Camaro5 Chevy Camaro Forum / Camaro ZL1, SS and V6 Forums - Camaro5.com
 
Phastek Performance
Go Back   Camaro5 Chevy Camaro Forum / Camaro ZL1, SS and V6 Forums - Camaro5.com > General Camaro Forums > Member Car Journals


Reply
 
Thread Tools
Old 05-01-2012, 01:09 AM   #1
ITZ SSIK
marini85
 
ITZ SSIK's Avatar
 
Drives: 2011 Camaro 2SS RS
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Brentwood, CA
Posts: 4
ITZ SSIK Build

Before starting I would just like to first say HELL YA to Chevy and GM for making such an amazing car....it's GREAT to see what the CAMARO has done in just a few years!!!

***Below is my story on the purchase of my car....skip if you wish NOT to read as I spouted off longer than I needed, but oh well!***


Anyway, after nearly two years of ownership to the greatest car I've owned, I figured it was time to share what is and continues to be the funnest project I have taken part in.

For months before and after the Camaro was re-released I joked with friends and family that I would actually purchase one as I always wanted one. Everyone of course thought I was crazy saying I didn't need to buy such an "unnecessary" car, or "save your money" as my father would say and is probably still thinking to this day -- especially as I continue to purchase new parts. Either way in the late summer of 2010 I drove down to my local Chevy dealership to test drive a Camaro 2SS/RS just to make sure it was all I made it up to be. Well let me tell you, that was the BEST test drive ever!

However, my local dealer was asking WAAAAY too much and it was starting to worry me that this car was out of my reach "financially". This really bummed me out and was feeling pretty crappy about the whole thing until I decided to call around to other dealers and check out their prices. Well this became promising as the prices began to get lower but the cars did NOT have what I wanted. Again, I was really bummed and more or less pissed that things really were not looking good.

THEN, one Sunday afternoon I was driving back from our family cabin and passed the dealership up there, and right in front was a Black/Orange Camaro SS. I was ecstatic and eager to talk with a sales person so I pulled in but to my surprise they were CLOSED on Sundays....WTF! So the next week I called up the dealer and spoke with the first salesman that would talk to me. I began asking questions on their prices which were pretty good but when discussing the options on their inventory models I was not happy as none were of the right combination to satisfy what I was envisioning. At this point, the salesman tells me "well if you want to save some $$ we can order you one and pay dealer-net pricing". Holy you know what, please tell me more.....order your car how you want it and save, you just have to be patient.

So after a couple phone calls and e-mails, the car build was complete, the price was right and an appointment was set to finalize everything. A few weeks later, I placed on order my 2011 Camaro 2SS/RS in Black with Orange Racing Stripes.
Now the hardest part, waiting 6-8 weeks for my Camaro to arrive from the factory. As the weeks went by I got more and more excited and eager for that phone call from the dealer. Then around the 6.5 week mark I got a phone call when I was (again) coming back from our cabin that my car was finally here, and could be ready for pickup that afternoon. Holy you know what, I turned around (even though I was an hour passed the dealer) to see my car and figure out some way to drive her home that day!!!

Finally after an hour or so of paperwork, I sat in my car and was in absolute shock. Could this really be happening....hell ya it was and I couldn't wait to drive the nearly 2 hour trip home! During the ride home I was still in disbelief of what had just happened but I was reassured with every passing acceleration I made. That night I practically slept with my car on the driveway as I still was in shock that this car was actually mine.





***Build details STARTS HERE....****


Below is a breakdown of the current/planned mods:

Current (In Order of Installation):

1. Borla ATAK Cat-Back System
http://www.borla.com/products/produc...rod_sku=140356

2. Roto-Fab CAI
http://shop.roto-fab.com/product.sc?productId=24

3. Hotchkis Suspenion Kit
http://www.hotchkis.net/2010_camaro_race_pack.html

4. MGW Short Throw Shifter
http://www.mgwltd.com/camaro2010_sho..._shifter.shtml

5. Solo Performance High-Flow Cats
http://solo-performance.com/pe-camaro-ls3-std

6. Borla "Shorty" Headers -- YES, shorties (will explain)
http://www.borla.com/products/produc...prod_sku=17258


Planned (No particular order):

1. Tune & Dyno
2. Upgraded Cam & Valvetrain
3. Ported & Polished Heads
4. Larger Throttle Body
5. Custom Painted Stripes
6. Heritage Grille
7. Carbon Fiber Driveshaft
8. RB Performance Brake Rotors
9. HAWK Ceramic Brake Pads
10. Supercharger (brand unknown)
11. Most likely more....


Well....enough with the background on my story. After owning the car a couple weeks I decided it was time to begin looking into performance parts. The car was bad*** and loved it every time I drove it but it needed a little more. So the research and saving began to start the build of my Camaro 2SS/RS.

The first plan of attack was the exhaust...I listened to probably every sound clip video on YouTube (at the time) to help in making a decision. I was initially leaning towards the ARH setup and a couple others until I stumbled across Borla's ATAK system which had just been released a few months prior. My initial reaction was WOW and few days later, well....I was SOLD!

Here they are before installation...needed a little TLC



Shot from underneath after install....AMAZING!



Now that I had the car, the sound (almost) it was time to think of a good tag line for my plates. I normally don't care much for custom plates as they usually don't make sense or are just plain stupid. After many nights of drinking beers, throwing names back in forth and staring at my car, ITZ SSIK popped into my head. So I wrote it down to see how it looked and that was it....I logged onto the CA DMV site and placed my custom plates on order.

ITZ SSIK was born!!!





Gotta help her breathe better...CAI upgrade had to happen!








Next up was the suspension! I spent literally months researching the many different companies and kits on the market looking for the one that best suite my needs. I was looking for a kit that provided the best race performance, ride height, and ride comfort. At first I was considering doing just some drop springs but then remembered the issues with wheel hop and that "loose/washy" feeling at higher speeds.

With this all in mind, I felt that Hotchkis's products best suited all aspects of my needs with the suspension. In the end, I decided on their Race Pack Kit which basically revamped the entire look and feel of the car. Words cannot describe just how important this modification was for my car. With all the plans I have, knowing the power is in all ways planted as best as possible is VERY assuring.

Thanks Hotchkis for making such a quality and true-to-your word product.

Hot in off the UPS truck



Shot showing the Strut Tower brace... (will take better pic)











More to come....

Last edited by ITZ SSIK; 05-03-2012 at 12:11 AM.
ITZ SSIK is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-02-2012, 08:00 AM   #2
aquablueL99
Jackson's COTW
 
aquablueL99's Avatar
 
Drives: 1968 Camaro & 2010 Camaro 2SS
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Chalmers, Indiana
Posts: 1,740
Welcome!!

Can't wait....keep us posted and welcome to the club.....ABL99....
__________________
aquablueL99 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-02-2012, 02:36 PM   #3
pierre777
HT5 COTW 9/3/2012
 
pierre777's Avatar
 
Drives: Cyber Bullet
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: lebanon
Posts: 4,555
Send a message via Skype™ to pierre777
Congrats and welcome to c5.
__________________
pierre777 is offline   Reply With Quote
 
Reply

Thread Tools

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 01:15 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.9 Beta 4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.