'14 AGM 1SS/1LE Track build [COTW 11/17/14]

[L99CAMA2011]

Originally Posted by X25

To be honest, I don't think I even need the header, but I bought it anyway, so will install it; I do not have any plans for the CAI. It was actually installed by the first owner. I was going to remove it and revert it back to stock, but realized how such a high quality it is with very good insulation, and left it in place.

I know many wouldn't agree with this but water wetter helped for me with the stock radiator and also try changing your engine oil before track events. My car and I both love Amsoil, much better at cooling than the stock crap oil.

[L99CAMA2011]

Originally Posted by X25

Finally did my first track day with the car!

• Michelin Pilot Super Slows were awful. They do provide great grip for 2, perhaps 3 laps, and then they overheat and grip drops! I was all over the place whole day! I had to do cool-down laps due to this every few laps.
• When I updated my routing for brake ducting, it turned out my driver side was a little bit short for the new route. I didn't think it would be an issue, but it actually ripped during my trip to the track. This meant that the driver side brakes were not cooled as good as the passenger side.
• All calipers' color darkened a little bit. I remember this happening to my '11 EVO's brakes, too, which were also Brembos, so I presume this is normal.
• The brakes did never fade during the day. I was able to smell them, though, so they were getting hot.
• Engine oil quickly climbed to beyond 266 degrees. Fortunately, I was able to track the oil temp using a Bluetooth OBD II reader, and Torque app on my Android phone. The oil temp settled around 280-285 degree range, and never got beyond 289 degrees. That said, I had to do quite a few cool-down laps due to overheating tires, so it might have exceeded 289 degrees if I could push it more without a cool-down lap.

Action items:
Brake pads:
ST43 pads worked great with no issues, but they do SCREAM! Scream as in wife of an SUV driver turns her head to me and says "Oh my god!", in utter shock of how loud my brakes are. Scream as in a firefighter's siren, only in more annoying higher pitch.

• I made a quick experiment by replacing the front pads with stock ones, leaving the race pads in the rear to see if it's the fronts or rears (or both?) that make the noise. It did not help much, if at all. The rear brakes were still screaming like there is no tomorrow.
• At this point, I am considering trying a different pad. Any suggestions? ST43s were loud on my EVO as well, so perhaps this is something common with these Brembo pads' shape, at least for this kind of brake pad.

Engine cooling:
The radiator by itself did not keep the engine oil temps satisfactorily cool enough. The coolant never exceeded 220s F, but engine oil quickly got to 280s F within few laps.

• One option is to use the larger Z/28 liquid-to-liquid heat exchanger. If it could keep the temps at 260 degrees or less, I would be a happy customer.
• The other option is to add an air-to-oil cooler. The problem with this solution is the possible oil leak or clogged thermostat issues, not to mention having to add plumbing for the cooler, etc. It is also about $800 when you build a kit to last and perform well.

Tires:
I knew PSS tires would not help much, but I didn't expect such a bad performance. Or perhaps I am just spoiled by all the R-compound tires I've been using on my former cars and the Miata. I am still undecided on what to do on this. I can:

• Buy Nitto NT01 in stock size; $375/tire.
• Buy 19"x11" wheels all around and find a good matching tire. The candidates are Trofeo R, Michelin Sport Cup 2, R888 to name a few. They are around $550/tire(!!!), except the R888, which is about $390, but I don't want that tire!

New mod: yellow Chevrolet decal! :P


Here is the video from the day. I was all over the place. Still, the time was not too bad at all. It gives me hope that it can do wonders once the car's set-up is dialed in, and it is shod with appropriate tires. 2: 02.12 was the best lap of the day.


Same track with my Miata (counter-clockwise):

Man love the way that Mazda handles compared to the 1LE. I'm getting me one of those Miatas.

[X25]

I'd highly recommend the Miata experience. Next season, I'll have two cars ready for track duty. It will be exciting!

