Torq's Project ZL1 wins Top Ride Shootout at Chevy High Performance Nationals!

[Erik@Torq]

Featured on Camaro5 HOMEPAGE

Not even a week old and already winning races!

I picked her up last Wednesday and left Miami, FL for Atlanta, GA with only 68 miles on the clock. It was for the Chevy High Performance Nationals going on at Atlanta Dragway, and Chevy High Performance Magazine had a separate event where they invited some serious fast cars to compete in a triathlon style event.





The events included a Brake Stop Challenge, drag racing and my personal favorite the Auto-X event. I had time to throw on a proper set of brake pads before I left, but besides that she still had the protective plastic on the floor!





Competitors included some serious machines purpose built for these kind of events, but none of them could match the ZL1's performance!















So I ended up winning the Chevy High Performance Auto-X challenge 2 days in a row, Top Ride Shootout Brake Stop Challenge, and the Top ride Shootout Auto-X event which gave me a point lead of 4 points which gave me the full win of the Top Ride Shootout!

I could not be happier with the win, especially considering I picked the car up 2 days earlier and she was bone stock minus the wheels and brake pads.








And after 1656 miles she is back at home, detailed and ready to hit the track again. Breaking it in hard. just like the doctor ordered!





As good as the car was, I still have a few things that I want to change asap for better performance, and we will be doing some testing at Homestead Speedway the coming weeks to see what truly helps these cars perform even better. I will be recording everything with our Video V-Box and giving a full analysis on the findings so stay tuned for that!

I will also be posting some video from the event in a few once I get it uploaded.


I also got to drive GM High Techs Project "STI Killer" and after only 3 laps won the 4th Gen Camaro Class as well she is also an awesome machine, true racecar!

[armysig]

WOW Good job Erik! Glad to see that your car is doing very well. Keep the wins coming in.

[Pappa Joe]

You doing us ZL1 owners proud! Gratz

[Erik@Torq]

Originally Posted by armysig

WOW Good job Erik! Glad to see that your car is doing very well. Keep the wins coming in.

Thanks man! I will do my best to keep them coming in

Originally Posted by Pappa Joe

You doing us ZL1 owners proud! Gratz

She is an amazing piece of machinery, makes my job of trying to win a helluva lot easier haha

/Erik

[2010SLVRBULIT]

'grats, but those rims

[htron50]

All I have to say is:

"Hell Yeah! A legend from the factory!"

--and a great driver!

[HPT BANDIT]

What kind of tires are you running?

[Erik@Torq]

Originally Posted by 2010SLVRBULIT

'grats, but those rims

Thanks! Pictures don't do the rims justice but they are for sure not for everyone. I love them so I'm happy at least

Originally Posted by htron50

All I have to say is:

"Hell Yeah! A legend from the factory!"

--and a great driver!

Haha thanks

Originally Posted by HPT BANDIT

What kind of tires are you running?

Stock Goodyears, already in need of a new set haha

/Erik

[garcmol]

Folks will probably be interested in which T/C mode and all that you were in. Very cool pictures! Look forward to the video

[SlingShot]

Awesome job ... Congrats on the wins!!!

[tones2SS]

Wow, that is pretty impressive. I see the 2 DSE Camaros were there. How did they do on the auto-x? They are known for their suspensions that are top notch and are U.S.A. made. (Actually, when I am able to do my '69 Camaro pro-tour build, I am going to use all DSE suspension.)
The STI-Killer Camaro = awesome machine. What suspension set-up are they using? I always that it was the Watts link?
Again, good job!

[Erik@Torq]

Originally Posted by garcmol

Folks will probably be interested in which T/C mode and all that you were in. Very cool pictures! Look forward to the video

That's actually where this gets interesting, I was going to do a separate write up with all my findings but I guess can start here.

Remember, the following text applies only for auto-x on stock tires. These settings can change substantially depending on track, temp etc!

I did try every setting the car has to offer, from full on to full off. When thing that this car needs when auto-x'ing is traction, traction can be adjusted by tire pressures as well as suspension settings. Once you have found the perfect balance for the tires than all you can do is play around on the different settings. When auto-x'ing I drive very smooth, almost to the extent where it looks slow but at the same time balls to wall fast. This means I slide the car around quite a bit which is necessary for a heavy car like this, it is the only way to get the car to rotate in the tight 180* hairpins turns.

This being said, I was WAY faster when running with everything off, no PTM modes whatsoever. Every single mode cut the power way to soon and kept holding me back. I am confident once I get her out on a road course the PTM settings will be much more helpful, but not on the auto-x.

As i mentioned above, this car needs traction through the turns. And a common misconception is that a stiffer car will always have more grip/traction than a softer car. That is very far from the truth! I was running the car in SPORT with all systems off, and still felt the car could do so much more but I was still running a little loose in the back end. So I put the car in TOURING mode just for the hell of it and I picked up half a second the first run. By running in TOURING mode it allowed for more mechanical grip from the car thus transferring the weight more. So my preferred suspension setting for a stock car on stock tires in an auto-x is TOURING with all safety nets OFF. It makes it very easy to drive, and crazy fast. I was beating cars with very seasoned drivers that weighed hundreds of pounds less then I did.

Originally Posted by SlingShot

Awesome job ... Congrats on the wins!!!

Thanks!

/Erik

[Erik@Torq]

Originally Posted by tones2SS

Wow, that is pretty impressive. I see the 2 DSE Camaros were there. How did they do on the auto-x? They are known for their suspensions that are top notch and are U.S.A. made. (Actually, when I am able to do my '69 Camaro pro-tour build, I am going to use all DSE suspension.)
The STI-Killer Camaro = awesome machine. What suspension set-up are they using? I always that it was the Watts link?
Again, good job!

