ZL1 belly pan on a SS

[el ess A]

With the gas mileage savings claims, even filling up twice a month on average and making a couple of other assumptons, for the price it MIGHT pay for itself in approx 2 years.

Don't know about anyone else, but I didn't worry about gas mileage when we bought ours.

[buelldude]

ok, this mod seems to have a few benny's. first is my engine bay seems to be cleaner. We are about 8 miles from the beach and get sand/dust/dirt more than the average person. The MPG that I listed needs to be tested again on another trip, could be a bit diffferent??? I do have a hood that lets the heat out, oil changes will be a pain. The pan should fit in the back with no issues, if you have headers then some cutting will need to be done. The clips/screws go in easy and easy to figure out where they go. The front will need some work. I drilled bigger holes for the plastic nuts on the front end to go thru. If your wondering what I'm talking about just look under the car where the small air dam is and you will see the screws/nuts that hold the item on the front end.

[bannonm]

Originally Posted by buelldude

The pan should fit in the back with no issues, if you have headers then some cutting will need to be done. The clips/screws go in easy and easy to figure out where they go. The front will need some work. I drilled bigger holes for the plastic nuts on the front end to go thru. If your wondering what I'm talking about just look under the car where the small air dam is and you will see the screws/nuts that hold the item on the front end.

So can you confirm that the holes for the 11 clips are already there? I suspect that '12s and later will have the holes, and '10/11s will have to drill them. Sort of like the strut bar holes in '11 and up models that aren't in the 2010s.

[bannonm]

Well the belly pan is pretty much a bust on the SS. I put the car up on the lift today and found that bumper nose is apparently longer on the bottom than the ZL1's. I aligned the pan to the frame and then using masking tape drew a line on the front of the pan where the bottom of the bumper hit it. Sorry for the cell phone pic, the line is faint but you can see that the bottom edge of the bumper is about 2-1/2 inches too far back. The only way I see around this is to notch the bumper to allow the front of the pan to fit and line up

Of course you'll have to notch out for the headers, but I also noticed that on the manual trans there are some metal lines on the passenger side that will have to cut out for as well.

So I'm scraping the ZL1 pan and making my own using it as a template to get started. I'm not going to run the pan back as far to avoid hitting the headers. After talking with a buddy that built stock cars, I'm going to widen the pan at the nose to extend to the front of the wheel wells and close up the nose. Then I'm going to make the duct work to feed my CAI from the lower grille since it pulls air from the bottom of the car. I'll also copy the Naca duct design and incorporate that too.

I don't get how other guys were able to install this without cutting the bumper. Perhaps the bumper is different on the model years.

[carrs_crew]

I will also post what happens with my install as I have added the zl1 front fascia and wheel wells for the brake duct vents. I have installed some vents on my hood to allow heat and pressure to exit.

[Synner]

Originally Posted by carrs_crew

I will also post what happens with my install as I have added the zl1 front fascia and wheel wells for the brake duct vents. I have installed some vents on my hood to allow heat and pressure to exit.

I've been told there may be more tire clearance with the ZL1 wheel wells. Can you confirm or deny this from looking at them? I plan on stuffing tires in the front that will rub stock wheel wells.

[bannonm]

Originally Posted by carrs_crew

I will also post what happens with my install as I have added the zl1 front fascia and wheel wells for the brake duct vents. I have installed some vents on my hood to allow heat and pressure to exit.

You shouldn't have a problem since you have a zl1 cover. Only thing you will need to do is drill holes in the frame and trim for headers. The holes in the frame for the two plastic pins mounted on the pan do line up though. At least you can set the pan in the right location and have it stay in place while you mark and drill the rest of the holes.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

[tramtwo]

Originally Posted by bannonm

Well the belly pan is pretty much a bust on the SS. I put the car up on the lift today and found that bumper nose is apparently longer on the bottom than the ZL1's. I aligned the pan to the frame and then using masking tape drew a line on the front of the pan where the bottom of the bumper hit it. Sorry for the cell phone pic, the line is faint but you can see that the bottom edge of the bumper is about 2-1/2 inches too far back. The only way I see around this is to notch the bumper to allow the front of the pan to fit and line up

Of course you'll have to notch out for the headers, but I also noticed that on the manual trans there are some metal lines on the passenger side that will have to cut out for as well.

So I'm scraping the ZL1 pan and making my own using it as a template to get started. I'm not going to run the pan back as far to avoid hitting the headers. After talking with a buddy that built stock cars, I'm going to widen the pan at the nose to extend to the front of the wheel wells and close up the nose. Then I'm going to make the duct work to feed my CAI from the lower grille since it pulls air from the bottom of the car. I'll also copy the Naca duct design and incorporate that too.

I don't get how other guys were able to install this without cutting the bumper. Perhaps the bumper is different on the model years.

Guess spacers defeat the purpose? Please post back with your custom setup.

[bannonm]

So here's the test report I was speaking about that my buddy was showing me. Now granted it's for a Corvette, but I think the principles apply to the Camaro as well. It you look at the belly pan Katech design it's not even as encompassing as the ZL1 pan. So the biggest improvement with minimal parts was a front splitter and pan.

http://www.katechengines.com/street_...a%20report.pdf

Pan picture:
http://store.katechengines.com/carbo...-kit-p212.aspx

So the design I'm shooting for will be similar to the Katech design but incorporating the ZL1 pan as well. I have a custom fiberglass heat extracting hood being made for me which in combination of the belly pan should work well. I already have a fiberglass ZL1 style splitter installed.

Now if I only had a wind tunnel.

[bannonm]

I finally had some time to mock up a template of my future belly pan. Taking ideas from the Corvette I came up with a two-piece pan that covers the front of the wheel wells sealing those cavities and giving me a flat bottom. Doing so will mean I need to open the lower front grille and use a scoop for the CAI. The reason I decided to make it two-piece was for a couple of reasons. It will be easier to find material in smaller pieces and makes changing the oil not as difficult.

My template still has some trimming to do on the front by the bumper, but it's mostly complete. I plan on using aluminum so I can form NACA ducts and weld them in near the tranny.

[tramtwo]

Man that's a lot of work... looking good.

[Moreno1]

Originally Posted by bannonm

I finally had some time to mock up a template of my future belly pan. Taking ideas from the Corvette I came up with a two-piece pan that covers the front of the wheel wells sealing those cavities and giving me a flat bottom. Doing so will mean I need to open the lower front grille and use a scoop for the CAI. The reason I decided to make it two-piece was for a couple of reasons. It will be easier to find material in smaller pieces and makes changing the oil not as difficult.

My template still has some trimming to do on the front by the bumper, but it's mostly complete. I plan on using aluminum so I can form NACA ducts and weld them in near the tranny.

WOW! your doing a great job. Can't wait to see more.

[Ivan @ Southwest Speed]

Worth it......I did it after the ZL1 Conversion.

Noticed it on the highway for sure.

Plus it keeps the Twins nice and clean for those with bottom mounts....

Dew Eet!
Ivan @ Southwest Speed

[Inferno LSX]

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