BTRSS (Born To Run SS) [COTW 5/5/14]
 

As with most car enthusiasts, there is a story behind my 2011 Camaro SS. I’ve had a Camaro since 1977 owning a yellow 1977 Camaro Coupe (Hmm, sounds like a movie car), a 1981 Camaro Z28 (that I still own and has been in storage since 1991), a 1985 Camaro Z28 and now the 2011 Camaro SS. After hearing Chevy was coming back with the Camaro I became very excited and after seeing the movie Transformers with my 10 year old son, I was hooked! After 3 years of working on the wife (the more sensible one in the family), I finally said to her “I’m heading out today to buy the Camaro today”. She said “Really??”, and a week later I owned a Cyber Gray Metallic SS (same basic color of the `81 Z28). That was in March of 2011. Since then I went from driving a fully optioned 2011 Camaro SS to a “personalized” machine that now boasts 735HP and 690 FT-LBS of torque at the flywheel. The mod’s shown below represent 3 years’ worth of work with special thanks to Don Kinder of Slowhawk Performance for the fantastic job on all the engine work, Ernie Nickole of Nickole Auto Body for the advice and body work and to the team at Sound-In-Motion of Allston, MA for the incredible sound system. Below are a summary of the mod’s to date and pictures will follow:

Engine/Performance Mod’s
- 2.9L Whipple Supercharger, Polished Finish w/3.875” DiameterPulley
- AR Long Tube Headers 7/8” x 3” with Cats
- Roto-Fab Whipple Supercharger CAI with Polished Stainless Steel Elbow/Plastic MAF Housing
- TR6 Spark Plugs
- Slowhawk Performance Tune (Post Supercharger Install, 2012)
- Chrome Dip Stick
- Chrome Hood Strut
- Corsa Sport Polished Stainless Steel Cat-Back Exhaust
- Showstoppers Premium Cyber Gray Metallic ABS Controller Cover
- Showstoppers Premium Cyber Gray Metallic Battery Post Cover
- Showstoppers Premium Cyber Gray Metallic Fuse Box Cover
- Showstoppers Premium Cyber Gray Metallic Master Cylinder Cover
- Showstoppers Premium Polished Wire Harness Cover
- Showstoppers Premium Polished Power Steering Cap
- Chromed Rivet Strut Tower Cap Kit
- Stainless Steel Strut Tower Covers
- RX Catch Can
- Comp Cam LS1 Custom 231/242
- 7.400 Pushrods
- Ktech Timing Chain
- ZL1 Fuel Pump
- Slowhawk Performance Tune (Post Cam Install, 2013)
- Chromed Fender Bolts/Washers
- McLeod RXT 1000 HP Clutch
- Chrome Front Center Inter Fender Panel
- RX Breather Oil Cap Painted Cyber Gray Metallic
- Roto-Fab Radiator Cover Modified To Fit Around The S/C Reservoir, Painted Cyber Gray Metallic and Pin Striped by Longa Signs & Pinstriping
- GM Strut Tower Brace, Painted Cyber Gray Metallic and Pin Striped by Longa Signs & Pinstriping
- Roto-Fab Whipple Supercharger Engine Covers, Painted Cyber Gray Metallic and Pin Striped by Longa Signs & Pinstriping
- 3.875" Diameter Supercharger Pulley replacing the 4.0" Diameter Pulley (Installed, 2015)
- Chromed Moroso Supercharger Reservoir Tank and Cover (Didn't fit, looking to sell)
- Chromed Factory Hood Hinges (Installed, 2015)
- Methanol Injection
- Dyno'd at 666 rwhp by Slowhawk Performance

Suspension/Wheel Mod’s
- Asanti 175, 3 Piece Chromed Rims 20”x9” Front with Pirelli 245/45 ZR20's
- Asanti 175, 3 Piece Chromed Rims 20”x11” Rear with Pirelli 315/35 ZR20's
- Baer DecelaRotor Zinc Coated, Drilled/Slotted Rotors
- Hawk Ceramic Brake Pads
- G2 Painted Calipers, Cyber Gray Metallic (5 coats)
- BMR Sway Bar Kit with Bushings
- BMR 1" Lowering Spring Front/Rear (Installed 2015)

