First drive modded ZL1

[teddywetts]

Well ladies and gentleman I finally took the plunge into the post warranty life and modded my ZL1. I had a lot of ideas of what I wanted to do, and what I didn't think I needed. I ended up spending twice as much as I intended and my car was out of my garage and out of my hands for 3 entire weeks. Thats the boring stuff. The stuff you want to hear about is the power. I have a Black 2012 A6 coupe that couldn't be any blacker. I added right at 170hp to my car with the following modifications.

Mickey Thompson Drag Radials
Roto-Fab CAI
Machine Worked and Ported Snout
Lingenfelter ZL1 2.38 Pulley Kit with Solid Coupler
LS3 127# Injectors
Flex-Fuel Sensor Kit
Kenny Bell BAP
Dedicated Motorsports ZL1 Secondary Fuel Pump Kit
BBK Off Road Pipes and Cat Delete
Dyno & Tune

My original Number on the Dyno was 430rwhp. Granted my tuners Dyno is known around the state as being the stingiest ever! However after mods and retune we pulled an even 600rwhp. He said the numbers could be as much as 40hp more on a different Dyno, but he trust his and thats where its at. He said with an automatic you could assume 20% drivetrain loss and thats where your at. Which I am fine with. My initial goal was to be able to skin a HellCat and crush a GT500.

First drive. I have to admit I was a little scared to find out what this new animal could do. I grabbed the keys from Chad (my tuner/mechanic/car-guru) and started up car. I gasped when I heard how insanely loud and violent my car sounded. I never would of imagined a simple Cat-Delete would have the ability to make my car sound like a Fighter-Jet, but here it is growling at me and all I can do is smile. I pull off and the ride begins. I put the car in M mode which is not exclusive to tap shifting, but does make the car have more aggressive shift points and is where you put it when you want to do damage. The car back cackles like something off drag strip, and I just feel like a badass as I pull up to my first stop light. I look around seeing if there is somebody thats going to want there face blown off by my New and Improved Monster, but no... A disapproving mother in a minivan pulls up next to me with a frown, and a car full of children. I take myself on a painfully slow drive through traffic and stop lights to the outside of town. Along the way I notice a lot more looks than normal and several people saying "Nice Car!" Ill credit that to my waxing skills and the new roar. Finally I get to some open road and literally brace myself against my seat. Arms stiff, and a little nervous I give the pedal a push to about half throttle. The engine lets out a prehistoric scream and the angels cry. My car violently accelerates at a rate that I've never experienced in my life. It was like that feeling when your sitting in the water on a tube holding the rope and watching the slack disappear as a high powered boat is about to pull your arms off in a wicked ride across the lake. I think I actually yelled out "America" as I watched my car go from sitting to 120mph in what seemed like a few seconds. I was so excited and so impressed with what had happened I didn't know what to do. I wanted to call my brother and brag, I wanted to go back to the shop and high-five Chad to death, I wanted to keep flooring it and laughing. I clumsily fumbled through some of the PTM modes trying to find a sweet spot with the new power, and quickly realized this was a task I wouldn't master in one day. I mashed and dashed away 3/4 of a tank of my new drug e85 before I made my way back to the gas station. Im not exaggerating when I say I got out and my hands were shaking a tad. I have gotten a lot of good advice on here and on the Facebook page ZL1 Exclusive. If anyone would like to hear more about what I did or has any questions feel free to message me on here, or get on the ZL1 Exclusive page. Hope this didn't put you to sleep, but I had to share! Peace.

[sherob]

AWESOME!!!!

[MYLSA]

Congratulations!!! Sounds like a very nice build...

Do you have any intentions for the car...1/4 mile, 1/2 mile, etc...?

Post some pictures of the "Beast" but I think I already may know the car from ZL1 Exclusive?

[flipstyledsm22]

Good read!

AMERICA!!!!

[G Money]

Conrats on the new mods......It is addctive once you start.

