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Party Like A Rockstar

It’s possible you’ve never heard of Rockstar Performance Garage, and it’s also possible that you’ve never really checked out a serious off road machine. Read on and we’ll broaden your horizons in just 600 words.

Rockstar Performance Garage, or RPG for short, is a joint venture between Rockstar Energy Drink and LDRSHIP Designs, a media company started by fabricator Nic Ashby. Using his background in the US military as well as building several award-winning rides at home, Nic steered RPG into the off-road world for manufacturer brand promotion, as well as a lot of fun! In short, RPG builds wicked vehicles that do double duty as rolling advertisements.

Already a Six-Degrees feature veteran, we jumped at the chance to highlight the latest creation from RPG. Starting with a 1983 Jeep CJ7, RPG stretched the wheelbase a whopping 26.5” over stock for a total length of 120”. Sixteen-inch-long (3” diameter) King coilovers are dressed with Eibach springs and offer incredible travel for each tire. Speaking of tires, you’re looking at 46x19.5 Mickey Thompson Baja Claws that are stretched around 20” American Force wheels and held in place with beadlocks. A stout Atlas transfer case spins custom driveshafts linked to bulletproof axles. Up front is a Kingpin 60 outfitted with Yukon Gear bearings, hubs and 35 spline axles with a Zip Locker. The back has a huge 11.5” AAM axle with more Yukon goods in the form of 38 spline axles and a Grizzly Locker. Front and rear brakes boast 8 and 6 piston calipers, respectively.

Crawling up the side of a mountain or ripping through endless sand dunes requires big horsepower in a small package, so the RPG crew scooped up a 4.4L Northstar V8 from a Cadillac STS-V. Before you scoff at the 266 cubic inches, take note that the supercharger on top pumps out 1.7hp/cube; 469hp to be exact. That much power coming from an all-aluminum engine cannot be ignored! A full-manual 4L60E was put together at Maximum Off Road to put up with the substantial abuse. Magnaflow headers are plumbed into a custom-built 2.5” exhaust system, while a full array of Mishimoto fluid coolers (engine, power steering, transmission, engine oil and blower oil) works to regulate temps.

The interior of this rig has a lot more than one might expect. From the PRP seats with Ostrich inserts and seat heaters, to the Kicker stereo system with eight speakers plus a 10” sub, wheeling was never so comfortable! Dakota Digital spec’d a new HDX-2200 instrument system to monitor all the underhood happenings, and RPG carved out an aluminum dash panel to locate it. The center console is chock full of rad off road goodies like the aPOD HD switch panel that controls the lights, seat heaters and more. Just ahead of that is the Winters gated shifter. Directly under the HDX display is a Rugged Race Radio, which comes through a pair of dedicated Kicker speakers.

This CJ7, named GRDLOC, has a ton more cool parts and tricks hidden inside it, far too much to list here, but don’t let yourself think it’s a show queen that lives on a trailer. No sir, this Jeep gets absolutely wrung out on the trails, putting the high-end components and incredible talents of the builders to the test. We are pleased to be a part of this rig and the Rockstar Performance Garage resume, as it proves that Dakota Digital products, built in Sioux Falls, have a home in nearly any vehicle, whatever style lights you up.

March 2020

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Party Like A Rockstar

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