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Posted by: STANG KILLA SS Mar 18 2016, 03:58 PM

Last year I hit the track again and sorta kept track with a blog type thing in a thread on another forum. figured I copy paste it here and then keep it up to date.

Posted by: STANG KILLA SS Mar 18 2016, 03:59 PM

After about a 10 year hiatus, I decided I wanted to go racing again(with corners this time around), and spent the winter getting the car back road worthy, and fixing a lot of issues. Had my first Autocross today

never been a fan of cone dodging, but for $20 bucks and 10 minutes from my house to Hoonigan around right in front of the cops it was worth it. Defiantly a good shake down.

I was really pleased with how the car did. Especially the front end. Braking and cornering were great. The back end not so much. Cornering was fine, but I just couldn't get any power down, with the power im putting out, the 4.10s, first gear, and a track that was a puddle of water that morning I just couldn't give any skinny pedal. Due to the venue they also had a "no breaking traction" rule that made it even tougher.

I felt like all my iRacing actually hurt me in turn-in and braking, I could have been way more aggressive there in real life, than iRacing allows. Old habits die hard.

For some reason the outside footage looks like slow mo. My dad rode with me and after watching from the outside he thought the same, going way faster inside the car, than it looks like watching.

took it easy the first run, then the last 3 starting trying to push more. ran 30.5, 30.4, and 30.7. The 1LE Camaros and SRT8s with there several event experience were running high 29s. the pros were running 27s in there Miatas and Sti's.

But I didn't hit any cones, the car survived, and I had a blast! Im hooked



how the hell do you post an embedded video?
https://youtu.be/l2xpogkr7MY

Posted by: Steve91T Mar 18 2016, 04:37 PM

Car looks and sounds awesome! I can can tell you you needed to be in 2nd. You have plenty of low end torque to pull out of the turns. And you're probably going to want to drop to 3.42's if you're planning on doing a lot of track days.

Posted by: SuperMacGuy Mar 18 2016, 04:50 PM

Videos always look way slower than real life. I can barely imagine what it feels like to actually be driving an LMP1 car.

Posted by: STANG KILLA SS Mar 18 2016, 07:41 PM

suspension right now is eibach sportline springs, stock front struts (120k on them), and rear summit drag shocks. essentially if you hand picked the parts to to make a fbody handle as terrible as possible that's what im running

yeah strano/konis are still the setup for a track/street car.

got the half of that setup in. Koni Adjustables!



new springs are in!

BMR 550lb fronts and 160lb rears.

ironically it will actually raise my car, these are only a 1.25" drop and my current Eibach Sportlines are a 2" drop. but the added roll/pitch support/response will by far overcome the CG change. Eibach rates were 360lb/137lb

Posted by: STANG KILLA SS Mar 18 2016, 07:41 PM

well this weekend I had my first PDS at TWS. 2.9 mile road course. What a blast!
First day went decent, car did pretty good. but the second day I kept boiling the brake fluid so I had to take it easy on entrys with only about 50% brakeing power available. pedal never would come back even after cooling. on the final set I lost the brakes completely. still a blast though. time to do work. cant wait until the next one!

Posted by: STANG KILLA SS Mar 18 2016, 07:42 PM

Final Day. had already boiled brake fluid twice on earlier sessions. braking power and pedal were down to about 50%, so I just went easy on entries so I could still finish the day. Ignore the early lifting and blown apexes. 4th and final session of the day coming into #10 (1:40 in video) the pedal went all the way to the floor with zero braking. I turned in as hard as I could to try to keep on track and to try to get the rear to kick out to bleed off speed. droped the drivers rear off. still had zero brakes even after cooling.

Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvXJXWydUIE

Posted by: STANG KILLA SS Mar 18 2016, 07:42 PM

pulled an all nighter and got the suspension in. about 3 hours.

moved the C clip in the front that holds the lower spring cup to give an extra 1/4" drop



out back i pulled out the rubber spring isolator at the top and did the heater hose mod to get a extra 1/2" drop in the rear.



sits a little higher than my old springs still as i expected. front is livable but the rear is still a little higher than id like. may end up cutting 1/2 to 1 coil off the rears.

also did a full flush on the brake fluid using an air bleeder. fully flushed with cheap brake fluid first, then again with the Motul 600. the stock fluid was filthy, the cheap fluid was clear, and the Motul was amber, so it made it real easy to see when it was completely flushed at each corner. followed each corner with a couple manual pump bleeds to check for air.
brakes feel good now. harder and higher than i ever remember the pedal.



got an alignment as well. i went with -1.0 camber (factory specs are +.4!) and 5.0 degrees of caster. had some toe out in it at first to make turn in more responsive, but ended up going back to 0 so i didnt have to worry about scrub or crack walking on the highway.
pretty cool $60K alignment machine only used cameras. no electronics in the wheel attachment.

Posted by: STANG KILLA SS Mar 18 2016, 07:43 PM

had my second PDS last weekend
good times






I don't know if im getting better, or everyone else got slower, but on 3 of my sessions I started 1 minute behind everyone and by the end of the session I had passed the entire field (about 12 cars id guess) I felt like I was actually pushing less as I was on $20 autozone pads.



lunch time got to drive up and check out the old skyboxes atop the bleachers. cool perspective from up there.






few clips I threw together trying to use GoPro Studio, not my best driving, just trying to get a hang of the program
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRDaMLXLP08

Posted by: STANG KILLA SS Mar 18 2016, 07:45 PM

on my final session of the weekend, I actually got my blue group "solo" approval!
first time out on the track without an instructor. good way to end the weekend.
unfortunately on my 3rd lap I blew it. came into 4 too hot and trailed the brakes waaay too long and spun at the top of the hill.
Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkuHDvEL-vw

Posted by: STANG KILLA SS Mar 18 2016, 07:46 PM

went back to local AutoX this last weekend and did alot better.













vid of my timed runs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRPIeYxes44

run #3 (thanks Steve!)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNvrdxN4qCo

Posted by: STANG KILLA SS Mar 18 2016, 07:51 PM

well I think I finally reached the end of my braking ordeal.



14" 5th Gen Stoptech Cryogenic frozen rotors, with center bore machined out to 70.6mm for 4th gen hub
Gen 1 CTS-V Brembo 4 Piston Calipers
Hawk HP+ Pads
Kore3 Stainless and coated lines

Huge difference over stock






well after fitting the brakes and after all my research the new brakes wouldn't clear my wheels. diameter had about .1" which I was fine with, but the fat lip and the +25 offset, the spokes wouldn't clear the new huge calipers. enough spacer to clear the calipers made the tires stick out 2".

So I had no choice but new wheels. cheapest wheels with the specs I needed were these Black Chrome C6 Spyder wheels. 18x9.5 +40 offset.



after getting the wheels in and test fitting them, I took them in to get my old tires transferred to these wheels. well they were so dry rotted the beads were just ripping as they tried to get them off the old wheels. (date stamp on tires was 200 so I had no choice but to order tires. this "cheap" big brake upgrade was adding up now.

figured I may as well go with something sticky, but wanted to still keep street stock legal (200 min tread wear) so I went with the Hankook Ventus R-S3 V2 tires. 285/35/18 Lots of great track reviews especially for there price. there as wide as my old BFG 295s



finished up












bedding in test drive showed a lot of promise. I think I may need harness's now...

Posted by: STANG KILLA SS Mar 18 2016, 07:52 PM

best event yet! car was completly transformed!









Hankooks and brakes did amazing. Only had to use probly 25% brake power/pedal and ran all weekend long strong zero fad. Also really helped the Braking bias, no more oversteer when braking, and ABS really left me alone. Big improvment. Tires were awesome, covered me on a few bad lines keeping me straight and on track. Lots more grip and turn in and got rid of under steer. Car did great! for the first time nothing broke, failed, or let me down (well broke seat braket) If i had to find a flaw i would say that using so little of the massive braking power, it gave back very little "feel" threw the pedal since i was just breathing of them. but still insane performance.



the square tire setup really livened up the car too, lots more turn in and neutral steering, vs the old staggered setups understeer. also the lots softer compound was really working and making a difference. big jump in grip.



Had one of my best sessions ever Saturday i think it was. Decided to go out with the leaders. Following #1 full race C5Z. Gave me something to push for and overcome my comfort zone. Was flying out there and really wheelin the car finally. Tires were screamin for mercy. I kept pushing and the car kept taking it. awesome run. Also finally figured out a better line for me into 8, turning in early. What a blast!!!!

Heres a few random clips from the weekend (long)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-adsAYEfBg

Posted by: STANG KILLA SS Mar 18 2016, 07:52 PM

also got to run in the rain



saw the storm coming right before my session and knew i wanted to try it. most sat out, i think only 8 or so of us went out in the wet.

i left it in 5th and putted around, dropping my cornering speeds to around 60. caught a few cars that i guess were going even easier than i was.

slow and boring wet vid. got progressivly worse as the session went on.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKIlwzkkowM

Posted by: STANG KILLA SS Mar 18 2016, 07:53 PM

Had an awesome event at the last autocross. Car and myself did very well. It was a really open course which suited my bigger car well. Was super stoked with my times. I did so well I ended up winning the RWD class! and even better I also beat the entire AWD class too other than 1st place.



Vids of the a few runs. better runs start at the 3:09 mark
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=psp--fCms-Y



































and then this happened





forged internals and ARPs, but im assuming a rod or rod bolt let go.

video here, about the :29 second mark I started hearing a double exhaust note/echo, i figured i had just blown a header gasket or broke an exhaust weld or something. I backed off but kepts going. coming back into the crossover the rear tires locked up and the motor let out the smoke. no real noises, booms, or scrapnel sounds. just died.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BeyB7UCmnuM

Posted by: STANG KILLA SS Mar 18 2016, 07:54 PM

We got the motor pulled out last night









drain plug

Posted by: STANG KILLA SS Mar 18 2016, 07:54 PM

carnage pics

pan



rods wanted out!



Damage was worse than we thought. #5 and 6 completely disintegrated. Forged rods, forged pistons, cylinder walls/block, crank, bearings, valves, everything. Shrapnel got 3 and 4 too



whats left of #5



top and right you can see the valve strikes. bottom left you can see where the piston hit the bowl of the head. and the piston spun nearly 180*



you can see the hole in the block at the top. and all the carnage below. unbelievable.

Posted by: STANG KILLA SS Mar 18 2016, 07:55 PM

head work is now done,
4 new 2.02/1.6 Ferrea valves
new Dual .650 PRC springs
New Ti retainers
new Steel seats
new PRC Viton seals
valve job

well ive got this thing back together

went with a Texas Speed short block. Aluminum 5.3L bored back to 5.7. forged goodies and overall nearly identical to what I had before other than block.



heads are my old ported 862s that I had completely refreshed. replaced the 4 bent valves, new double PRC .650 springs, new Ti retainers, new seats and seals, decked and valve job.



the cam was a big one for me. I spent 3 weeks talking with a bunch of the industry's biggest getting specs, opinions, and learning a lot about valve events. ended up having Tick Performance Custom grind me this cam. Went with lower duration, and a reverse split lift to try to give up some big end peak HP to gain some mid range power band. 227/235 .619/.600 112.6 LSA



long block assembled



accessorized and wired



I just liked this pic was about to steam clean the engine bay, firewall, and K-member



Motor back on the K-member! intake, headers, clutch, etc etc on.



lifted back into place. was a cool feeling/moment



the first fire up!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RgaTex7BYZs

all finished. I now have about 450 break in miles on the motor, and next week will do the final oil change to remove the break in oil. Ordered a case of Joe Gibbs LS30 oil to run from now on.
I did lots of other updating along the way as opportunity presented itself. basically restoring everything under the hood to brand new parts and making all little issues "right"

Posted by: STANG KILLA SS Mar 18 2016, 07:55 PM

well i had my first time back at AutoX last weekend. motor had about 400 miles on it, and still had the break in oil in it, hasnt even been on the dyno yet

The course was longer and much tighter than previous courses. not big car freindly. two 150* hairpins and two loops. the good news for me, only 2 of the Miatas showed up to compete for this event.






id been battling with a couple S2000's all day for top honors. we'd worked our times down to a 49.1(him) and a 49.2 (me). well on my 4th run(3:30 in the video) the sun was setting and i knew the track was going to cool off and this would be my last chance to get a good time in and i went out knowing i had to push harder. ended up stomping a good run and put down the quickest time of the event by a large margin

had a blast and the car did great! also got to do some night time fun runs. times were about 2 seconds slower in the dark (5:30 in the video)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVlvYEsrivg

Posted by: STANG KILLA SS Mar 18 2016, 07:56 PM

well im a couple weeks behind getting these edited and posted but here they are. PDS at TWS.

