Installing high-performance suspension hardware onto your truck is hardly ever a bad thing, but leaving your stock upper control arms on your truck and expecting their bind-prone rubber ball joints to keep up with all your off-roading needs is definitely a bad thing. That's why our friends over at ICON Vehicle Dynamics includes a set of their excellent 2009 to 2014 F150 Tubular Steel Uniball Upper Control Arms as a standard part of their F150 Stage 2 Suspension System. These high-strength, heavy-duty arms feature uniball joint that won't bind during heavy articulation, unlike your stock rubber ball joint. ICON's upper control arms are a great investment for the truck that sees decent amounts of off-road trail riding or the occasional romp through the wilderness. What's even better is that they're a breeze to install, as we found out when we took our 2012 FX4 5.0L F150 Project Truck down to Extreme Performance out in Goodyear.
We wanted some of the best suspension hardware we could get our greedy little paws on, so naturally we turned to ICON and their Stage 2 Suspension System for the 2009 to 2014 4WD F150s for a little help. Our friends over at ICON were happy to help us out and a pair of front adjustable coilovers, uniball upper control arms, and a set of rear 2.0 Aluminum Body Shocks showed up at our door, ready to jump on our project truck. First up: the coilovers. ICON's performance coilovers consist of a 2.5" aluminum shock body wrapped up in an Eibach Performance Coilover Spring that provides excellent levels of response and articulation while still giving your truck a great ride on the street. The coilovers are actually pretty easy to get installed, though space is kind of an issue and having an extra pair of hands ended up helping a great deal.
Our 2012 5.0L Project truck needed to go a bit higher in the rear, which meant we needed a rear block kit of some sort. Our friends over at ReadyLift were more than happy to help us out and sent over one of their excellent 2004 to 2014 F150 4WD 3" Rear Lift Blocks to help us out. This pair of 3" blocks add about 1.5" of ride height to the rear of a given F150, and they were perfect for giving our truck a leveled look in conjunction with our ICON Front Coilovers which add up to 3" of front ride height. In essence, we threw a 3" lift kit onto our truck without needing to do anything crazy like replacing spindles, driveshafts drops, or anything else that's common with taller and "more complete" lift kits. Anywhere, here's our very own install guide for ReadyLift's rear blocks. Enjoy!
Our friends over at Steeda Autosports are having a wee bit of a sale on their S197 Pro-Action Shocks and Struts and their Ultra Lite Springs in celebration of...something. Maybe. Maybe they're just doing it because they love all of us so huggy-buggy much. Whatever their motivations, Steeda is offering 10% off on their 2005-2010 Pro-Action Damper Kit, 2011-2014 Pro-Action Kit Damper Kit, and their 2005-2014 Ultra Lite Springs. While not winning any rewards for quantity or variety, this Steeda 10% Sale does give you a nice discount on some of the best suspension hardware you can find for your 2005 to 2014 Mustang.
The more astute of you may have noticed that we've added nine (yes, nine) new 2009 to 2014 F150 suspension systems to our site in the last week or so, all them from ICON Vehicle Dynamics. ICON has, well, become somewhat of an "icon" of the off-road performance suspension world, and their high-quality off-road parts and components are just the thing the serious off-road fanatic needs to get their F150 5.0L, 6.2L 3.5L EcoBoost, or even 3.7L truck prepped for those tough trails. While on the pricey side, even a fairly basic ICON suspension system will give your truck an utterly massive improvement in performance and off-road handling while giving you the ability to lift the front of your truck by up to 3" to fit on impressive 33" (possibly even 34" depending on wheel offset) to give you some extra ground clearance and that mean trophy truck look. That being said, ICON's more involved suspension kits can provide even better performance and get you the off-road performance you need. So, let's break down ICON's systems to find the one that's perfect for you.
We've been having a problem or twenty with our F150 EcoBoost custom tuning as of late. While there's not an issue with anything critical to your truck, there is a problem related to a Technical Service Bulletin that Ford sent out a while ago that's giving us a few issues in regards to our custom tuning, namely getting the correct PCM code for your truck.
