Gun-Metal Gladiator

Originally published in the July 2011 issue of Diesel Tech Magazine

When your foundation as a company revolves around performance tuners, naturally you're required to have the newest vehicles available to test the latest software you create. But where the stock truck evolves from there is anyone's guess.

"As a business we get a truck to provide the tuning so we can provide a platform to do all of our software testing on," says H&S Performance part-owner Bentley Hugie. "We leave it stock for awhile to get all the tuning done and after that we start to modify it."

When H&S Performance picked up its 2011 6.7L Ford Power Stroke, they left it stock for about five months, but after that they were itching to start the modifying process.

"Our biggest goal was to make a truck that was eye-catching and we always want our trucks to represent our company well," says Casey Shirts, who is the other owner of H&S Performance. "We listed everything out that we wanted to do to it and it all went according to the plan."

Next Level

The first order of business was to get the truck lifted. Pure Performance had just recently done the lift on the company's 2010 Dodge, so they called the New York-based company to see if they wanted to do a lift on its 2011 Ford.

"We went back to Pure Performance for the lift kit because they're always first to the market with products for new vehicles," explains Shirts. "No one had the parts yet and Pure Performance always seems to be ahead of the curve. They do the biggest lift kits and they're our first call for suspensions."

It was supposed to be a 6- to 8-inch kit, but they ended up adjusting it and making it 10 inches, which led, of course, to bigger rims and tires.

"I was going to go with 37s, but ended up with 40s instead," says Hugie with a smile. "We felt 37s were average and figured we might as well go big."

And did they ever. The combination of the tires, wheels and lift created a very distinctive look that helps the truck really stand out. If you do happen to see this Ford on the road, you're almost guaranteed to take a double take.

"BMF Wheels are the right fit for lifted trucks," says Shirts. "Other companies tend to generalize, but BMF specializes in an aggressive lifted style that no other wheel company can match. As for Toyo Tires, we have them on everything we own. They always have the right sizes that no one else can seem to get."

Not Stopping

H&S Performance has big plans for this truck and it really is a work in progress. They have Industrial Injection working on a modified turbo and high-pressure fuelling system that they'll install as soon as those parts are ready, which Hugie can hardly wait to get his hands on.

"Right now the factory fuelling systems for the newer 6.7L Ford-made motors are weaker than the 6.4L," says Hugie. "With the 6.4L Power Stroke you can make almost 600 horsepower on a stock truck. On the new 6.7L you run out of fuel and about 450 to 500hp is all that you can make, so we're excited to get the new modified high-pressure fuel pump."

H&S Performance is an equal partnership between Hugie and Shirts, but they're both quick to recognize each other's strengths, especially when it comes to all the work that has gone into this 6.7L Power Stroke.

"Bentley is the master-mind on this project," says Shirts. "The guy did all the work from top to bottom and he really knows his stuff. He's a smart guy."

Roots

H&S Performance was founded with a desire to create better products for the diesel performance and racing industry. Located in St. George, Utah, H&S Performance got its start by designing the first-ever DPF Delete exhaust system for the 2007.5 + Dodge Ram 6.7L. Since its humble beginnings, H&S has emerged as one of the industry leaders in performance tuners and exhaust products for late model Dodge Cummins, GM Duramax, and Ford Power Strokes.

"Bentley and I have worked together for about nine years," says Shirts. "We both had competing businesses locally and it just made sense to partner up. We've always respected each other and we just got tired of competing. Working together has been really good; we've never had a problem or an issue and we really do work well together."

Customer Needs

The partnership has done well as the company continues to grow and since both owners enjoy big horsepower and making things go fast, the sky's the limit on how far this company can go. But even as H&S continues to grow, they haven't forgotten what keeps them in business, their customers.

"We're still small enough that we can take customer input and still put it to use," says Shirts. "We work with techs daily and we're in tune with our customers' needs, plus we get it done quickly. Customer service is our biggest priority."

Adds Hugie, "When people call, they can actually talk to one of the guys who tune the truck. When you call some other companies you're just talking to a guy they hired. Here if you have a problem or an issue we can get you to one of the guys who actually wrote the software and they'll walk you through it. We'll provide you with a solution that day, where it could take other companies as long as two weeks."

H&S Performance specializes in newer trucks and is committed to delivering the highest quality parts and service. Through countless hours of research and development, each of its products has been designed with the end-user in mind. From cutting edge tuners, to high-quality exhaust products, H&S has made a name for itself by providing products that diesel enthusiasts really need.

"We specialize in getting the customer what they want," says Hugie. "We'll tune a truck for longer than any other company out there. We'll spend days, nights and weekends to make sure the tuning is right and it runs to the peak of its capability. I think we have one of the best-selling 6.7L Dodge tuners, 6.4L Ford Tuners and the only ones right now that are doing the race tuning, emission lead tuning on the LML and the new Ford 6.7L."

Future Projects

H&S Performance has positioned itself well as a company and its success starts at the top with Hugie and Shirts who pride themselves on making sure the customer is always taken care of. But it's nice to also see that they still know how to have a little fun and their version of the modified 2011 6.7L Power Stroke is a perfect example of when two diesel enthusiasts come together to create a truck that was born to get some attention. It kind of makes you wonder where they'll go from here.

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