Car did great. I was able to pass everyone in my group. Saturday there was a '15 911 I wasn't able to pass, our pace was the same but he was far more aggressive in traffic so I never could get around him. Sunday however there was half the cars and I was able to pass him.


















probly the highlight of the weekend was having a F430 in two of my sessions! pretty sweet getting to race against it, ive never seen another Ferrari on track.
Saturday in the sun I was able to catch and pass him in two laps. Sunday in the rain however, his mid engine was giving him a lot more rear grip, took me 4 laps but I was still able to catch and pass him.
going by a $200,000 super car in a $10,000 Camaro was a pretty cool feeling









heres a little mash up id did combining all my laps from the weekend into a single lap.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m74Ilh-XoGg

Posted by: STANG KILLA SS Mar 18 2016, 07:57 PM

part 2

on the last lap on sunday, on the front stretch i threw the belt off the pulleys. coming into turn 1 at 130 mph with no power steering was a serious pucker moment. but kept it on the pavement. overheated the car getting it back to pits with no waterpump, but so far everything has checked out. no blown head gaskets.
however unfortunately while checking for water in the oil (none), I came across this.



the blue color, and the spring were an immediate giveaway. valve seals.
pulled the valve covers and replaced them. over half of them were just floating on the valve stems. the ones what were down were crushed. 5 total.
it looks like the machine shop just slide the seals over the stems and didn't tap them on. just pushed on with hands.
got them all swaped out to some comp cams seals and fully seated on the guides.

old seals




got her back together and everything good to go other than tune. still fighting that.

Posted by: STANG KILLA SS Mar 18 2016, 07:57 PM

well i was a little slow getting vids edited, but here is the update from the PDS earlier this month

Car did awesome.

spoted this on the way to the track saturday morning, had to speed up and the wife snaped a couple pics. i didnt think R34s were legal for import yet?






Compilation of laps
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9bOUOEWrsA

end of day 1


a goal i set when i started racing here was to get a sub 2 minute lap in this old straight line boat. i didnt know if it was possible but saturday i did it for the first time i was so stoked. ended up running 4-5 sub 2 minute laps threw out the weekend.
Between the tune, and corner 1 i think there could be another full second to be had.



heres some unedited clips of a few of the 1:59 laps
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7USG4VwPEac

the quick times came at a cost though. after only a few events my new hancooks are nearly shot, even with the proper camber. now i see why racing is so expensive

i threw another belt saturday, and was fighting that all weekend. when i would get above 6400 the tensior would start ringing and then throw the belt and of course id loose waterpump and power steering. had to just baby it on the big end of the front and back straights to keep belt on.

headed home after a great weekend



solved the belt issue with a Hawk fixed/manual belt tensior after getting back home.






added a Founders Performance panhard rod too. was getting some rearend lateral movement and clunking.

Posted by: STANG KILLA SS Mar 18 2016, 07:58 PM

last event update.


Fought brake vibrations all weekend from my very first session. was gyrating the steering wheel on left turns when braking, not the usual vibration from warped rotors, more of a distinct left to right movement back and forth. would not do it on rights or in a straight line.
which was weird because they were fine last event, and I only drove it to work once and to the car wash. then first session this month I got the steering pulsing. also could not reproduce it on the street/ access road.
tried rotating tires, bleeding brakes etc. my first thought was a bad wheel/abs sensor, pulsing one wheel. it would also try to straighten the car when braking.
but as the event went on I decided to keep racing and it became obvious when It started doing in on rights and straights it was warped rotors, and mine are custom machined so I couldn't replace them. spare set bought now and on the way to machine shop tommorrow...

you can see the heat in the rotor (after event) perfectly aligned with the cooling vanes inside.






so turning was quite a work out. my arms were burning trying to hang onto that wheel. also in all the footage you can see when I brake it would violently shake the camera. so I didn't make a video. random stuff below.
I did manage a couple of 2:00.8 laps though

had a 458 in two of my sessions! got near him a couple times, but because of traffic we never really got to run each other. I was gaining time on him though, had we been able to get near I think I would have had him.



later sessions sunday my tires were starting to heat cycle out. just not holding the lines they previously could. probly there last event.

I did get to see a new 5.0 Mustang dukes of hazard style. I was coming up on him quick, and I think he let the pressure push him too hard. which is weird because ive run with him before and hes a really great driver. I felt bad after and sort of responsible. I went to check on him after giving him cool down time. and damage seemed limited to a destroyed splitter and front bumper. was a really nice car.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HuJaOVry9fc

saw this beautiful 911 RSR. immaculate SEMA quality race car build. thing was perfect inside and out. wiring and layout looked like a circuit board. top notch build. really stood out. it was first time out since build. he wasn't going easy on it either. wish I would have gotten pics of inside and under "hood"
LS3 powered Z06 behind it. running 315 slicks on all 4 corners






Vaders Z06 drool






red/white group going out
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4QIqKVNO-kI

Radicals 1500cc hyabusa motors

Posted by: STANG KILLA SS Mar 18 2016, 07:59 PM

Well ive got a big race coming up this weekend, well to me. Its put on by Track Guys which is a Mustang group. Ive started calling it "me vs the world" for some reason i want to have a good showing at this one.

started by pulling out non essentials. droped right at 61 pounds. the back seat was the hardest. 2 bolts turned into a 2 hour ordeal.



made a radio delete panel of of some aluminum.



while pulling off the RS3s i noticed a heavy blue ring heat. they were shot and heat cycled out. not holding there usual lines anymore.



Ordered a new set of RS3s from Tire rack but they were on national back order for a month, so i switched to a set of Dunlop ZII Star Specs. had to drop down to a 275, but they are as wide as the RS3 285.



also picked up a new set of High Carbon rotors with Z clad coating for backup. had them machined(center hole). went up to $97 for the machineing. Ive got to find a way to do this myself. These will be my back up set.



Track guys requires an SA rated helmet. no motorcycle helmets. so i had to pick up this SA2015 racequip. its good for 10 years.

Posted by: STANG KILLA SS Mar 18 2016, 07:59 PM

had the origonal rotors cut to get them back straight. had to have it done twice. first time they were still warped. also got some Quantum hub mounted braking cooling ducts and some ultra high temp Allstar performance hose. as well as some other misc from lowes.



tires mounted, time to go to work



well the expensive brake duct hose didnt work out. it was MUCH too stiff and unflexible. picked up some foil duct from lowes to get me threw weekend.












i plan to swap out to some better black hose, and proper intake ducts after the event.



its predicted to rain during the event, but im hoping there wrong. i really want to do well.

Posted by: Steve91T Mar 19 2016, 02:45 AM

Thank you for taking the time to post all of this. I can't wait for the next update! This forum needs more of this.

Posted by: STANG KILLA SS Mar 19 2016, 02:58 AM

thanks! as long as yall enjoy them, ill keep posting updates. I liked your threads as well.

I wish the videos would embed, thread is kinda missing all the important bits without them.

hope to have update posted soon.

Posted by: dailydriver Mar 20 2016, 08:42 PM

Did you ever find out what caused that built engine to grenade like that??

To prevent that from happening to your (beautiful) new block/full rebuild did you do anything to address the oiling system (Accusump, IR baffles/scraper, more oil in sump, better pump/thicker o ring, etc.)?

An ATI crank damper would also help when you spin it up above 6300 as well.

Also, I understand just how unbearable having no AC on the street in Tejas can be, but you could drop a BIG amount of weight off of the nose IF you could handle it.

Posted by: SuperMacGuy Mar 20 2016, 11:44 PM

Here's my brake ducts, maybe you can use this as inspiration. http://www.paveglio.com/firebird/2001tamods.html#duct

Posted by: CrashTestDummy Mar 21 2016, 12:50 PM

I've seen that R34 at a couple of Houston Region autocrosses. It's a lot of car. Not enough tire under it.

Posted by: STANG KILLA SS Mar 21 2016, 02:54 PM

judging by the bronze color on the crank bearings, were assuming it lost oiling.

yes on this new build i spent all my money on oiling, and none on horsepower.
Improved Racing oil pan baffle
High Pressure oil pump
GTO pcv conversion
and all new oil components, pickup tube, o ring, windage tray etc. and Joe Gibbs LS30 oil.

yeah for now im gonna keep AC. car doesnt see much street time, but sitting in the car in hot pits gets pretty sweaty when its 105 outside + t-tops.
definatly looking into other major weight reductions this winter though.

Posted by: STANG KILLA SS Mar 21 2016, 06:14 PM

A long time ago the nick name "Stang Killa" was given to me by the car club in my second camaro. Some 18 years later im proud to still represent the name. Entered A Track Guys mustang event this last weekend with over 100 Mustangs, and made the name, the car, and myself very proud!







one thing i did notice was the trash talking via custom license plates, particularly on the SVT and Shelbys. i got a kick out of reading them as i was passing them.
Passes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nCPo0yLslK4

The good new is that the brake ducts survived. I don't have any kind of before and after temps, but that cant be hurting anything. Summer may tell the truth if they were worth the effort or not.

The bad news as i suspected is the new Dunlops were not near as sticky as the old Hankooks.
i was running 39/38 hot pressures like i did in the Hankooks.
-First thing i notices was no feedback. they don't squeel at all. only a super lower pitch ripping sound after youd past the limit, that was barely audible. no high pitch squeeling at the limit like the RS3s.
-they don't like heat and instantly loose traction and all of it if you get them too hot, which was easy to do in only 80 degree day.
-faster responding than RS3s. the stiffer sidewall helped this im sure. i was curb hoping all day with them turning in so fast at apex.
-a more lively steering wheel. lots more quick twitches to drive them vs the hankook smoothness/sluggishness.
-less grip overall. especially initial.
-less feel and feedback. not a connected feeling.
-lake of sound and feel left me with no idea when i was at the limit.
-lost 1-2 seconds a lap. and i had to work a LOT harder to keep it at that. drivin identical would be more like 3 seconds per lap.

on my very last session (after a bad overheat of the tires the previous session) i decided to drop down to 37/36 psi. this definatly helped, they never over heated. but they were sorta of a sloppy mess in regards to handling. felt like a 70 series sidewall or something.



1 of 3 real Cobra Rs there


They also had 2 GT350s there. (actually 4 on sunday. ironically all 4 were identical gunmetal, with blue stripes and black wheels) they were all drooling and taking photos of it all weekend. instructors were also giving ride alongs all weekend. everyone said it was pretty amazing. even GM guys. all i know is they were holding me up all weekend. passed both of them twice.
i didnt know much about them, just that they were new and track oriented. Wife looked them up after the event and said they were 526HP.


GT350 wouldnt let me pass
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_ClYTJ97l4

i did get lucky once and got two clean laps in. best lap of 2:00.39 but most were 2+ seconds seconds slower with the Dunlops.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0s9iGFt-FxU

rare Viper TA (Track Attack) one of 93 made. never got to run him. he fell back on the warm up lap.




Overall a good weekend. made new freinds, and the car survived and had a great showing.

Posted by: dailydriver Mar 21 2016, 11:28 PM

^^^Were all of the GT 350s the 'base' cars (like shown in the pic, with the alloy wheels), and NOT the GT 350 Rs, which have the carbon fiber wheels, deleted EVERYTHING (except a heater), bigger front splitter and rear wing, and better suspension components??

BFG REALLY needs to get those wider 18" Rival sizes (like a 295/30-18) released already!!

Posted by: ar52kortlang Mar 22 2016, 01:32 AM

Thanks for posting... seems like TWS is having all the clubs and fast cars out there before they shut down...I ran there in my charger but haven't had time since I have owned the Camaro. I run the Dunlops for autocrosses..275 40 18..I run pressures lower 28/34 and when they get hotter they get more grip..haven't overheated them yet. I am running w the Porsche club autocross at grandsport on Saturday so they might get really hot

Posted by: STANG KILLA SS Mar 22 2016, 02:03 AM

I wouldn't call them base cars but yes they were all GT350s not GT350Rs. no slouches, but no, not factory race cars either.

ar52, thanks! yeah im sure the Dunlops would do better in autocross, where they don't have time or the speed to get cooked. I am anxious to give them a second shot now that I discovered they like lower pressures than the RS3s.

Posted by: ar52kortlang Mar 22 2016, 02:27 AM

Post up if you are in the Houston/ College Station Area again racing...

