2011 SEMA Show: 10 Best New Products

SEMA is the world's biggest collection of aftermarket hardware for cars and trucks. And amid any collection of hardware this size there's plenty of worthless nonsense. For your convenience we've sorted through all the junk to bring you the 10 best products at the 2011 SEMA Show.

We've taken one day to tirelessly search the miles of products lining the booths, stands and stages. Among our selections are application-specific products chosen for their craftsmanship, beauty and nothing else. Some you'll likely be able to appreciate for those reasons alone. Others are more broad in their appeal — items nearly any gearhead can appreciate or use.

Absolutely, Hands-Down the Coolest Product at SEMA This Year: 2012 Honda Civic Body-in-White
If you're going racing, or just happen to appreciate raw automotive forms, Honda Performance Development has your ticket. For $3,500 you can buy a 2012 Civic body-in-white. For race teams, this sufficiently streamlines the build process, eliminating the need to buy a production vehicle and disassemble it. In other words, there's no going backward before going forward. This is simple. And it shows Honda is paying attention.

Second Coolest Product at SEMA: AEM Dyno-Shaft On-Vehicle Dynamometer
AEM's Dyno-Shaft Dynamometer utilizes a set of strain gauges built into a U-joint yoke to measure torque and engine speed at the driveline. The advantages of this system over a chassis dyno are significant. First, there's no approximating the conditions your engine will see while testing. Also, you can know immediately if lower performance is due to a loss of power, vehicle setup or driver error. Simply put, it's like packing around the most real-world dyno available all the time.

Product Most Likely To Be Made Illegal (But Still Really Cool): Escort Live!
Escort Live is a power cord and iPhone or Android app which, through user interaction, combine to create a deadly effective system for finding the location of speed traps, red-light cameras and common false-alert locations. Using the smartphone's GPS sensor, the app displays your current location, the speed limit in that location and known upcoming threats. Users can also report threats or false alarms. In essence, it's a social network designed to protect you from speed fines and it's even backwards-compatible with multiple Escort models.

The Most Stunning Piece of Engine Hardware Ever Built: Mahle Motorsports Chromoly Monotherm Pistons
Built for the GM Duramax diesel engines, Mahle's Chromoly Monotherm pistons are on this list for one simple reason: They're the coolest-looking pistons we've ever seen. A stunning piece of functional hardware, these pistons are designed to withstand 2,500 horsepower or 1,000,000 towing miles. And they're also beautiful paper weights.

More Engine Bling — This Time Visible From the Outside: Ozmo Engineering Carbon-Fiber Intake Manifold
For use with GM's LS3 and L98 engines, this twin-plenum carbon-fiber beauty offers long runners and port-matched CNC flanges. And it's a stunning piece whether it's on an engine or not.

From Fashion to Function: Kaminari Chromoly Tubular Subframe for WRX/STI
You might know Kaminari as a company that makes, well, awful body kits for everything from the Acura Integra to the Chevy Caprice. So you might not expect to find them producing a lightweight tubular subframe assembly for the Subaru WRX and STI that is designed to correct roll center and camber curves on lowered cars. This is not only a seriously functional part but it's a beautifully built piece as well.

Best-Looking Headers for the Best-Sounding Car of 2012: Kookz Custom Headers for 2012 Ford Boss 302 Mustang
We'll be honest. These are just a cool collection of pipes that make an already amazing-sounding engine sound better. And with any luck they'll unlock more power. Kookz is so kooky that they didn't bother to include any power gain claims, but on looks alone these suckers are something special. Smart construction techniques include the primaries being welded to the inside of the flange, then ground smooth for better flow. They're also tack-welded on the outside for better durability. Kookz even included two high-flow catalytic converters and an accommodation for the Boss Mustang's side pipes.

Most Fun for Your Dollar at SEMA: Traxxas Radio Control Monster Jam Trucks
Perhaps you remember our unhealthy obsession with Grave Digger. We've tested the real thing, but owning it would likely make us unpopular with our neighbors. Unless, of course, we scale down. Traxxas allows just that with its line of officially licensed Monster Jam trucks including Grave Digger, Maximum Destruction, Monster Mutt and Captain's Curse.

These two-wheel-drive monster trucks are far from the most insanely overpowered trucks from the Texas-based manufacturer, but they might be the coolest.

Bike Rack for People Who Care About Styling: Yakima Whispbar
Here's a bike rack for the person who doesn't want to dilute their car's shape with an obtuse rack that looks as if it's sprouted directly from an outdoor lifestyle catalog. Yakima's Whispbar racks are subtle, designed to follow a car's natural roof line and produce the least noise of any rack system made.

The company offered a convincing comparative demonstration that put the Whispbar up against other rack designs in a wind tunnel on the show floor. And, yes, it was easily the quietest. Yakima says the Whispbar is between 40 and 70 percent more fuel-efficient than other designs depending on the application — a claim it came to make through real-world testing at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand. It's as elegant as it is quiet.

Because Carbon-Fiber Body Pieces Are So 2001: Nutek Carbon-Fiber Wheels
Nutek makes custom multipiece forged alloy wheels, and will now offer these striking carbon-fiber wheels as well. Sure, they're not the first carbon wheels we've seen, but their construction of the rim and barrel sections is realistic enough that these wheels seem like they've got real production possibilities, unlike so many other carbon rims we've seen.