Indydriver's SS PowerVert from factory order to 424/419rwhp build [COTW 6/2/14]

[Indydriver]

Welcome to my story. Camaro5 has been incredibly important in my information gathering so here's my humble attempt to give back. I will headline sections in BOLD so that you can skip the sections you're not interested in.

THE GOAL

Build a stealth power convertible using tier one, industry standard, proven bolt-ons and tune to achieve a 15% power increase while maintaining modest noise levels.

CREDITS

Before I begin, I want to thank all the members of C5 and the vendors here for being incredibly helpful and patient with newcomers. But I have to give a special call out to those individuals who have gone the extra mile in educating me on Camaros and how to wring ever more performance from the legendary LS3. First, I have to thank Brian Eybel at Hare Chevrolet in Noblesville, Indiana for really working my factory order/trade-in deal (more on that later) to a mutually agreeable level. Next I'd like to highlight three individuals I've met through C5 who have selflessly helped me with numerous email exchanges to answer all my noob questions with grace, patience and an endless reservoir of good will. First, Tracy Lewis at RevXtreme knows a ton about building LS3s and amazingly to me has answered countless questions from me that he no doubt has answered a thousand times before. I don't know how there can be anyone on the planet that knows more about catch cans than Tracy and so his product will end up on my car. In addition, Tracy helped me find the best LS3 tuner in Indy, Mike Norris of Norris Motorsports. Like Tracy, Mike has been incredibly patient guiding me through my build planning (which will be performed late April-Early May). And third, Nick Filippides, the owner of American Racing Headers (ARH) has mentored me through the vagaries of choosing a header system that will preserve my factory NPP exhaust and my goal of building a stealthy but powerful LS3.

YOUR AUTHOR

I am 59 years old. A couple of items on my bucket list are to own my very first American V8 and own a convertible. This car checks both boxes. This is also my first GM product! You younger guys who have enjoyed muscle cars your entire lives may shake your head in wonder at this, but it's not because I am having a mid-life crisis and suddenly discovered performance. When I got my drivers license in 1970, the domestic automobile industry was entering a very dark period of gas shortages, CAFE standards and the end of the "anything goes" Detroit era. Japanese products were on the ascension delivering superior quality, performance and value. The first vehicle I owned was a 450cc Honda twin followed by several "ricer" bikes of increasing horsepower and handling capability. Being a poor college student I forced myself to learn basic maintenance and modding. My love of Japanese sport bikes led me to their automobiles. I've also owned a few Chryslers along the way but no muscle cars. What led to this purchase was a rekindled interest in getting a new sport bike being squashed by my sensible partner of 35 years. The compromise is an open top muscle car. Of course, I can't leave it stock for very long. The current plan is to do many of my own under-the-hood bolt on mods then go to Norris Motorsports for headers and tune.

THE DEAL

I've negotiated many new vehicle purchases in my life and I've gotten to the point where I enjoy the fight. I'll share my methodology in detail in the hopes that it can save those newer to this from much angst.

Before you contact any dealer, you've got to get a few things settled. Do your research and determine exactly what you want to buy and how you're going to pay for it. One very important issue in working toward a deal is, are you going to buy the new car outright or are you trading in your current ride? The former is simple: get the lowest price you can. The latter is more complicated and gives a dealer the opportunity to skin you twice if you haven't done your homework. My deal was further complicated by my desire to get exactly what I wanted, a factory fresh, loaded 2SS convertible that included a late availability option, Full Length Indy Stripes. This means there was no chance of finding one on a dealer's lot. If you can find a car in stock at a dealer close to your desired spec, I would recommend negotiating for an in stock vehicle. You can enjoy instant gratification for one thing. In addition, the dealer will be more likely to go the extra mile to earn your business when everything that's needed to close a deal is right in front of both parties. Negotiating a trade-in/factory order as I did means the dealer has to commit to a deal that may or may not take place sometime in the future and has to guess what your trade will be worth at an unknown time in the future when your new car may deliver. If you can sell your trade in a private sale, do it. You're more likely to get a higher price for it and it will greatly simplify coming to agreement with your dealer.

