[vimeo]http://www.vimeo.com/3537986[/vimeo]

[vimeo]http://www.vimeo.com/3539108[/vimeo]

FORCEFUL SHELBY

We flog a bevy of bolt-ons from Lightning Force Performance

Ford’s affect on the performance mustang community was two-fold when
it released the supercharged Shelby
GT500 Mustang in 2007. It gave SVT product the balls to kick some major
tail on the street, but it also showed the aftermarket and its consumers how
much the Modular motors prefer forced induction and how that allows for great
strides in performance.

Lightning Force Performance (LFP) in Houston, TX. offers the Shelby
GT500 owner numerous products to improve all aspects of a Shelby’s
performance, so we procured a suitable test subject and pounded the dynamometer
for some results.

Said test vehicle came from the stable of LFP’s son Jesse Sims who also
boards a supercharged 2000
SVT Lightning. The 2007 Shelby GT500 isn’t Sims’ daily driver,
but he wasn’t looking for maximum power, just a little more to give him
that thrill he got when he first purchased it.

That being said, we called LFP and asked Mark what he recommended. Obviously,
a pulley and cold air combo was a given, and Silvestri suggested we start with
an LFP 2.60 Upper Pulley Kit (Shelby
Pulley’s) and a C&L Cold Air Kit (Shelby
GT500 Intakes). He also suggested we try LFP’s new billet aluminum
lower control arms for more stability at launch. (Shelby
GT500 Suspension)

With increased boost come increased air-charge temperatures, so we installed
LFP’s Extreme intercooler heat exchanger (Shelby
GT500 Cooling) its larger-than-stock capacity will provide more fluid for
the transfer of heat, and its construction offers more cooling fins per inch
than the stocker for increased efficiency.

While you can get away with adding a cold air kit and pulley to a naturally
aspirated Ford Mustang, the Shelby GT500 requires some tweaking to the ECM due
to the additional airflow created by the LFP 2.60 Upper Pulley Kit and C&L
Shelby GT500 Cold Air Kit. LFP has you covered with pre-tuned dyno tunes which
can be pre-loaded into an SCT Xcal 3 tuner for your convenience.

Our subjects ’07 Shelby baselined at 411hp and 353 lb-ft of torque at
the wheels. After installing the Shelby Pulley Kit and GT500
Intake, our subjects GT500 increased to 11psi of boost resulting in a quick
and easy 505hp and 431 lb-ft of torque. This could not be achieved without properly
modifying the Shelby with a custom tune from LFP.

Things were looking great so far, and after we bolted on the GT500
C&L Cold Air kit, power and torque improved once again to 565hp and
516 lb-ft of twist. We were on a roll and not quite finished with our mods.

Increased boost pressure means the air-intake charge is compressed more and
thus heated more. The LFP Extreme Shelby GT500
Heat Exchanger holds fluid than stock and features more cooling fins per
inch than the factory piece. We saw an average decrease in intake-charge temps
from 12-16 degrees depending upon engine RPM. After draining the intercooler
fluid, bolting up the Shelby
Heat Exchanger is a simple remove-and-replace process. This is a relief
due to the complicated routing of the Shelby GT500’s plumbing.

More Shelby
GT500 Parts and Accessories can be found on LFP’s GT500 section on
their online web-store.

Razors Edge Billet Pedal Covers – 05-09 Dodge LX and LC

Product Description

Add a touch of Razors Edge Style to your cockpit with this billet pedal cover set. Gas pedal cover conforms to the curvature of the factory piece; all three provide the driver with sure-footed control. CNC Machined from billet aluminum specifically for the Dodge LX & LC platforms.

Kit comes with: Gas, Brake, and Parking Brake & mounting screws

*Dead Foot pedal sold seperately

• Razors Edge Products

 Challenger, Magnum, SRT8, 5.7RT, and other Mopar Tuning available at Razors Edge Motorsports

The DDD Automotive Aftermarket Car and Truck Performance Parts Directory

In talking to many companies in the aftermarket everyday, I get a chance to see patterns that might not otherwise be obvious.

Many Manufacturers, Shops, WD’s and Online stores tell me about their business, where they are this year compared to last year and what types of media are working for them.

I’ll use a couple of their stories as an example here, keeping the actual name of the companies private.

This is tremendously valuable information, so please read on!

Case #1

The first company is a well known 20 year old performance shop.

