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Brenthel Builds A Better Raptor / Off Road MagazineJanuary 20, 2012
Off Road Magazine February 2012 Issue / Hardware Section
Words By Kevin Blumer
Brenthel Industries unlocks more of the Ford Raptor’s potential with a true long-travel kit for the front suspension, coupled with a custom Brenthel-spec Deaver leaf pack for the rear. Premium hardware is complemented by King Shocks. If you were impressed by the stock Raptor, you’d best get ready for another eye-opener.
• Boxed front A-arms are 2.5 inches wider per side and attach to a fully fabricated steering knuckle. Front suspension travel increases to 16 inches, controlled by a King 2.5-inch coilover, 2.5-inch bypass shock, and a 2.5-inch hydraulic bumpstop.
• Rear suspension is a Brenthel-spec Deaver leaf pack that bolts to the stock mounts. The Deaver springs are used in conjunction with a pair of King 3-inch bypass shocks. The 3.0 Kings also bolt to stock mounts so you’ll retain full use of the bed.
Gordon Sutter Trophy Truck Recon PrerunnerDecember 27, 2011
Newport Beach, CA
This custom 4-Seat Trophy Truck Recon Prerunner vehicle was built for Gordon Sutter, a long time desert enthusiast that works hard and plays even harder!
Features:
432CU Engine
Albins with TC
934 Midboard ProAm Hubs
Mastercraft 3G Seats
Custom Truck Body by FiberwerX
37″ BFGoodrich Tires
The Recon prerunner from Brenthel Industries is a comfortable, four seat vehicle that is built to capably handle any course reconnaissance you may need. It also makes a great vehicle for spectating or just having fun with room for four adults and extra gear. The Recon is built to order with your choice of many options. You can purchase anything from a rolling chassis to a complete turnkey car ready to tackle any terrain. The Recon is entirely computer designed and is constructed from the finest quality materials and components available. The chassis structure, suspension geometry and many of the components are interchangeable with Brenthel’s unlimited race vehicle. Brenthel’s Recon prerunner is an extremely fast and reliable vehicle engineered to perform flawlessly at full race speeds or just cruising.
For more photos of this car and others check out our gallery page.
Ryan Dowdy’s Hi-Flyin’ Recon PrerunnerOctober 19, 2011
Newport Beach, CA
The Recon prerunner from Brenthel Industries is a comfortable, four seat vehicle that is built to capably handle any course reconnaissance you may need. It also makes a great vehicle for spectating or just having fun with room for four adults and extra gear. The Recon is built to order with your choice of many options. You can purchase anything from a rolling chassis to a complete turnkey car ready to tackle any terrain. The Recon is entirely computer designed and is constructed from the finest quality materials and components available. The chassis structure, suspension geometry and many of the components are interchangeable with Brenthel’s unlimited race vehicle. Brenthel’s Recon prerunner is an extremely fast and reliable vehicle engineered to perform flawlessly at full race speeds or just cruising.
If you want to know how tough the Baja 1000 is, ask anyone who’s raced it. If you want to know how good Brenthel’s work is, ask someone who owns one. We asked Recon, Prerunner owner Ryan Dowdy about his car and his experience with Brenthel.
Q: What do you use your Recon for, prerunning or just fun?
Ryan: I race a 7200 truck so I needed a prerunner but now that I have the Recon we take it out just for fun too.
Q: Where have you driven the car so far?
Ryan: We’ve driven the car in Barstow, Ocotillo Wells and at Glamis.
Q: How did it perform?
Ryan: It’s Amazing! It’s got so much horsepower and soaks up the worst whoops with ease. We were going 80 to 90 MPH in the gnarliest Barstow whoops; no problem. It goes wherever you want it to.
Q: Barstow, Ocotillo and Glamis are all very different terrain; did you have to make any changes to the car to make it work at all three?
Ryan: No, we are basically running the car turn-key from when we picked it up. We did some shock tuning at Barstow when we took delivery and that’s it. At Ocotillo it was over 100 degrees out and we spent hours running at high speeds and jumping; really pounding the car and we had no problems. The more I get used to the Recon the more I want to go faster and jump farther.
Q: How was the customer service from Brenthel?
Ryan: I’m not a rich guy. The Recon is not inexpensive to buy. Jonathan was totally straightforward about how much it would cost and how long it would take. It was a hassle free transaction. I had worked with them before when I brought my F-150 to Brenthel to get a bumper built. After seeing the quality of the work the truck left with a bumper and a full cage.
Q: We’ve all had projects snowball like that; did you make any changes to the Recon while it was being built?
Ryan: (Laughing) Oh yeah, I made lots of changes. I started out with an LS-1 and we ended up with the LS-9, nickel plated suspension, full powder coated frame and much more.
Q: How did Brenthel respond to all the changes?
