Always one of the most popular sections at the SEMA Show, Tools & Equipment highlight the products that make mechanical life a little easier for the installer, fabricator, builder and garage enthusiast. Products most popular with buyers and attendees at the 2008 SEMA Show ran the gamut from bending pliers to portable TIG welders. SEMA used a new digital tracking method at the 2008 New Products
Showcase, allowing buyers to scan product barcodes and receive product
details via printout or e-mail.
Manufacturers entered 95 new
products in the Best New Tools & Equipment category, and buyers made more than 1,600 scans requesting additional
product information. Who was doing
all that scanning? Retailers logged more than 9,400 scans; warehouse distributors, 3,900; repair/service/installers, 3,900; and
builders/fabricators, 3,500.
Following are the top 10 tools and equipment products that were of most interest to buyers:
1: Dynapex Performance Tubing Bending Pliers Bend tubing as easily as bending steel wire on regular pliers for brake line, fuel line and other tubing lines on or off vehicle. |  |
2: RapidAir Compressed Air Piping System Designed to install beneath walls or on the exterior. |  |
Next generation Link Straps combine flexible TPE with a patented locking and link system. Highly durable and they function without hooks, alleviating the potential for injury caused by the traditional bungee cords. |  |
4: Kustom Shop K-Block Sanding Stix K-Block Wet/Dry Sanding Blocks are the ultimate tool for block sanding. |  |
5: Miller Electric Manufacturing Diversion 165 The personal user's AC/DC TIG machine. Easy-to-understand operator interface. Inverter-based, AC/DC power source provides a more consistent welding arc while operating more efficiently. Designed to weld up to 3/16"" thick aluminum. Portable at 50 lbs. |  |
6: Z-CALZ Magnetic Tool Kit-Black Black, features 70 individual magnets with iconic images of tools and accessories for tool box drawers to 'find your tools fast.' |  |
Instant spark plug information without touching or removing plug. No inline hookup required. Handheld tool uses PEER™ technology to 'see' spark inside the cylinder. |  |
8: Seiki Industrial Bore Scope Help you to check some annoying spots that you have to bend your body or turn your head too much to reach. To check and fix things convenient and comfortable. |  |
9: PROFORM Universal Cam Checker This easy-to-use tool simply slides down into the lifter bore and is adjusted until expanded securely. Supplied with two followers: one for flat tappet cams and one for roller cams. |  |
10: PROFORM Compact Adjustable Aluminum AN Wrench Set (3-8AN & 10-20AN) Stubby aluminum AN wrenches are perfect in tight places under the hood. These handy wrenches won't damage your expensive AN fittings. |  |