[Dropspeed]

Nice build...Subscribed.

[X25]

Removed the ST43 pads over the weekend, and I should receive the Cobalt Friction pads tomorrow. I will not install them before I can find a track day first, though.

I will be using Cobalt Friction's XR1 / XR2 combo. The pricing was almost identical to ST43s. I will give my ST43s to my brother (who also has a 1LE) since they were pretty good at the track, they just scream (besides the expected squeaks) too much at the street.

Current mods list
Legend: Planned | Procured | Installed

• Engine / Powertrain
  • TSP 304 LT Headers with 3" X Pipe (Catted) - $1009.98 + $173.75 = $1183.73 shipped.
    
  • Improved Racing oil pan baffle.
    
  • DEI heat wraps / coil boots - $100 shipped.
    
  • 2000 degrees F matte-gray exhaust coating.
    
  • Diablosport Intune w/ custom tune from FSP - $489 shipped.
    
  • DeWitts radiator - $575 shipped.
  • Improved Racing oil cooler with Setrab Series 1 / 72 rows.
  • BMR engine mounts - $259 shipped.
• Interior
  • Schroth Racing RallyE 3 ASM - $179.95.
• Handling
  • BC Racing ER 8kg/12kg coilovers; track-biased-valving. $1799 shipped.
    
  • BMR Bushings - $600 shipped.
    • BMR BK024 Cradle Bushings
      
    • BMR BK039 Rear Upper Control Arm Bushings
      
    • BMR TCA026 Trailing Arms (black)
      
    • BMR BK006 Rear Outer Trailing Arm Bushings
      
    • BMR BK018 Front Lower Control Arm Bushings
      
    • BMR BK019 Front Radius Rod Bushings
  • SB039 Sway Bar Package - $500 shipped.
    
  • Nitto NT01 285/35/20 tires $400.61 shipped x4 = $1602.40
• Brakes
  • Quantum - Competition Brake Cooling Kit - $239.95.
    • Naca ducts: $20.
  • Cobalt Friction XR1 Front (CRB-XR1-D1001-15.3MM) - $281.3 shipped (COBALT5 coupon code).
  • Cobalt Friction XR2 Rear (CRB-XR2-D592-15.0MM-R) - $230 shipped (COBALT5 coupon code).
  • Stock front rotor (92245928) - $69.45 shipped x2.
    
  • Stock rear rotor (92245929) - $85.31 shipped x2.
• Misc.
  • Blown smart-fuse for skip-shift - $1.
    
  • HSA elimination - $80 shipped.

[X25]

Wheels
I've been researching 19" wheels, and this has been a huge issue for me. Long story short, there's not any affordable wheel both with the weight savings and width I'd like for an affordable price.

Forgestar:

• CF5V are their lightest wheels. 19x11 square is what I am interested in.
• One vendor stated 20/21 lbs for front/rear, while another one lists them around 23 lbs. Finally I found a from-member- sale thread where the seller actually weighed 19x10 CF5V for front, and it was 23.5 lbs. So, I'd presume these wheels are 24+ lbs!
• When I asked the first vendor why he said 20/21 lbs, he claimed that Forgestar has added weight to its F14s since they came out to increase their load rating and strength, and that the same thing might have happened to these wheels, too. Even at 24 lbs, I am still considering them since they're still not bad for the price.
• I've heard from a Camaro5 forum member that his set of CF5Vs actually warped, and they're not strong enough. This would be very worrisome considering my intended use of these wheels.
• EDIT: I bought a brand new set of Forgestar CF5Vs which I decided not to use for track duty, since I decided to go with OEM Z/28 wheels. My fronts are 25 lbs (ET17), while rears are 23.4 lbs (ET40).

TSW:

• The wrong weight posting saga hits TSW hard: It is mentioned here that 19x10.5 Nurburgring wheels are actually 26 lbs!! Way too heavy, so they are out.
• Their 20" wheels are actually pretty light considering the size, but then they don't have 11"+ wheels available.

