StreetGlow developed a LED light bar for consumers that offers supreme styling and safety for the rear of your vehicle. Featuring a slim line of L.E.Ds (a.k.a. "line of fire" lights) that provides an OEM appearance, the StreetGlow truck light installs within minutes, and offers a trailer hitch attachment for power (it can also be hard wired). It also has a multi-function capability for running light control, brake light, and turn signals. We opted for the 60-inch version of these LED truck lights on Project Truckblog and here's how easy it is to install (even a caveman could do it!)
When the re-designed 2004 Ford F-150 hit dealer lots over 4 years ago, it came with a new 3 valve 5.4-liter V8 engine that produced a decent power band, but really needed to be woken up overall. Engineers at Edge Products in Ogden, Utah helped solve this issue, with the release of the Evolution Programmer. We've been anxious to get our hands on one of Edge's new programmers for Project Truckblog, and wanted to be able to test out their programming unit.
When it comes time to cover your bed, you have several options which include a hard fiberglass tonneau cover, a soft tonneau cover, and a retractable cover. Which cover you choose is most likely based on how you use your truck. For Project Truckblog, we wanted the ability to secure the contents of the bed while at the same time having the freedom of an open bed truck for hauling. We installed the RETRAX retractable bed cover from Applied Products, Inc. This article is a step-by-step on how to do it.
Auto Meter Products, Inc, an innovator in high quality, performance instrumentation, has stepped it up another notch with the release of their Nexus system of gauges. They definitely live up to their motto of the “Next generation instruments,’ as the gauges in the Nexus line up features an integrated approach that uses a master control unit, electronic sending units, and displays. Simply put, this series of gauges are the BEST gauges available, hands down. What makes them the best? Find out inside. – DrSpeed
There are only but two interfaces between the driver the vehicle – the pedals and the steering wheel. Accounting fifty percent of the driver’s input to the vehicle, pedals are equally important as the steering wheel!
That’s why in the racing world, pedals are such a critical part of the race vehicle. Any erroneous blip of the throttle, stab of the brake, or slip off the clutch results in the difference between first place and the retaining wall! Translate that onto the street, and the stakes could be higher – your ego and pride could get hurt if you miss a shift! – DrSpeed
If you spend a lot of time in the bed of your pickup truck, you know first-hand how banged up your knees can get. Unlike typical bed liners that are slick (plastic bed liners) or hard (spray-on bed liners) and cause things to fly around when you're turning a corner, the BedRug provides a soft surface that's not only easy on your knees but also keeps your stuff from banging around. We installed the latest BedRug from Wise Industries on our Project Truckblog, a 2005 Ford F-150 SuperCrew.
Etching windows is one modification that truely sets your vehicle apart from the rest. Brian Donahue explains in the following article, how to etch your own windows in a minimal amount of time and without breaking the bank. We would like to warn you that etching your windows will reduce your field of vision, and is not recommended for daily driven vehicles. Check out the install inside. – SCRWDRVR
One of the most important performance aspects to any vehicle is the vehicles braking system, which is typically ignored, especially on lifted trucks. These heavy lifted trucks place increased wear on your braking system, specifically while towing. Stainless Steel Brake Corporation from Clarence, New York solves this issue with their Force 10 Extreme Brake kit. Providing a 14 inch replacement rotor and 4-piston aluminum calipers, this big brake kit is sure to slow down your truck alot faster. Check out our article on how to install your own big brake kit. We chose a 2002 Ford F-150 as our guinea pig.
The easiest thing a person can do to customize their vehicle is with an aftermarket set of wheels and tires. Nothing more says “this is mine” like bolting up a set of “low pros” on dubs, or a set of monster truck tires. In either case, when you alter the diameter of the tire, it will alter the reading of the speedometer – and it needs to be changed back to read proper speed. Enter the Speed Wizard from Merlin Controls. – DrSpeed
N-Fab has set the standard when it comes to Nerf Steps for late model trucks and SUV's. Built high and tight, they hide the vehicle's large frame and offer protection for the cab from debris. They also come with a weight raiting of 445lbs, the highest in the industry. As you'll see in the following article, the installation process on these steps is a breeze. Check it out and see for yourself.