Posted by: STANG KILLA SS Mar 30 2016, 04:33 PM

They say you only get out of something what you put into it. So after my local tuner struggling for months with the new motor, i decided to make the 5 hour trip to Victoria to see the famous Texas tuner Patrick Guerra.




before starting i did a little 9am injector swap. went from 26lb to 36lb




Dyno Pull #1
https://youtu.be/6JzQ2PWG2QI

Dyno Pull #2
https://youtu.be/3QAVYN05o_A



car put down 426HP and 397TQ on a Mustang Brand dyno. im sure on a normal DynoJet would add 10HP or so more.

(origonal local tuner had it at 415 on a DynoJet but later had to add fuel and timing which probly lowered it to the 405 range)

all in all i probly gained in the 20-25HP range or so, but most importantly its running right now. and efficient.
it will cold start and idle, and even idle with the AC on. and im sure it wont shoot fire when i lift and stink like hell from being so rich like it was before.

cant wait to test on track!

Posted by: STANG KILLA SS Apr 8 2016, 02:56 PM

Well last weekend had an Autocross after the new tune. car ran great. It was a super tight course with a bunch (4-5) hairpins that this big car doesnt like. Ill admit it wasnt as much fun. also could have used the stickier RS3s, would have really helped. but in the end the car did really good. had a bunch of folks impresed to have an old camaro out there doing so well. there always perplexed/amazed.











most of the feild was running in the 45s, with a couple 43s. i had a 43.6 but wasnt just super stoked with the run.
on my last run (3rd in video) i put down my best time.
https://youtu.be/fXbdrvjUoNM

buuuuuut technically i didnt win. there was this guy (super nice) he was supposed to be in X class but they didnt have enough to fill the class so they left him in RWD. he ran a little over 1/2 a second quicker than me.

Miata floor pan, drivetrain, and suspension. Front engine. square tube Fabbed front and rear frame. Channeled bug body. Coil overs. 10x20x13 slicks. 1700lbs and $1500 to build. looked damn fun.


you can really see how low/small this thing was here


check out the seat position!


https://youtu.be/GuJ__aZ8Los

my folks came out to watch, and i got to give my mom a ride during the fun runs. i tried to be a little smoother. she didnt scream once
https://youtu.be/o5sX9tdaNOI

There was also a GTR out there doing exhibition runs. they came up to me and asked if i wanted a ride. so i did


for some reason i wasnt expecting much but to be honest i was impressed. the grip levels were unreal. unfortunatly it was too gravely for launch mode, but it still toke off sounding like the tires were being riped in half. and the areas it would accelerate were so unnatural coming from RWD all my life. and as heavy as it is i was really blown away how nibble it was in the hair pins, it never slide or understeered once. but it was still running 2 seconds slower than me
https://youtu.be/axVXRjbtTM8

Posted by: STANG KILLA SS May 2 2016, 03:23 PM

well im a little late getting these posted.

got brake ducts V2.0 done. replaced all the silver flimsy duct with the stiffer black duct, and only used the silver duct on the spindle where i needed the flex. also painted the intakes for a more stealth look.





also installed a new rack and pinion with tie rods. this was the last piece of the puzzle for the cars full mechanical restoration.


did a midnight race alignment when we were done. got toe back to 0, and increased camber from -1.0 to -1.2. also did it this time with me in the car. my weight changed the camber by .25 degrees.


also added a Power steering cooler. it worked awesome. reservoir never boiled and didnt puke out PS fluid all over the engine bay every session.


and then it was race day! rain held off and we had cooler 75-85 temps and overcast.


the harder Dunlops really liked the cooler track temps. i was able to run 37/36 psi and it really liked it. never faded and grip was up. still didnt have the initial bite and turn in of the Hankooks, but i was able to pick the time back up by being smoother and rolling threw mid corner more.


ran good enough to get a sub two minute lap:shock: i couldnt believe it out of the Dunlops. average was in the 2:01 to 2:02 with no traffic. cooler temps really helped these tires.


Bad news was i had a few failures. Front pads had nothing left, 1 torn brake duct, a Torque arm bolt rattled out, broke the welds on the Y-pipe, and something was going wrong with the transmission. twice when shifting (both times 2nd gear i think) it sounded like it was chunking gears, and shook the car violently. but i could never replicate it. it was just random and only happened twice. a couple time i could also hear the clutch disc dragging.




So i made the call to put it back on the trailer after saturday and skip sunday

Here are a few of the clean laps from Saturday
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOsD8RlHCZo

Posted by: Steve91T May 3 2016, 02:50 PM

I can't believe your Y pipe cracked like that. Bad welds?


So I was watching your video and for some reason I just didn't get much of a sense of speed. I was wondering why you were taking it so easy. Then I noticed your speedo. Man that thing looks like it pulls hard.

Posted by: STANG KILLA SS May 3 2016, 05:17 PM

not sure. for 1 the Y pipe and exhaust is 15 years old (SLP). and i noticed when we put in the new motor that the exhaust hung down even lower than before. it may have been in a bind?
or when i had the transmission issue and it shook the motor/car it may have been too violent/rapid for the exhaust and broke it.

haha yeah the videos look super slow. partly because of the wide angle lens. and partly because of my gears I'm not doing hardly any shifting.
also yes i am a bit timid at times with these Dunlops, they just don't have the initial bite of the RS3s, so i have to tip toe in, and I'm a fairly smooth driver. all make the vids looks pretty slow.
ive tested on a few videos using gopro studio to remove the fish eye. it instantly adds 20mph to the videos visually.

haha yeah i get a kick out of the speedo too. i think im going slow, then i look down and realize im cornering faster than most people drive on the highway(70 here in TX) and i feel a little better.

now i want to go watch the video again Thanks!

Posted by: Steve91T May 3 2016, 06:23 PM

It wasn't axle hop that you felt, was it?

Posted by: Steve91T May 4 2016, 12:24 AM

Better yet, did you get it on video?

Posted by: dailydriver May 4 2016, 01:11 AM

You have long tubes going into a cut/modded factory style SLP y-pipe, or is it the actual SLP y-pipe FOR long tubes??

Posted by: STANG KILLA SS May 4 2016, 02:11 PM

naa it was at too low of speeds. one was coming into the pits, and the other was at a gas station. ie under 20mph.
plus i don't have axle hop issues with my 12 bolt and big front brakes. unless i down shift to early. but not from braking.

also a couple times when starting the car and taking off in first the first time, i could hear the clutch disk dragging.

yeah i probly have it on video. would have to do some digging.
im going to do a 100% fluid swap/bleed of the clutch fluid with motul and see if the fluid was just hot/old.
then my next suspicion is going to be throw out bearing.

Posted by: STANG KILLA SS May 4 2016, 02:14 PM

its an actual SLP Y pipe for LTs.
i got it jacked up last night. the metal is SUPER thin. luckily ive got a TIG. but not much experience.
its like half the thickness of a dime.

Posted by: dailydriver May 4 2016, 08:12 PM

Is it 409 stainless, or just mild steel?

I know they used 409 for their stock type y-pipe which connects up to the factory catcons/downpipe (I have a brand new one for sale sitting in my cellar), but I'm not too sure about their long tube version(s).

Posted by: STANG KILLA SS May 4 2016, 08:24 PM

just steel. and VERY old. infact when i bought these LTs (and Y) they were the ONLY LTs available on the market. the Hookers werent even out yet. damn things cost me $1200 too

Posted by: BryanL May 9 2016, 03:57 PM

Glad you are having fun-sure hope TWS doesn't die. Nice car and setup. Read this as a consideration that you aren't warping rotors.

http://www.stoptech.com/technical-support/technical-white-papers/-warped-brake-disc-and-other-myths

Ever thought of going racing with us in CMC? Do you follow the Texas board? http://www.aicmctexas.com/forum.php

Posted by: STANG KILLA SS May 12 2016, 12:47 AM

Ill check those out, thanks!

Posted by: STANG KILLA SS May 12 2016, 12:48 AM

I got the exhaust welded back up, flushed the trans with Motul 600, new pads, and repaired the brake ducts.

tranny is still acting up, but im hoping it will hold together until I need a clutch. then Ill swap in a new throwout bearing.

Had a autocross this weekend. between the rain and being mothers day not many showed.

in line to run. and the storm hits.


track was perfect for my car, very open and fast. sadly with the rain I couldn't take advantage of it.


I ended up being the last run of the day. most everyone had left, the rain had stoped but track was still wet with puddles. I put down a 31.24 which was a second and a half faster than my previous runs. I was super stoked with the time.
Fastest Run Video
https://youtu.be/THblrLoQsmI

which was good enough for 2nd place! I was super happy with that. the guy in first was driving a S2000 which was 700lbs lighter, with 71R tires, and was a great driver to boot. I knew my boat had no chance to compete with that. amped with my time though.



There was also a guy there with a Shifter Kart:shock:. I somehow talked my way into a drive. Ive never driven one or even a 2 stroke for that matter. The hand clutch and left foot braking was unnatural to me, but I didn't spin out that was my goal. what a blast! the acceleration and steering was insane. very quick. now I neeeeeed one
I didn't know what I was doing and let it get off the pipe a couple times, but it was still an absolute blast!





Kart Run
https://youtu.be/u_PIjOiuHHs

Posted by: STANG KILLA SS Jun 7 2016, 07:19 PM

Pics from last event.
First day and a half was a bust. with the rain, fog, and ambulance not showing up there was virtually no laps run. but sunday afternoon the sun poped out and they stayed open and extra 3 hours.



Guy that pitted next to me Z06. his 2nd or 3rd vettes hes tracked all over the country. he couldnt keep up. super nice dude.






I like this pic because you can see me trail braking, sliding the rear into T10




Also passed my ride along and got my Yellow run group approval! next level is with the instructors!
Saturday on my first test i failed, coming into 13/14/15 Esses a new Z/28 had spun into the grass, and i missed him and the yellow flag, barreling right threw at race speeds. next day i got my second test with the head instructor and passed with flying colors.!!




Video:, 3rd lap i catch a NASA camaro and get to do a lap with him. couldnt touch is power to weight on the straight!


VID
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnXuSo3UvPc

Posted by: STANG KILLA SS Jun 26 2016, 01:29 PM

Pics from this months PDS

GTR was loud and quick coming out of the corners, but I was able to get by him in a lap.


Radical RXC






This was a husband and wife Pair of vipers. They did not have a good sunday.
This was the husbands car. Sunday morning he put it into the concrete wall around the T13 flag stand. crushed the whole side of the car in.
(before pic)


This was the wifes car


Sunday afternoon she backed into the wall between T3 and T4. HARD. I was on track at the time. we went red flag stop on track for a long time. was scary/creepy. she left in an ambulance on a stretcher with at least a broken arm.




my parents made the drive for the first time to watch me so that was really cool. some footage my dad took, on the front stretch, and the slowest T10 corner. long intro
https://youtu.be/bL_OJ3l3FLw

and I had a big spin coming into T1. I was hitting my highest MPH ever at 142, and the second I turn into 1 I hit a surprise rain shower
https://youtu.be/n6NzTJmJfIQ

Posted by: landstuhltaylor Jun 26 2016, 05:19 PM

No wonder you don't like autocross. That first gear junk looks miserable

Posted by: dailydriver Jun 26 2016, 10:05 PM

NICE!

What engine was in that Radical??

OUCH!! to those two Viper$.

Posted by: STANG KILLA SS Jul 11 2016, 12:01 AM

Last weekends AutoX. Largest track yet, 2 parking lots. but lots of lock to lock hairpins, so it was hard to be smooth.

Before I went I had to repair the broken collector on my exhaust. TIGed it back together.


and my old Dunlops were shot already. decided to try a full race slick scuff.#becauseracecar




but first I had to properly dispose of the old tires
https://youtu.be/nsZuexzrn7U

cars from the event

Posted by: STANG KILLA SS Jul 11 2016, 12:02 AM

a few runs
https://youtu.be/BRtPpajT2kI

I couldn't get the hang of all the lock to lock stuff, course just had no flow to it, so I wasn't super happy with my driving, but did well enough for 2nd place. Lost by .06 seconds. not bad I guess against a 800lb lighter S2000. great driver too.

Posted by: dailydriver Jul 11 2016, 11:48 PM

Nice results.

Are those Contis really just re-branded Hoosier R7s, or is their construction and compounding completely different from those gumballs??

Posted by: STANG KILLA SS Jul 12 2016, 03:17 AM

ill be honest I don't know. I was just told they were made by hoosier for conti.
I know a bit about 200tw tires, but don't know jack about slicks or R compounds.

I have seen a few comments on the Contis that suggest they may not be the stickiest of slicks out there.

