MobileToys.com Sponsors Power Wheels SPL Event at USAC Finals

BEVERLY, MA-MobileToys.com (www.MobileToys.com), the unique mobile electronics "dot-com" company offering consumers mobile electronics product information and nationwide dealer/installer referrals, sponsored a first-ever "Power Wheels SPL" competition last weekend in which all registration fees were donated to Ronald McDonald House. The event took place as part of the United States Autosound Competition (USAC) Finals, held in Kansas City, Missouri. In the Power Wheels SPL contest, car-stereo enthusiasts installed sophisticated car stereo equipment into Fisher-Price-type toy electric vehicles. The objective of the contest is to produce sound output at the highest possible levels.

The battery-powered two-seater plastic cars are rigged with gear capable of playing CDs at tremendous sound levels (inside the vehicle), sometimes equaling or exceeding the sound produced by a jet engine heard at close range. Named after the real "Power Wheels" electric vehicles manufactured by Fisher-Price for the children's market, the cars, and the events in which they compete, are called "Power Wheels SPL" (SPL is short for "Sound Pressure Level," measured in decibels or dB, at each event).

There are two classes of competition. The first, Power Wheels, requires that the mini vehicle adhere to scale (all stereo gear must be mounted inside the vehicle) and the measurement microphone for maximum sound levels be placed inside the car, just like in the full-size vehicles entered in the USAC Finals. The second class, Power Wheels Extreme, places no restrictions on scale. A Crowd Pleaser Award is also part of the contest, for the competitor drawing the biggest audience reaction.
At the Kansas City contest, David Morrow won the Power Wheels SPL class with a measured maximum sound level of 168.0 dB SPL. Team 420, with a maximum SPL of 177.6 dB, won the Power Wheels Extreme class. And Ron Evans took the Crowd Pleaser Award by shooting nerf rockets from his vehicle and blowing out a woofer while racking up a maximum sound level of 173.0 dB!

Power Wheels cars first began showing up at car stereo competitions around the country and were formalized at the dB Drag Finals, held last month in Nashville, Tennessee. With MobileToys.com sponsorship, Power Wheels competitions are expected to take place during regional Spring Break events next year.