We are constantly searching for the latest products and coolest installations for trucks. SKG Automotive Customizers in Poway, CA found a way to take a set of AMP Research Power Steps (for 2003 Ford F-150 Supercrew) and provide a custom installation for the 1999-2003 Ford F-150 Regular cab & Supercab configurations. If you don't have one of those combinations, AMP Research offers a complete line of bolt-in Power Steps for a variety of popular trucks.
Adding aftermarket accessories can lead to electrical problems if you do not know what you are doing. Electrical accessories can send voltage spikes through your system, damaging everything from light bulbs to diagnostic computers. Follow along as we install a Painless Performance CirKit Boss in Project "JAKD" – Bear Hunter
How do you define a company that is an international leader in the manufacturing of high quality performance instrumentation and stands by its customers without question or hesitation? That company is simply defined as Auto Meter Products, Inc. That's exactly what Auto Meter is all about. They became the industry leader by innovating and producing the best performance instrumentation available, hitting the track along side customers for product testing and racer feedback, and incorporating that feedback to produce the best gauges in the industry. Whether you are a racer or just an enthusiast, Auto Meter unequivocally stands behind their customers and their product.
– Bear Hunter
From a stoplight, the guy next to you gives you "the look," and we all know what that means. As the light turns green, you put the pedal to the metal. In the ensuring launch, the truck shakes violently, bucks, hops, and heaven forbid, you stay on it, and eventually hear a loud "BANG" from a grenaded U-joint, followed by a "clink clink" as the driveshaft hits the pavement Perhaps if you were smarter, you would have known that the axle wrap was giving you traction problems, and you should have backed out of the throttle. But poor judgment (and perhaps a little machismo) kept you from doing otherwise. – DrSpeed
One of the most common questions asked today is, "what exhaust should I put on my truck?" For us, the answer is simple "MBRP Inc Performance Exhaust". The MBRP Pro-Series was the exhaust of choice for Project "JAKD"…A T-304 Stainless Steel 4" Turbo Back exhaust with a mirror polished Stainless Steel Dual Wall Angled 6" Tip. T-304 stainless steel is the industry's premium material for exhaust use. It will not rust, discolor or deteriorate over time. We wanted an exhaust that would remain show quality for the life of the truck. The quality of the stainless steel wasn't the only determining factor in choosing our exhaust. – Bear Hunter
After buying a brand new pickup truck one of the first things you want to do is protect the bed and keep the truck looking good. At this point you are faced with a few options. Follow along as project JAKD gets a LINE-X bed liner installed by the good people of LINE-X of Friendswood.
– Bear Hunter
Choosing a bed cover can be arduous process with the amount of variations available on the market. For Project "JAKD" the bed cover had to complement the overall look of the truck, but it also had to be durable and built with quality materials, functional and weather proof all at the same time. The cover had to be user friendly; meaning when the bed was used nothing fancy needed to be done to make room for large loads.
– Bear Hunter
Accufab's mission is to provide the best high performance parts at competitive prices. All items are manufactured on-site using their high-tech CNC machine shop giving them the ability for absolute control over the quality of their products. They also staff a full-time R&D department which allows them to provide faster turn around from concept to reality. Accufab Racing is fully committed to their customers and looks forward to continued growth as they broaden their throttle body product line while maintaining the highest quality control and customer service.
– Bear Hunter
When enthusiasts hear the name Corsa, they associate the name with the exhaust of high end vehicles such as the Dodge Viper, the Corvette and the late model Ford Mustang. Well now Corsa offers owners of several other vehicles the option to add this highly respected and quality aftermarket exhaust to their vehicles as well!
When we had the chance to test out Corsa's exhaust on our 2006 F150 test truck, we jumped at the chance. Anyone who frequents car shows or the track knows that Corsa means business when it comes to exhausts. These exhausts sound mean, and are of the highest quality - a perfect match for any true enthusiast.