Even the most enthusiastic of us here at Stage 3 Motorsports tend to be a little jaded when it comes to hearing aftermarket exhausts. Some sound good, some sound great, some sound meh. It's rare we actually have to take a step back, but Solo Performance has already blown us away with their complete cat-back exhaust kits for the 2011 to 2013 F150 5.0L V8s. These systems sound amazing and they come built for specific wheelbases which helps you save some time over cutting and trimming other kits. Each of these kits help your F150 get a brutal new exhaust roar that sounds absolutely amazing. These kits feature a deep, throaty, loud, and vicious sound without much interior drone at idle or cruising. These cat-back systems are probably the best-sounding F150 5.0L exhaust systems currently on the market.
While most of our customers' vehicles are pretty awesome, every once in a great while something pulls into our lot that's truly unique and somewhat terrifying at the same time. This is especially true if you're like us and drive a bit "aggressively" around town (some of us more than others). Straight from Michigan all the way down here to Phoenix came this monster of Pony, decked out in all the official police regalia of Sherman Township and ready to pull you over. Meet this heavily customized Stage 3 Roush Mustang. With a modified Roush M90 supercharger, a built automatic transmission, and a GT500 front end, this Pony makes sure you won't be able to run from the law.
Steve Saleen is back in the news, and he has something nice to show us. StangTV just did an excellent writeup of the reveal of the Saleen S351 Mustang. This 700hp monstrosity has all of the aggressive and sleek styling that you'd expect from Saleen, and the power to back all that sexiness up
Our love for the 3.5L EcoBoost V6 under the hood of 2011 to 2013 F150s is practically boundless. We're a little obsessed -- in the least creepy way possible -- and now we've put together some of out best F150 EcoBoost performance parts into money saving performance packages that have the potential to give your truck staggering amounts of horsepower and torque with perfect fitment and compatibility. These new "Phase" kits give your truck several different levels of performance based on you own preferences or application. All of our Phase kits come with several awesome EcoBoost performance parts and tuning to get your truck churning and burning both on the street and out on the trail. All of our Phase kits can be found in our new F150 EcoBoost performance packages section for easy browsing!
There's very few things that are better than a cold air intake from our friends over at Airaid. One of those things is getting some money back on your Airaid intake of choice so that you get the awesome performance gains that you've been craving while saving a few bucks. Airaid's WT-30 "Wow, That's $30" rebate may not have the most clever name in the world, but you can get $30 back on your complete Airaid cold air intake kit when you fill out and mail in Airaid's rebate form by September 30th, 2013! Airaid's intakes are some of our personal favorites and will get you more horsepower, more torque, improved throttle response, and increased fuel mileage all in one easy to install kit!
While the SVT Raptor has been the go-to truck for anyone looking for a high-performance off-road machine, anyone looking for a fun street truck from the factory was out of luck. All that's about to change thanks to the announcement of the F150 Tremor for the 2014 model year. With a short cab and short bed, the Tremor weighs in at 5000 pounds and is rocking Ford's 3.5L EcoBoost V6 under its hood. The EcoBoost engine is mated with a 6-speed automatic that sends power to the rear wheels through a 4.10 rear end gear. All of this is topped off with 20" wheels, an FX2 appearance package, projector headlights, and unique graphics.
BBK Performance has always been a long-time favorite of ours. Their selection of Mustang performance parts has always hit that perfect balance of performance, price, and general ease. That's why we were pretty eager to to throw some of their gear on a 2003 Mustang GT that happened to stumble into our shop. So we threw on one of BBK's "BlackOut" cold air intakes and their very awesome 78mm throttle/plenum and even managed to get it all on film to help you out when you decide to install these parts on your own 1996 to 2004 Mustang GT. Enjoy watching Lou do his thing!
Our good friends over at Borla Exhaust just released a new, and pretty excellent video that compares their exhaust systems for the 2011 to 2013 F150s. It is a bit on the long side, but it goes over Borla's cat-back options for the SVT Raptors, 5.0L F150s, and the EcoBoost F150s. This is probably the best video that Borla's released so far. Production quality is top-notch and the exhaust comparison's are flawless. Best of all, we here at Stage 3 carry every single kit mentioned in the video and they're ready to ship out to your door.
