Blue Angel [COTW 5/30/11]

[the rich dude]

Originally Posted by Doc

Don't mind at all; thank you!



The rotors have held up fine. After all day running hard at the track the brakes never over-heat nor do they fade. I can see a slight bit of wear which is understandable considering how hard I've used them at the track. The RB brake pads have worked really well. There is some dust at the end of a track session but that's to be expected. Braking is smooth, steady, predictable.

If you watched that last video I posted of AutoClub Speedway you can see the clear braking advantage I had which enabled me to catch that black mercedes in front of me. He had straight-line speed but had to brake way earlier than I did.

I couldn't be happier with the RB rotors.

I didn't see it?? Did you post in this thread?

[Doc]

Originally Posted by the rich dude

I didn't see it?? Did you post in this thread?

Yeah, go back a couple of pages.

[Doc]

Ok I've had some inquiries as to how I mounted the Braille battery in the trunk so here are some pics to show more detail. I purchased some 1.5" thick Insulfoam 84Z2 from Home Depot (or Lowe's carries it too I think) and cut a piece to put under the battery to lift it up high enough so the stock retaining plate could be used. I cut another piece which I notched in the middle to fit the battery so it would hold it in place and put that on top of the battery, sandwiching it in so when I put the retaining plate on top, it would press down the foam and secure the battery. The battery is secure; it doesn't move.

This arrangement allows you to use all the stock mounting plates and holders for the trunk.

Here's a few pics to show how it looks.

This view is looking down from the top from the back of the car.


This is from the passenger side at an angle.


This is a side view from the passenger side and you can clearly see the cutout in the top piece of foam that holds the battery in position so it doesn't scoot forward or backward.

[Buffnshine]

Doc the car looks awesome. i have the same SLP splitter and ZL1 skirts I need to get put on as well

[Vette TPI]

This car has such a beautiful race car look to it!

[immaculate chaos]

Doc you have a wicked ride there! I must admit your build is my biggest inspiration for my Camaro...one question, Iv'e read and re-read your entire build several times now and don't know if I might of overlooked it. What are your offsets? (19x9.5 +xx) If I had to guess I'd say mid to high 20's. Anyways, I can't wait to see what you upgrade/reduce next. If I could make a suggestion though, rear seat delete.

[Doc]

Originally Posted by immaculate chaos

Doc you have a wicked ride there! I must admit your build is my biggest inspiration for my Camaro...one question, Iv'e read and re-read your entire build several times now and don't know if I might of overlooked it. What are your offsets? (19x9.5 +xx) If I had to guess I'd say mid to high 20's. Anyways, I can't wait to see what you upgrade/reduce next. If I could make a suggestion though, rear seat delete.

Thank you for the compliments! Good guess; the offset is 28.

I thought about the rear seats but it doesn't eliminate that much weight and it's in the back of the car which I really don't want to remove any more weight from. I'm thinking of possibly a driver's seat upgrade and a 5-point harness but haven't decided for sure yet.

Soon as I get any more upgrades you'll see it here.

[Doc]

Well since it seems no matter what you do you're never really quite done with upgrades and mods....ahem....today the UPS guy delivered this:


It's a Fluidampr which is an SFI rated harmonic balancer/damper to protect and improve my engine's performance.

It weighs 15.838 lbs which is probably heavier than the stock balancer. I'll weigh the stock one once it's off to see what the difference is but the benefits will outweigh the few extra pounds the Fluidampr adds.

www.fluidampr.com

The UPS guy also dropped off this:


These will allow me to remove the two factory coil mounting plates which weigh 1.31 lbs each (the coils mount directly on these covers) and clean up the coil area on the engine. The new valve covers together weigh 6.188 lbs; I'll weigh the factory covers once they're off.




I also have Jannetty's air scoop and washer bottle relocation kit on the way. Once all this new stuff is installed and I get Ted to finesse the tune I'll probably get another dyno run. I had 468 rwhp before Ted tuned it (Ted's tune feels stronger) and with these new additions hopefully I'll be around 480 rwhp.