– MichaelS
Your main goal to lighting your truck should be to make the truck more visible (to a certain point) and the improve the durability and dependability of the lights. Your safety and the safety of others is at stake. This how-to installation describes a very simple upgrade using LED cab clearance lights from a Freightliner truck. This upgrade of side markers and front parking lights was performed on a 1980-'86 Ford F-Series pickup truck.
– a11budman
Most of us from time to time have stared at that unmarked police cruiser and thought "I could use a set of those". Then you get to thinking this might be a big project. I am here to tell you its not. It is one of the easiest mods you can do to get that added the attention you need at a show.
– DAFBFD58
With fuel economy being first and foremost on the minds of most Americans, it's easy to be caught up in the bolt-on modifications that claim to get better fuel mileage. Even though it's not a truck, it has the same motor as the F-150, so we thought it relevant to show you how easy it was to add the Fitch Fuel Catalyst to Muscle Car Blog's 07 Ford Mustang GT, Project "Pony Up". For a change we actually found something that did increase fuel mileage for our project vehicle which previously averaged 24 highway miles per gallon but now gets 27 miles per gallon, which is outstanding for a high performance muscle car.
Have you ever tried to transport an engine hoist in the bed of your truck when you have a bulky hard top cover connected to the bed? What a pain! Truck Covers USA is revolutionizing the automotive industry with a blazing new high quality, scratch resistant roll up hard tonneau cover. These covers can even hold over 500 lbs! Whether it's for work or for play, these covers rock! Installation is cake and takes only minutes. Check it out!
The latest craze with the full-sized heavy duty truck crowd is bolting on the latest power modifier and trying to squeeze a couple more horses from their late model diesel engines. A bolt on here, a computer tweak here, and you have the makings of a tire shredding, pavement pounding monster.
With so many different kinds of bedliners out there, how do you choose the right one for your needs? We have simple needs and expectations here at Truckblog, so we were looking for something that would be easy to install and look great with little upkeep. That is where Wise Industries' Bedrug Bedliner comes into play. Made of a non-skid, polypropylene fiber surface that looks and feels like carpet but is entirely plastic. However this is not your typical plastic drop-in bedliner! We install it on a F-150 and show you how easy it is!
– MichaelS
Ford has built the ultimate pick up truck of the millennium, and has chosen an iconic name that depicts it perfectly - the Super Duty. The Ford F-250 and F-350 caters to all the needs of full-size truck owners. You have those that use it as a work horse, towing a fifth wheel or goose neck trailer with a gross combined vehicle weight (GCWR) of 31,100 pounds; guys lifting it sky high with Bigfoot sized rolling stock; and those with dropped on airbags, laying frame with 26" wheels. Despite these trucks being all across the spectrum, they have one thing in common: they have to STOP! That's where Stainless Steel Brake Corporation's 8 Piston Brake Calipers come in.
– DrSpeed
Have you ever been waiting at an intersection stop light on that quarter mile stretch before the freeway on-ramp when a 7,000+ lb diesel pickup truck rolls up on your left side with the intention of accelerating past you onto the freeway? Suddenly the intersection you’re at turns into a drag strip, both of you edging for the light to turn green and when it does, that diesel truck spanks you and blasts up the on ramp, beating you onto the freeway. Only the best diesel engineers available can provide this sudden burst of power and they’re from Gale Banks Engineering.
Larger rims and tires demand more stopping power! The weak stock rotors generate a lot of heat and are less efficient when stopping more rolling mass. ROTORPROS' zinc plated drilled & slotted rotors help solve these issues quickly and efficiently, even withstanding heat up to 250 degrees Fahrenheit! Utilizing cross drilled and slotted combinations for over 20 auto manufacturer applications, the ROTORPROS brake system helps release heat faster, keeping your pads and rotors cooler.
We're a firm believer of the statement "If it walks like a duck, talks like a duck... it's got to be a duck." Well, in the world of lifted trucks, if it's as tall as a big rig, smokes like a big rig but it sounds like a Civic... what gives?
Using Auto Meter's gauges and a set of Grover air horns, we'll show you how to fix this pesky little problem.
