Because we'll be taking her out all across the country, we decided to create a Daystar FC 170 page on Facebook. That way you'll be able to keep track as to when the Jeep FC will be in your neighborhood! Be sure to like the page so it will show up in your newsfeed.
In addition to the articles we've archived here on the blog, we've also set up a webpage to chronicle the build of the FC and the reaction to it from around the world. The Daystar Jeep FC was voted #1 Vehicle more than any other vehicle at SEMA. We're very proud of our 100% employee built vehicle and want to make sure you get a chance to look her over, as well as show you all of the cool products our partners contributed to the build.
Things that reporters and spectators commented on when they saw our Jeep FC 170 at SEMA were the fact that the employees at Daystar built this rig, we didn't farm it out. Second, they commented on the level of detail and care we put into building her.
Guys, we invite you to come on an offroad adventure with us. The first snow is here in the States and we're eager to take her out and put her through her paces. Join us for some offroad fun!
Bangshift.com had a wonderful write up on our Jeep FC build here, featuring some great shots of the vehicle, and a few details on its construction:
"This Jeep FC 170 was built by the employees of Daystar Products, an industry leading supplier for the off road market with a wide variety of lifts, leveling kits, and other products in their lineup. They decided to take on this Jeep FC 170 build as a literal team and the result is pure, unadulterated BangShifty perfection. From the green and white paint scheme to the chromed components on the tracks that the Jeep rides on, to the fact that there’s 345ci of late model Hemi engine to send this baby down the road, we’ve got no nits to pick with any of it... it shows the company is manned by enthusiasts that not only understand the products they sell but really love the industry they are in. The second is that these people have great skills and they were all put to great use on the build."
"The number one spot is reserved for something unique: the Jeep Forward Control 170 complete with tracks all the way around. Plenty of custom work was done on this truck to get it to the amazing state we found it in at the SEMA Show, and it looks like it would be a blast to take out to the sand dunes or into the snow.
To top it all off, this Jeep celebrates its Mopar heritage with a 5.7-liter HEMI V8 providing all the grunt you’ll ever need."
The Swiss website blick.ch have a nice photo gallery of all of the hot cars and products at SEMA... But on page 22 of the photo gallery they take time to recognize the awesomeness of the Daystar 1958 FC 170 with the headline:
The German website Focus.de had a video recap of all the cool show vehicles and booths at SEMA 2014. Of course, our brand new Jeep FC was featured in their coverage.
The 2014 SEMA Show was a great event for Daystar. We enjoyed meeting all of you and sharing what it is we do with the off road, and automotive aftermarket community.
Our CEO, Mark Turner was invited to speak on NHTSA FMVSS 126 Compliance standards at the Vehicle Dynamics Forum. Many of our Comfort Ride Lift and Leveling Kits are compliant with the strict safety standards set by the government including: Ford F150, Ford Super Duty, Chevy Silverado/GMC Sierra, Dodge Rams and Jeep JKs. These standards ensure that aftermarket lift and leveling kits don't compromise the enhanced vehicle control provided by the OEM's Electronic Stability Control system.
Two of the products you responded to most enthusiastically at SEMA are our Cam Cans (to which we've added all-new Black models), and our new Hood Cowl. Below are the displays from our SEMA 2014 booth for each of these product lines.
Here are the Cam Can mounts for UTVs, allowing for more storage anywhere on your vehicle.
Here's a side-by-side configuration for our black liquid storage, and for the orange equipment Cam Can storage unit.
Here's the typical Cam Can configuration, mounted on the spare...
And here's a closer view showing how the Cam Can fits flush within the tire.
Many people were curious as to what makes our Hood Cowl different than vent systems by other manufacturers. This display demonstrates how "under hood heat" is drawn away from the engine compartment even when you are moving slowly across the terrain or even standing still.
Reduces Under Hood Temperatures by 12%
Structural Integrity of the Hood Remains Intact
Templates Provided For Precise Installation
Under Hood Insulation is Retained
Fully Paintable
Comes Complete With All Necessary Parts
Made In The USA
Here's the display showing how light and durable the abs plastic construction is for our Hood Cowl. This allows for less installation time and effort, a perfect surface for paint, and a stylish addition to your Jeep's look.