The DSE cars are nothing less then pure awesomeness. I drove Stacy's car for a few laps and what a machine!

At the end of the day I still managed to beat her with my Z though Considering I weighed in at almost 800lbs more with half the tire surface area I was quite pleased with the results. Stacy and Kyle are awesome people that have some awesome parts for these cars, once I build my 69 project I too will be running their whole catalog

STI killer uses a full BMR set-up, it works really well and the car has no under steer whatsoever. It is very balanced and crazy fast!

Thanks man!

/Erik

[tpower]

Erik congrats and I will send you some pictures this week of the Heat exchanger being installed

[garcmol]

Originally Posted by Erik@Torq

That's actually where this gets interesting, I was going to do a separate write up with all my findings but I guess can start here.

Remember, the following text applies only for auto-x on stock tires. These settings can change substantially depending on track, temp etc!

I did try every setting the car has to offer, from full on to full off. When thing that this car needs when auto-x'ing is traction, traction can be adjusted by tire pressures as well as suspension settings. Once you have found the perfect balance for the tires than all you can do is play around on the different settings. When auto-x'ing I drive very smooth, almost to the extent where it looks slow but at the same time balls to wall fast. This means I slide the car around quite a bit which is necessary for a heavy car like this, it is the only way to get the car to rotate in the tight 180* hairpins turns.

This being said, I was WAY faster when running with everything off, no PTM modes whatsoever. Every single mode cut the power way to soon and kept holding me back. I am confident once I get her out on a road course the PTM settings will be much more helpful, but not on the auto-x.

As i mentioned above, this car needs traction through the turns. And a common misconception is that a stiffer car will always have more grip/traction than a softer car. That is very far from the truth! I was running the car in SPORT with all systems off, and still felt the car could do so much more but I was still running a little loose in the back end. So I put the car in TOURING mode just for the hell of it and I picked up half a second the first run. By running in TOURING mode it allowed for more mechanical grip from the car thus transferring the weight more. So my preferred suspension setting for a stock car on stock tires in an auto-x is TOURING with all safety nets OFF. It makes it very easy to drive, and crazy fast. I was beating cars with very seasoned drivers that weighed hundreds of pounds less then I did.

Exactly what I was curious about with the tight confines of the Auto X!! And I agree 100% that most of the settings will be more helpful on a road course. Thanks for the write up! Very informative.

[garcmol]

This is front page news for sure!

[HPT BANDIT]

Those pro-touring cars are no joke. We have a local event called "Runnin Thru The Hills" in September. I ran with them a couple rimes. They haul ass.

What kind of times was you running? I heard there was a mean black 69 there.

[EZ SPEED]

Congrats !!!

I was the red 2010 SS with the ZL1 nose that parked next to you at Cracker Barrell Friday night.
I was in the car show all weekend and watched you car on the autocross, it was awesome to watch.

[Erik@Torq]

Originally Posted by garcmol

Exactly what I was curious about with the tight confines of the Auto X!! And I agree 100% that most of the settings will be more helpful on a road course. Thanks for the write up! Very informative. This is front page news for sure!

Thanks for the feedback, I will be writing up a longer ananlysis once I get to the road course as well

Front page news, I think so

Originally Posted by HPT BANDIT

Those pro-touring cars are no joke. We have a local event called "Runnin Thru The Hills" in September. I ran with them a couple rimes. They haul ass.

What kind of times was you running? I heard there was a mean black 69 there.

Yeah that event is awesome, DSE was telling me about it and I would love to go! I was in the mid 28's, only late model car period in the 28's.

The Black 69 was one of the most gorgeous looking cars EVER. And packed some serious punch too. Think he had a complete Chassisworks kit, plus a Mast LS7 in it. Sick car and the driver Jake was a great driver!

Originally Posted by EZ SPEED

Congrats !!!

I was the red 2010 SS with the ZL1 nose that parked next to you at Cracker Barrell Friday night.
I was in the car show all weekend and watched you car on the autocross, it was awesome to watch.

Thanks man, I saw your car in the car show every time I took that first left hand sweeper

/Erik

[DanSS24]

Do you still have the stock wheels, Polished or Black, saving them from harm of AutoXing and just using the tires? Awesome wins and congrats. I love AutoX...it's like driving fast on the street, but in a closed, legal environment.

[xavier02832]

Erik soooo glad to finally see a ZL1 owner out on the autoX (and soon to be road course ), it looks right at home. Not knocking the 1/4 mile guys but kinda of tired of every shop in the country chasing the 9s-10s. IMO this car was built for more than just straight line racing and Im stoked Torq is representing for us AutoX/ roadcourse racers.

Keep them trophies coming


*THIS IS DEFINITELY FRONT PAGE MATERIAL*

[hognutz]

He must not have go the memo that these cars are slow and the owners don't compete with them. shame on him. haha.

This is why I ordered this car is overall performace not just wicked in one area but lacking in others.

[1977and2010]

Congrats on the wins and the car. Missed you guys at the track guys Sebring event. I was hoping to see that Z out there handing it to some of those mustangs.

[EZ SPEED]

Originally Posted by Erik@Torq

Thanks man, I saw your car in the car show every time I took that first left hand sweeper

/Erik

Thanks !! I won 3 Awards in the Car Show with it , and got a photoshoot with GMHTP magazine

[Silverguardrail]

Originally Posted by Erik@Torq

I had time to throw on a proper set of brake pads before I left

What kind... Congratz BTW