APEX ARC-8 19x10.5 ET22

• These wheels are pretty famous in BMW community, and are frequently used for track duty. I did buy a set for my street set-up, and they were flawless when I tried them at the track.
• The fronts are almost flush, but the rears do stick out a bit like OEM Z/28 wheels due to their low offset.
• They are spin-forged, and at 22.95 lbs, they are very light! You can easily feel the difference when you lift them after OEM 1LE wheels/tires.

Enkei:

• Enkei RPF1s at 19x10 ET25 are actually the reason why I cannot buy a Forgestar or even a real forged wheel with clear conscience. These wheels are only 21 lbs, and they cost only $397/wheel!
• These wheels have the weight of Forgeline / Finspeed wheels at 1/3 or 1/2 the cost!
• The fitment is not too bad, and it would work for me. However, 10" width is just too limiting! If they were even a wee-bit wider at 10.5", I could consider them since 10.5" is a good width for 295 tires which I am considering.

Finspeed:

• These wheels looks to be as good as Forgeline wheels (like GA1R), but they are much more affordable.
• They are claimed to be as light as Forgelines, but the weights I've seen were about 1 lbs heavier than the GA1R in similar size. They have some wheel weight reduction options, but when you add those up, you might as well get the Forgelines.
• I wonder if they could make a new wheel design that comes standard with the RT-option hub, smaller spokes (removing weight from spokes is another option at $250), etc., so they would not have to charge up to $600 in weight reduction options on the top of their base price for the wheel. That would make them very, very attractive in my opinion.
• Overall, I believe Finspeed wheels are way to go if you're looking for real forged wheels.

Breyton:

• This wheel is killing me: Breyton Spirit RS 20x10.
• It's forged, and is just 17.7 lbs! Some say it might not be strong enough, but it is TUV approved and is a reputable European wheel, I would love to give them the benefit of the doubt.
• The reason why it's killing me is obviously the price: At $499/wheel (down from $1389/wheel due to closeout), they are the best bang for the buck on the planet! That said, there's a reason why the closeout is so cheap: they only have 3 wheels!
• With these wheels, the car could shed 10+ lbs per wheel compared to stock wheels.

OEM Z/28:

• I believe these are around 25 lbs, but considering how strong they look, the weight doesn't look that bad.
• The offsets will push the outward and keep the stock clearance of 1LE wheels inside, which is fine for me.
• They are stress-tested and approved by GM; they will not fail

EDIT: I decided to go with OEM Z/28 wheels for track, and APEX wheels for the street.

[Dropspeed]

FYI. You cannot purchase Z/28 wheels from a vendor. They are restricted and GM is holding tight in that. All of the wheel repair sites post them up to grab your attention but the only way they will get them in stock is if they get damaged ones they can repair or refinish. It will be hard to find all four at the same place.

-Matt

[X25]

Originally Posted by Dropspeed

FYI. You cannot purchase Z/28 wheels from a vendor. They are restricted and GM is holding tight in that. All of the wheel repair sites post them up to grab your attention but the only way they will get them in stock is if they get damaged ones they can repair or refinish. It will be hard to find all four at the same place.

-Matt

Yeah, hopefully the constraints will be lifted in time. This season is over, perhaps the wheels would be available by early next season!

I've heard that Z/28 wheels are more around 26/27 lbs, which emphasizes really how light the RPF1 wheels (19x10) are. Yes, they are a bit too narrow, but a forum member measured their weight at 20.1 lbs and they're track-proven; that' an insane number for a strong wheel. It's not magic; these wheels have no concavity, and the spokes are as short and close to the hub as possible, reducing weight. It's also a bit uglier than more popular wheels due to that, but as an engineer, I'd go function over form any day.

I've done an extensive search on light wheels yesterday, and there are actually quite a few options as big as 20x10.5 with less than 21 lbs, but none less than $1K per wheel.

