2013 1LS V6 simple - low cost weight saving upgrades

[got2gozoom]

1LS comes with FE2 - FE2! YICH FE2 pushes the front end around like a grocery cart if you get aggressive. Also, really rough road surface gets the wheels bouncing around like soccer balls on the road. So I am trying to be - uhoh - LOGICAL.

FIRST (easy weight loss)
The Braille 15lb battery. Should crank a V6 if it works on SS V8's. Drops 30lbs.

SECOND (sportier sound and easier airflow in and out of the engine)
A good larger typical walled off "cold air" intake with home made air scoops and relocated washer bottle
Improved exhaust I will cut the 2.25" stock stainless steel pipes just infront of the stock mufflers
and put in 2.25"-3" adapter and 3" core Magnaflow 14" long straight through mufflers and reuse the stock tips.

THIRD (nice diet pieces)
4 new 18" wheels - at least low pressure cast and shot peened - around 21lbs each plus lightweight 150mph rated tires may drop unsprung weight from 66lbs per each steel wheel and stock tire down to 48 punds or so. Might as well go forged aluminum lug nuts also. To keep initial cost down I may just run the OEM tires til they are gone.

FOURTH (safety)
I looked into lightweight rotors to drop more unsprung weight but jiminy thats too costly for an LS. Braided brake lines, ceramic pads, and caliper paint may have to do on braking for now. Leads to a question. Has anyone found ANY calipers we could scrounge that would bolt up and give us a few more brake pistons to push the pads in?

FIFTH (handling
On go the 1LE front and rear sway bars and front end links, they are great for when all 4 tires/wheels are the same size like on an LS. I wish there were big hollow lightweight sway bars for the cost of the 1LE's but there arent. Along with this the Pedders rear subframe bushings go in along with higher durometer rubber LCA bushings and rear diff bushings. I really want to use rubber for long term durability. I've bought poly before and it just didnt work out. Do the 1LE parts like the swaybars and LCA's come with higher durometer rubber than lower suspension spec cars? i dont know. Maybe a guru does. at the samne time, the rear shocks get replaced with Koni's

SIXTH (big grin factor)
3.91 or 3.45 rear gears to replace the 3.27 stock ones in the rear posi.
I may stay with the stock gears if they are just about topping out when the car clears the 1/4 mile traps.

I would love to drop about 120 lbs from the car with all seats in and then on road courses or for 1/4 miles I could quickly remove the passenger seat, upper and lower rear seat and the spare tire and cover to get out another 70lbs..

These 1LS V6 Manual 6 speed cars are so much car for the money. I am very happy I bought it. It is a Victory Red 2013 so no Accord rear end with a pancake top trunk lid nor little skinny headlights. I do like the 2014 wheels though ... hmmmmm I wonder how much THEY weigh??.

Does this seem like a sound plan to you guys??

[Apex Motorsports]

Sounds like you have a goal and a plan which is more than most folks can say. Should be a fun car in the end. I am getting ready to order a pallet of Braille batteries so hit me up if you want to get in.

[sycraft]

check out the LSR bars, stiffer than 1LE and a huge weight saving, hollow bars... That's what I put on mine....

[The Stig]

I'd also suggest dropping the engine cover - that's about another 3-4 pounds

[JDP Sales]

Originally Posted by got2gozoom

1LS comes with FE2 - FE2! YICH FE2 pushes the front end around like a grocery cart if you get aggressive. Also, really rough road surface gets the wheels bouncing around like soccer balls on the road. So I am trying to be - uhoh - LOGICAL.

FIRST (easy weight loss)
The Braille 15lb battery. Should crank a V6 if it works on SS V8's. Drops 30lbs.

SECOND (sportier sound and easier airflow in and out of the engine)
A good larger typical walled off "cold air" intake with home made air scoops and relocated washer bottle
Improved exhaust I will cut the 2.25" stock stainless steel pipes just infront of the stock mufflers
and put in 2.25"-3" adapter and 3" core Magnaflow 14" long straight through mufflers and reuse the stock tips.

I suggest going with no larger than 2.5" on the V6

THIRD (nice diet pieces)
4 new 18" wheels - at least low pressure cast and shot peened - around 21lbs each plus lightweight 150mph rated tires may drop unsprung weight from 66lbs per each steel wheel and stock tire down to 48 punds or so. Might as well go forged aluminum lug nuts also. To keep initial cost down I may just run the OEM tires til they are gone.

Light weight wheels and tires are always a good idea!

FOURTH (safety)
I looked into lightweight rotors to drop more unsprung weight but jiminy thats too costly for an LS. Braided brake lines, ceramic pads, and caliper paint may have to do on braking for now. Leads to a question. Has anyone found ANY calipers we could scrounge that would bolt up and give us a few more brake pistons to push the pads in?

The Stock SS calipers are likely your best cost effective solution. I'd suggest looking into them before doing the stainless lines as you will have to purchase different lines for the SS calipers.