[teddywetts]

Originally Posted by MYLSA

Congratulations!!! Sounds like a very nice build...

Do you have any intentions for the car...1/4 mile, 1/2 mile, etc...?

Post some pictures of the "Beast" but I think I already may know the car from ZL1 Exclusive?

Im not sure what all I will take on. Right now the plan is to hit a few car shows, and run around a little bit with my buddies that do drag race. Who knows what will happen after that lol.

[teddywetts]

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?f...type=3&theater

[MYLSA]

Originally Posted by teddywetts

Im not sure what all I will take on. Right now the plan is to hit a few car shows, and run around a little bit with my buddies that do drag race. Who knows what will happen after that lol.

Cool and yes I know you from ZL1 Exclusive. But hey man with the auto you should do well at 1/4 mile...but for now enjoy pulling hard on most cars on the road

[owhite3003]

Saweet buddy, love the write up.

[m3andak]

You have just pushed me over the edge on getting my build started. Congrats man! Awesome!!!

[teddywetts]

Originally Posted by m3andak

You have just pushed me over the edge on getting my build started. Congrats man! Awesome!!!

YES! I told my wife when I traded my 2014 2SS for a ZL1 it was so I didn't have to modify it. A few months down the road she is calling bullshit, and Im spending my sons college fund (jokes of course). You will love it. My goal was to be around 700hp, and to maintain a drivability that feels stock. I wanted to be able to be a freak on the drag strip, and (somewhat) chill around town. If I put the car in D which means drive instead of M which means sport. The car starts off in 2nd gear, and the shifts are much less angry. When you do this, it is a pleasure to drive around town and you don't feel like your a misstep away from flying through an intersection. I am very happy where I have landed, and did it in one step. Some good advice I received was to have a goal in mind and mod accordingly. Having a really good tuner, or mechanic you trust is huge. That way when you start to mod the car you don't end up buying things that aren't going to cut it down the road if you plan to add more. You want to buy things in the correct order that way it gives you room to grow, but also gives you a stopping point where you can enjoy the car as is. One thing you don't want to do is have to buy injectors twice so go big the first time. You don't want to buy a BAP if your going to need a dual pump... There are a million examples, but use the guys on here or on the Facebook page and move ahead after you receive the right advice. I think the most important thing to do if your going to add power is to get sticky tires. Otherwise you will blow them off your car. Good luck, and hope to hear about your plans soon.

[m3andak]

Originally Posted by teddywetts

YES! I told my wife when I traded my 2014 2SS for a ZL1 it was so I didn't have to modify it. A few months down the road she is calling bullshit, and Im spending my sons college fund (jokes of course). You will love it. My goal was to be around 700hp, and to maintain a drivability that feels stock. I wanted to be able to be a freak on the drag strip, and (somewhat) chill around town. If I put the car in D which means drive instead of M which means sport. The car starts off in 2nd gear, and the shifts are much less angry. When you do this, it is a pleasure to drive around town and you don't feel like your a misstep away from flying through an intersection. I am very happy where I have landed, and did it in one step. Some good advice I received was to have a goal in mind and mod accordingly. Having a really good tuner, or mechanic you trust is huge. That way when you start to mod the car you don't end up buying things that aren't going to cut it down the road if you plan to add more. You want to buy things in the correct order that way it gives you room to grow, but also gives you a stopping point where you can enjoy the car as is. One thing you don't want to do is have to buy injectors twice so go big the first time. You don't want to buy a BAP if your going to need a dual pump... There are a million examples, but use the guys on here or on the Facebook page and move ahead after you receive the right advice. I think the most important thing to do if your going to add power is to get sticky tires. Otherwise you will blow them off your car. Good luck, and hope to hear about your plans soon.

Too funny you mention how the wife reacts. I came from a CTS-V and told her that the Z has 580HP I don't need to change anything... I have a few good tuners here in the Northeast I will be "chewing there ear" soon. Glad your's worked out. Cheers!