10-12-2014, 09:08 AM | #1 |
Drives: One of the baddest handling Gen 5s Join Date: Feb 2011
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Modern Z/28 Performance Kits Shave Seconds on the Track
When you’re racing a road course, every second matters. Increased power will certainly help you shave seconds off of your lap times but more times than not, true performance comes down to the handling capabilities of your ride. Chevrolet knows all about this and has worked for years to come up with the latest and greatest suspension upgrades for its wide variety of vehicles, especially the famed fifth-generation Camaro. And according to The Block, one of their latest offerings may just be the best yet! For most road course racers, suspension and handling is 90 percent of their build, with the ultimate goal being to out handle the competition for better lap times. So when someone tells you you may just be able to shave a couple seconds off your lap times by installing two performance kits on your fifth-generation Camaro in a single day, it’s obviously going to peak your interest. That’s exactly what the recently debuted Chevrolet Performance Z/28 Performance kits did for avid racer Todd Napieralski and his Total Performance Racing Camaro. Napieralski works very closely with Chevrolet Performance when it comes to testing products and getting them accepted into the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) scene. One of the products Napieralski has been working on homologating into the SCCA circuit is the Chevrolet Performance Z/28 Suspension Kit (PN: 23464729). This kit includes complete front and rear DSSV shocks, front and rear sway bars and end links, front control arms and upper and lower rear control arms. Napieralski and his team reportedly installed this kit on Napieralski’s 2011 Camaro SS in just eight hours at the shop. They also installed the Z/28 Aero Kit (PN: 23489551), which gives the fifth-generation Camaro more downforce to keep the car planted not only in the straight-aways, but also during high-speed cornering. On the weekend of August 23rd, the Total Performance Racing team competed in the SCCA Northern Conference US Majors at Grattan Raceway in Michigan with the Z/28 performance kit-equipped Camaro. Napieralski’s brother Rich piloted the 2011 Camaro SS and told The Block, “I cannot believe how good this Z/28 suspension package is. The Multimatic DSSV shocks are phenomenal. I could put the car where I wanted it lap after lap. When you can do that, it is nothing but fun!” While the car certainly had more performance appeal on the track with the added Z/28 performance kits, the Camaro proved to have better track times as well. With the kits, Rich Napieralski was able to drive the Camaro to a new SCCA Touring 2 Class track record and two race wins at the Northern Converence US Majors. The car was also able to take a 25-second lead across the finish line on the runner-up car, a Porsche 911, during Sunday’s race, knocking two seconds off of the Camaro’s previous lap best. The gains in performance from the Z/28 Suspension and Aero kits is undeniable and should be taken seriously by any fifth-generation Camaro-wielding road racer. After all, you don’t get two-second drops in lap times with the installation of any two part numbers very often, and certainly not with ones that only take a day to install on your car! This is an article from The Block. I personally find this very impressive and a huge applaud for GM for mustering up a kit that gets the job done better than many aftermarket offerings, way to go GM excellent job .
Last edited by L99CAMA2011; 10-12-2014 at 09:52 AM. |
10-12-2014, 09:17 AM | #2 |
Drives: 14 Z/28 0# Join Date: May 2013
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this is great. It would also be great if a Z/28 could run in scca nationals but the brakes would have to swap to steel and probably more denutting.
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10-12-2014, 11:50 AM | #3 |
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Drives: '14 Z/28s SIM/SW Join Date: Jan 2013
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Clearly, whoever wrote that article is delusional. Everyone knows the true key to the Z/28 is those "cheater" tires...
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10-12-2014, 03:45 PM | #4 |
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Z/28 Performance Kit
Anyone seen a price for this kit ,yet?
Price is kinda important. |
10-12-2014, 03:54 PM | #5 |
Drives: Black '13 2SS/RS/1LE w/NPP/NAV Join Date: Oct 2012
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Those DSSV struts aren't going to come cheap...
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10-12-2014, 03:56 PM | #6 |
Drives: Black '13 2SS/RS/1LE w/NPP/NAV Join Date: Oct 2012
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Jegs has the kit listed just shy of $4K...
http://www.jegs.com/i/Chevrolet-Perf...ductId=3025547 Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
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10-12-2014, 04:00 PM | #7 |
Drives: Black '13 2SS/RS/1LE w/NPP/NAV Join Date: Oct 2012
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It almost looks like the 1LE kit they offer. Bars, T/A, struts, sorings, end links etc... just different parts. I would bet the only real difference in the Z/28 kit vs. 1LE kit is bars and struts/springs.
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10-12-2014, 04:32 PM | #8 | |
Drives: Porsche 928 S4, Mustang GT vert Join Date: May 2012
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Quote:
1LE kit does not include the Multimatic DSSV shocks (worth 2-sec) nor control arms capable of taking the loads the DSSV exert in order to maintain tight body control $ 4K is well worth it, what other mods would give you 2-sec with no change in tires? |
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10-12-2014, 06:40 PM | #9 | |
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Quote:
The main reason I pointed that out is because I have a 1LE an I figure the real difference is the ones I mentioned. Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
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10-12-2014, 07:36 PM | #10 |
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I would bet that every bushing in every one of those parts is different and tuned just for that suspension. That kit came up for $3200ish on one of the gm parts on-line sites, too.
-Geoff
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10-12-2014, 07:47 PM | #11 | |
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Quote:
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10-12-2014, 08:13 PM | #12 |
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I bought this kit for $3.4K shipped, and will be delivered on Tuesday per its tracking info. For a good conversion, in my opinion, you need:
Remarks:
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10-12-2014, 08:21 PM | #13 |
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I would love to see this done to a 1LE. Start a build thread. If you have one already please give me a link.
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10-12-2014, 08:23 PM | #14 | |
Drives: Porsche 928 S4, Mustang GT vert Join Date: May 2012
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Quote:
Here is a link that goes into more detail (taken from OP's post): https://theblock.com/news/shave-seco...rformance-kits. The SS Camaro had a 1LE kit already installed in order to compete in SCCA T2 class, thus the Z28 kit adds all the parts you need to upgrade from 1LE. In other words without Trofeo's , LS7 and carbon brakes the Z/28 suspension is worth 2-sec quicker than the 1LE, impressive! |
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