ITGuy11's Build thread: From OEM to BADASS [COTW 11/19/12]
 

Since I have had the car for over two years now, I figured that I should actually create one of these build threads to document everything that I have done to the car so far. I am proud to say, that I have turned every bolt on this car myself.

A brief background: My first Camaro was a used 1995 LT1 Z28 with full bolt-ons, cam, and suspension upgrades. Once we bought a house and my son was born this didn't work as it was my only car... Fast forward 10 years and I now had a brand new Camaro in the garage!

July 26, 2010 Delivery
I took delivery of the car on July 26, 2010. It is a 2010 1SS RS M6 LS3
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-a...2/IMG_3061.JPG

August 1, 2010 Mileage 460
I didn't waste much time with starting the mods. Just 5 days after owning the car I started modding it and it has spiraled out of control since :D

Bone stock LOL
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-G...%2520Stock.JPG

Being used to working on a 4th gen, this thing is a dream to work on! So much space under the hood!

First mods were a Roto-Fab cold air intake and a set of Kooks long tube headers purchased from Marylandspeed.
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-a...2/Roto-Fab.JPG

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-d...ldvsHeader.JPG

I decided that now was as good of time as any to void the warranty, so I ordered an SCT tuner from Jannetty Racing and loaded Ted's tune into the car. These mods made a huge difference in sound and performance of the car.

August 18, 2010 Mileage 652
I was not happy with the sloppy and mushy feel of the stock shifter. I knew that a short throw shifter was in order. After some research, I discovered that MGW made the only complete replacement shifter for the 5th Gen Camaro, so that is what I ordered along with a race knob and installed them both. I am extremely happy with how this shifter feels and performs.
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-M...ow_shifter.jpg

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-h..._race_knob.jpg

August 25, 2010 Mileage 752
With the Kooks headers and stock cat-back the exhaust sounded okay, but it was lacking the deep growl that I was looking for. That and the fact the OEM trash cans look horrible! I wanted the exhaust to be a little louder than stock with a deeper tone and little to no drone. I chose the Borla Touring Cat-back system. Again I ordered from Marylandspeed.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-d...rlaTouring.jpg

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-w...63/Exhaust.JPG

September 1, 2010 Mileage 1034
Elite Engineering Catch Can installed.
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-D...atch-Can-1.jpg

October 2, 2010 Mileage 1625
Installed Raptor Dual Mode Shift light and Bluetooth Onstar VCIM
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-s...2520Light1.jpg

April 9, 2011 Mileage 2053
After sitting in the garage for nearly 6 months for winter storage I treated the car to a Vmax CNC ported throttle body.
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-8...639/vmaxTB.jpg

April 29, 2011 Mileage 2145
Nitto 555R 305/35/20 Drag Radials
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-b...nitto-555r.jpg

Tinted windows
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-t...s1141/Tint.JPG

May 4, 2011 Mileage 2150
Installed Pfadt Rear Trailing Arms Toe links
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-6...2012.47.05.jpg

August 17, 2011 Mileage 3327
Installed Hawk HPS brake pads front and rear
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-C...2+11.55.29.jpg

September 8, 2011 Mileage 3495
Time to crack into the motor! I wanted a cam with a nice healthy lope at idle, made good power throughout the entire RPM range, and was also blower friendly. I ordered the JRE 470 Rough idle blower cam package from Jannetty Racing.

Here is the list of parts installed:
JRE 3 bolt cam
Hardned pushrods
Dual valve springs, seats, seals, retainers, locks
Trunion upgrade
3 bolt timing gear
Katech C5R Timing Chain
LS2 Dampner
Meling HV Oil Pump
Katech heater hose relocation kit
New gaskets and seals

Here are a few pics from the install
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-j...verRemoved.JPG

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-s...mInstalled.JPG

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-p...CamRemoved.JPG

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-n...rmarketCam.JPG

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-H...allOilPump.JPG

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-2...verRemoved.JPG

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-I...ngRemoval2.JPG

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-Y...sInstalled.JPG

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-B...sInstalled.JPG

I also installed the 4 Pack Auxiliary Gauges
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-K...xGaugePack.jpg

With the new cam installed and Teds tune the car made 455RWHP 441RWTQ

Here is a video of the cam at idle


Here is the car on the dyno


April 19, 2012 Mileage 4801
Took the car out of winter storage. While it was hibernating, I ordered a bunch of suspension goodies from Apex Speed. Time for another mod session!