This is a great list of wheels with their real weight:
http://www.benzboost.com/showthread....8-20-inch-rims

[X25]

What a day!
I put my OEM 1LE wheels on sale at the forum, and it took 13 minutes to sell!

Anyhow, just ordered the following:

• 8 OEM TPMS sensors from Amazon (I sold the wheels with the tires and TPMS on them).
• A set of XXR wheels for daily driving in chromium black from AmericasWheel.com
• A set of Forgestar CF5V 19x11 wheels in +17 and +40 offsets
• A set of Hankook RS-3s 305/30/19 for daily driving from TireRack since they're heavily discounted right now.

http://www.camaro5.com/forums/showth...80#post7953680

For front:
XXR 530 19x10.75 Chromium Black 5-114.3/5-120 [+15mm]
http://www.nlmotoring.com/XXR-530-Wh.../53090432n.htm
Backspacing 6.47
Centerbore 73.1
Load Rating (LBS) 1580
Approx. Weight 23.4
JWL/VIA Certified Yes
Required Lug Nuts Tuner Style

For rear:
XXR 530 19x10.75 Chromium Black 5-114.3/5-120 [+35mm]
http://www.nlmotoring.com/XXR-530-Wh.../53090142n.htm
Backspacing 7.25
Centerbore 73.1
Load Rating (LBS) 1580
Approx. Weight 23.4
JWL/VIA Certified Yes
Required Lug Nuts Tuner Style

If I calculated correctly, the fronts should be almost identical to stock 1LE wheels by the inside (which is where it counts most), and stick more outside by about 18 mm; rears should be sticking only ~5mm more outside compared to 1LE rears.

CF5Vs:



I think this concludes my main phase of the build! Then comes test & tune at the track, which might wait until next spring...

[X25]

Received the oil cooler kit today.

Inspecting the kit with my daughter:


The long oil cooler core (Setrab Series 1 72 rows):

[X25]

This link is a great read on how to tune your coilovers if they allow separate compression and rebound dampening:
http://blog.kw-suspension.com/wp-con...101000-SUS.pdf


This is a great read on how to set-up R888 tires, even though it is supposedly aimed at MX5 cup drivers:
http://toyotires.com/sites/default/f...Guidelines.pdf

More I read, it looks like R888 is just misunderstood, and set-up wrong by many, since most drivers switching to R888 swithced from Toyo RA1s, expecting similar behavior (but they're not that similar, as explained in the doc above).

I need time to get the car sorted out with wheels, header, coilovers, oil cooler, and I might not find a track day when I'm ready :( Actually, the car does not even have any wheels anymore, since I just shipped the OEM wheels, and have not yet received any of the wheels I ordered.

[camaro500]

Keep up the amazing build. Great purchases.

[X25]

Thanks! Looking forward to the end result.

By the way, it appears XXR wheels are in back order (except in gold color, which I can't stomach). I will have to find another set of cheap 19x11s : (

[X25]

Change of plans! Canceled the XXR wheel order, and bought the following for daily driving:
http://www.apexraceparts.com/apex-pr...l#.VCXICmTF-0w

These wheels are spin-forged just like Forgestars, and come in 19x10.5 ET22 size, perfect for the front, though it should stick out a little bit at the rear. I already received my street tires (Hankook R-S3s) today, and I should hopefully receive these wheels in a few weeks.

A good side benefit is that these wheels are very light (22.95 lbs), are built strong, and are good for track duty. I could go to a track day with these wheels. So, if it rains, I could switch to these with the Hankooks on for a track day.

These wheels have a promotional intro pricing until Sep 30th, which is $200 off and free shipping. The total cost was only $1376.
Specifications

Diameter: 19"
Width: 10.5"
Offset: 22mm
Lug Pattern: 5x120mm
Centerbore: 72.56mm
Weight: 22.95lbs