Big Bang Baby
TREO Engineering tests the Big Bang Theory
Story by Shaun KEENAN
Photos by PhotoJoost.com
DECK
Just when you thought Escalades and Hummers had become the biggest civilian toys on the road, one of these monsters drives by. ‘What the heck was that?!’ you think before forgetting all you’ve ever known about road-legal vehicles. International’s newest Commercial Extreme Truck is just the ticket for tackling any job or male ego.
AT 21 FEET long with a cab nine feet tall and a gross vehicle weight of 25,999 pounds (one pound under the limit that requires drivers to have a CDL), the CXT is the largest production pick-up truck in the world, bar none. Born out of a 20-ton hauler and built on the same platform as International dump trucks and snowplows, more than 10 tons of pulling power make the CXT a superior toy mover for the workingman to transport everything from a friend’s wrecked exotic to the five-ton boulder he encountered - simultaneously.
The CXT isn’t as savvy as GM’s battle-hardened Hummer is off road, but the Garland, Texas-built behemoth is a veritable freight train on wheels, unrivaled in capability, size and appearance with a powerful turbo diesel engine, Allison transmission, all-wheel drive, air cab, anti-lock air brakes as well as tilt bed capability.
“It’s a truck for businesses that want to promote themselves as much as perform,” said International Truck and Engine Corp.’s director of vehicle center marketing strategy Rob Swim in a press release. No wonder we saw a handful of these show-stoppers at SEMA recently. The International is pretty new to us, but our editors chose Treo Engineering’s impressive ‘06 International CXT demo vehicle built by Omaha’s Metro Audio Dynamics (MAD) to impress upon our own discerning readers.
I caught up with Treo’s John P. Henry Jr. mere weeks after SEMA at his company’s Omaha, NE speaker factory and managed to distract him from a long list of pre-Christmas production responsibilities long enough to discuss his company’s rise to success and its latest project vehicle. As executive V.P. of engineering and design for Treo Engineering, he’s exactly the buyer Mr. Swim describes; and, his owning an International is the result of a chance encounter with one at SEMA 2004.
“We were at a party at the Hard Rock,” reminisces Henry. “I come out of there and there’s this black CXT sitting in the valet line. I’d never seen one and was like ‘Holy crap!’ I talked to the driver and got up in it and he even let me spin around the block and was super cool.”
The CXT had just been released the month before, but had instantly won Henry’s attention. Coincidentally, he was trying to decide on a vehicle platform for Treo’s next project vehicle. As it turns out, he’d driven one of eight CXT’s brought to Nevada to promote itself during SEMA. By the time he arrived home several days later, the eighth one off the production line was delivered to MAD where their crew made quick of working turning it into one elaborate shop truck. In January 2005, Treo used it to shuttle its VIPs to and from the CES Show.
“Metro Audio Dynamics is a single-store retailer I founded in 1993,” explains Henry. “It’s where I actually got my start in consumer electronics and I still maintain ownership of the store; although I spend very little time there as it’s run by a very talented crew.” Henry’s friend and former competitor, Todd Zier, was instrumental in helping pull off this latest build.
Henry pours his energy into Treo Engineering, which he co-founded in 1999, and “manufacturing and distributing worldwide high-end loudspeakers and amplifiers to discerning customers.” The company’s original focus was OEM supply; however, quit doing it about three years ago to concentrate on Treo says Henry. An audiophile through and through, he was part of the large subwoofer revolution that began a half-decade ago with a long resume in professional car sound competition from 1993 through 2001.
Today, Henry is responsible for all of the CAD drawings of new products, all design and research decisions are made by him and there’s a great deal of traveling and development work as well. “Every project that comes through this place goes through my head,” he clarifies. “Omaha is a great proving ground for our products because it can be below zero or above 110 degrees Fahrenheit. It lets us do real world testing on our products and get them into vehicles to see the effects of nature on them too.”
Extremely proud of the fact Treo speakers are “The only hand-built American speakers that are truly hand-built in America;” Henry believes Treo Engineering’s largest achievement to date came in 2002 when its products were used by German Treo distributor BS Carhifi (Team BS) in building the loudest sound competition vehicle on the planet - a VW type 3 bus with 16 Treo CSX12.22 competition subwoofers and 64 amplifiers totaling 64,000 Watts RMS. The bus dropped jaws with a record-breaking sound pressure level (SPL) of 177.8 dB (decibels) in Extreme 13+ at the U.S. dB Drag Racing World Finals in Nashville, TN that year. They have been benchmarking Treo’s products ever since.
“That’s probably our company’s biggest competition achievement,” Henry recalls. “It’s the Extreme Cup, the largest record. Incidentally, it’s the same trophy I won in 1998 before Treo even existed with my Astro van competing for another manufacturer;” holding several world records from ‘97 to ‘01.