This particular shop operates with the utmost professionalism, has an extremely clean facility and is capable of doing everything in house, with an impressive track record long and distinguished enough to prove their abilities.

They also have an online store and are able to take orders online and ship product worldwide. They can tune, repair, build, fabricate, dyno….all in one place and on nearly any car.

The shop owner told me recently things have been slow, and that it seems like there are a lot of “new guys” getting a lot of the business.

I asked him if they’d been able to spend time posting in the forums and marketing themselves on the internet, and the answer was no.

This is a very common answer from some of the “old dogs” in the business.

It’s unfortunate that many of the companies out there with the most experience are suffering due to not making some adjustments necessary to get in front of consumers where they decide what products to buy or where to go for service.

Case #2

The second company is a performance manufacturer, selling both tangible and intangible products.

Their sales are up 40% this year and they do almost no print advertising at all.

What’s their secret?  Why are they thriving while other companies are in denial, blaming it on the economy?

I mentioned in a previous newsletter that consumers now make their buying decisions online, but how do you benefit from this?

I’m going to tell you right here.

Top 3 secrets of today’s most successfully marketed companies

(in no particular order)

1.   Forums

2.   Human Edited Directories

3.   Viral, targeted online video production and distribution

The manufacturer with a 40% increase in sales…how did they do it?

1. Their marketing team spends time every day surfing the forums, interacting with consumers and publicly answering questions.  This gives them credibility, personality and accessibility…a true recipe for sales!

If you don’t have time for it, hire someone for it, or rotate some of your technical staff an hour a day each into the forums.

I promise, it’s worth it.

2. They advertise in human edited, targeted directories and send their press releases to them for public posting.

Placing your banners, text links, editorials, videos and business information in proven, human edited, online directories is one of the best values in advertising.

It’s inexpensive, you control who sees your ads, and you can see exactly what works in a very short period of time.

Online directories give you Instant Gratification:

Why wait 3 months for a magazine to print your press releases when you can start your sales cycle (and be truly first to market!) by sending your press releases and catalog to The DDD Directory to be displayed online!

You get it Now.  Today!

Talk about efficient…..

3.  Many successfully marketed companies place their existing TV commercials on industry/vehicle specific websites and create new videos designed with a “3rd party objective”, showing the proper installation, use and results of their aftermarket products.

Why online video?

It’s real.

It’s NOW.

Consumers relate to it emotionally:  “Hey, I have that car!  Those headers sound awesome!”  “SLP Makes them?  That’s it, I’m going online to buy them!”

Video works so well and in so many ways…..don’t miss this powerful marketing tool and the exposure the internet affords you.

Call or e-mail The DDD Directory today and get started!

Click here to e-mail Jim at The DDD Directory

Summing things up: 

Todays consumer is much more efficient.

Less people are wandering around speed shops looking for catalogs and more are finding what they need on the internet, browsing forums and sites like The DDD Directory to see who makes parts for their car, who sells them, and which local shops work on them.

This is your call to action!

If you’re already with DDD, congratulations!  We’re making record traffic every month and hear new stories everyday about how we’ve helped companies succeed.  Your success is our business, and we will continue to work hard for you.  Keep sending those press releases so we can keep your catalog up to date and get your sales rolling right away!

If you aren’t with The DDD Directory yet and you make marketing decisions for an aftermarket manufacturer, shop, or online store:  call me today and ask how to join The DDD Directory.

It’s painless, simple, inexpensive and very effective.

Need references or a new ad agent?  Call us.  We’ll be happy to share!

We are not an ad agency but work with many ethical institutions we can recommend to you.

The DDD Directory can expose your entire catalog of products with banners and links.  With DDD, you can control exactly which audience sees your video and you can track their effectiveness every month!

Did you know DDD can work with you to create a 3rd party installation video?

You can do this exclusively, or as a Co-Op with other companies.

In todays world of e-marketing, nothing is more effective!

What are your marketing plans this year?

It’s already March 17th! Call us today to get started and see the tremendous service, courtesy and exposure you’ve been missing.

You can beat last years numbers and please more customers along the way!

As your DDD representative, I’m in the office 9-6 E.S.T Monday-Friday, and you can e-mail me anytime!

Sincerely,

Jim Ferraro, The DDD Directory

Office number:  888-44-Find-IT  (888-443-4634)

email:  jimferraro@dddracing.com

What can it do for you?