Here is the list of parts installed:
Pfadt Solid Subframe bushings
Pfadt Differential bushings
Pfadt Upper Rear Control Arm bushings
Pfadt Lower Rear Control Arm bushings
Pfadt Lower Front Control Arm bushings
Pfadt Lowering Springs
Pfadt Sway Bars
Pedders HD Radius Rod Inserts
Brake calipers powder coated by Mike the powdercoater

Here are some pics from the install
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-m...410_194637.jpg

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Q...415_170857.jpg

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-c...415_193712.jpg

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-4...419_101256.jpg

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-3...419_112632.jpg

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-z...419_135945.jpg

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-R...420_092933.jpg

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-7...420_132632.jpg

While I had the cradle dropped I installed a ZL1 fuel pump
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-3...420_112216.jpg

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-r...420_112807.jpg

The result
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-p...423_215321.jpg

June 27, 2012 Mileage 5311
Time for some new wheels. I went with TSW Nurburgring 20x9 et20 front 20x10 et35 rear.
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-r...627_100941.jpg

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-4...805_173507.jpg

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-B...0/IMG_4625.JPG

August 4, 2012 Mileage 5816
Time for some gauges. I went with Dual Aeroforce Interceptor scan gauges and Wideband O2 sensor kit. These gauges can read pretty much every parameter in the ECM. The ones that I am most interested in are Air/Fuel ratio from the wideband, fuel pressure, boost, and knock retard.
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-r...103_140956.jpg

August 5, 2012 Mileage 5816
When I bought my Kooks headers I never had them ceramic coated. That was a mistake! I decided to remove them and have them coated by a local guy at QC Coatings.

I also added a bung for a wideband O2 sensor on the drivers side header. Here are the before and after photos.
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-s...715_123345.jpg

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-x...715_123330.jpg

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-f...730_153140.jpg

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-h...730_153255.jpg

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-w...730_153240.jpg

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-9...805_172909.jpg

August 13, 2012 Mileage 5995
Time to clean up the appearance of the car. This mod session consisted of the following:
Installed Heritage Grill
Debadged Camaro letters from sides of car
Removed gold bow tie from trunk and installed Sparks Restorations "SS" emblem.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-s...103_140910.jpg

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-j...0/IMG_4617.JPG

September 13, 2012 Mileage 6269
My goal for the car was to add forced induction somewhere down the road. I wasn't really shopping for a blower, but I came across an absolute awesome deal that I couldn't pass up on a TVS2300 Magnacharger from Jessika at Supercharger Connection.

Along with the Maggie I ordered the following items:
OD Cog Drive setup
ADM Fuel Control Module
FIC850 fuel injectors
ZR1 Spark Plugs
ZR1 3 Bar Map Sensor
CAI Maggie specific cold air intake

Here are photos from the install:
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-S...906_152159.jpg

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-W...908_151648.jpg

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-Y...25282%2529.jpg

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-H...910_174908.jpg

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-K...910_182454.jpg

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-N...911_213548.jpg

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-B...0/IMG_4623.JPG

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-k...0/IMG_4621.JPG

With the Maggie and OD Cog drive setup installed the blower is producing 9.5 PSI of boost. Car made 630RWHP 624RWTQ on the dyno. This transformed the car into a complete beast! The amount of power from idle to redline is insane! 1st and 2nd gear are basically useless now, car doesn't hook good until 3rd gear even with the suspension mods and drag radials.

September 29, 2012 Mileage 6425
With all of the extra power on tap, some drivetrain upgrades were in order. I would have loved to install a complete 9" replacement rear end, but after the blower, the money tree was pretty bare...
Here is what I installed.
Driveshaft Shop 1 Piece Aluminum Driveshaft
Metco driveshaft safety loop w/extension bracket
Gforce 1000hp axles
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-Z...928_194335.jpg

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-7...930_114612.jpg

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-J...930_114135.jpg

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-7...002_182521.jpg

November 9, 2012 Mileage 7000
After installing the blower, I was having an issue with starting the car once it was warmed up. It would crank for 10 seconds before it would finally start. My short term fuel trims were also all over the map.
Taking the advice of uncle Ted at Jannetty racing, I ordered a set of Injector Dynamics ID-850 fuel injectors. Once I installed them the car starts normally now, and the fuel trims are much better.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-N...s651/id850.jpg

November 19, 2012 Mileage 7179
I got the car back on the dyno to get the tune tweaked with the new injectors. Lidio at Alternative Auto dialed it in and the car made moar power! I highly recommend Lido to tune your car if you are in the Metro Detroit area.
The numbers were 644RWHP 615RWTQ. Here is the dyno graph.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-O...11-19-2012.jpg

To be continued...

:popcorn:

Congrats on COTW! Great build!

Wow great build man lovinn it, keepem cominn.

Congrats on COTW!:happyanim:

:w00t::w00t::w00t::w00t::w00t::thumbsup::thumbsup: :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::respekt:

Congratulations on COTW!

Wow!! sounds like you take great pride in your camaro. I wish i was educated enough to perform all my own modifications to my car..thats really awesome!! keep up the good work my friend!!!

Great Build car looks awesome!

Very nice build....congrats on COTW well deserved:thumbsup:

Thanks so much guys, it has been a fun ride so far! It is a shame that I have to store the car for the winter. Can't wait until the Spring.

So is the ZL1 Pump and ADM controller keeping up? And what pulley are you using with the OD Cog to get 9.5?

Congrats on COTW! Car looks, and sounds AMAZING...enjoy!