Posted by: STANG KILLA SS Sep 25 2016, 05:08 PM

well after taking a couple months off due to the heat, i headed back to the track.

but first had to tear out the trans. the last few races id been getting alot of noises from the trans. squealing when the clutch was out(engaged) and some other odd things going on.
my hunch was a slave/throwout bearing, but i ordered a new clutch and pilot bearing just in case.

got it pulled night before the event




and it turned out my hunch was right. the transmission is getting so hot racing, that it evaporated/melted all the grease out of the throw out bearing and started destroying itself. even melted the rubber seal(as seen in pic below). you can also see the black snoot and silver back plate have wear marks all over them and ground down. its only 8 months old. with that kinda heat im sure the return spring wasnt doing much either.


new throwout/slave fixed it right up. left the pilot and clutch alone.

off to the track! finally get to try out these slicks for the first time!


unfortunately in my second session on the warm up lap, my seat back broke (inner hinge)
swaping seats would have taken most of the day with the 1/2" tube seat mounts i made. so i opted for a quick fix. took a few sessions to get it just right but it worked. luckily i never got caught. seat was actually stiffer than it was before the break. was kinda nice.




got a bit lazy on the video this time. just a few warm up laps getting used to the slicks. i was VERY careful on them and didnt trust them at all. been warned too much about how they are ice when cold, and when they do let go its instant with no warning. heres a few warm up laps that morning, no one watches these anyway
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTCrBrYJK8U

sadly my weekend came to a quick end just before lunch on the second day. was checking hot psi and noticed the passenger front was toast. (ccw track) lasted ONE day, about 3 hours of track time, and ended my weekend. i had camber set pretty well with my 200TW tires, but obviously the slicks needed ALOT more.
a very fast and very expensive lesson.


and heres the crappy part, they didnt even make me faster, not even a little. in fact i was nearly 3 seconds slower than my personal fastest lap there. i was running 2:02 to 2:04 as my fastest lap per session on the slicks. typically on the 200TW i run 2:00 to 2:02 for fastest lap, with my all time fastest laps being in the 1:59s. really a bummer and big disappointment with the slicks.

but you learn something everytime. now i know.

Posted by: Steve91T Sep 25 2016, 05:32 PM

4 things.

1: Your car sounds so good!
2: That seat...wtf
3: It looked like you were really taking it easy. I'd be willing to bet you were no where near the limits of those tires. It is true that slicks will give you less warning, but the characteristics of your car really won't change. Slicks won't turn your car into an Elise, a car that is a little touchy at the edge. So find some safe corners and start experimenting with carrying more speed into the turn and getting on try gas sooner.
4: I don't care what kind of track surface it is, you weren't pushing it hard enough to chord a tire like that in only a few sessions. Something ain't right. What are your alignment specs and what were your hot pressures?

Posted by: STANG KILLA SS Sep 25 2016, 10:04 PM

thanks!
i know
yes in the vid i definatly was. i had been warned/scared so many times online about slicks ( ice when cold, no warning when pass limits etc) that i almost feared them. but by the afternoon i found none of those to be true and was able to push them.

-1.2 camber
0 toe
31F/30R hot.

Posted by: Steve91T Sep 26 2016, 12:24 AM

I think your front pressures are a little low. I'm looking forward to seeing what others say

Posted by: ar52kortlang Sep 26 2016, 02:18 AM

Let me know the next time you go race at TWS .. I'll come watch ..

Posted by: CrashTestDummy Sep 26 2016, 02:14 PM

Expensive lesson? Nah, you bought take-offs. Do that with NEW slicks, and you're getting expensive. But a full-bodied car with 3 hours of driving is a LOT of time on slicks, especially take-offs. But yeah, it looks like you need more camber.

Posted by: STANG KILLA SS Oct 23 2016, 01:28 AM

Well after racing the Camaro for awhile and building it up i found myself wanting more. Well actually less, weight that is. I also wanted the ability to have rear camber. Plus the Camaro was getting harder and harder to find parts for. Sooooo after watching the C6Z market for about 9 months and doing a ton of research i picked up my first vette yesterday!

2009 Z06 3LZ
38000 miles



















If i was going to spend this kind of coin i wanted a modded one with the basics already done, and this one had it, along with some extras.

Mod List:

TSP Stage 3 LS7S cam: 242/250 .655/.655 114LSA
Upgraded valve springs and retainers
TSP 1-7/8" Polished Stainless Steel headers
TSP 3" Polished Stainless Steel X-pipe (no cats)
K & N cold air intake
Mild 2 Wild dual mode exhaust controller
Lingenfelter 160 degree thermostat
Hinson Motorsports short throw shifter and knob
CCW Forged SP16A wheels: 19 x 9.5 and 19 x 13
Gloss black wrapped roof
Blacked out taillights
Blacked out side markers
Lloyds Z06 mats
Pioneer double din touch screen head unit

Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ayjHmPiNZI4

Gonna be weird starting all over again from nothing but it will be worth it in the end i think. The car is truly phenomenal so far. LOTS more to come!

Posted by: CrashTestDummy Oct 23 2016, 02:41 AM

Nice! Now lose te stupid red flappy bits over the engine, so it can keep cooler. I never understood that crap!

Posted by: STANG KILLA SS Oct 23 2016, 03:01 AM

Thanks!
haha yeah, i took them off the camaro too, (i had added carbon fiber FRC to it when i was doing car shows years ago)

Posted by: Steve91T Oct 23 2016, 05:38 AM

Wow didn't see that coming. That thing is sick! Congrats!

The LS7 has some oiling issues, right?

Are you selling your Camaro or are you going to hang onto it?

Posted by: BumpaD_Z28 Oct 23 2016, 06:13 AM

HOLY SHIT ! ... that thing is beautiful !

I've always toyed with the idea of selling my '82/'02/'87 ... and picking up a C5Z06 / C6Z51 ... but I'm never able to convince myself to sell the '82 (it was my 2nd car)

~DaVe

Posted by: STANG KILLA SS Oct 23 2016, 01:55 PM

haha Thanks!
no not oil issues(well not any different than any other road raced LS), they have valve guide issues.

the Camaro will get offered up for sale.

Posted by: STANG KILLA SS Oct 23 2016, 01:57 PM

crazy part is the day after i bought it BMR Suspension contacted me wanting to sponsor my Camaro with some of there new parts.
i couldnt believe it but told them they were 1 day too late

Posted by: ar52kortlang Oct 24 2016, 12:35 AM

Didn't see that coming either...New ride looks sweet.. congrats ...

Posted by: ESP125 Nov 9 2016, 06:36 PM

Long time visitor to this website, but I haven't been on in a while. Wow, awesome job detailing your trials and tribulations with your Camaro and now with your Vette. I usually don't read too much further than the first page on most blogs but you captured my attention and kept me reading because I was curious to find out what was next. The photos were awesome too, they helped paint a picture of how things were going.

Did you get rid of the Camaro?

Curious about Cadillac brakes you put on the front. Did you order them as a kit from a vendor online? I have C5 calipers on the front of my 94 and they seen pretty good. Was there a huge improvement when you went to those?

Posted by: STANG KILLA SS Nov 26 2016, 06:00 PM

thanks! ive been blown away at how many different people on different forums actually follow this thread. i did it just for a place to log my progress for myself using the forum as free webspace.

i still have the camaro for now. will clean it up and sell it. (has rubber all over it)
no not a kit, bought rotors, calipers, and brake lines all seperate.
huge improvement would be a massive understatement.... it was like going from a kite to a F-16

Posted by: STANG KILLA SS Nov 26 2016, 06:00 PM

well work has begun.
First thing was to remove the Hinson short shifter, it was rediculous. Ive had several short throws on the camaro, but this one was way to short and stiff. throws were 1/4" to 1/2" long and so stiff you needed two hands at times. especially for neutral checks. even tore my shoulder muscle a couple times. and with throws that close it wasnt going to be safe on track. ie lots of wrong gears.

first i removed the console which was alot more involved than the SS.


access and removed the Hinson


then reinstalled a stock shifter. much better. a bit rubbery but a big improvement for now, may look into a Core shifter in the future.

Posted by: STANG KILLA SS Nov 26 2016, 06:02 PM

next up was the pan. picked up an improved racing oil pan baffle. i picked this one over the aviaid version because it was aluminum, and didnt require you to drill 3 holes in the bottom of your oil pan. also wraps around the right side a bit more.


first up was to drop the cradle. being Magnesium it didnt way nothing. could carry it with one hand!




pan removed




pan cleaned and baffle bolted in. not a hard job in itself, just getting to it was the chore.

Posted by: STANG KILLA SS Nov 26 2016, 06:03 PM

next up was the dry sump oil reservoir baffle. Aviaid was out of these but they one built for me and it came in right when we were in the middle of the pan baffle.

removed the reservoir from the fender cavity from below by removing the fender liner and loosing the fender bolts.


removed the top black plastic part. you can see the transfer tube and the port in sticks into on the left.




the baffle


next was the hard part, inserting the baffle and trying to get the transfer tube back into its port completely blind with the baffle blocking your view. but with some reference marks and some dry runs without the baffle i got it back together without too much hassle.

Posted by: 79T/A Nov 27 2016, 07:16 AM

Dude, did you support the motor by the crank pulley?

Posted by: STANG KILLA SS Nov 28 2016, 11:22 PM

only as a back up. the motor is hung my chains on a forklift supporting its weight from above.

Posted by: 79T/A Nov 29 2016, 12:15 AM

Oh, thank god. You had me nervous.

Posted by: STANG KILLA SS Dec 9 2016, 11:51 PM

Pulled the valve cover off to check the LS7s achilles heel, the valve guides.
after checking 3 of them and getting .009 and .010 wobble (.007 is max) it was obvious they were bad.


so time to pull them. Intake off


heads and headers off




Sent off to AHP in California....
i keep telling myself this is what everyone does to there car thats 2 weeks old...

Posted by: STANG KILLA SS Dec 10 2016, 12:40 AM

while i had them off i decided to paint the intakes and valve covers the z06 red since i wasnt going to put the red fuel rail covers back on (just hold heat) took me a couple days but they came out great!



there was some confusion about the cam when i bought the car. the ad said it was a custom comp cams .615 lift, then when i bought it they said it was a TSP Stage 3 LS7S cam with .655 lift.
(going back in time before removing heads)
we set up dial indicator on pushrod.
the first rotation we got .355, second pass we got .351.


if you average those you get .353
.353 x 1.8 (rockers) you get .6354 lift.
so i go on texas speed and what do i find. they have a stage 1 and stage 2 cam with that lift! went from an unknown cam to narrowing it down to 2!


also found TSP 3/8" chromoly pushrods in the car

Posted by: CrashTestDummy Dec 10 2016, 01:00 AM

All that red paint is going to insulate, too, you know?

Better to catch the issues now, instead of down the front straight at TWS as you are coating the finish line with some fresh oil.

Posted by: STANG KILLA SS Dec 10 2016, 01:02 AM

threw the magic of the internet the heads are done and back from AHP! (2 weeks later with shipping and holidays)
man they look awesome! so good in fact i thought they were painted.

Posted by: STANG KILLA SS Dec 10 2016, 01:03 AM

AHP Package 4 Heads (include):
- Disassemble and Assembly of LS7 cylinder heads
- Performance Valve Job (show to add 5hp+ over the stock valve job)
- Resurface Heads (or milling of heads)
- Clean and Bead Blast entire head (so they look brand new)
- Hardened Aftermarket Powder Metal Valve Guides (Harder than aftermarket bronze guides)
- Stock Titanium Intake Valves Treated and Polished
- Ferrea Competition Plus Exhaust Valves F2042P (85 grams)
- New Viton Valve Seals and machined valve locks

i also had them mill the heads .025 for more compression and upgrade to the bullet proof Moldstar90 guides.


heads back on


added .025 shorter pushrods to compensate for head mill and put intake and valve covers back on. love the look!


first fire up
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_5ZRrv2iUk

Posted by: STANG KILLA SS Dec 22 2016, 07:35 PM

rear downforce time.
Went with the C7 Carbon Extended Zr1 spoiler.
Took them about 6 weeks to make it, but it was worth the wait. Fit and finish was awesome. Resin is super deep and glass smooth, weave is straight and consistent. fit the complex bumper curves well.
Ironically i actually ordered this before i found the car...

I went a little nuts with the pics, but i like the way it came out.

lights out


drilling brand new car #nervous


installing 3rd brake light. left side i was able to use factory tab. right side i had to cut the tab and hold it on with a ground down washer. The hardest part of the whole project was repluging in the 3rd brake light plug.


test fit


Done!




dat ass

Posted by: trackbird Dec 22 2016, 11:50 PM

That thing is magically sexy. Nice work! That's a sweet toy. Well done.

