Yzark99's mod madness

[yzark99]

Custom amp & sub rack: I originally mounted my amp under the rear deck, suspended on a shelf that I made. This was a problem, as the sub box got in the way of groceries and laundry baskets. I also was planning to get more amps, but there was no space to fit them under the deck.

I thought about what I wanted for a long time, and then made a rack out of wood that can support 4 amps or crossovers, with a space in the middle large enough to hold my sub box. I started with the sub facing forwards, but months later I tried a bunch of different configurations to find the loudest sound. Facing to the rear sounded the best, and the loudest. I guess the bass wave has more room to propagate before it reflects to my ears.

When I turned the sub to face the rear, I cut off the extra wood shown in the photos (1-3) that supported the box when it faced towards the front of the car.

This rack is held down by the weight of things sitting on it, and it fits around the wheel humps on the 2012 carpet. It can be easily removed if needed. I put 3 coats of flat black on it, with 3 coats of clear.

Update May 2014: I now hold the sub in place with spring-loaded hooks that attach to eyebolts on the sub box, and to the rear deck support. When the sub is removed, the whole amp rack can be tipped up, and attached to the hooks to allow easy access to the spare tire well. It is really slick and convenient.

[yzark99]

De-labeled Visors: I read on C5 about how someone did this, and I decided to do it also. Before their post, I had no idea how easy it was. Basically, I used a heat gun over the kitchen sink to get the stickers hot, then peeled them off. They look a lot better without those stupid stickers.

[yzark99]

Ignition Keyed Locking Gas Cap: This was another cool idea from a member on C5. Now the only way to open the cap is with the ignition key, not some generic key that anyone can buy. The key can be removed after unlocking the cap, and it does not need to be in the cap to lock it shut.

http://www.camaro5.com/forums/showth...coding+gas+cap

[yzark99]

Yzk Mud Flaps: I had originally bought stealth mud flaps from RPI, but they crumbled after 4 months. I made my own front flaps out of metal sheeting that I got from Lowe's for $3. I painted them flat black, with several coats of clear. They have lasted over a year in rainy Oregon without any problems.

[yzark99]

RX Catch Can: I got this to catch the dirty oil vapors in the PCV system, before it got to my intake. GM wants us to do an expensive upper induction cleaning every 15,000 miles; for $300 or more a pop. So far, I have caught maybe 6 oz in 5,000 miles.

[yzark99]

RX Oil Breather Cap: This is to prevent blow-back from the stock PCV system into the intake at WOT. I am now planning to replace this with a smaller catch can, and re-connect the original feed.

[yzark99]

Green Filter: While I was waiting for Vararam to stop screwing around and release their 2012 CAI, I read how they tested one of these on their flow bench and it beat Roto-Fab's intake on the V8. It was about $60, and I haven't felt a need to upgrade to a CAI since I installed it.

[yzark99]

LED Footwell Lighting: I thought this was a cool idea. I haven't had this on a car since my '78 Cadillac. I wanted a certain color that none of the aftermarket suppliers had; plus the prices they wanted seemed silly. I decided to roll my own.

I wanted LEDs in a nice shade of purple, just to be different. I figured that they would work good with the gray carpeting that my car has. I got my LEDs from microtivity on Amazon, about $7 shipped for 25. They are the flat or "straw hat" versions - not the normal dome style that you see everywhere.

I wired them up in 4 clusters of 4 lights each. I soldered them into a cross shape, where they could be collapsed to fit through the switch hole. That way, I could solder to the switch instead of using taps like I usually do when I connect car wiring. I also soldered a resistor to each LED; they come with the LEDs from the supplier.

Each light is wired in parallel, so if one fails the rest will still light. I spread each cluster out wide after I got them through the hole, and wrapped electrical tape around the funky flowers. I then mounted them to the existing plastic mounts under the dash on each side.

8 lights per side is almost too much light, but I didn't know how much they would put out when I designed this. Each LED color is a different intensity, so you have to plan based on what you get. White is the brightest, and UV is the faintest.