FIFTH (handling
On go the 1LE front and rear sway bars and front end links, they are great for when all 4 tires/wheels are the same size like on an LS. I wish there were big hollow lightweight sway bars for the cost of the 1LE's but there arent. Along with this the Pedders rear subframe bushings go in along with higher durometer rubber LCA bushings and rear diff bushings. I really want to use rubber for long term durability. I've bought poly before and it just didnt work out. Do the 1LE parts like the swaybars and LCA's come with higher durometer rubber than lower suspension spec cars? i dont know. Maybe a guru does. at the same time, the rear shocks get replaced with Koni's
The 1LE sway bars are a good setup, but I would leave the differential and rear lower control arm bushings alone. Get a set of 1LE/ZL1 toe rods (come stock with spherical bearings) and address the bushings in the trailing arms or just pick up a full replacement set. The trailing arms are not a bad place for poly IMO. Also, don't forget about the upper control arm bushings while you are doing the subframe bushings.

SIXTH (big grin factor)
3.91 or 3.45 rear gears to replace the 3.27 stock ones in the rear posi.
I may stay with the stock gears if they are just about topping out when the car clears the 1/4 mile traps.

I would love to drop about 120 lbs from the car with all seats in and then on road courses or for 1/4 miles I could quickly remove the passenger seat, upper and lower rear seat and the spare tire and cover to get out another 70lbs..

These 1LS V6 Manual 6 speed cars are so much car for the money. I am very happy I bought it. It is a Victory Red 2013 so no Accord rear end with a pancake top trunk lid nor little skinny headlights. I do like the 2014 wheels though ... hmmmmm I wonder how much THEY weigh??.

Does this seem like a sound plan to you guys??

I posted my thoughts in BLUE. Feel free to call, PM or email me anytime with questions.

Best regards,

Tyler
888-308-6007

[got2gozoom]

Thanks for the positive feedback. Also, thanks for turning me onto the LSR performance swaybars - sweet and light!

Interesting factoid for everyone. Late 2013 built Camaro 1LS V6 base 18" wheels and surprise surprise - it has the old style rear swaybar with endlinks on the innermost perch like 2012 and below in PHASTEK's photo on their swaybar page. So, I went looking for a hole n the bottom of the arm further out where the late 2012 and up are supposed to have swaybar endlinks mounted to..(what is that arm out to the wheel called). I found the hole in the bottom of the arm for the further out mounting position like the 1Le's use for greater leverage. So it appears I have two paths on rear sway bar. Accept the earlier style mounting and pick up an LSR early style bar, or get the 1LE sway bar and the 1LE end links.

When I first crawled under the car I was wondering how in the world could the swaybar/end link get close to the banjo bolt of the rear caliper. You understand why i was baffled now you know where my swaybar mounts. Could it be that GM switched back to the inner mounting for V6's for rear caliper clearance? ANyone got a 2014 1LS v6 6speed they are willing to crawl under to see what kind of sway bar setup the 2014 has?

By the way - my Victory Red 2013 1LS v6 6spd is a VERY LATE 2013 build ... July 2013. Either GM was emptying parts bins or the inner mount swaybar is their plan for the 1LS with FE2. Best as I can tell, there was NO optional wheel tire for 1LS in 2013 so maybe it is unique in 2012 and 2013 to cars with factory 18" steel wheels.

I get it that the further out end link mount point would give more leverage but I guess I have to ask of the gurus at JDP and Pedders..... for the cornering loads a V6 is likely to make ... would it be worth it to convert to the farther out end link - therefore the wider bar???

[lscamaro]

If you're going to be doing the 1LE / ZL1 Suspension Conversion, you're going to need the new Lower Control Arms as well. Another thing though is that a few people have mentioned that if you do the conversion with OEM 1LE / ZL1 bars, they will come in contact and rub with the v6 brakes. Some say it rubbed for them and some say it didn't for them so I guess it can go either way. I personally bought the Pedders Conversion so I'll be installing that soon.

Another thing, if you decide to go with Brembos or bigger brakes, make sure you get wheels that will clear the brakes. I know for a fact that OEM 18" and 19" wheels won't clear the brembos. There are definitely aftermarket options that will clear the brembos so just make sure to do your homework.

If you want a cheap alternative to getting lightweight wheels, you can buy a set of the 2010-2012 1LT wheels. Those weight 21 lbs. per wheel (I'm about 99% sure on that number) and will be a huge difference from the LS steelies. I personally did that and the car feels like it accelerates and brakes a lot faster because of the reduced weight of the wheels. The 2013 1LT wheels may weigh close to the 2010-2012 wheels but I haven't seen any weight figures on those so I can't tell you for sure.

[got2gozoom]

i looked at my LCA's and where a end link would mount ... there is a hole even though the inner perch was used from factory

[lscamaro]

Oh yes, since you have a 2013, you probably have the updated LCA's but please know that the sway bars rubbing on the v6 brakes may still be a concern.