Posted by: CrashTestDummy Dec 23 2016, 04:07 AM

Kinda need to update your sig. I'm just saying.

Posted by: STANG KILLA SS Dec 23 2016, 03:31 PM

thanks guys. "magically sexy", i like that. gotta remember to use that one on the wife

i still own the Camaro. so technically the sig is still relevant.

Posted by: Steve91T Dec 23 2016, 03:55 PM

When are you getting that thing on the track! I need videos!

Posted by: CrashTestDummy Dec 23 2016, 04:26 PM

Got it.

That thing must be pretty quick to have knocked the tail lights out of the bumper cover like that.

Posted by: STANG KILLA SS Dec 23 2016, 04:48 PM

ive still got a garage full of parts to finish track prepping it. pads, brake ducts, wheels/tires etc. i hope to finally hit the track for its first shake down in January or February

and poping out tail lights on these cars does happen on the track. i should know, had a base c6 car in front of me once at TWS. tail light poped out and i ran over it in the camaro. was a gal that was pitting next to me.
its just one tiny 3mm screw than holds them in. if that tiny plastic tab breaks, pop, out they come.

Posted by: trackbird Dec 23 2016, 04:50 PM

Glad I could help.

Posted by: STANG KILLA SS Feb 20 2017, 08:51 PM

since the beginning i knew i wanted black headlights, but because its such a popular mod, and because GM hasnt made these headlights in years, they typically fetch a 4 figure price tag when a set comes up for sale.
so i decided to make my own. got super lucky and found a 3 month old set on ebay in a less desirable cheaper color. pretty much new condition including lenses.

started by baking them in the oven and prying. had to repeat this 5-10 times per headlight. HUGE PITA. took 4-5 hours.


Finally!



disassembled



wet sanded, degreased, and ready for paint


5 coats later

Posted by: STANG KILLA SS Feb 20 2017, 08:51 PM

polishing, i wont even bother going into this huge ordeal....


reassembling


after a ton of research i settled on loctite PL roof and flash. WARNING, if you have kids, dogs, wife etc, this stuff smells EXACTLY like chocolate cake. im not kidding, even once dry for weeks. keep out of reach


no going back now


clamped. rinse and repeat for other side.


threw in a pair of 3k(yellow) HID headlights (right) ie C6R style.

Posted by: STANG KILLA SS Feb 20 2017, 09:04 PM

wheels and tires.

Square setup 4x

18 x 10.5
315/30/18 Rival S







unfortunatly they wouldnt clear my calipers. bought some 1/4" spacers first but those were only enough for the rear. the front needed 12mm spacers. Both hub centric. also picked up some extended shank lugs to grab more threads lost from the spacers.



bingo

Posted by: STANG KILLA SS Feb 20 2017, 09:30 PM

Bumper and headlights removed and parts pile

Splitter/bumper reinforcement
Spindle brake ducts
Tow hook
Race pads
Fog light brake ducts
Race mesh
Blacked out headlights
LED DRLs




picked up towhook from JDP Motorsports. instead of using the supplied press in nuts, i bought and welded some nuts to a piece of steel...


marked hole locations in bumper bar


drilled view from inside bumper bar


stuck steel "handle" with nuts welded to it in bumper bar and tightened. cut off excess after tight. beats taping wrenches to sticks or the pressed in nuts.




cut grill for tow hook

Posted by: BumpaD_Z28 Feb 21 2017, 06:58 AM

WOW ! This car just keeps getting better and better ! The black headlights are going to look NICE

Posted by: trackbird Feb 21 2017, 12:05 PM

I don't know how to top "magically sexy". Maybe I should have saved that one.

You're making me want one of these (not that I didn't already).

Posted by: Shortcutsleeping Feb 22 2017, 05:07 PM

Yes. This.


Costas
cars and such...

Posted by: STANG KILLA SS Feb 26 2017, 09:32 PM

thanks everyone for the kind comments and following the thread

brake cooling time!
I started with Lambert/Quantum Fog light ducts and some race mesh



added a slim aluminum cobb LED DRL light to replace the fogs and add some style. i just wired them to the factory fog light plugs.


ducts and mesh in


lights test




surprisingly bright


bumper/splitter re-enforcement installed


ducts on fog ducts, and grill misc stuff reinstalled


factory under bumper duct inlet, i cut off the tube 1" inside of the wheel well (inside bumper)


and here it is with the fog light ducts connected to the factory wheel well duct with the wheel well pulled back. the silver line is where the wheel well intersects the hard duct.
you can also see the LEDs wired to the fog plug and the factory opening for the brake duct now disconnected.


after 4-5 test fits the bumper is back on finally!

Posted by: STANG KILLA SS Feb 26 2017, 09:49 PM

next was time to install the spindle ducts.
first i had to remove the wheel speed sensor and cut off the bracket.


bracket dremeled off


upgraded the factory padlets to 1 piece hawks. had great luck with these on the camaro on track.


Lambert/Quantum competition spindle ducts installed. kit also came with the peices to fully enclose 360 degrees, but i chose to leave those off. also came with tie rod heat shields. left those off too.


factory plastic wheel well duct connected to the spindle duct. keep in mind the suspension is at full droop here. the two line up pretty close when at ride height.



rotor and caliper reinstalled. pic from the back side. seals against the rotor hub pretty good.



wheel clearance at ride height. TONS o room. at least an inch everywhere. way better than i ever had in the camaro.


finished pics coming soon!

Posted by: STANG KILLA SS Mar 9 2017, 01:18 AM

finally got some finished pics!

Posted by: rocky Mar 9 2017, 11:20 AM

Damn she looks good!

Posted by: trackbird Mar 9 2017, 12:06 PM

That's wicked. Well done!

Posted by: BumpaD_Z28 Mar 9 2017, 12:33 PM

WOW ! Nice work

Those light are super bright ! do you have a link to them ?

Posted by: STANG KILLA SS Mar 9 2017, 02:01 PM

thanks guys!

i deleted the link yesterday, but these appear to be them http://www.ebay.com/itm/2x-20cm-Car-Auot-LED-DRL-Fog-Strip-Daytime-Running-Bright-COB-White-Light-12V-AP-/172464956899?hash=item2827b665e3:g:mBcAAOSwNRdX4CDC&vxp=mtr

Posted by: Steve91T Mar 9 2017, 02:59 PM

So awesome. I can't wait for the track day videos to start showing up!

Posted by: STANG KILLA SS Mar 9 2017, 11:31 PM

assuming the rain holds off my first track day is in 10 days!

Posted by: STANG KILLA SS Mar 24 2017, 11:48 PM

Well i finally got the Z06 to the track at TWS

i took it easy in the morning sessions, putting around in 4th and 5th. this meant coming out of the corners at around 2500-3000 rpm

the lack of feel i noticed on the street, sadly continued over on track. no feedback or feeling, and felt like i was on iRacing Sim. the Rival S's also didnt squeal but i probably wasn't at their limit, so i had no audible warning either. i have the square 10.5 X 18 Z06 wheels with 315 Rivals on.
the light weight steering on the street was different on track. it was much heavier, but still no feedback or car feeling.





even with short shifting at 6k i was hitting 150mph at the end of the front "straight". the camaro did 135. 140 on a perfect lap. it moved around alot at that speed, darting left and right moving half a lane easy and bouncy. not sure it was the alignment, the shocks, or simply the extra speed.




the lack of body roll and weight transfer was very apparent compared to the camaro. proby some of the lack of knowing what the car was doing feeling.









in the morning sessions i was running 2:09s running 4th and 5th. in the afternoon sessions i was running 3rd,4th, 5th and was running 2:05s. the camaro average lap time was 2:02s and my fastest lap times were 1:59s. the vette is 400lbs lighter, an extra 100hp and 315 tires vs 285s on the camaro. i thought even in this first shack down the vette might turn a faster lap but not the case. hopefully the lap times will come down once my confidence in the car goes up. i was noticeably rolling out of the throttle early, and rolling back in late in the videos.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKwsTJEfMqg

Posted by: STANG KILLA SS Mar 24 2017, 11:51 PM

unfortunately on the 3rd afternoon session it all came to an end with loud ticking. i pulled it into the pits and parked it until the next morning. went to tractor supply and bought a come-a-long and got her loaded on the trailer and headed home. by the time i looked down the oil pressure was lower but still good. still in the 30psi range but fluctuating.




heres the vid from the lap that the ticking happened.
at :44 the ticking starts
at 1:15 it gets worse
at 1:39 i get a misfire and finally hear the ticking....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HeuQFm0RPY4

Posted by: Steve91T Mar 25 2017, 01:26 AM

Man I'm sorry. That tick sounded pretty ugly. Hopefully it's just a lifter. Any idea what your water and oil temps were?

So here what I think. I think you were comfy with your Fbody and now you are in a very different car requiring some adjustment. I think you'll learn to feel the car again.

Your hand position was driving me nuts. The over use of shuffle steering was a habit that I didn't even know I had until I started filming myself. And even when I thought I fixed it, I was still doing it. Try to keep 9 and 3 as much as possible.

I also think you have a car that far exceeds your capabilities. I mean no disrespect, it probably exceeds the talent of the majority of the people at track days. I never saw you anywhere near the limit. I think you weren't feeling the car because you were so far from the limit. TWS looks like it has some relatively slow corners with tons of run off. Nothing but grass to hit. Why not start getting on the gas earlier and earlier in those corners and see what happens? Same with carrying more speed into the corners?

Hang in there, get that engine healthy again and get back out there. Maybe next time try to find an instructor who really knows cars similar to yours.

Posted by: CrashTestDummy Mar 25 2017, 02:05 AM

So, WTF are you running at? Great secret on what part of the world you are in.

Posted by: Steve91T Mar 25 2017, 02:16 AM

Say what?

Posted by: STANG KILLA SS Mar 25 2017, 03:16 AM

temps were up. i wanna say 225 water, 265 or 285 oil. but im not for sure. ill be honest i wasnt watching and worried like i was in the camaro.
lol my instructor that passed me from blue group to yellow actually mentioned my hands. it comes from when the camaro kept throwing belts before i got the manual/fixed tensioner. i would go into a corner and loose power steering and have a major pucker moment. so i started clocking my hands to have better leverage for when i lost power steering to keep the car on track. never got out of the habit.

theres no doubt the car far exceeds my talents. taking 6 months off certainly didnt help either. average corner speed at TWS is 70-90mph for the infeild.
the reason i was never comfortable driving in hard was i could never feel if the tires were gripping or sliding. i just cant explain that lack of feedback. it really feels like a video game. so i would go into a corner so slow i knew the tires were gripping, and i would wait so long on exit until the car was already straight and rolling inline to start re applying. and of course the lap times and video show that. its embarrassingly bad/slow driving.

i do plan to try to force myself to push more next time. but id be lieing if i said the the financial difference in the two cars wasnt in the back of my mind.

Posted by: STANG KILLA SS Mar 25 2017, 03:34 AM

also the gearing on the camaro was PERFECT for tws. i was only doing 1 gear change per lap for the "oval" so the entire infield i would do in 4th with my 4.10s. so i could fully concetrate and maximizing braking and cornering. yet still come out of the corners hard and in the powerband.
with the vette i was having to down shift to 3rd several times per lap and i KNOW it was costing me time. cause i was waiting so carefully fully letting the clutch out as not to upset the car.
ive got alot of relearning and new things to learn for sure with the new car.
i wish gears in a Z06 wasnt a $3000-4000 upgrade (you have to put in a base model rear diff to be able to change gear ratios)

Posted by: CrashTestDummy Mar 25 2017, 04:16 PM

One should not work an incredibly-long week, then come home and enjoy the start of the weekend with way too many 'Ritas, then go perusing web forums!!

I kept viewing those on-track pics of that beautiful car thinking 'Where the heck is that place, it looks familiar?', but couldn't place it. I now realize it's TWS.

Posted by: STANG KILLA SS Mar 31 2017, 08:33 PM

Good News!
Tore into the motor starting with the passenger side valve cover and boom, the #1 exhaust rocker bolt was backed out!


appears to be no other collateral damage other than where the rocker hit the valve cover.


ended up taking out all 16 rocker bolts and locktighting them and re-torqueing to 22 ft lbs.

Posted by: BumpaD_Z28 Mar 31 2017, 11:10 PM

AWESOME !!!

Posted by: rocky Mar 31 2017, 11:15 PM

Sounds like you lucked out. I am assuming the threads on the bolts and holes are in good shape. I always Loctite low torque hardware.

