frazier and he's working for a company now.
They've got a 3D printer the size of a small car.
So like, not a micro car, but just a small car.
And so they can print some really, really big pieces.
So I was talking to Horny Mike because he's making like a dragon Batmobile
and it's like 30 feet long and nine foot wings and it's really cool.
And so he's still looking for all the people who have these giant 3D printers.
I'm like, talk to Frazier, man.
I just saw this thing, monsters.
But yeah, there is some really like you, not a lot of the ones have big ones,
but you can get really big 3D printers.
Have you guys been back to the new tech area in the back corner of the building?
I went back there.
I was a little confused as to what it was because everything was different and new.
Yeah, well, I went back there with Sean Smith and he has a third scale model
back there of a 69 Camaro.
I don't know if you saw it.
I didn't see that.
I didn't go back that far.
They've gotten to a point.
They're building a car.
He's working with a shop and the shop's in Irvine and this third scale model.
Oh yeah, there's no body on it, right?
Is it just the chassis?
Well, there's part of the chassis back there.
Yeah, I did see that.
And this is where we get into the mechanical side.
They're doing a third scale model as a design study so they can look at it
and go, okay, what do we got to change?
What doesn't work?
And then just over from it, they had the front subframe of the car
and they have an LS motor, but they have already made it with a,
this car's going to be four wheel drive with an electric motor front and rear
and the LS motor.
Okay.
And they've got all the technology fixed, figured out and like that.
And this is where we go from the 3D printing to what we're seeing now
with builders that are getting into this technological area
where they can mate the electric motors for performance.
And this is taking it to a whole new level.
Yeah, really impressive.
That was one of the interesting questions, Bob,
just to bring it back to the Ford performance guys.
When I talked to the engineer and he's like raptor, 15 years of raptor or whatever
and I go, what are the chances you're going to start using hybrid technology
and not necessarily for a better fuel economy, but for performance.
Like you want the low end torque if you're rock climbing or doing whatever.
And he's like, is that the worst idea?
I was like, yeah, I get what you're going for.
You know, it's been nice because here I've been able to have some conversations
about the hybrid idea that I keep having about hub motors and adapting to classic cars.
And it's nice because here I feel like I have having real conversations
with people that are like, you know what, that would work.
Because remember years ago we discussed, why can't we hybrid convert a classic car
and use hub motors in the front, well now I can say and use hub motors in the front
and a fly by wire pedal system and a throttle body controller
so that really all it's controlling is fueling and then balancing that with the electric motor
like you're accelerating downhill.
It just makes everything easier.
And now I'm meeting people here that are like, you know what, that would work.
So I'm really excited and one of Sam's heart's parties we went to,
I'm going to forget it's something EV.
Like a EV.
Yeah, yeah, really, really, yeah, because we all went.
Really cool place.
Well, we talked to him for a long time the next day and I told him that idea
and he was like, that would work.
So it's like, you know, here's some EV guys and I'm like, and they're going, that's cool.
Like, that's a cool idea.
Like, oh yeah, you're going to get into the hybrid side of it.
But these are engineering guys.
Like it makes sense to them.
I love that.
Tremac bought an EV company.
Oh, really?
Yeah.
So because they didn't have like the software side of it, you know,
but they have the hardware side, like they have engineers,
they have mechanical boxes, they have gearboxes.
Nobody can do gearboxes better, right?
So they found an EV company and they're like,
now let's start talking about taking electric motors and gearboxes.
And so over in one of their booths, they have a vehicle.
I think it's a Bronco or something that's EV.
But that's part of Tremac's like some of their long term plans.
Yeah, just, I mean, they don't want to get a,
they're not getting out of the gearbox, you know, realm,
but they're starting to look at that going, you know, to your point,
like maybe it's hybrid, maybe it's a combination of, you know, gas engine
and electric motors.
Yeah, and electric motors.
So yeah, they're in on it, which I like.
But that's what we're seeing here at SEMA this year,
is this next progression creeping in.
We're seeing the technology, the use of materials, the 3D printing tools.
I mean, we've seen it, but this year, it really, it really has shown up in a big way.
Oh, that's so cool.
I was talking to Stacy David a long time at K2.
He is so smart.
Like we all grew up with that, you know, but with him.
And he was one of the first, you know, TV car guys, right?
But he's brilliant.
And I was talking to him about that.
He's a nice guy.
He really is the nicest guy.
But, you know, we were talking for hours.
Only thing was, Stacy, you got to take some time.
But I pitched that idea to him, too, about the hub motors,
because, you know, as much of a classic car guy, he is, man.
He's like, he's in the innovative thinking, you know,
and he was really responding to that.
And we were talking about hydrogen.
He's really interested in hydrogen as an alternative fuel,
because he said, well, again, we were talking about the concept of
make what you have better.
So how do you do that alternative fuel?
