[CalvertCamaro]

This weekend my brother and I decided to tackle the installation of several mod upgrades to my 2015 1LE. Here is what we installed:

Stainless Power 1 7/8" LT Headers w/ Calico KoolBlack Coating
Stainless Works Hi-Flow Cats
Stainless Works 3" Retro Chambered Catback Exhaust
Bo White Ported Throttle Body
Vararam VR-DRX Intake
NGK Iridium Spark Plugs
Taylor Thundervolt Wires
DynoSteve Custom Tune w/ SCTx4 Tuner

Neither one of us had done any work like this before. The extent of my automotive experience has been changing the oil. My brother is a motorcycle mechanic for Harley-Davidson. After watching a lot of YouTube videos and reading tons of the forums here, we decided to give it a shot and see what happened.

After getting the car up on four jack stands, things started to fall into place. Installing the LT Headers was not a problem since we got the car high enough in the air. We were able to lift them up from the bottom and install them without having to disconnect the steering column. Next came the new spark plugs and wires. You can see in the pictures that there seems to be enough space between the headers and spark plug wires, but I'm glad I put the heat boots on just in case. I also changed the oil, transmission fluid and rear differential fluid while the car was in the air. All fluids are now Royal Purple. Very easy to do.

The exhaust fit pretty well. There were a couple of connecting points that didn't seem to fit and transition perfectly, but after a few minor tweaks, we were able to get everything lined up and tightened into place. I also had a problem with the exhaust spacing, even after installing the supplied spacer bars. It is very tight above the cross member.

The Vararam intake was a bit difficult to install, but looks pretty good when finished. I like the idea of incorporating the washer bottle into the solid wall wing. I'm sure anyone who has installed an intake before will have a much easier time than I did. But overall, it wasn't too bad, just time consuming (over an hour for me...) and nothing you can't do with a little patience.

Overall I am very happy with the upgrades to the car. The sound is absolutely amazing with the headers, cats and exhaust. I am glad that I went with the full 3" performance connect with the exhaust. It is very deep and throaty. But make no mistake, this is LOUD. Maybe because I drove the car stock for a year and have moved to this setup, but it is a big difference FOR THE BETTER !! I haven't turned on the radio since this project has been completed because I just want to listen to that awesome exhaust symphony as a I roll through my neighborhood.

The car responds much more quickly and decisively thanks to the Vararam, the ported TB and the tune. Throttle response is great now. I haven't noticed any difference in shifting since changing over to Royal Purple transmission fluid, but maybe I will as I drive it more. Others have reported a less-notchy feeling when shifting, but I didn't notice any big difference yet.

The tune from DynoSteve has definitely unleashed the beast in the Camaro and the car now drives and sounds like a Camaro should. I bought all the parts from DynoSteve and his customer service has been 100% awesome the whole way through this process. I am creating data logs to send to him so he can tweak the tune if necessary. Anyone on the fence about who to deal with needs to give Steve a call. You will not regret it.

As I said before, I am certainly not much of a mechanic, but I would do this whole thing again in a heartbeat. My brother and I got it all done in one very long day. I have only driven the car a little bit since completing the install, but it is now a monster on the road. To this point, I am very happy with how this turned out. I can't stop grinning every time I start it up...