Posted by: ar52kortlang Apr 1 2017, 01:22 AM

Great news

Posted by: STANG KILLA SS Apr 12 2017, 01:29 AM

Took the Z out to a NCCC autocross in Waco at Baylor stadium.


unfortunatly on the first run my exhaust some how popped off both sides of the X pipe at the first set of cones. limped back to the pits and got it fixed missing the first and second runs.


get in line and started run #3, boom exhaust pops off again at gate 3. this time only one side. i move the clamps over the lip and get them to clamp down tight this time.


Finally get some runs in and in the afternoon post my fastest of the day a 47.8
the 1st and 2nd place points leaders were there running low 46s so i was happy. most of the feild was running low 50s. got to really push myself and the car for the first time. getting more comfortable with it. went over the limit a few times

my fastest run
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2L-8cBwW84

Posted by: CrashTestDummy Apr 12 2017, 02:15 AM

Nice! Our car has shucked it's exhaust a couple of times. Once at the Nationals. Corner workers brought the muffler to us, still hot. Luckily, that was before all this stupid sound crap.

That old BP Corvette looks familiar. I wonder if it is one we used to see in the '80's when BP was a class? IIRC, it was silver then.

Posted by: STANG KILLA SS Apr 12 2017, 02:33 AM

https://scontent-dft4-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t31.0-8/17545531_1385628298156658_1388452605341514307_o.jpg?oh=623ce1e0260645a4553ee0fc4133f9a6&oe=5951478C

Posted by: CrashTestDummy Apr 12 2017, 12:35 PM

Beautiful car. Probably not the same one, but the one I knew was owned by a Houstonian who was a NCCC member. It was _many_ years ago, though.

Posted by: STANG KILLA SS Apr 14 2017, 10:15 PM

even with the valves open on the stock NPP exhaust, the car wasnt loud enough for me.

i picked up some 3" Dynomax mini race bullets and turndowns
getting the car high enough in the driveway to get the stock exhaust out was quiet tricky. passenger side was even harder than drivers side.


plan was to also shave a TON of weight.



bullets on


turn downs (for what!)


now im used to a loud car, my SS was usually always the loudest car at the track. running a single 12" Dynomax bullet dumping under the rear seats.
but this was TOO loud even for me. it sounded like 7 nascars and 2 prostocks all fireing up at the same time! theres no way i could ever drive anywhere without being immediately pulled over.

the camera could NOT pick up how loud this thing was. shaking the ground. my wife had ear plugs in filming this
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3FseXZrjo8

Posted by: Steve91T Apr 15 2017, 12:15 AM

Oh c'mon! You should have at least ripped down the street just once!

Posted by: STANG KILLA SS Apr 15 2017, 03:18 AM

haha yeah i should have. but oil was stone cold.

Posted by: STANG KILLA SS Apr 16 2017, 07:43 PM

well i pulled a last minute thrash session and got the stock exhaust put back on the night before and headed back to TWS last weekend.



and after reading a thread on c6 z06 aero lift, i also removed the front air damn under the radiator/nose. it seems to help. wasnt near as dancy and it was the first time.

the auto cross really helped me and i was able to push much harder this time. was comfortable enough to start throttle steering on exits again like i did in the camaro.
was pushing hard enough id have to do a cool down lap for the water and oil temps after 4 or so straight hot laps. going to need to address that.

i found myself doing more of a stop, pivot, and squirt style driving in the Z06 than i did in the camaro, camaro i did more of a flowing miata style driving. but for some reason this car makes me slam on the brakes, pivot, and then gun it. not sure why, but i noticed it.

was the first time ive ever seen the debris flag for low flying buzzards crossing the paths of the cars on the back stretch. that was a weird one.

found out the Z burn 5 gallons of gas for every 20 minute session.

heres some footage compilation of some of the laps.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-ubEN3KlBQ

Lap time update!
backstory: i use race chrono app for my lap timing. worked great in the camaro (glass t-tops).
well i noticed since using it in the Z06 its been acting weird, it will only records 1 to 3 laps per 10 lap session and the lap times were much slower than i had hoped for 2:04 to 2:09 and very random. (1:59 was fastest in camaro)
well during the video editing i mark the time for the start of each lap for each view.
well i noticed one of the lap markers was exactly 2 minutes apart. and then after that the next two were 1:59s! matching the fastest of the camaro!
well when i got to the 5th gopro footage and i had two laps that were 1:57!!! i checked them twice on both cameras that were rolling and i got 1:57 each time for both laps.
i couldnt figure out why i felt like i was hauling and the lap times were so slow. i don't know if the roof is carbon fiber like the fenders and not allowing good GPS signal or what. but a huge relief that the new car has already paid off in lap times! i couldnt figure out what i was doing wrong. stupid technology.



bad news is on sunday on the last session before lunch i got an engine light on the dash, and the car started to run rough, getting progressively worse. so i loaded it up and brought it home.

Posted by: Mojave Apr 17 2017, 10:37 PM

Oh, you were at the PDS event @ TWS in blue group. I was in the red CRX that was painfully slow down the straights. Your car sounded really good, even inside my car haha.

Posted by: STANG KILLA SS Apr 18 2017, 03:14 AM

sweet! come find me next time, i always pit at the front gate.
yeah i was in yellow group with the camaro, but asked if i could step down to blue with the new car until i get up to speed with it.
but to be honest im thinking about staying there. yellow group always has to run with blue or white, so its always a packed track.
you be there may 6th weekend?

Posted by: Mojave Apr 18 2017, 04:30 AM

I hadn't run with PDS in a while, and the new schedule is funky. I remember every run group getting their own time on track back in the day, but it seems like yellow and white get screwed and are always sharing. I saw you parked next to the gate, I just didn't realize it was you haha. I'm not sure about May 6th, I burned up my old auto-x tires at the last event, and I'm not sure I'm ready to cook my current RE-71's and I don't have the cash to buy another set.

Did you figure out what was wrong with the Vette?

Posted by: STANG KILLA SS Apr 18 2017, 01:21 PM

yeah only good thing about there PDS is you get 8 sessions per day instead of everybody elses 4.
but yeah yellow and white never get clear track.

code ended up being a 02 sensor heater code. got it replaced, but havent got to drive it yet to see if it fixed it.

Posted by: STANG KILLA SS Apr 25 2017, 12:55 AM

well in an effort lower my oil and water temp, and to reduce the high pressure packing under the hood causing my front end aero lift at high speeds on the track, i picked up a 5th gen camaro SS heat extractor vent (part #22828242)


started by checking clearances with some string. there was none. but the strings were 1/2" below the hood line, and plus i forgot the hood has a bulge in the middle.



started by tracing the vent onto a piece of paper, then offsetting in .6" with another line for the actual hole



marking front to back


marking side to side center


pattern cut out and taped into place. 6.5" from back of hood to the start of the opening (just inside under hood structure brace)


traced with sharpie


BUTT PUCKER!!!!!!!! took one deep breath and drilled four 1/2" holes.
tape to protect paint


took my jig saw and cut it out. worked perfect. super clean cuts.


under side. bent up some 1/2" x 1/8" aluminum and bolted it in


painted the aluminum brackets black, and cut out the factory hood insulation for a factory look.

Posted by: STANG KILLA SS Apr 25 2017, 12:55 AM

finished!











took it out for test drive on the street and after warmed up you could see a 6"-8" heat wave shooting out of the vents at stop lights. after sitting for a few hours back at home, the hood was stone cold, and you could still feel heat coming out of the vents.
anxious to get back to the track to see if its more front end planted, and if my temps lower

Posted by: ar52kortlang Apr 25 2017, 01:25 AM

Nice....looks good

Posted by: CrashTestDummy Apr 25 2017, 02:18 AM

Hmm, you sure you won't have all that hot air from the engine/radiator blowing over the intake before it's gone forever?

I do agree, though, it looks nice. I was tempted to install one of those on our 3rd Gen, but am waiting to see if simply opening the hood between rounds will help as opposed to exposing the engine compartment to the elements.

I would have removed the hood insulation, too. That's road-hugging weight you really don't need, and it's just keeping the heat in.

Posted by: mikedamageinc Apr 25 2017, 01:23 PM

Looks good! Personally I would have picked up an extra hood to cut up but I guess C6s aren't just sitting in junkyards!

Curious about what CTD said about hot air going past the intake, still has to be better than just sitting there but maybe vents towards the sides would be better?

Posted by: CrashTestDummy Apr 25 2017, 01:38 PM

I know other LS* engines actually have a plastic 'faux intake' looking cover on them, perhaps the C7 does too, so there is some protection there, but I'd think the heat would still be there. But if the extractor is pulling heat out, the engine compartment may just be a whole lot cooler to begin with.

This needs instrumentation!!

Posted by: Steve91T Apr 25 2017, 02:26 PM

I think anytime you let hot air out and bring fresh air in, you're doing good.

Clean install!

Posted by: mikedamageinc Apr 25 2017, 03:20 PM

Yes!! We need someone to put heat sensors everywhere under the hood and do some extensive before after testing!

I've been reading about the LS engine covers and the general concensus is that they hold heat. Not sure if it is any significant amount but looking at the early LS vette style, they would hold the most heat over the fuel rails which would not be desirable.

Posted by: CrashTestDummy Apr 25 2017, 04:36 PM

Well the fuel is cycled through there pretty quickly, and pre-warming the fuel before it hits the intake port might be a planned thing. As might the whole insulation capability of the cover. I think the cover also quiets a lot of injector noise that some may be concerned about.

Posted by: STANG KILLA SS May 9 2017, 11:37 PM

well before buying it, i had heard alot that the C6 seats were crap, and after doing some track time in them they were right.
ive been eyeing some cheap race seats on ebay for a few months, i wanted fixed position fiberglass seats. but sadly when i was finally ready to buy the ones i wanted(NRG) were sold out everywhere.
but these "Invictus" seats poped up that hadnt shown up in any of my previous searches. the shoulder area was a little narrower than i would have preferred. these also came with the side mounts which i wanted. most of the side mounts i saw sold separately were in the $125+ range per seat
i liked what i saw and the dimensions fit so i offered them $175 per seat and they immediately accepted.
when they came in i was happy with the quality.


i took some measurements and drew up a design in CAD for the mounting rails. i kept them low as possible as id read helmet/roof room was an issue.


picked up some 2" X 1/8" steel and after two evenings had the rails made.


kept the rails super low. the rail and bolt head actually touch the carpet. mounted with grade 8s.


painted


mounted


i was out of time and money before the next track weekend, so didnt go to harness's yet. picked up these seatbelt extenders to use as buckles to bolt to the cars floor.


unfortunatly when i tried to bend the hardened steel male buckle it snapped when i went past 35-40 degrees. so i welded them up at about 50-55 degrees to clear the seat rails. bolted them to the floor and worked perfect!


in! after these pics i unbolted the shoulder harness and ran it threw the upper harness hole. i didnt like not feeling the strap on my shoulder.




best news is i got no dash lights or chimes with the stock buckles and electrical connections no longer existing. i was worried about that. i do have an airbag light from the missing/unpluged seat airbags.
also i have a good 1-2" of helmet clearance with the roof.

Weights:
Stock driver seat with air bag, motor, and rails : 49lbs
stock passenger seat with airbag and rails : 39 lbs
Invictus seat with homemade rails : 22 lbs
total weight savings : 44 lbs

Posted by: Blainefab May 10 2017, 01:24 AM

That flat bar will just bend if pushed on, weld some gussets all along the sides of the rails, from front to rear mounting studs.

Add washers on the oval holes.

Toss the welded buckles - high carbon steel is brittle - that's why it snapped when you bent it. The weld is brittle too, they will break in the HAZ.

Posted by: CrashTestDummy May 10 2017, 02:10 AM

And route the belts THROUGH the belt slots. Where they are can be damaging to you in an accident.

Posted by: trackbird May 10 2017, 11:00 AM

Alan beat me to pretty much all of that.

Those seats are going to wobble around on those brackets. And the welded buckles are junk. I see a little porosity on one end and the edge isn't filled up. And the weld has that grey color you get when you weld high carbon steel (that tells me the weld is very brittle). Toss those, they will get you hurt. Put the stock seats in for the weekend and finish this part once you've refilled the fun money account and you have more time.

Posted by: 79T/A May 13 2017, 10:12 PM

I don't understand the cheap China seats in such an expensive, fast car. You're going to get yourself hurt doing stuff like that.