After deciding exactly what I wanted on the car and doing my due diligence on the value of my trade and getting to the point where I was seriously ready to buy the right deal, I contacted a half dozen dealers in my area via Chevy's website asking for pricing on the new car only. I didn't raise the issue of my trade-in at this time. This method gives you an instant pecking order on dealer's to approach. Some dealers are very aggressive with their Internet quotes and some aren't. My first ask returned quotes as much as $700 below invoice. I used this to prioritize the order in which I would engage face-to-face. I started with the dealership farthest away thinking they had additional incentive to "steal" my business from the big city dealerships closer to my home. It gives you an extra point of leverage when you tell them up front that, "hey, I live 30 miles away, it's not convenient for me to do business this far away but I'm willing to give you a chance to earn my business." I helped my daughter buy a brand new V6 Honda Accord EX-L using this tactic and got it for $5000 below MSRP which was beyond my most optimistic goals. The dealer I ended up doing business with was one of these two rural dealers.

THE TRADE

The trade-in part was tough. All the dealers look at the same resources, and they aren't the ones you and I look at. They look at two things: your VIN and your mileage. They base their offer on the most recent auction prices. They are always going to default to a "fair" condition whether it reflects the vehicle's actual condition or not because it gives them a better chance to resell the vehicle for a profit. So while I was looking at a KBB retail value of $15,500 and dealer trade value of $13,500-$14,500, the dealers were looking at auction prices topping out at $10,500. They almost all offered me the exact same trade-in value: $12,000. This left me determined to get that additional $1500 or so and a discount on the new car.

SUPPLIER PRICING

If you are buying new without a trade, you can skip this section because you should be able to get well below invoice as noted by the initial offers I got simply canvasing several local dealers. If you're trading in, a Supplier Discount Code can help you if your dealer is willing to use the GM kickback they get on every one of these sales toward closing your deal. First, understand that in GM-speak, "supplier" price equals "preferred" price. The preferred price is shown on every invoice. This price is usually slightly above invoice hence shouldn't be used on a straight up car buy because you can negotiate a better price. In my case, supplier or preferred price was $150 above invoice. But because I'm trading, the $500 or so GM to dealer cash given for every supplier code sale can be thrown into the deal if the dealer is willing. Of course, your goal is to get them to do just that by insisting on doing a deal "difference" just outside their earlier offer. Both you and the dealer will have to sign a document for GM attesting to the fact that you paid "supplier" price for the new car. That's fine because the dealer can assign more value to the trade (including the GM kickback) to make the deal pencil. Your goal of course is a difference (the cash or loan value you're going to contribute on top of your trade) that gets you the fair value for your trade plus at least invoice or better on the new car. I got within $500 of my target difference and walked out. However, after discovering that none of the eight other dealers I had contacted were going to approach my number, I relented and accepted the best offer. I found to my own satisfaction that I simply could not find a better deal in my market. That's when you know to make a deal. My dealer is allowing me to drive my trade until the new car arrives and asked for a modest $500 deposit. Deal done. BTW, I am allowed two supplier codes per year and I believe they are transferrable so PM me if you can use one for this type of deal. Also, you can see supplier pricing by doing your build on the GM supplier website. No code is required to do your build.

THE ORDER

Because I wanted the late availability option Gray Full Length Indy Stripe (DTA) on my Summit White 2SS/RS Vert, the system would not initially take the order. This is extremely frustrating after all the work done to finally consummate the deal. My salesman warned that the deal may be off if the order didn't stick soon. Fortunately, within a week the system accepted the order on 2/6 and I was assigned status 1100. Here is everything I ordered:

2014 Camaro Convertible 2SS
Summit White
Gray, front leather seating surfaces
RS Package
6.2L V8 with 6 speed manual transmission
Performance short throw shifter
Dual-mode performance exhaust
Premium carpeted floor mats
Cargo Net
Gray full length dual Indy Stripes Package
Windscreen

In a week, my order was promoted to 3000 "Order Accepted by Production Control" and soon thereafter I got my TPW (Target Production Week) of 3/10. That's where I sit as of this writing. A note about the order tracking system on Chevy's website: it is essentially worthless. Half the time it doesn't work and when it does, it shows you a cheesy 5 step process that does not give the production status code. So feel free to bug your salesman for constant updates or ask Becky in the sticky thread in the pricing forum to look it up for you. She provides a saintly service for this forum by giving information to anxious customers of other dealers. If you can't find a dealer to work with, try working with her. She is very fair to forum members.