– DrSpeed
If you are into the street truck scene, then you know that one of the more prominent items on the ultimate street truck builders parts list is a lowered suspension, because a true street truck cannot have the tired, old factory suspension installed and still be considered a street truck. If you are thinking about or maybe even in the process of building that pavement-pounding street truck project then you can be sure that the factory suspension is high on your list of items to be overhauled, upgraded or just plain sent to the trash heap. Planning to drop your truck is easy to add to your list, but how do you know what dropped suspension is right for you?
Are you tired of your boring stock gauges and want a custom OEM look? Simco LTD has you covered! Unlike other cluster replacements or overlays where you have to install the needles manually, Simco gauges are 100% accurate with their "plug and play" units, eliminating any human error. Simco LTD produces patented instrument clusters & gauges for Ford, Dodge and GM vehicles, offering race inspired designs specifically for the consumer market.
When building your Off-road 4x4 truck, whether you are building it for looks of functionality, the addition of an aftermarket differential cover is an easy and effective upgrade. If you choose wisely during the purchasing process you could get a cover that not only makes that dull pumpkin look 100 times better but also helps the differential to run cooler, extending the life of your truck inner workings. As with all of your trucks driveline, heat is one of the quickest ways to reduce the life expectancy of the rear-ends gears and bearings.
Admittedly, the number of air intake kits on the market today are a bit overwhelming, especially for pickup trucks. I can think of about a dozen off the top of my head, but rarely do they come with performance data. We recently got our hands on an installation of the Outlaw intake kit for the Chevy Duramax Diesel, along with dyno data to back it up.
Want to pump more power into your full size truck? We cracked open a box containing Dynatech’s stainless steel header exhaust system and put it to the test on a 1999 Ford F-150. This kit features replacement precision-bent 1 5/8” SuperMAXX T-304 headers, catalytic converters, and stainless steel piping. This exhaust replacement system gives you a much wider power band for a dramatic performance increase.
It's no surprise that diesel motor equipped heavy duty trucks being manufactured today have been severely restricted by the factories for production. It saves fuel, lowers emissions and of course makes for a diesel motor that's never really capable of working to its full potential. One of the secrets to unlocking your diesel motors performance potential is van Aaken's SmartBox.
Keeping your truck's automatic transmission properly maintained and cool is a key component to extending the longevity of your transmission's life. Fortunately, maintenance is relatively simple for automatic transmissions as there isn't much that will need to be addressed except replacing the fluid and filters. Automatic transmissions are essentially a series of clutch packs that are connected to drive gears and controlled by fluid pressure. When the fluid is too hot it loses viscosity and can prematurely wear the clutch packs in the transmission causing excessive debris and more heat, making the problem worsen.
– Bear Hunter
We have diligently reported the release of AMP RESEARCH's Power Step models through out the year, but now we are taking it one step further. Follow along, step-by-step as one of Truckblog's writers & photographers, Denny Hao, teams up with innovative manufacturers AMP RESEARCH and Texas' own 4x4 builders, Truck-Toyz to put together an incredible how-to installation article on the Power Step featuring AMP's latest addition to the product line, the Power Step drop bracket, which adds an additional two inches of drop to the step.
– DrSpeed
Your vehicles maintenance is extremely important if you want it to last. Every manufacturer posts a schedule of regular intervals that vehicle maintenance should be performed. Since many of you still have that owners manual wrapped in the OEM cellophane, we thought we would find a generic maintenance schedule for you.
Engine Oil and Oil filter Change - Every 3,000 miles
Lube steering linkage and driveline - Every 5,000 miles
Air Filter - Inspect every 5,000 Miles and replace as needed (Usually @ 15,000 miles)
Tire Rotation - Every 6,000 Miles
Windshield Wipers - Replace Annually
Engine Coolant - Flush and Change every 30,000 miles
Transmission Fluid & Filter Change - Every 30,000 miles
Timing Belt - Replace at 60,000 to 100,000 miles (when equipped)
Belts and Hoses - Replace at 60,000 to 100,000 miles
Again, this is just a generic chart of suggested intervals. Some people don't change their oil every 3,000 miles (personally I go 5,000 miles as I run a synthetic oil in my truck) this is just a suggested guideline for when and where you should be doing maintenance. If you're not sure, then crack open that owners manual as the full schedule will be printed in it.