Here you see how the Heat is drawn away from the engine compartment and out through the Cowl's vents. All without having to compromise the integrity of your Jeep's hood, or removing the factory insulation.
And a closer look. Each Daystar Hood Cowl comes complete with detailed installation instructions, and we've even produced a video to show you how easy it is to install.
Again, thanks for coming by to see us at SEMA, and we hope that we'll see you again at one of the many Offroad Events we attend throughout the year.
The SEMA Show is the automotive aftermarket's biggest event of the year where literally hundreds
(thousands?) of companies gather together at the Las Vegas Convention Center to showcase their innovative products to enhance your driving experience. Daystar is proud to join our colleagues in the industry and show the offroad audience what it is we do better than anyone else.
If you're attending the show, please drop by and visit us at our booths. We'd love to hear from you, and show you what we have in store for your offroading enjoyment -- The Best Jeep Lift Kits, Hood Accessories, Our Patented Cam Cans, Truck Accessories, and much more.
You'll also get an up close and personal look at our latest project vehicle:
Again, if you're attending the SEMA Show please stop by and say, "hi." We'd love to hear from you!
Sometimes in life, it’s the little things that count. Jeep Wrangler owners can attest that the factory hood bumpers are just not up to par. They are known to dry out, fall out, and are not reusable once they have been removed. Daystar Products has come to the rescue with our brand new Wrangler hood bumpers that are made out of our extremely tough and durable polyurethane construction.
It's one thing for us to talk about how awesome Daystar's Hood Cowl is -- that's part of our job description - but when a customer sends us pictures showing us how awesome it is, then that speaks louder than any words we can use.
One of our customers who identified himself as "Dave" sent us these pictures for use on our Facebook page. We think Dave has an incredibly sleek ride and we like how he integrated the Hood Cowl into his look. Check it out and tell us what you think. While you're at it please join us on Facebook for more fantastic Jeep stuff like this or you can check out our Youtube Channel filled with "views you can use."
Today we thought we'd catch you up on some of the awesome Offroad Events we've attended recently. It's always great to get out and meet the folks who use our products and keep us working hard to design and develop new ones to meet the demands of the offroad.
Here are some of the wonderful places we've been to and people we've met in recent months:
RALLY VENTURE: Reno, NV July 16th Kelly and Mark just competed in the 1st ever Rally Venture at the Silver State Jamboree in Reno, NV. The field was full of industry people, Top Ultra 4 racers, and Offroad racers. Many of the rigs were Ultra 4 built vehicles. After 16 hours running, Kelly and Mark finished the course in 9th overall out of 20 rigs.
SEMA CHARITY PINEWOOD DERBY: July 18th
We blasted through to the SEMA Charity Pinewood Derby car race. The Team worked very hard getting our 3 entries ready.
• Daystar Silver Stock took 1st place!
• The JK unlimited class took 4th.
• LTAA Truck finished 3rd.
SAND BLASTED AT OREGON DUNEFEST: July 30th - August 3rd
We spent the most incredible weekend with the coolest sand loving, grit eating, crazed people we have ever met. We brought along our Fire Breathing, nitro burning JK just to see what she could do in the sand.
WOO BABY!
We were presently surprised and so were the fans. We made it all the way to the Quarter Finals before getting beat out by our competition.
Haley Wilson's TJ Sand Drag Jeep was crazy fast yesterday and needed to keep the hood down, so she came over to the Daystar booth at Dunefest, and bingo! We installed new Daystar Hood Wranglers.
We can’t wait until next year! THANKS, FANS! SEE YOU SOON AT AN EVENT NEAR YOU!
One of our most popular offroad accessory lines is our patented, award-winning Cam Cans. Designed for offroad storage, the Daystar Cam Can line now mounts to your UTV rollbar (Fits 1” , 1-½”, 1-¾” and 2” bars) providing you with a storage area for tools, for drinking water, and for petroleum based fluids. Cam Cans are easy to install and can lock together providing you with extra storage that can be set at any angle on your rollbar. Here’s our latest video showing easily the Black Cam Can is mounted on a UTV using our new Cam Can UTV & Rollbar Mounting System:
Here's a closeup view of the mounting plate:
And here it is mounted on a UTV. Note the Double Cam on the left and the single cam on the right:
Of course, like all Daystar products, Cam Cans are Made in the USA!