Exterior Mod's
- Phantom Hidden Headlight Grill By DJ Grille
- GM Dovetail Rear Spoiler
- GM Ground Effects Package Painted Cyber Gray Metallic
- Rear Diffuser Painted Cyber Gray Metallic
- 3d Carbon Side Vents
- ACS-T4 Front Bumper Ports with HP Vertical LED Slim Bar
- Bowtie Emblems Painted Cyber Gray Metallic
- MPD1 Z Force Hood
- Custom Painted Nose/Hood Stripe
- Oracle Ghosted Side Markers, Cyber Gray Metallic

Interior/Trunk/Audio Mod’s
- Audio Design and Installation by Sound-In-Motion
- Alpine INA-W910 Receiver, GPS, DVD/CD
- JL Audio 10” Subwoofers (2) Built Into A Custom Box Behind The Back Seat
- 3 Genesis Amplifiers (1500 Watts) 2 Built Into A Custom Box In The Trunk, 1 under the rear seat
- Dynamat Sound Proofing
- Painted To Match Instrument Cluster Surround, Gauge Cluster Surround, Alpine KTX-CMO Audio fit kit
- Sullivan Racing Pedals
- ACS Composites Rear Trunk Deck Lid, Painted Silver Ice Metallic with painted Cyber Gray Metallic Inserts r
- Chromed Trunk Pull Release Cover with SS Logo
- Chromed Passenger Seat Release Handle
- Smoothed And Painted Silver Ice Metallic with Cyber Gray Metallic Stripe Trunk Panel Extensions
- Chromed Trunk Hinges
- Smoothed and Custom Painted Silver Ice Metallic with Cyber Gray Metallic Stripe Center Console and Side Panels from River City Creations
- Custom Painted Silver Ice Metallic with Cyber Gray Metallic Stripe Gauge Bezel from River City Creations
- Custom Painted Silver Ice Metallic with Cyber Gray Metallic Stripe Door Panels, Dash Panels from River City Creations
- Custom Black/Silver Leather Wrapped Steering Wheel from Camaro Central
- Gauge Pillar installed with a Boost and Fuel Pressure Gauge


Photo's from the dealership, March, 2011

BTRSS - New Wheels
 

After much thought and research I fell in love with these rims from West Coast Camaro. They are chromed, 3 piece Forged Aluminum.

BTRSS - The New Grill
 

Debated for a while about the grille. I liked the Heritage Grille, but the DJ Grille really stood out as different and resembled the '69 hidden headlight grille. It also brings a bit of "nastiness" to the Camaro.

BTRSS - More Power
 

Horsepower, we all crave it and with today's technology it's right around the corner. Thanks to Don Kinder at Slowhawk Performance I settled on a Whipple 2.9L Supercharger along with AR Headers. Don's crew also modified the engine cover to fit around the supercharger. So that and Don's custom tune bumped the horsepower to 625 at the flywheel....and it's only the beginning.

BTRSS - Music
 

Nothing is better than cruising down the road with Springsteen blasting (my personal favorite). So after my feeble attempt at trying to work with the stock system (pic 1 and 2 are a Alpine amp and sub), I turned the work over to the professionals at Sound-In-Motion. After a bunch of emails and phone calls I decided to toss out the stock system and replace it with an Alpine INA-W910 head unit, fit to the dash with the Alpine KTX-CMO fit kit. 3 Genisis Amps and Focal speakers sit in the Dynamated interior providing 1500 watts of power. Springsteen never sounded so good! There are a lot of pic's so a couple of posts are needed.

BTRSS - Music (2)
 

The next set of pics of the audio upgrade.

BTRSS - Music (3)
 

3rd set of the audio upgrade pics

BTRSS - Music (4)
 

4th set of audio upgrade pic's. These pic's show the amplifier board and the sub box almost complete.

WOW....Great Job! Killer setup!

BTRSS - Music (5)
 

The guys at SIM felt something was needed to "break up" the amplifier mount, so they mirrored the Camaro SS of the license plate frame. Looks awesome!

BTRSS - Music (6)
 

Its now March 23, 2012 (a year after I bought the Camaro) and the audio upgrade is complete. I couldn't be happier and I swear Bruce can hear it crank down in Jersey!

Thanks BRAVO 2SS. Good thing the wife doesn't see the bill!!

I love the Audio upgrades, they look great, how well does the Alpine dash kit work? Do you have any issues with it?

The fit was perfect. I also had the kit, the gauge cluster and the instrument cluster painted silver to match with a coat of clear. There were a couple of bugs with the electronics, but the guys at SIM figured it out and it's worked great since then.