Now we have talked about changing your oil and maintaining your tires, but we haven't touched on your vehicles filters yet. Notice we said "Filters" because there are several that need to be considered. Of course there is your air filter which is commonly recommended to be replaced every 10,000-15,000 miles or roughly twice a year, but there is also an oil filter and a fuel filter that need to be replaced and depending on your truck, their might be more than that.
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This is one of the more easier things you can keep maintained yourself, however it's often one of the most overlooked items as well. Maintaining the correct tire pressure in your cars tires is not only makes your car safer to drive but can decrease tire wear and increase fuel mileage.
Tire Inflation Tire inflation is key to maintaining the your tires normal wear patterns and increasing fuel economy. Judging the tire pressure by sight alone isn't good enough as there is very little difference to the eye between a tire running 20 psi vs. a tire running 30 psi however the tires rated load would be decreased by one third at 20 psi.
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Whether you drive a pimped out H2 rolling a set of 26" shoes or you have your dad's old 76 Pickup with the rusted out bed, they both have something in common and that is that without lubrication, their engine won't survive. Keeping your vehicle lubricated isn't difficult to do and there certainly isn't a shortage of oil manufacturers but there are several key differences you should be aware of before you slide under your pickup to change the oil.
Synthetic Oils vs. "Fossil" Oils Not all oils are created equally. Synthetic oil, just like regular oil, is designed to cool and lubricate engines with a couple of key differences. standard or fossil oil is isolated from natural crude oil and the impurities are removed. what's left are the liquids with the best lubrication and cooling properties. synthetics are carefully engineered using base chemical compounds to provide superior cooling and lubrication often ending up with an oil that will easily out perform regular natural oils across the board and last three times long doing so. Now, we could easily take a week to explain the virtues and differences between synthetic and regular oils, but we're not going to do that right now.
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From a stoplight, the guy next to you gives you "the look," and we all know what that means. As the light turns green, you put the pedal to the metal. In the ensuring launch, the truck shakes violently, bucks, hops, and heaven forbid, you stay on it, and eventually hear a loud "BANG" from a grenaded U-joint, followed by a "clink clink" as the driveshaft hits the pavement Perhaps if you were smarter, you would have known that the axle wrap was giving you traction problems, and you should have backed out of the throttle. But poor judgment (and perhaps a little machismo) kept you from doing otherwise. 
Ford has built the ultimate pick up truck of the millennium, and has chosen an iconic name that depicts it perfectly - the Super Duty. The Ford F-250 and F-350 caters to all the needs of full-size truck owners. You have those that use it as a work horse, towing a fifth wheel or goose neck trailer with a gross combined vehicle weight (GCWR) of 31,100 pounds; guys lifting it sky high with Bigfoot sized rolling stock; and those with dropped on airbags, laying frame with 26" wheels. Despite these trucks being all across the spectrum, they have one thing in common: they have to STOP! That's where Stainless Steel Brake Corporation's 8 Piston Brake Calipers come in.
It's no surprise that diesel motor equipped heavy duty trucks being manufactured today have been severely restricted by the factories for production. It saves fuel, lowers emissions and of course makes for a diesel motor that's never really capable of working to its full potential. One of the secrets to unlocking your diesel motors performance potential is van Aaken's SmartBox.
Keeping your truck's automatic transmission properly maintained and cool is a key component to extending the longevity of your transmission's life. Fortunately, maintenance is relatively simple for automatic transmissions as there isn't much that will need to be addressed except replacing the fluid and filters. Automatic transmissions are essentially a series of clutch packs that are connected to drive gears and controlled by fluid pressure. When the fluid is too hot it loses viscosity and can prematurely wear the clutch packs in the transmission causing excessive debris and more heat, making the problem worsen.
Whether you drive a pimped out H2 rolling a set of 26" shoes or you have your dad's old 76 Pickup with the rusted out bed, they both have something in common and that is that without lubrication, their engine won't survive. Keeping your vehicle lubricated isn't difficult to do and there certainly isn't a shortage of oil manufacturers but there are several key differences you should be aware of before you slide under your pickup to 