THE WAIT

OK, this one is the really hard part. You've done the deal and ordered a new car and now you're faced with a 6-8 week wait which is pure torture. What's a new Camaro enthusiast to do? Why study up on mods on C5 of course! Figuring out mods, choosing equipment and vendors and even buying and stockpiling them in advance of delivery is the only thing thats kept me sane the last four weeks (and still at least 4-5 to go). But, the time has been well spent. I've ordered nearly $1000 in accessories and mods and lined up my tuner for headers and dynotune (about another $2000). All I need is a car!

MODS & ACCESSORIES FOR MY LS3 POWERVERT

Here's what I've already purchased for my vaporvert:

$114 CarCoversDirect Covercraft Interior Cover Noah Gray
$30 Big Worm Motorsports Gloss Black Gill Appliqué
$200 Rx Catch Can w/Single Check Valve
$100 Rx 1LE Style Clean-Side Separator
$30 Phastek Skip-Shift Eliminator
$375 CAI Intake RDP Motorsports

Still to be purchased:

$1900 ARH Long Tube headers and High Flow Cats (preserves NPP), installed and tuned
$150 VMax CNC Ported Throttle Body
$85 Wolfstein convertible care kit
$85 Zaino three-in-one polishing kit
$175 ProTint
$2000 Winter Wheel & Tire Package from Tire Rack (fall purchase)

On my calculator, that adds up to $5,244. Gulp! After just buying a brand new car. Am I crazy? No, sick maybe, but not crazy. These are the things I've identified that i want and need to build the perfect Vert for me after many hours of studying many many threads on C5. Let me comment on each item:

Interior Cover: thanks to SkipinMN for helping me identify this invaluable (for me) accessory. I have a short commute to work. During appropriate weather, I want to leave the top down during the whole day so I'm not contantly exercising the top. At work I park in a private parking garage that I feel comfortable leaving the top down with the interior covered. Nuff said. Maybe it doesn't do anything for your circumstances but I find it to be invaluable for mine. There are lots of fabric options but this vendor does a great job identifying their strengths and weaknesses. I picked Noah fabric. YMMV.

Vinyl gills: got these on a recommendation from Spiderbuddy. They are an inexpensive exterior mod that really breaks up the monotony of the monolithic side of the car and fools the untrained eye into seeing real vents. I got glossy black for my white car with black top.

Rx Catch Can and 1LE Style Clean Side Separator: I've never bought a CC before and had no clue as to the issue, which is the intentional feeding of oily crankcase vapors back into your intake tract. GM (and others no doubt) are using your pristine clean and dry (which is what it should look like) intake track like a waste incinerator. This has many negative consequences to the performance and long term condition of an important part of your engine. Read all about it in Tracy's Tech Tips on his website. Seeing is believing. BTW, Rx will paint the cans to color match your GM paint. My Summit White cans will look pretty cool in that engine bay. These cans will be the first things I install immediately after delivery. Can't protect that intake tract too quickly IMHO. [Product pics in posts 17-24]

Skip Shift Eliminator: Who wants to shift their hot rod from 1st to 4th? I don't. Fortunately, there is an inexpensive, easy DIY mod, the SSE. Many vendors sell them. I picked Phastek. [This thread is all about sharing my learning experiences. Here's an early one...after purchasing this item, I have learned that the skip-shift function can be programmed out during tuning. So, if you want a NIB SSE, PM me.]