I'll get it weighed again at the truck stop but I'm guessing it'll be around 3,690 lbs so if that's the weight divided by 480 rwhp that would give me a power to weight ratio of 7.68 which is pretty good.

[SUX2BU]

Originally Posted by Doc

It's a Fluidampr which is an SFI rated harmonic balancer/damper to protect and improve my engine's performance.

It weighs 15.838 lbs which is probably heavier than the stock balancer. I'll weigh the stock one once it's off to see what the difference is but the benefits will outweigh the few extra pounds the Fluidampr adds.

www.fluidampr.com
.

We have the same crank pulleys as GM trucks. I did a comparison when I swapped out pulleys on my Escalade.
http://www.performancetrucks.net/for...pare-o-437187/

Since the ASP pulley is crazy light that is what I went with on Ginger, just like The Beast.

Originally Posted by SUX2BU

So i ordered a Powerbond pulley for my truck because no one had an ASP in stock. I then found an ASP for a good price so i ordered it. Took pics of all three pulleys and weighed them.

Weight of pulleys advantage ASP.
ASP 7.8 lbs
Stock 10.6 lbs
Powerbond 12.2 lbs

Quality of pullies advantage Powerbond.
Stock is a cast two piece that is pretty good quality. the power bond seriously looks like it should cost twice as much as the ASP. It just looks far better from a quality stand point. Also the Powerbond has very high lips so the belt will not get thrown like some have experienced on an ASP pulley. It also has a notch for a key and some cool timing marks on it like old school pulleys BUT you have to have an aftermarket crank or have your stock crank keyed for this to be of any use. The ASP also has a light weight aluminum center section which makes it lighter but if you remove and install your pulley A LOT of times, the aluminum could wear out over time and not be as tight on the crank as when it was new.

Ease of install avantage ASP.
To install an asp pulley you just put it on and tighten the crank bolt. The Powerbond, like the stock pulley, needs a longer bolt to first get the pulley on the crank or i use the head of an old crank bolt and an air hammer to get it on about a 1/2" or so before threading the crank bolt.

Conclusion, it's a toss up on these pulleys. so whichever one you find for cheaper is the one i would go with.

[Doc]

Originally Posted by SUX2BU

We have the same crank pulleys as GM trucks. I did a comparison when I swapped out pulleys on my Escalade.
http://www.performancetrucks.net/for...pare-o-437187/

Since the ASP pulley is crazy light that is what I went with on Ginger, just like The Beast.

I hear ya; if anyone's all for lighter weight it's me but in this particular case lighter isn't necessarily better. This is from Fluidampr's website:

"In addition, because a harmonic balancer often incorporates the drive pulley, it is often overlooked as having no essential function to the life of the engine. If the drive pulley is incorporated with the harmonic balancer, removing or changing it to a lightweight design, or using a low quality product MAY BE THE SINGLE BIGGEST COSTLY MISTAKE YOU CAN DO TO YOUR ENGINE."

I suggest you read their website and all the info there on what their product does and the benefits.

http://www.fluidampr.com/what/

You might change your mind like I did. Since we've modified our engines and power output, getting a better harmonic balancer will not only improve engine life but should (in the case of their unique product) give better performance by eliminating power-robbing vibrations. It's essentially the same reason why a 1-piece driveshaft gained 8 hp compared to the less-efficient 2-piece factory shaft.

Most other balancers I looked at were more rpm-range specific so when I ran across theirs in my research I liked two things: 1; theirs works across the entire rpm band, and 2; it has a 100% life-time guarantee. They've been doing this since 1946 so their guarantee means something.

I'll let you know what my driving impressions are and what the dyno says after I get it installed.

[SUX2BU]

Originally Posted by Doc

I hear ya; if anyone's all for lighter weight it's me but in this particular case lighter isn't necessarily better. This is from Fluidampr's website:

"In addition, because a harmonic balancer often incorporates the drive pulley, it is often overlooked as having no essential function to the life of the engine. If the drive pulley is incorporated with the harmonic balancer, removing or changing it to a lightweight design, or using a low quality product MAY BE THE SINGLE BIGGEST COSTLY MISTAKE YOU CAN DO TO YOUR ENGINE."