Ryan: They were great. Jonathan took the time to explain everything to me. How things would work together, if you run more horsepower you need to run a stronger transmission, beefier axles; they know what works and what doesn’t. They were genuinely excited for me, they knew how much this car meant to me and I couldn’t be happier with the results. They run their business like I run mine, do what you say and deliver when you say you will at the quoted price, it’s that simple.
For more photos of this car and others check out our gallery page.
Dirt Sports F150 ProjectJuly 11, 2011
From the June, 2011 issue of Dirt Sports Magazine
Photography By Bink Designs
It happens every time, almost like clockwork. Here’s what occurs in the life of a Dirt Sports project build. It begins like all love affairs – all flowers, hope and promise. Then comes the grind of matching our newfound marriage with the picket fence-like dreams of trying to build the ultimate anything. Toward the end, a million details and countless hours later, you swear it’s time for divorce – you’ll never take on anything like it again. But when that beast is finally complete and fired up, we discover we really don’t want to walk away, but maybe just have a new affair with the next sexy vision that comes along.
So, after five such marriages, our track record resembles that of the late Elizabeth Taylor. The family photo album is filled with images of the past loves; VW Elf, our token red head (the Retro Bronco), our trick Yamaha Rhino, the smoken’ Plug N’ Play Alumi Craft and the over-the-top Kawasaki Teryx TT.
Now it’s time for something new. It’s almost impossible to fathom, but our stable of “wives” has yet to include a truck!
With the conclusion of the Teryx TT build (see final results in next month’s July issue!), our eyes didn’t have to wander far when we looked toward our next conquest. At a recent LOORRS short-course race, we spotted the ultra-clean, ultra-truck Ford F-150 of Dirt Sports contributing photographer Brian Binkert and stopped dead in our tracks. His truck was a mid-2000s F-150, but was modified with ultra slick bodywork by FiberwerX that included a late model front grill and headlights in a front-tilting one-piece front end. The wide-track rear end was equally appealing.
Beauty was more than skin deep, however. Up front Bink’s F-150 was graced with a very trick long-travel suspension created by those forward-thinking guys at Brenthel Industries. Armed with a set of specially valved Fox Shox, there is no doubt the set-up can make prerunning, play or chasing a race more enjoyable.
The good news is that we have a suitable base vehicle to start with. Our company CEO Jim Ryan has a tired 2006 F150 that needs some serious TLC. Over the course of the coming months, we will transform this tired girl with a new FiberwerX Raptor kit (with one piece front end and OEM grill work), a Brenthel long-travel front end and new rear bed-mounted shock assembly and Fox Shox for starters. Then we will add a custom widened rear end by Currie Enterprise, 37-inch General Tire Grabbers and a unique set of Method’s latest wheels. Of course, you can count on a custom blue, orange and silver Dirt Sports paint job. Beyond that…you can bet we will come up with some insane touches.
The DS-150. We will take our tired grandma and convert her into our next big fling. Stay tuned.
Official Sponsors
Brenthel Industries
FiberwerX
Fox Racing Shox
Currie Enterprise
General Tire
Method Wheels
Stage 8
Brenthel Industries Site RevampedMarch 31, 2011
Santee, CA – Newport Beach, CA
Bink Designs is proud to announce the unveiling of their latest collaboration, a website for the designers and builders of high-end vehicles and bolt-on truck suspension systems, Brenthel Industries. Brian Binkert owner of Bink Designs commented “We are extremely pleased on how this project turned out. We worked hard to provide Brenthel with a site that reflects their company’s own design philosophy of uncomplicated functionality”. The Bink designed site showcases Brenthels extensive line of products and services with loads of info and stunning photography. The easy to navigate site will have you coming back again and again for the latest news on the company’s cutting edge projects.
Brenthel offers complete design services from concept through working prototypes all done in computer generated 3d solid modeling and utilizes the latest in Finite element analysis software to verify concept feasibility before a single part is made. Each part has a self fixturing design which when used in conjunction with their 6” thick, Blanchard ground assembly table ensures each build is constructed as close to the 3d computermodel as humanly possible. Brenthel can design and construct any type of turn-key vehicle you desire and have several existing chassis designs available for professional off-road competition or just plain fun. They also do manufacturing and prototyping formilitary and civilian industries.
“We chose Bink Designs because we like their work,” said Jonathan Brenthel, head of sales and marketing for the company that bears his and brother Jordan Brenthel. “Our business is based on quality, innovation and with an emphasis on esthetics. We consistently get those same qualities from Bink Designs. They have always delivered something special when asked and have never missed a deadline in the four years that we have been working together. That’s important to someone who works in such a fast-paced environment like we do”.
About Bink Designs
Bink Designs is a premier graphic design company located in Santee, CA. Since 2003, we have been committed to providing cost-effective solutions to our clients’ high-end graphic needs in Identity, Print Design, Vinyl Graphics, Web Design, Photography & Apparel.
For more information about Bink Designs, please visit www.binkdesigns.com