Cold Air Intake: it doesn't take long perusing Camaro5 to notice that this is a 'Must Have' mod on whatever version of Camaro you buy. I had one on my Speed3 trade-in and loved it so i knew it wouldn't be long 'til PowerVert got one. I'll let you figure out which one you want to buy and from whom. There is a consensus that Cold Air Induction, Inc's product is in the top tier. I bought it from RDP because they were $25 below most others including free shipping. They were backordered when I ordered mine so it took two weeks to get it delivered but that obviously isn't an issue for me.

Headers: Another hotly debated topic on C5. After a great deal of study and help from my tuner and Nick, the owner of ARH, I have settled on their long tube short system with high flow cats. They have a longer system back to the axle which includes their X pipe and full 3" tube all the way back to the OE NPP mufflers. ARH claims this will provide up to an additional 10rwsp over their shorter LT version. The longer system costs an additional $500 installed. I'm concerned it will be louder than the shorter system and the cost per horsepower is pretty steep. So, I'm sticking with the shorter system. One side note here that pertains to all your vendor choices. Fads come and go in the mod world as do financially unstable suppliers. It is paramount that we do what we can to choose solid businesses to supply us because we want and need them to stand behind their products. One header maker I was considering just went belly up. That makes me very content with ARH because they are very well established, have amassed a tremendous amount of expertise over the years and will be here if and when I need any after-the-sale support or heaven forbid, a warranty claim. Think about this as you throw your credit card numbers out into cyberspace. [Postscript on the header decision: I continued to waffle back and forth between the 'short connector' LTs and the 'to-the-axle' kit. I had just about settled on the latter (a $500 upgrade-installed) when I finally discovered that this system fouls one of the extra braces added to the underside of the convertible by GM to make up for loss of structural rigidity when the top of the car is removed. ARH makes a "chromoly" replacement brace that accommodates the longer exhaust kit and reportedly adds more strength than the OE part. The problem is, this part costs a princely $475! That makes the total cost of the longer kit $995, or about 50% more than the short connector kit. In addition, one very well respected tuner on C5 tells me that I will be happier with the tone and lack of drone of the short kit into the OE H pipe and NPP exhaust. So, I continue to learn the finer details of these applications. In retrospect, I'm a little bit torqued about the fact that this bracing issue wasn't pointed out to me by knowledgeable people a little sooner. Hopefully if you have a convertible and are shopping for header systems, this will save you some time, trouble and angst--and that's the whole point of this journal.]

VMax Ported TB: Nearly every tuner on C5 will tell you this is the most cost effective bang-for-the-buck performance mod for any Camaro. That's good enough for me, I want one. This is an incredibly easy DIY mod but, I'm going to let my tuner install it at header time just to sweeten the pot for him a little bit (and save the hassle of shipping back my OE part).

Wolfstein convertible care kit: Did you know your convertible top requires special care? I didn't until I checked out the Haartz website. These guys make the Camaro top. This fabric requires special cleaners and sealants to keep in like new condition. I'm going to give it a shot.

Zaino: you've probably already got your own favorite cleaners, polishes and glosses for your new baby and that's fine. If you're looking for a premium system that really works, check out Zaino's website. You do need to be willing to spend two entire weekends per year applying these products but you will get a long lasting, show car shine in return.

Tint: I gotta guy. Maybe you do too. This guy in Indy did my Mazdaspeed3 six years ago and it's still perfect. And, he's very reasonably priced at <$200. He uses only lifetime warranted films. Hint: When you see a tinter prep the glass by cleaning it with a razor blade, you know you've got a good one. Dealers charge $300-$400 for tint.

Winters: You know your car comes with SUMMER ONLY tires, right? Guess what summer-only means? You guessed it. Use them only in summer! I've been dismayed by the number of C5 members I read about trying to make it through winter on Pirelli PZeros. Don't do it! I know some of the inside baseball about tire design and construction that I won't go into here. Suffice to say, it is suicide to run summers in winter. Heck, GM even stopped shipping certain models because it was too cold for the tires. That should tell you something. (Feel free to PM me if you want more info on this subject.) If you cannot afford winters or don't want to go through the hassle of switching back and forth please, do yourself and the rest of the motoring public a favor and put some all-seasons on your precious baby. Now, please. Me? I'm going to call Tire Rack next fall and bite the bullet on a full setup of wheels, winters and TPMS so I can swap 'em out in my garage whenever I want to. Oh yeah, you also have to purchase an $80 tool to reprogram the new TPMS or go have your dealer do it or live with the dash light. I want full independence. I'll bite the bullet.