I suggest you read their website and all the info there on what their product does and the benefits.

http://www.fluidampr.com/what/

You might change your mind like I did. Since we've modified our engines and power output, getting a better harmonic balancer will not only improve engine life but should (in the case of their unique product) give better performance by eliminating power-robbing vibrations. It's essentially the same reason why a 1-piece driveshaft gained 8 hp compared to the less-efficient 2-piece factory shaft.

Most other balancers I looked at were more rpm-range specific so when I ran across theirs in my research I liked two things: 1; theirs works across the entire rpm band, and 2; it has a 100% life-time guarantee. They've been doing this since 1946 so their guarantee means something.

I'll let you know what my driving impressions are and what the dyno says after I get it installed.

I understand how harmonic balancers work, but I always considered them for high HP/high RPM motors. I would love to see a dyno comparison between the Fluidampr and my ASP under drive pulley, it would be pretty interesting.

Want to do a comparo? I could send you mine so you could do a couple runs, swap then a couple more runs.

[kjkjr27]

Where do you usually go to get your car weighed?

[Doc]

Originally Posted by SUX2BU

I understand how harmonic balancers work, but I always considered them for high HP/high RPM motors. I would love to see a dyno comparison between the Fluidampr and my ASP under drive pulley, it would be pretty interesting.

Want to do a comparo? I could send you mine so you could do a couple runs, swap then a couple more runs.

These really aren't harmonic balancers, they're harmonic dampeners. They aren't intended to balance the crankshaft but to dampen torsional vibrations to take the shock and load off the crankshaft, bearings, rod bearings, etc.

You'd have to run a comparison between an under drive Fluidampr and the ASP under drive to get an accurate rating of the difference, if any. I didn't get the under drive, I got the one with the standard size pulley.

Originally Posted by kjkjr27

Where do you usually go to get your car weighed?

I take my car to a local truck scale where they weigh big rigs.

[Doc]

Got the Holley valve cover installed on the driver's side. Definitely cleans up the area with a much neater placement of the coils.

The Holley:


The stock valve cover and coil mounting plate:

[SilverSlayer-SS]

great build bro !

[BSR-1]

That valve cover does clean it up!
What's the hold up on the other side?

[Doc]

Originally Posted by SilverSlayer-SS

great build bro !

Thank you!

Originally Posted by BSR-1

That valve cover does clean it up!
What's the hold up on the other side?

Heat. It's over 100 here and the garage heats up pretty good and stays hot late into the night, so I have to wait until real late to try and get anything done. And even then I can't work too long cause I'm pouring sweat and get tired real quick. I'll see if I can get the other side done tonight.

[BSR-1]

Originally Posted by Doc

Thank you!



Heat. It's over 100 here and the garage heats up pretty good and stays hot late into the night, so I have to wait until real late to try and get anything done. And even then I can't work too long cause I'm pouring sweat and get tired real quick. I'll see if I can get the other side done tonight.

Fair enough!

[Doc]

Got the passenger side valve cover off (there's a maze of hoses and crud you have to get out of the way) and the Holley valve cover on. I wasn't able to complete the install because the breather line that goes from the valve cover to the air intake tube has a special connector that wouldn't grab the end of the tube coming out of the Holley cover. I just need to go to the auto parts store and get about 2 feet of hose and connect it that way. Then I can finish the installation.

Once I removed the factory cover from the passenger side I weighed both stock covers and to my surprise, the Holleys turned out to be just slightly heavier; 14.4 ounces heavier to be exact. It's probably the grooves down the center of the factory covers that removes the 7 ounces per cover.

These are the factory covers on the weight scale:




The stock coil mounting plates aren't used on the Holleys and that saves 2.62 lbs, so the net result is a total savings of 1.72 lbs. Not a biggie but a reduction is a reduction. The visual benefit of cleaning up the coil mounting area is definitely worth it alone; the weight savings is a bonus.

[kjkjr27]

Originally Posted by Doc

Got the passenger side valve cover off (there's a maze of hoses and crud you have to get out of the way) and the Holley valve cover on. I wasn't able to complete the install because the breather line that goes from the valve cover to the air intake tube has a special connector that wouldn't grab the end of the tube coming out of the Holley cover. I just need to go to the auto parts store and get about 2 feet of hose and connect it that way. Then I can finish the installation.