Posted by: STANG KILLA SS May 15 2017, 11:37 PM

headed back to the track last weekend and got to try the latest round of mods. hood vent and seats.

hood vent:
the vent did work and helped a bit with cooling but not a huge difference. at when stopped you can defiantly see the heat pouring out of it. it took a tad longer to get to the uncomfortable water/oil temps. and allowed me to run at the top of that range a bit longer, but im guessing no more than a 5-10 degree difference in MAX temps before i did a cool down lap. conditions were identical at 85 ambient before and after. not sure if the cooling effects would be more pronounced on a 100* day. i do fell like it helped with the front end aero lift though. between the hood vent, and removing the air dam i really didnt feel the dancing i was getting before from the front end at top speed.

seats:
seats and mounts did great. super solid. the lower portion of the seat really held me in place very well. but as i suspected the narrower (than most race seats) shoulder width didnt hold my upper body as good as i would have liked in hard cornering. better than stock, but i still had to hang on pretty good, and my shoulders were sore as hell from it.

the place was more packed than id ever seen it. with lots of new cars. including this Superlite SL-C. must have been a new car shake down because he was off pace all weekend. i thought the nitto Envos were an odd choice for such a high end car. LS3 powered.









this guy also showed up. i think he was lost


Lap times:
with my previous issues with the lap timer, i moved my phone to a suction mount in the windshield. this seemed to solve the issues, i was getting consistent lap times/gps signal.
Saturday it said i was running fastest of 1:57s, and by sunday my tires were gone, this was there 4th and final weekend. but it said sunday i was running bests of 1:58s. i was really have to tip toe exits sunday. felt like it would spin at any time applying power.
however when i came home to look threw all the gopro footage i was only seeing bests of 1:59s. i think it may be time for an external gps sensor.
however there was one lap showing a 4 second difference in the start/finish times on the gopro so i ran it threw my editing program and did frame by frame start and finish and it said i ran a 1:56!

i couldnt believe it. thats 4 seconds faster than my best ever in the camaro.
i don't have it confirmed by gps timer, but at this point i have more faith in the footage than the timer. sadly the timer wasnt running during this session.

this is that lap.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afKO9xDhMoE

and for the first time ever the vette lasted the entire weekend without breaking anything! super stoked about that. shes finally getting there. had a blast.

1 weekend of fun = 3 hours of rubber scrubbing....

Posted by: CrashTestDummy May 16 2017, 12:31 PM

A friend with a '15 1LE kept having troubles getting his external GPS sensor to get a signal when velcroed to the dash of the car. He finally broke down and built a suction-cup mount for the thing, and now mounts it on the roof of the car. He says he's had zero issues since with a GPS signal, and the blue-tooth sensor has had zero issues connecting to his tablet he runs Solo Storm on. He's even run the car at standing mile competitions, do no issues with the sensor disappearing in the wind.

Just a thought.

Posted by: STANG KILLA SS May 16 2017, 01:27 PM

thanks, ill look into that.
there was another C6Z i met and he was running Harrys lap timer with external gps on dash. quite a bit forward.
i had also thought about suction cupping to the underside of the rear hatch glass in the middle.

Posted by: CrashTestDummy May 16 2017, 01:37 PM

That might work, too. The defroster grill may be an issue, though.

Inside would definitely be better than external though. I do believe that the GPS sensors need 'line of sight' and not 'space for signal', so even inside the hatch, right on the back glass, could still be an issue.

Posted by: STANG KILLA SS Jun 8 2017, 11:07 PM

was doing some research on high end coolant, and found out water is the best coolant there is. (i was embarrassed i had no clue about this) so i flushed the radiator 3-4 times to get all the orange Dex-cool out. i also fell for the commercial for the "as seen on tv" hyper lube/coolant additive. it was only $7 so i figured why not.


i also removed the baffle under the bumper on the Z to the radiator seen here


wanted to add some bottom breathing like an Fbody, so i picked up some aluminum sheet and got to cutting and bending. sadly i could only find .025" sheet locally. wasnt sure if it was gonna help or hurt but i was gonna find out. u can just see the rad and oil cooler


sadly as suspected the .025" sheet aluminum stood no chance against 150mph winds. just bent back.

the good news is the radiator flush/water did some good. i saw 10-30* cooler temps depending on time of day, and how hard i pushed. ambient temps were even 5* hotter.

Took everyones advice and ran the belts (lap and shoulder) threw the seat holes. while i had them out i took the buckles to a upholstery shop and had them sewed together so there was no chance of them slipping/sliding.


picked up a new set of tires, which meant cleaning out the rubber inside the rims


headed to the track last weekend.
Saturday after lunch the brakes and tires were cooled off, i pushed hard immediately and ran twin 1:56s on my first two outlaps!


these are those laps. i also added an external microphone to the gopro right above the license plate.
on the second lap i ran a 1:56.3. i really think im capable of a 1:55.x on that lap i got in too deep into T10 and slide the front tires and had to wait to recover, and also had to delay getting on power for the front stretch to get around a lemons car.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GmuiUUiC5CE

saturday night we got major storms there. couldnt get into the track until nearly 11am sunday. tunnel had almost 3' of water in it.




sunday afternoon i had a bird fly in front of me in turn 10. couldnt see if he came out or not once i passed. well on the next lap i saw his body laying there on track. really bummed me out and has been bothering me since.

Posted by: CrashTestDummy Jun 9 2017, 04:02 AM

Yep. Back in about 1964, or so, my Dad and I were in his '41 Studebaker, heading back from Lompoc. I saw a bird fly up in front of us, and then >whack< as it looked like it hit the roof of the car right above the windshield. I was devastated. I still think about that bird. I can feel your pain.

Posted by: STANG KILLA SS Jun 13 2017, 11:55 PM

also while i was there, was offered a ride in a Radical SR3!


about 1300 lbs and 200 hp. (hyabusa motor)
unfortunately i didnt hit the button on the gopro hard enough so it never recorded. i did get my helmet cam footage though.

he did mention he would have to get used to my weight, adding 200 lbs to a only 1300 lb car is a huge percentage so i believe him.
there was no warm up or cool down, he just went straight to business.

no words or video can describe this damn thing. every thing i know about cars and physics went right out the window. insanely capable was an understatement. it must make as much downforce as it weighs because there were no laws of physics, centrifical force, momentum, or gravity in that damn thing. he could be fully side loaded cornering so hard, and at any time slam on the brakes or swerve in tigher and it would just stick.
Corners where im slaming on the brakes, turning in, coasting to apex, and gently apply throttle on apex, he was doing foot to the floor and just steering!
I now know why he wears a carbon fiber helmet, head restraints, and a full containment sent. i litterally could not hold my head up it corners SO damn hard, i had to hold onto my helmet and head the entire run with my arm. by the last two laps my neck was hurting pretty damn bad, but i smiled right threw it.

as any good driver the first thing i noticed he used every last inch of the track everywhere no matter what the consequences were. at the end of the straight i run 150mph, with all that down force he was toping out at 120mph. but that didnt matter he did most of the infeild damn near flat out. on a perfect lap i run 1:56, on a perfect lap he runs 1:39s! 17 seconds faster despite the 30 mph handicap on the straight.

i just cant discribe it, i didnt know that was physically possible by a machine.

heres the vid. in the last two laps(9 minute mark) i could feel he was pushing harder, and you can see us come up on two C5s and see the grip/performance difference. just insane.
https://youtu.be/_jJQ7McK3Sk

Posted by: mitchntx Jun 15 2017, 02:08 PM

Been there, done that ...

https://youtu.be/j2KbH9EqAVA

So we improvised a bit ....

Posted by: STANG KILLA SS Jun 16 2017, 01:56 AM

haha nice!

Posted by: trackbird Jun 16 2017, 11:20 AM

I've had bad luck with birds.

When I was 16, I was learning to drive with Dad in his Datsun 510 (4 speed manual) and I hit one on the freeway at 65 mph. We heard it hit the ground after I hit it (no AC, had the windows down).

When I was 17-18, I had a 1987 Escort EXP. A bird hit the Ford emblem right at the front of the hood and went "straight up". I was doing 75-ish when I hit that one.

About age 23, I was in my '89 Formula Firebird. A bird swooped down behind a tractor trailer (I was in the other lane) and it hit my windshield in front of the passenger seat. It didn't break the windshield, though I hit it at about 80 or so.

Driving my 2002 Camaro on a back road one day, the birds were in the middle of the street eating something. As I got close, all of them took off except one. I kept waiting and thinking it would fly...it never did. As I looked in the mirror, there were just feathers all over.

One day doing an oil change on the 2006 Mazdaspeed 6 that I had, I found a dead bird in the lower scoop area up against the radiator (the car had a couple rectangle openings at the bottom of the radiator opening, a bird was ingested there). It was also dead.

I have no idea why I've hit so many birds. It's been quite a few years since the last one. Heck, I've only hit one deer and all of those birds. That seems really odd.

Posted by: 79T/A Jun 16 2017, 03:58 PM

Birds are no problem, ever see what happens when a deer runs out on track? Vaporized. A lot of our tracks on the east coast have deer run out, especially Summit Point.

Posted by: CrashTestDummy Jun 16 2017, 07:18 PM

My Dad hit a seagull in a C-47! He was in the left seat, and the co-pilot got up to to relieve himself, or get more coffee, or something. The bird came through the right windshield and went >POOF!< against the back of the co-pilot's seat. Good thing he had to leave the 'pit for a moment!

So, yeah, my Dad has had bad luck with birds in moving vehicles, too. Luckily, that didn't rub off on me.

Posted by: STANG KILLA SS Jul 19 2017, 12:19 AM

my stock exhaust/mufflers broke an internal weld on the drivers side as was rattleing and vibrating like crazy. found a used B&B bullet exhaust on the forums and picked it up and installed it. the muffler is actually the tiny bullet at the top of the hump, the large canister is just a hollow resonator to eliminate the high pitches from the exhaust note.




also picked up a Dewitts radiator, twice as thick. has built in trans cooler like factory, but opted not to get the built in oil cooler after talking with other racers. to keep it seperate air to oil cooler.




stock rad removed, last pic i took


also remade my under bumper rad scoop, this time out of .06 aluminum.
made a redneck sheetmetal brake by bolting it to my bench with some angle alum.

Posted by: STANG KILLA SS Jul 19 2017, 12:20 AM

unfortunately after the rad install and refilling the system, ironically the car over heated and we found out why.
melted center plug on the fan controller, a common problem on these cars, and had no airflow threw the new rad.


so i removed the stock plug, and not wanting it to keep happening i installed individual spade connectors for the 3 wires.

new spades and extensions on the fan controller side. yes thats dual 12G speaker wire


connected with fan motor side and heat shrinked


that fixed that and fans fired right up. still need to get the fan tune turned down though.

then i had a code after the rad/exhaust install and had also lost reverse gear somehow. p0449 "Evap Emissions control vent valve/solenoid circuit" which happens to be right near the exhaust in the back. spent two days under the car only to find one nicked wire, not cut, but insulation nicked. 3rd day i googled it. turns out the #13 fuse controls both the "evap vent valve solenoid" AND the reverse lock out. you guessed it, was blown when i nicked that wire putting in the exhaust. frustrating couple days, but an easy fix in the end remedying both.


after ignoring everyone telling me my fog light brake ducts wouldnt get cooling because the air is flowing over that area, not into it because its so far around the corner of the nose. well after several track days, i think they were right i wasnt happy with the cooling. so i made some scoops.








im sorta proud of them but watch your shins!

Posted by: CrashTestDummy Jul 19 2017, 02:19 AM

Scratcher 2!!

Posted by: STANG KILLA SS Jul 25 2017, 07:05 PM

Went back to the track last weekend.

Saturday was a bust. had a bad valve stem/TPMS sensor. cost me most of the day, several trips back and forth from track to discount tire, before finally getting it fixed. Also snapped a wheel stud in the process. by this time the rains from the Hurricane hit and flooded the track.
barely got out of the tunnel with the jeep. water was up to the bumper. ripped off the skid plate.


Sunday all was good!
Radiator
New radiator was doing some good. initial testing was showing about a 20* drop in temps, as a side bonus, with the motor being cooler, the oil temps were 10* cooler too. I didnt pay as much attention in the afternoon when temps rose, but i was definatly able to push harder longer, and recovery was quick. New spade connectors on the fan wires worked flawlessly.

Exhaust
New exhaust sounded great. had several people come up to me and comment on it as well. but its almost too loud. well its not so much the decibles as it is the frequency. it gave a weird feeling in your ear, like a vibration or pressure. with the helmet on it was just barely tolerable with the helmet off it was quite uncomfortable. by the end of the day, even with helmet on, my ears werent happy, they were swolen and hurting. alot of pressure inside my ear drum and couldnt hear shit, but a constant hum.

Brake Ducts
got lots of comments on these. but they worked well. definatly were cooling better. never had an issue. however im still not happy with initial bite and pedal feel. different pads and stainless lines are in the future i think.