Competition is essential to succeed in the mobile audio game says Henry. “We compete in the lanes and learn how to build better products for the end user. You learn a lot about how to build a stronger product by abusing it.” In this business, abuse is a given, and good reason to protect these findings with network of patent lawyers scattered throughout the world that help Treo stay ahead of its competitors by “up to a year-and-a-half,” he says. Sure, there’s a significant amount of stress in his line of work, but for a man whose hobbies include going from one trade show to the next, traveling the world and visiting events like SEMA, CES and the like, not a single complaint will you hear from Henry. Playing with cars and loud stereos is his passion.
MAD builds all Treo’s demo vehicles and the CXT on these pages is the second International Henry has purchased for marketing purposes. It cost the company $138,000 with a fully-loaded interior featuring leather seats, upgraded Allison 3000 series five-speed automatic transmission and a more powerful International DT 570 turbo diesel engine rated at 350 hp and 950 lb.-ft. of torque. Their first International had the 220 hp/540 lb.-ft. DT 466 turbo diesel with an Allison 2000 Series transmission. Henry found it a bit underpowered, but that disappeared once he pulled the trigger on his second in July ‘05. The other truck was sold within a month and over $100,000 USD has since been invested into upgrades, modifications and labor on this here CXT.
Along with its electronically-controlled turbocharger and four valves-per-cylinder, the 570 cubic-inch turbo diesel remains stock with the exception of a TS Performance MP-8 piggyback ECU that increases boost to 26 psi for gains of 127 hp and 220 lb.-ft. to around 437 hp and 1,170 lb.-ft.
Only days into it, MAD had the interior completely disassembled to install more than $4,000 in Dynamat sound deadening material, Stinger wiring and fuses, and genuine Mercedes wool carpet. During the three-and-half-month-long build-up prior to its November debut at the 2005 SEMA Show, Henry and MAD’s Todd Zier, a multiple car sound champion and current IASCA, USACi and dB Drag Racing competitor, coordinated the efforts of fabricator Ramon Rodriguez, wiring tech Donnie Coleman and installer Craig McGinnis. This talented core team is responsible for this CXT’s metamorphosis; rebuilding and tweaking the truck piece by piece. When working on a vehicle this large, there are bound to be setbacks and there were according to Henry. Nothing major, but even banged heads, bloody knuckles and even some tumultuous tumbles - the air-dampened cab now tops 12-feet thanks to 48-inch Michelin tires - couldn’t prevent these guys from making the deadline.
To give the truck better “pick-up” proportions, Henry points out “The entire bed was raised about six inches to accommodate for the 465/65/22.5-sized tires.” The massive tires required 22.5x13-inch Alcoa wheels to be sourced and machined from forged aluminum blanks to get the correct offsets; and the rear axle dually configuration gave way to 13-inch wide singles. The stock four-wheel ABS air brakes and heavy duty leaf springs easily bear the weight of the reinforced bed frame and hundreds of pounds of A/V gear.
“We pull a 40-foot trailer that weighs 23,000 pounds loaded with no problem,” says Henry. “I’ve been told the truck will pull 40,000 pounds without skipping a beat.”
For additional shock value, 23-inch Exonic high-definition LCD video screens have been neatly mounted up inside each rear wheel well behind laminated glass, plus a third pneumatically-operated screen is integrated into the rear bumper for a unique tailgating experience. Lighting has also been upgraded with Hella H4 bulbs and fog lamps and there’s a custom tone cover to protect the bed contents.
For power, the I.C.E. system draws energy from seven Stinger 2150 batteries located under the hood and above the rear axle. A 300-Amp factory-upgraded alternator (stock is 110-Amp) and Stinger power wire distributes it to six amplifiers that juice 16 speakers with a total of 14,000 Wrms located strategically throughout (and tuned for) the meticulously-reappointed cabin.
There are four SSX125.2 amplifiers - two located under the glass floor and two in the bed on a chrome steel amp rack - that power the front and rear door speakers independently. Each door features speaker locations allowing for a pair of Treo’s new SSX6.5 midrange drivers, one SSX4.0 midbass and one SSX1.0 tweeter. Custom black painted fiberglass door panels with light Ostrich skin inserts, CNC-machined aluminum trim pieces and 10.4-inch Alpine monitors add dimension and entertainment options for rear-seat passengers. Powering a pair of subs apiece, there are two SSX6000.1 amps on the former amp rack in the bed.
While they weren’t installed in time for our Nevada desert photo shoot, four new custom black leather air-ride Recaro seats - two up front and two in the rear - improve ride comfort tremendously. Behind those rear seats is a set of four Treo SSX15.2 dual two-Ohm 2,500-Watt subwoofers installed in a custom 26 cubic-foot ported pass-through enclosure. The baffles and port are covered in chrome steel and the cabinet, with speakers, weighs more than 2,000 pounds alone; and, the rear wall required more than 200 feet of tubular steel-reinforcement to withstand the bone-shaking SPL.