Once I removed the factory cover from the passenger side I weighed both stock covers and to my surprise, the Holleys turned out to be just slightly heavier; 14.4 ounces heavier to be exact. It's probably the grooves down the center of the factory covers that removes the 7 ounces per cover.

These are the factory covers on the weight scale:
Attachment 407676

Attachment 407677

The stock coil mounting plates aren't used on the Holleys and that saves 2.62 lbs, so the net result is a total savings of 1.72 lbs. Not a biggie but a reduction is a reduction. The visual benefit of cleaning up the coil mounting area is definitely worth it alone; the weight savings is a bonus.

Very nice, its nice to kill two brids with one stone

[Doc]

Got the Fluidampr installed today. The stock harmonic balancer (shown below) is nowhere near as sophisticated and it weighed 10.19 lbs so I gained 5.65 lbs with the Fluidampr which weighs 15.84 lbs.



Fluidampr:


Driving impressions: The car seems to be easier to start moving and the low speed performance is more stable. That could very well be the extra 5 lbs of weight being back on the crank after I removed 22 lbs with the flywheel/clutch combo I had installed. It was over 100 today and I was driving with the A/C on which causes a rougher idle than normal but I could still tell the difference.

I want to get the JRE racing scoop and washer bottle relocation kit installed and then have Ted look at the tune, but so far the Fluidampr seems to have smoothed things out. It accelerates very smoothly. I'm sure I'll notice the difference at the top end on the track which is where it will really show its benefits.

[L99CAMA2011]

Originally Posted by Doc

Got the Fluidampr installed today. The stock harmonic balancer (shown below) is nowhere near as sophisticated and it weighed 10.19 lbs so I gained 5.65 lbs with the Fluidampr which weighs 15.84 lbs.

Attachment 412525

Fluidampr:
Attachment 412526

Driving impressions: The car seems to be easier to start moving and the low speed performance is more stable. That could very well be the extra 5 lbs of weight being back on the crank after I removed 22 lbs with the flywheel/clutch combo I had installed. It was over 100 today and I was driving with the A/C on which causes a rougher idle than normal but I could still tell the difference.

I want to get the JRE racing scoop and washer bottle relocation kit installed and then have Ted look at the tune, but so far the Fluidampr seems to have smoothed things out. It accelerates very smoothly. I'm sure I'll notice the difference at the top end on the track which is where it will really show its benefits.

I really liked the 2% ATI on my past L99. Felt more torque as well.

[z28camaro2471]

Very well executed and thought out. I really like your approach to performance.

The color scheme is perfect as well.

[Pro Stock John]

Stumbled across the thread and just read the whole thing, nice detail. I like how you did something creative with adding the yellow accents but it stops short of being too much.

Now I think I need a lightweight battery and rotors. Where did you get the rotors from? How are they holding up, none of them have cracks or anything?

[Doc]

Originally Posted by z28camaro2471

Very well executed and thought out. I really like your approach to performance.

The color scheme is perfect as well.

Thank you

Originally Posted by Pro Stock John

Stumbled across the thread and just read the whole thing, nice detail. I like how you did something creative with adding the yellow accents but it stops short of being too much.

Now I think I need a lightweight battery and rotors. Where did you get the rotors from? How are they holding up, none of them have cracks or anything?

I was the one who originally convinced Racing Brake to make these and since I'm reasonably local to them they used my car as a test mule, so I got the first set from them directly. However I know a couple of forum vendors, Apex and Haddad Motorsports are dealers for them now and carry the rotors.

They're holding up beautifully, no cracks at all. The fronts are starting to show a tiny bit of wear but that's understandable considering the abuse they're taking on the track. Under hard repeated high to low speed braking on the track they show no fade or heat issues whatsoever. I'm using Racing Brake's own brake pads and they've worked great so far.

I'd recommend them just for their braking performance but the fact they also pull about 6 lbs of unsprung rotating weight off each corner of the car makes them an ideal performance upgrade.