Sunday after lunch had one of the most fun sessions ever.
4 of GMs baddest bitches, and 4 even drivers.
C6 Z07 Carbon on Michelin Sport Cup 2s
Z28 on NT01s
C7 Z06 on Pirelli Slicks
C6 Z06 on Rival S's (camera car, me)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1OXBWvbNsk

Posted by: STANG KILLA SS Aug 22 2017, 03:32 PM

i don't have a torque wrench so i just make my lugs as tight as i can get them with my 18" 1/2" drive. obviously waaaaay too much. i started snaping studs.
sadly on the back of the vette you cant get the studs out because the parking brake and spindle upright are in the way. you have to remove the wheel hub.


new ARP studs #100-7708


also the car came with vinyl tinted taillights. they were pretty dangerous, way to dark and couldnt see any light. instead of paying $250 for LED eagle eye taillights, i decided to make my own for $10.
peeled off the tinted vinyl, then ordered some high gloss black vinyl on ebay. measured the tail lights and offset the circle 1/2" and cut out the black to let the outer ring be the stock transperant red plastic.





Viola! crappy cell phone pic



Headed of to the NCCC autocross in waco and Baylor Stadium




there were alot more serious racers at this one.
had my pressures too low at 32 at first. car was sliding and squelling pretty bad. got them back up to 34 range and was much better.
was insanely hot. heat advisory 102* with no wind.
I was running out of gear at the end of the 3rd parking lot, had to lift a bit early there.
my exhaust poped off again. put it back on twice. then gave up. once i got home i slotted the end of the pipes so the clamps could compress the tube and bite into the other tube on the slip joints.

also got code P0050. 02 sensor heater circuit. luckily i bought this little OBD2 reader i keep in my console for $25 bucks. best tool ever to instantly know whats wrong with the car when away from home. lots of people had good luck with it. i use the free "torque" app to access it and get live data from the car.



my best run
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aeo20QHPe24

Posted by: trackbird Aug 22 2017, 04:46 PM

They aren't the most amazing wrenches, but they work (and you're not too pissed if someone walks off with it at the track):

http://www.sears.com/craftsman-micro-clicker-torque-wrench-1-2inch-drive/p-00931425000P?plpSellerId=Sears&prdNo=2&blockNo=2&blockType=G2

You have $35-45k in a car, buy the $50 tool. Just order one and get it on the way. I actually just bought one of those for my father. I always had torque wrenches, but he doesn't. And while he doesn't work on cars much these days, he needed one for brakes the other day and I'm going to mail him one and a few other things he needs.

You may have lucked out that those overstressed lug nuts didn't fail on track and cause a wheel to come off. That will be the best $50 insurance policy you'll ever buy.

Posted by: CrashTestDummy Aug 23 2017, 02:29 AM

Indeed. Torque wrenches aren't that expensive. Get one!! They're a safety item!

That said, when, and where do you get hem checked for accuracy? Mine's a few decades old. While it's always been stored indoors, and set at zero, I do wonder.

Posted by: BumpaD_Z28 Aug 23 2017, 05:39 AM

We have a local calibration lab do ours here at work ... BUT it was cheaper for me to buy a new 1/2" wrench this winter than to have my old one re calibrated

I have heard some of the Snap on tool truck do it / have a "checker"

Posted by: CrashTestDummy Aug 23 2017, 12:10 PM

Heh, yeah, that was kind of what I thought. I'd also heard that some of the Snap-On/Mac/Cromwell tool trucks have testers, but I rarely see those things, unless they're blasting down the street in front of my house.

Posted by: Smitty2919 Aug 23 2017, 03:48 PM

Put a sign on the front lawn that says "Mr Snap on truck man I need calibration...please stop here." lol

Posted by: CrashTestDummy Aug 23 2017, 05:52 PM

I might have to try that. The 'Free to a good home.' sign always works when we roll stuff we no longer want down to the end of the driveway.

Maybe I can also see if he has a replacement battery for my 14V impact driver that no longer holds a charge.

Posted by: SS2win Aug 23 2017, 09:18 PM

I have been out of the scene for a number of years and now that I'm back I have really enjoyed reading this thread! I can't believe after all this you don't have a torque wrench. LOfnL! Go get two. a 3/8" for the small stuff and a 1/2" for the big stuff like lug nuts, head bolts, mains, etc. It's the most important tool in the box IMHO! Good luck!

Posted by: rocky Aug 24 2017, 10:10 AM

Depending on how old your impact is you may have to buy an adapter if it is still available. They change the battery designs way to fast in my opinion. Hopefully this new design that is out stays for a while. They are really pushing the cordless tools here

Posted by: trackbird Aug 24 2017, 11:00 AM

A friend took my 1995 vintage Williams (A Snap On company) torque wrench in to be checked about 6 years ago and it was still spot on. I have a MAC from about the same time, but I rarely use it. I also have a Williams dial type (with the needle) that goes to 175 ft lbs. It's rated to be within 2% through the full scale (some microtorque wrenches are +2%/-6% accuracy). I often clip the output of one to the other and see if they both agree. If so, I assume the wrench is likely fine. If I have two wrenches go out of calibration the same direction by the same amount....I'll buy a lottery ticket.


And with that said, how did you put the heads back on without a torque wrench?

We're just giving you crap (because that's what happens here). I'm glad it was a day in the garage and not a trip into a tire wall.

Posted by: CrashTestDummy Aug 24 2017, 07:43 PM

To continue this thread hijack, only because it's good info, I think, how do you do that? I do have a couple of click-type torque wrenches. I also have a nice, old, bar-type inch-pound wrench. I'm pretty sure that one doesn't need calibration.

And head bolts are torque to yield, so you torque them down with a big wrench until you can't turn it any more, then you stick a piece of pipe on the end and turn it 90 more degrees.

Posted by: trackbird Aug 24 2017, 08:42 PM

http://snaponindustrialbrands.com/cat-20-1-82/dial-torque-wrenches-single-scale.htm

I have a 175 ft lb wrench similar to what's shown there. I just couple the ends together. I have an adapter from a 3/8" distributor wrench that allows you to snap a couple 1/2" to 3/8" step down adapters together (nose to nose). Or, you can take a tig welder and weld a pair of sockets together and plug a wrench into each end. Then set the adjustable wrench to 50, 75, 100 ft lbs, etc...and see what the dial shows when it clicks (the dial on mine has a "memory" needle, so I can just flip it over and look when I'm done).



Uh, they don't work that way. The last LS2 I assembled, you torqued them to a starting torque (Chrysler 2.2 liter engines also work the same way as did torque to yield bolts on Ford Escorts) and then a set number of degrees using a torque angle gauge.

Posted by: Steve91T Aug 24 2017, 11:20 PM

Haha. That was funny.

Actually if he uses TTY bolts you don't use a torque wrench, right? Maybe you do torque to a certain torque the make marks on the head bolt and just use angles from there...I think.

All I know is when I was researching head bolts for the LS1, the TTY didn't look like fun. So I got the ARP bolts. Much easier with two or three passes with a torque wrench.

Posted by: trackbird Aug 25 2017, 01:23 AM

22 ft lbs and then 90 degrees and then 70 more degrees (that's what I'm finding for the torque specs for the LS7 heads). That's for the larger bolts (M11), The M8 seem to only torque to 22 ft lbs.

http://paceperformance.com/files/pdf/ls7-torque-specs.pdf

Posted by: CrashTestDummy Aug 25 2017, 03:14 AM

Yeah, TTY bolts are right up there with Torx head bolts. The fscking GM Engineer that thought those ideas up really needs several swift kicks to the nards.

Bolts you use once. Gimme a break!!

Posted by: STANG KILLA SS Aug 30 2017, 08:25 PM

all of the technical and motor stuff i do at a buddies house (the lift you see it on) hes a ASE master mech for a day job and has every snap on made.

all the bolt on stuff i do at home.

Posted by: STANG KILLA SS Aug 30 2017, 08:27 PM

thats the numbers i remember. his digital snap on torque wrench also keeps track of angle, so you go to the 22ft lbs, then plug in the angle, and go again until it beeps again (reaches set angle)

Posted by: STANG KILLA SS Aug 30 2017, 08:28 PM

great news, results from the autocross were just posted!
i won 2nd in class!
unfortunatly my cam bumped me WAY up in the classes (internal motor work)

but im super stoked with my results, i was keeping pace with the cars on slicks

Posted by: STANG KILLA SS Sep 4 2017, 09:49 PM

Well the day has come. They have closed TWS
they had one last open track day on August 20th. i didnt want to go with the 101 temps, but knew i had to go the final time.

showed up at 7am for the drivers meeting. they warned us grip was way down and no one would be setting there new personal bests. and they were right. plus my tires were on the last weekend so i was really down on grip. i could DEFINITELY tell. i did flip the tires for this event to at least have fresh shoulders, but it didnt help.



i was watching some lap record videos on YT and have also noticed i lost a bit of time taking my old camaro line into T1. so i tried the low/faster line on the this last event. didnt go so well. with so little grip, practice time, and balls to pull it off right, it didnt save me any time. but i stuck to it for most of the 6 sessions.

this beautiful NSX was there. sadly just a poser, never moved, but looked amazing. perfect condition car.


temps were 99-101 all day. i was having to do alot of cool down laps. especially in the afternoon.

a ZL1 1LE also showed up! i didnt think these things were even on the street yet. and for sure didnt think id ever see one in person. he was still working on his 500 break in miles.

Posted by: STANG KILLA SS Sep 4 2017, 09:49 PM

cooling off between rounds


some clips from my laps. not the best with the lack of grip, but i was glad to be out there one last time

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hz492G0y0zA

and the end of the day, they said the corner marshals were melting. so they did two back to back 45 minute sessions, i did them both. well near the end of the second one coming into 3 the car just didnt slow, luckily there is run off there and i was able to dive into there safely. smoke started pouring out of the right front. i decided to back up and stay there as not to ruin everyone elses run with a red flag on the final session ever. you can see this at the end of the vid.

got home and i guess my hawks didnt like all that heat on the last two back to back sessions in the 101* heat. they were toast down to the backing plates. rotors were completely heat cracked from every hole too.





not the way i wanted to end it, but fitting.
im gonna really miss that place, its been my entire life for the last 2 and a half years.....

Posted by: CrashTestDummy Sep 4 2017, 11:00 PM

Sad day, indeed! I have fond memories of AggieCross events at TWS! Several times, a bunch of Trans Am Club members traveled up there to watch some NASCAR events, and a couple of times, got to be on the parade lap!

Hmm, Red ZL1. Is that Clifford?!? I have a friend and fellow autocrosser who just bought one of those. He used to own Snoopy!

It's a really amazing car.

Posted by: STANG KILLA SS Oct 29 2017, 10:24 PM

well ive been taking some time off after TWS closed permanatly to store Hurricane Harvey flood cars


but starting to tinker with the car again. decided to install a quick release race wheel to help aid entry and exit with the fixed seats.

pulled off the airbag first by inserting two allen wrenches in the two holes on the side of the wheel. push in to move the spring pins/rods and it pops right off. amazing how little was holding it in.


couple people said you could just wiggle the wheel off, that was bull. so i bought this little cheap puller and ground it down to fit into the two tiny holes in the pot metal wheel center. it broke imidiatly.


after removing 3 screws for the horn buttons, i realized i could get the sheetmetal center out of the way, and get a real 2/3 jaw puller on it.


worked great and came right off.


picked up NRG 2.5 quick release and hub for the C6 splines.


both the factory spline and NRG stuff was well marked for up/alignment.
hub on


unfortunatly there wasnt enough of a cavity in the hub for the large plug and two air bag plugs. since i like to make everything reversable i stoped and ordered a 1" spacer (1/2" would have worked) to create a larger void for the plugs to stay.

Posted by: STANG KILLA SS Oct 29 2017, 10:24 PM

made this adapter with solid wire pins to spade connectors, to adapt the factory plug to the spades on all the NRG hubs


stuck it into the factory connector, note the wire on either side of the connector are different colors! do not match. so you have to really trace them out to make sure your pluging into the right pins.


found a cheap Chinese knock off of a Momo wheel on ebay.
at this point i stoped taking pics. ran into a snag with the wheel/horn button, that kept grounding itself to the hub and either not fitting or later setting the horn off driving me and my neighbors crazy. finally got that sorted 45 minutes later and rest was a breeze.








i took some before and after measurements
stock wheel: 19" from wheel to seat (plus width of tape measure)
"Momo" with NRG hubs, PLUS 1" spacer: 18.25" (plus width of tape measure)