For more information on this, and our other award-winning Cam Can products, please visit our website here.
There's not a lot of things more fun than offroading, and when we were approached by MOTOR TREND CHANNEL with sponsoring an offroad show that blends together all the things that makes offroading fun, well we couldn't say, "No!"
We just had to say, "HECK, YEAH!"
CHEAP TRUCK CHALLENGE is available on Youtube as part of the DIRT EVERYDAY program, and we're a proud sponsor. CTC mixes in your Do-It-Yourself Show, Your Competition Show, and your Whacky Characters Show in an offroad format that is a great entry into the world of offroading.
Contestants are all friends of host Fred Williams who get together in smash-built trucks and jeeps that have to meet a certain budget (Fred's is an S-10) . Then they put the vehicles through all sorts of challenges that test the drivers and vehicles for heck of it! Lots of driving, climbing, and wrenching!
It's a great starter show into the world of offroading and fabrication with lots of great tips and ideas for folks on a budget.
Why don't you check it out for yourself? Be sure to leave a comment on their Youtube page and tell them Daystar sent you!
The first of
the TBS forum panel sessions, the Vehicle Dynamics Forum, is scheduled for
Monday, November 3rd from 1:00 to 2:30 PM. in Rooms N258-N260 of the Las Vegas
Convention Center. The Vehicle Dynamics Forum will be moderated by John Waraniak, Vice
President Vehicle Technology, SEMA. Guest Speakers and Industry Experts include:
Paul Venhovens, BMW Endowed Chair in Automotive Systems Integration at CU-ICAR
Paul Williamsen, National Manager, Strategic Educational Support, International Market Enhancement Team, Lexus International
Tom Gillespie, Co-Founder and Director of Product Planning, Mechanical Simulation
Terry Ledwidge, Director of New Business Development, Link Engineering
Mark Turner, CEO Daystar Products
Joe Schaefer, President of Konig American
Attendees of
the Vehicle Dynamics Forum will learn how to customize with confidence and
ensure their products comply with federal motor vehicle safety
regulations. SEMA’s Vehicle
Dynamics Program and participating member companies have made significant
achievements over the past five years in understanding how performance products
such as suspension, brakes, wheels, tires and steering as well as engine
modifications interact with electronic stability control and other active
safety systems. The innovative and collaborative approach developed by SEMA has
minimized costs while establishing unique capabilities for members that want to
know the impact of their products on vehicle dynamics and ESC performance. SEMA has been supporting the
development of an industry-first math model with CarSim for evaluating the ESC
performance of aftermarket-modified vehicle through pure simulation and
analysis. An overview of the CarSim ESC Math Model and applications for SEMA
members will be presented by Dr. Tom Gillespie at the Forum. September 1, 2012, marked the date
requiring aftermarket companies to comply with the U.S. Highway Traffic Safety
Administration’s Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 126 for ESC systems.
When loss of driver control is imminent, ESC strategically applies the brakes
to help stabilize the vehicle. Similar requirements for the rest of the global
automotive community are contained in the United Nations Economic Commission
for Europe 13H regulations.
The full-scale
vehicle testing with Link Engineering and dSPACE hardware-in-the-loop vehicle
dynamics simulation technology and CarSim product development methodologies
available to SEMA members are the same as that used by all OEMs and major
suppliers around the world to develop, test and simulate vehicle dynamics, new
chassis system components, engines, powertrains, drivelines, suspensions and
vehicle electronic control systems. The Vehicle Dynamics Forum will include an
overview of the SEMA-Clemson Vehicle Dynamics Projects as well as the
pioneering WTC Research to determine the impact of custom wheels and tires on
vehicle dynamics performance by Dr. Paul Venhovens from Clemson University’s
International Center for Automotive Research (CU-ICAR).