Apparently it's "Whipple Friday" here at Stage 3. There wasn't a memo, it's just kind of how it all worked out. Moving on from Miguel's 2008 Mustang GT, we now have Al's 2011 5.0L Mustang with a 624hp Whipple Supercharger kit. Al was kind enough to bring his Pony down to the shop so we could get some lovely photos of his blower installed, as well as nice video of his Stainless Works Cat-Back Exhaust kit. This Mustang sounds amazing with just a hint of supercharger whine in the upper RPMs and a deep, mellow tone from the cat-back system. Al even had some pretty snazzy Mickey Thompson tires installed to help get the power to the ground. One thing we didn't see was the 2011-2014 Steeda Tri-Ax short throw. You can't win them all. Check out the photos below of Al's awesome ride and make sure to read his fantastic reviews on all these Mustang performance parts!
It's a rare day indeed when we get high-quality exhaust system photos from a customer, especially of headers and mid-pipe. To be fair, they're not the easiest things to successfully photograph and you'll need enough ground clearance, decent lighting, and steady hands to get a good shot. Today is one of those rare days. Here we have photos of Alex's 2011 Mustang GT and it's JBA Long Tube Headers and Off-Road H-Pipe package (the kit comes standard with an X-pipe, but we make things happen). While lacking in pretty ladies, these are some of the better exhaust photos that we've seen in a long time. Enjoy!
One of our mot upstanding local customers, Alejandro, paid us a visit last week and brought his 2011 Mustang GT with him. This car has a long story behind it, but let's just say it came back from the dead and was born again into one of the most awesome Ponies hanging around the Greater Phoenix Metropolitan Area. Alejandro has thrown just about everything and the kitchen sink at this Mustang with everything from power adders, exhaust upgrades, aggressive custom tuning, styling mods, and suspension components making it a total overhaul. Not bad for needing to be pulled out of a ditch a few months ago -- more on that later.
Our April intake and throttle body sale was a huge success, and we like success. We like it so much that we here at Stage 3 are now extending our pretty awesome 6% off sale until May 31st! Here's your second chance to get more air flowing into your engine and making all that extra horsepower! Just enter our 6INTAKE discount code with the purchase of any cold air intake, throttle body, or package to receive your discount. ¡Víva airflow!
Just when you thought we couldn't squeeze any more F150 suspension gear out of the aftermarket, here we come with yet another high-performance suspension manufacturer. We're happy to bring Rancho Suspension on board the Stage 3 wagon, especially their lineup of impressive shocks, loaded leveling kits, and complete suspension lifts. These guys know and understand what it takes to tackle the toughest terrain out there, and they have a full arsenal of F150 suspension components that can help your truck go just about anywhere.
While the 2010 to 2013 SVT Raptors and their 6.2L V8s can churn out great power and a ton of low-end torque, a little more never really hurt. aFe's Stage 2 series of cold air intakes for the Raptors do just that by throwing on up to 18 extra horsepower and 22 lb-ft of torque without the need for custom tuning or other modifications. Naturally, we jumped at the opportunity to give some extra punch to our Desert Raptor project truck and put together a little installation guide right here for the aFe Stage 2 intake with Pro Guard 7 air filter.
Continuing on with this week's lighting theme, we've just added some awesome lighting parts from ANZO USA to Stage 3 Motorsports. ANZO has some of the most awesome 2009 to 2013 F150 and SVT Raptor headlight, taillight, and third brake light designs on the market that offer up some of the best ways to customize your powerful Ford truck. We just listed several different colors and light styles so that you can pick out what's best for your F150.
There's maybe a couple dozen reasons -- none of them all that great -- for why we've kind of been lacking in the aftermarket lighting department as of late. While we could give you a line item list of excuses, we though it would be better to just fix the problem. Our first step it to welcome Oracle Lighting Technologies into our midst. Our second step is add as much of their awesome lighting kits and gear as humanly possible. We already made some headway, but there is much more to be done.
In general, throwing an aFe cold air intake on your F150, SVT Raptor, or Super Duty is an easy process. Making the choice about which kit to actually get is the toughest part. Each one of aFe's cold air intake kits comes with three different options for air filters and each one has a different part number. The real question is which one do you need? Like most of the answers in the performance parts industry, the short answer is "depends". The long answer is, well, kind of long. Today we'll break down all of aFe's air filter options so that you know which kit you need to grab when time comes to update your truck's intake system and get some more power flowing down to your wheels.
It's not every day that a genuine Saleen S281 S197 stops by, but when it does happen, we make sure to get a photo or two. What's even more impressive is what this awesome Saleen Mustang is rocking under its hood. Hint: it's something big, mean, and ultra-powerful. Check out our small photo gallery below!