My switch is a 3-way: on-off-on. I wired one lead to the dome light circuit in the BCM, and added a fuse just in case. The other connects to the green wire in the center console that goes to the rear power point. I mounted the switch in the center console where I had already mounted my amplifier turn-on switch.

The first picture shows the design that I came up with. The white wires at the top are for my door handle pull lighting.

[yzark99]

VMax Ported Throttle Body: I don't have a picture of this, but there are plenty on C5. What this does is eliminate the hesitation when you are moving at slow speeds. Before I had this, I felt like I was going to get rear-ended a few times when I floored it and the car just sat there. Those days are over. Now the car moves like it should have from the factory. The best performance mod that I have done!

[yzark99]

Solo Mach X-LFX J-Pipe Cat-Back Exhaust: This was my second mod after my catch can. I listened to all of the exhaust samples on C5, and also a bunch on YouTube. The Solo system sounded the best to me. There are a bunch of ricers around here with fart cans, and I wanted something better than that. Everyone who has heard it loves it.

Start-up: http://www.youtube.com/embed/nRl7yfIrNcE

Also more movies on post #36.

I like how my Camaro sounds like a sports car now, and not like the Honda it was from the factory. It is not a V8 sound, but it is great for a V6.

It makes me smile every time I start the engine.

[yzark99]

ZL1 Front Swaybar & End Links: I don't have a picture of this. There is a freeway on-ramp near me that is a s-bend. Before I got this upgrade, the body roll on my car was so bad that I was scared to go over 30 MPH. I was just there tonight; at 55! It was just starting to feel like it used to at 30.

I was a little leery of this mod, as there really didn't seem to be anyone who had done it on a V6. I asked a bunch of questions on C5, and it looked like it could be done easily; so I went for it.

I ordered the parts through the dealer that I got my car from. They took about a month to get in. The dealer had to drill out the existing holes in the struts to mount these, but the size went from 10mm to 12mm; which is about 1/32" diameter which is nothing.

After the holes were drilled, it was discovered that some bozo had put a driver's side link in the passenger's side box at the factory. My car was then shimmed with my approval, as there wasn't anything that could be done after the hole was already enlarged.

I walk to work, so the shim wasn't as bad as it could have been; but it was a concern anyway. It took about 2 weeks to get a replacement part due to constraints from the factory. The new part was also in the wrong box!

The service manager escalated this to the Western GM Parts Manager, who had his people go through over 160 pairs of boxed end links at the distribution warehouse. They found all passenger end links were actually the driver's side links!

I hope some heads rolled over this. What I can tell you now is, if you order these parts today, you can be almost 100% sure that you will receive the correct parts in the boxes.

The replacement passenger side end link was air shipped to my dealer from back east, and it was installed 2 days after the fiasco was discovered in the warehouse.

Parts and labor for this install was about $200. I think I got a break on the labor thanks to the screw ups.

I recommend this upgrade. The ZL1 sway bar is a solid piece; while the V6 bar was hollow, and much skinnier. The car corners like it is on rails now. Totally different and unbelievable!

[Vengeance Graphix]

Coming along nicely

[yzark99]

Moroso Brake Fluid Reservoir Cover: The one part of the engine bay that has always looked unfinished, to me, is the brake fluid reservoir on the driver's rear side. This plastic tank is really noticeable. I ordered a Moroso aluminum cover for this from Summit Racing for $50 shipped; and it arrived in 2 days. I had it painted SIM by my dealer for $25. I think it came out great!

[yzark99]

4-Pack Gauges: My last 3 cars all died because they had idiot lights instead of gauges. I have had dead batteries, dry radiators, and oil pump failures. These gauges give advance warnings for 2 of those problems; and the water temperature gauge comes standard with the car. I always look at them when I start the car; and also as I drive.

I got them for about $320 from GM Parts House. They installed in about half an hour; and the slowest part was transferring the 12V power point.