On the large 23-inch widescreen LCD between the front seats, which by the push of a button, motorizes out of the leather-wrapped center console via a custom pneumatic screen lift, back-seat passengers can play games on a nearby Microsoft Xbox with Media Center mod and 250 GB hard drive. A small refrigerator is located in the center console; and, Direct TV is also available on any of the truck’s 10 screens at any time thanks to KVH’s TracVision A5 digital satellite antenna.
The front seat is quite a trip as well, what with dual 15-inch LCD monitors for both driver and navigator. New dash panels were fabricated to accommodate the screens, which relocated the air brake and HVAC controls to less conspicuous places. Stewart Warner gauges for boost, EGT and voltage are molded into the dash panel and there’s DVD-based Alpine GPS navigation on hand to assist with directions. Beneath the driver’s screen and molded into the panel is an Alpine 9860 in-dash DVD/CD/XM satellite radio player. For tuning, an Audio Control Matrix six-channel processor and Epicenter are mounted behind the driver’s LCD. It pops out for servicing the many connections and fuse panel access. It took more than 400 hours to install the interior.
“The optimal listening position is 100 yards in any direction,” laughs Zier, who says that SEMA staff was on him the whole show over its volume. When it came time to enjoy the fruits of their labors, Treo’s International had no problem attracting crowds at SEMA. The vehicle didn’t disappoint and Henry is pleased at how well everything has turned out. “It was a huge success,” he says, adding that it’s already been booked solid through July for various special events.
“The vehicle is so large,” he says. “It takes five guys eight hours just to detail it for a show. It’s just so many square inches of truck!” And, people everywhere gravitate to it.
Special thanks to Martin White at International Truck & Engine, John and Mark Plaugman, and Brandon Rigas from Cornhusker International.
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Specifications
2006 International CXT
Engine
International DT 570 turbo diesel engine
Drivetrain
Allison 3000 Series 5-sp. automatic transmission; 4WD through a 2-speed transfer case
Engine Management
TS Performance MP-8 piggyback ECU
Wheels, Tires, Brakes
(f/r) custom 22.5x13-inch Alcoa forged aluminum wheels, 465/65/22.5 Michelin XZL tires
Exterior
Hella (H4 bulbs, fog lamps); custom (bumper modifications, wheel wells)
Interior
Recaro seats w custom air ride x4 (installed after photo shoot); Mercedes wool carpet; custom (relocated air/brake HVAC controls; painted dash; dash panels; fr/r door panels w ostrich skin inserts, aluminum trim, Treo speakers, 10-in. monitors; custom (glass floor displaying Treo amp rack, leather upholstered front center console, tubular steel rear console); Stewart Warner gauges (boost, EGT, voltage)
I.C.E.
Treo Engineering (amplifiers - SSX125.2 x4, SSX6000.1 x2; speakers - SSX6.5 midrange x8; SSX4.0 midbass x4; SSX1.0 tweeter x4; SSX15.22 subs x4); Alpine (9860 in-dash DVD/CD/XM head unit, DVD-based GPS navigation system, 10.4-in. monitors x4); custom (chrome steel amp rack in bed; amp rack under glass floor; 26 cubic-foot ported pass-through enclosure, wheel well LCD mounts); Exonic (23-in. HD LCD monitors x4 for rear seat, rear bumper, wheel wells; 15-in. LCD monitors x2 for front seat); Microsoft Xbox w Media Center mod, 250 GB hard drive; Direct TV/KVH TracVision A5 digital satellite antenna; Stinger wiring and interconnects; Audio Control (Matrix processor, Epicenter)
Numbers
437 hp/1,170 lb.-ft. of torque (est.); 10 tons hauling power
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MORE INFORMATION
TREO Engineering
Tel: 800-530-5925
E:
info@treoonline.comURL:
www.treoonline.comor
TREO Engineering Australia (eGear)
Tel: (03) 9357 6557
E:
sales@egear.com.auURL:
www.egear.com.auMetro Audio Dynamics
Tel: 248-545-3774
URL: URL:
www.metroaudiodynamics.comLocation: Omaha, NE
TS Performance
URL:
www.tsperformanceproducts.com Location: Bowling Green, KY
International Truck & Engine
URL:
www.internationaldelivers.comdB Drag Racing
URL:
www.termpro.comBS Carhifi
URL:
www.bs-carhifi.deAddress: Walkertshofen, Germany
http://www.caraudioaustralia.com/forums/index.php?act=Attach&type=post&id=2179http://www.caraudioaustralia.com/forums/index.php?act=Attach&type=post&id=2180http://www.caraudioaustralia.com/forums/index.php?act=Attach&type=post&id=2181