So it's an easy conversion or an easier conversion
to what you already have.
And of course, you know, my idea is very complicated,
but, you know, his was like hydrogen, you know, alternative fuels.
But, you know, it was really interesting to hear how progressive he is,
because I'm always thinking, you know, well, take a rubber band and just, you know.
Yeah, but you're, so, last year at the end of one of the days at SEMA,
I went over and, like, met you at Kicker.
Yeah, we sat there for hours.
You were going to look, you wanted to see the Ring Brothers Mustang that they built.
And I'm like, oh, it's that Gen-Tex.
We'll walk over there later at the convertible.
And so I went over and I met Aaron at Kicker.
And then we walked up top and, you know, we looked at the, SEMA's kicking.
It's loud. It's doing a thing.
Stacey Davy comes up.
We start chatting.
We start chatting.
We start chatting.
And we look down.
It's empty.
It's gone.
The place is closed.
It's closed.
It's like three hours.
Like, not only is it closed.
It's like the cleaning crew is there.
Everyone's gone.
We were literally like the last piece of the building.
Because we were sitting up there.
Kind of like now we're, they're moving cars.
But we were like sitting up there, not really like looking over the edge.
So when we looked over the edge, everyone was gone.
Then you didn't even know we were up there.
You think of like, oh, then I get like locked into a mall as a kid.
And now I'm trapped.
You fell asleep in the tent, you know.
Yeah, right?
Yeah.
Something like that.
I was in the sports department.
Anyway, after that, we still walked over to look at the Ring Brothers car.
Which is great because there was nobody there.
Yeah.
You could really, and I was like, and I was explaining.
It's like, this is how they widened it.
This is what they did on it.
It was, you know, it was cool.
We were talking to the people.
They were already in their sweatpants, you know, with their backpacks on.
One like Gen Tech Sky there.
And he's like, oh, yeah, this is, you know, this is the Ring Brothers car.
We work with them.
This is what they're doing.
Literally.
Literally moving cars.
Yeah.
They're moving cars.
That sounds like it.
The SEMA show has officially closed.
Super Charger.
Yeah.
That one's got a Super Charger on it.
Oh, we're excited as you can tell.
Well, we got so much to talk about.
We got to save some for the next show.
I mean, maybe we should kind of wrap it up here.
What do you think?
Yeah.
Yeah, we'll wrap it up.
Okay.
Well, hey, I want to thank some people you guys can throw in.
But of course, like we said, Magnaflow for letting us, hosting us here and letting us
use their location.
But last night, Sea Tech hosted us at a nice party.
Yeah.
Yeah, it was such great people.
That was great.
It was great.
I got to interview Sean Lee today, which was really nice.
Okay.
We have a very tight circle of friends, but we don't know each other that well.
And hearing about his story and just getting him to laugh a few times.
I was always excited about when I get someone to laugh, you know.
But yeah, it was really nice to interview them for probably half an hour today.
It was cool.
That's cool.
Yeah, it's good.
And of course, Chris from Ruffian.
But yeah, Sea Tech.
Those people are gold.
It's a love affair.
And our buddy Ben Carey.
Oh, yeah.
If you're here in Vegas and you're looking for something to do, not just SEMA time, but
anytime, go over to the Barber Shop at the Cosmopolitan Radio.
I think if you look up Barber Shop Las Vegas, so it literally is a Barber Shop, but it has
a Speak Easy with a great venue.
It's a cool place.
And the password is PLEASE.
The band plays several nights over there, but also Ben specifically curates the entertainment
for that place as well.
So all the bands are going through his approval process basically.
And he does a great job.
It's a fun venue to go to.
I got to say, I didn't want to call him a cover band, but the band is phenomenal.
They are so good.
Yes.
And then everybody we interviewed today, we appreciate that.
Tell our friends.
I'm going to be popping over, I think, saying hi to Pete and Gil Brock.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Which is always a great conversation.
Really excited.
You're Shelby tonight too, right?
Possibly.
Yeah.
Possibly.
Yeah.
So we've got a lot of plans.
Yeah, lots of stuff.
Lots of stuff.
So we've got so many friends here.
We're day two, and I feel like, oh my God, I got one more day.
Because we're leaving Friday.
So I got one more day.
I got to see everybody tomorrow.
I'm just running over this mental list.
And I'm going to feel so bad because I know I'm going to miss people.
And be like, oh, man.
This show is so huge that you know the people are here, but you haven't seen them anywhere.
You're like, well, how can I not run into that guy or this guy?
But hey, we're going to wrap it up right now.
Thanks for listening to Shift Instead.
We're going to have a great follow-up show on the next one.
So get ready.
We're going to give you everything and watch our Instagram because we've got some great photos.
Thanks, everybody.
We'll be back next week.
That's a promise, not a threat.
Subscribe.
It really does help the show to grow.
Thank you for listening.
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