This is the current plan for year one. Stay tuned as once I get the car and get started modding, I'll write up each one listed here and we will eventually get to the dyno. Should be fun. Thanks for playing along.

UPDATE 3/05/14:
My salesman informed me today that my TPW has been pushed back from 3/10 to 3/17. The good news is that my production status was also raised to 3400 which means the order has been selected for production and loaded into the plant computers. Looks like this time it will get built. We are seeing a number of sold orders being scheduled for week of 3/17 which seems to confirm information posted by another member that the Oshawa plant had been given unexpected furlough notice for shutdown the week before 3/17 and the first two weeks of April due to a large inventory of Camaros at dealerships. This means if you're in the market for a Camaro, the incentives are only going to get better.

Speaking of incentives getting better, GM announced for the month of March an additional $500 cash bonus for supplier code sales (me). Add to this the $500 base customer cash and my $1000 Private Offer and I've now got $2000 additional off my deal. Thank you, GM! These offers expire 3/31 and I doubt my car will be physically delivered by then. However, my salesman has confirmed that they can complete the purchase transaction anytime after they have a VIN and invoice which are generated the day the car is made. So it looks like I will actually buy the car before it arrives at the dealership. I am talking to the dealer and my insurance agent about 'what ifs' with this scenario and I'd suggest you do the same if you choose this route. You better know beforehand who is responsible if something goes wrong. Have you determined in advance who is responsible if your pride and joy gets damaged or stolen on it's way to you when you legally own the car?

CAR IS BUILT MARCH 17, 2014!

Status 4B00 "Built and Bayed"! This no doubt means it is being sent out for the DTA Indy Stripes. No idea how long that will take but, since the plant is just coming off furlough, one would think this third party vendor is caught up and waiting for new business. So, hopefully, it will be shipping soon. Mods begin Day 1.

MARCH OR APRIL?

It looks like I have the option of closing the deal in either March or April. The dealer has informed me that he can sell the car as soon as he has an invoice. What's the difference? You got it, incentives. Right now, I have a certain $2000 in GM cash to apply to my deal: the $500 Customer Cash on all deals; a $500 Supplier Code Cash Bonus and a $1000 Private Offer. All three expire on 3/31. Now, of course there will be new incentives in April and by all rights, they should be bigger than current ones due to the huge inventory that's causing plant furloughs. If an April PO was a sure thing, I'd be tempted to take a chance but I've only seen one recently and it still expired in March. So, right now, I'm pretty sure I'll do the deal in March and cash in on the sure $2K. Heck, if they get those stripes on and get it on the rail, it might even get here before the end of the month.

I also finished my prep buys this week by ordering the Zaino products, RaggTopp convertible cleaner and sealer kit and a case of Wix oil filters so I'll be ready to do an oil change right before heading see Mike Norris. Found a great online source for these. Got 'em for $4.03 ea + shipping or $5 delivered versus $7 at O'Reilly's or Napa. All I need is a car.

03/29/2014: I OWN A CAMARO

I closed on the sale today. It was kind of weird in that it was the first time I've ever purchased a car, then walked out of the dealership empty-handed. My incentives expire in a couple of days and, even though it seems certain that April rebates will be ramped up, I simply cannot walk away from $2000 in hand. So, we will find out whether or not this was a good decision.

I've got to comment again on how impressed I am with my dealership, Hare Chevrolet in Noblesville, IN. My deal was exactly as promised--no last minute shenanigans. I ended up borrowing the entire balance due because of their very attractive 1.6% rate through Teachers Credit Union (I did have to join TCU to get the loan). I declined the standard extended warranty pitch. Interestingly, Hare sells a non-GM program. I was primarily interested in coverage of the convertible top only to find that even the top level "platinum" programs exclude convertible tops. Since I'm probably going to tune and reflashing the ECM apparently violates the drivetrain warranty, there's not much point in it.

