PRI 2017 – What’s New and Cool Edition

PRI 2017 – What’s New and Cool Edition

by Erik Jacobs

It’s been almost two weeks since the 2017 Performance Racing Industry (PRI) show finished its last day, and this coverage is just now coming out. This should serve as a testament to just how much is at this truly racing-oriented trade show. Unlike the party time vibe that the SEMA show fosters, PRI is all about serious racing business. Sure, there’s a few models here and there, but, for the most part, the wares are the star of the show. Here are a number of things that the MotoIQ staff found interesting this year.

XS Power is no stranger to car audio, but they also have been around the block a time or two when it comes to motorsports and high-performance automotive uses.

XS’ audio background gives them a great deal of experience with capacitors, which are known for their massive discharge capabilities. Traditionally used in audio systems to provide power handling capability for those big bass hits, the XS Power SB500-34 packs 500 farads worth of capacitance and 10,000Amps (THOUSANDS!) of discharge into a diminuitive 11lbs.

While not explicitly recommended for daily driving use, a SuperBANK “battery” can be utilized on a race or drag car with an alternator or magneto and recharged in as little as 3 minutes. And, though it is one third the price of a comparable size and weight lithium battery, it is best paired with a small traditional XS Power cell for applications where long-term power is required (for example, when running electronics with the vehicle off in order to download data logs or program other systems). This SB500-34 retails for approximately $449 and is available now along with 14 other variants across several sizes, capacitance, and voltage ratings.

You are probably familiar with Haltech from their participation on our Project SC300 Racer, which uses an Elite 2500 ECM.

Haltech recently introduced the VMS series of engine management systems, which are designed to control powertrains that do not require fuel management. With an extensive set of features mimicking the Elite 2500, a VMS is capable of running almost everything required for something like a blown alcohol Pro Mod. With bump and traction control, six stages of wet nitrous management, transmission shift controls, CO2 boost management, and even torque management on the -T version, the VMS series is a powerful solution for some very extreme applications.

Additionally, Haltech has updated and expanded their CAN hub offerings.

As you might recall, the hub makes it trivial to connect multiple Haltech or other CAN devices to your bus without the need for lots of wire splicing and shrinking, which we have had so much fun doing on Project SC300. Now with an environmentally rated 4-port (1 in, 3 out) hub that uses standard Deutsch-style DTM connectors, there is also a micro 3-port (1 in, 2 out) hub that uses the same Tyco connector that we have on our SC300’s 6-port. These additional hub offerings make it easy to add CAN devices locally, even in harsh environments like the engine bay.