Manufacturers:

Though many (or most) of your consumers purchase your products through dealer channels, where are they actually making their buying decisions?

The #1 answer today is the INTERNET.

Before continuing, I’l dispel any rumors:

We are not an ad agency, nor are we a forum.

The DDD Directory is here to serve you by creating innovative installation videos with a “3rd party objective” narration, to expose your products online, and get your products directly in front of buyers that drive the specific vehicles you serve, so they will choose YOU!

You can also place your entire catalog of products on our heavily exposed online performance directory.
Furthermore, there may be other companies in the aftermarket that can help you grow and keep your marketing costs low.  We want to introduce you to them.

There is a new flavor of Co-Op rising in the aftermarket, and we’d like to serve you by asking questions, listening to your ideas, and finding ways to maximize every dollar you spend on marketing.

What if you own a performance shop or online store?

In February, 92,000 new people visited The DDD Directory for a total of just under 4,000,000 hits for the month. These are consumers looking for products, shops and online stores specific to their vehicle make and model.

Take a dive into our Shop Locator (click icon above) or Online Parts Store locator and see what you’ve been missing!

Want to find out who makes the part you want for your car?  Click the Manufacturers icon!

Call us and we’ll get you involved in our community, discuss industry trends, and work with you to maximize your market share.

Sincerely,

Jim Ferraro

Operations

The DDD Directory

888-443-4634

Click here to email Jim 

DDD isn’t your average directory!

Everything listed on The DDD Directory is 100% vehicle specific, trackable and constantly updated.

Want a video specifically designed to expose your products or services?

DDD works hard to bring manufacturers, shops and online stores together to create professional, viral video!

Once the video is produced, we expose it on numerous websites to maximize your internet footprint.

The video also becomes your property to use as you please!

As an example, the video we produced for Spec Clutch can be seen in our video vault    <—(click to see it).

The video vault contains both DDD videos and videos supplied by our clients.  The 2nd video down is the one we produced for Spec Clutch.

We can do this for any shop, manufacturer or online store!

If you’d like to work with other companies and share the cost, we can create a Co-Op.  We’re booked currently through June, so call us and get on the list!

DDD has relationships with other industry websites, including forums, so your video will not only be yours to distribute as you choose, but will be heavily exposed on the internet as another quality production by The DDD Directory!

We’re working hard to bring the entire aftermarket closer so we can all maximize our business potential.

Call us today to discuss your specific needs!

Sincerely,

Jim Ferraro, Chris Saunier, Terry Gullett, David Caine and the rest of your crew here at The DDD Directory!

888-443-4634

This little word can mean massive traffic gains for your website, and many more sales.

But why?

Search engines like websites with new content and lots of it. Google works like a giant calculator, applying word counts, content crawlers, link counters and keyword loggers to determine who should be “first” in the search listings.
“Pay per click” can be effective, but in the long run, natural (often called “organic”) search engine presence is needed to create consistent web traffic.

How can you be #1 in Google? How do you make your website show up under many different keywords and gain an edge over your competition?

There are many answers to this question, and it also depends on which type of customer you’re trying to capture.

Blogging is one of the best ways to drive more search engine traffic to your website.

But how can you blog if you don’t know what it is?

Blogging is basically a constantly updated chronological account, on the Internet, of company news, operations, press releases, etc….anything relating to the operations of your company deemed safe to be viewed by the public.
Blog actually comes from the phrase “Web Log”, and is much like keeping a public business journal.

It’s important to choose blog topics that contain key words you want to show up with in Google and other search engines.

In other words, If you’re a machine shop, its important to use the words “machine shop” frequently in your blog.
Sooner or later, Google will recognize it and start sending people searching for “machine shop” your way.

Naturally, there is a a fine line between using keywords properly and “keyword stuffing”.

Keyword stuffing is the practice of deliberately and excessively placing keywords in your blog to the point of creating awkward word structure, in an effort to make google “notice” how many times you have a particular word or phrase in your blog.

Google’s “robots” are smart enough to recognize this, and keyword stuffing can actually get you banned from the search engines!

Not to worry, if you create a quality readable blog with relevant content, the search engines will reward you for it.

We’ll address blogging further in the next DDD Newsletter, or you can call us anytime with your questions.

Remember, The DDD Directory is your resource for online exposure!

Sincerely,

Jim Ferraro
Operations
The DDD Directory