It was great to see the Camaros (and Corvettes) in the flesh again. I sat in a 2013 ZL1 and a 2014 Corvette. Nice hardware, Chevrolet! Well done. I can't help but feel that a day is coming soon where we will be barred from such wonderful cars by the tightening regulatory noose our government is imposing on us. The damnable CAFE regulations are slowing killing the classic American V8 motor. Some of these Chevys have gas-guzzler taxes, some have AFM cylinder management, a ridiculous "technology" that has failed miserably in previous applications. Let a free market decide whether or not the V8 survives.

I did get some encouragement that there has been some movement with my car toward shipment. My salesman was told that it was moved to an overflow lot where the next-to-ship cars are going. The factory has been running for two weeks and with railcar availability apparently a problem, the new production is getting backed up. Hopefully, my car will find itself leaving Canada sometime soon next week. I suspect it will take at least a week once it starts moving. We shall see. Next entry should include pics of my new car!

[aquablueL99]

Indy,
Can't wait for pictures. Sounds great!...

From one Hoosier to another...Welcome and congrats on your new GM!!...

Kurt ABL99...

[Indydriver]

Thank you sir. I just started writing this today and have much more to add to get caught up. I will then walk everyone through the delivery process, my initial driving impressions, several DIY mods and finally The Build and Tune. So check back often. Here's what it looks like on Chevy's build site.

[wer2foxs]

Great write up man and wanted to say Hi neigbor! There are quite a few of us aorund Indy and I have recently joined a C5 club call IndyNexGen. These guys started up a year or so ago and have annual events, one especially at at Hare Chevrolet. Hopefully they mentioned the club to you. We would love to meet you, your family and of course your Camaro! If you haven't done so yet please visit the club web site at www.indynexgen.com! Welcome again and look forward to your pics!

[Indydriver]

Originally Posted by wer2foxs

Great write up man and wanted to say Hi neigbor! There are quite a few of us aorund Indy and I have recently joined a C5 club call IndyNexGen. These guys started up a year or so ago and have annual events, one especially at at Hare Chevrolet. Hopefully they mentioned the club to you. We would love to meet you, your family and of course your Camaro! If you haven't done so yet please visit the club web site at www.indynexgen.com! Welcome again and look forward to your pics!

Thanks for the warm welcome. Interesting that I managed to find the one dealer and tuner that support your club. I will definitely check out indynexgen!

[Ryanbabz71]

Welcome aboard!

I second checking out IndyNexGen.

[christate1]

6 more days till its born lol

[Indydriver]

Originally Posted by christate1

6 more days till its born lol

I know. I'm dying. The corner of my living room is already stacked with almost a grand worth of mods. My CAI cai arrived yesterday. Very cool. I've got my tuner all lined up. All I need is a car!!! Some nice weather would help. Maybe I'll order some Zaino today to make me feel better.

[Ryanbabz71]

Are you dead set on zaino?


Ryan

[Indydriver]

Originally Posted by Ryanbabz71

Are you dead set on zaino?


Ryan

No. Ive used it before and know it works well. It does require layering and a lot of time and elbow grease to do it right, however. You obviously have an alternate. Let me hear it.

[Indydriver]

Originally Posted by christate1

6 more days till its born lol

Well, maybe not. My dealer informed me today that my TPW has been moved back to 3/17 buy also that my production status has been elevated to 3400 which means they're ready to go.

[hrpiii]

Have you tried some of the Adams products?

[Indydriver]

Originally Posted by hrpiii

Have you tried some of the Adams products?

Nope

[hrpiii]

I think you would find their products easy to use and they work very well. Indy also has the only Adams dealer/distributor in the state. http://www.furiousshine.com/

I know him very well, he is also the Pres of our IndyNexGen Camaro group (club gets discounts). He loves to give demos and help others learn to keep their cars looking top shape. I have been using Adams for several years and love the outcome the products give.

http://www.indynexgen.com/