IT LIVES! My Z/LE ZL1 + 1LE + 2SS = Z/LE ;o) LSA SC [COTW 2/09/15]

[hammdo]

Shaft is ordered via RDP! DynoSteve has been great to work with so I went with him again on this one. He worked with me to stage my order so I can get the axles around the time the shaft is ready... He did say DSS is on a holiday schedule so may be well into January before I see them...

-Don

[hammdo]

Motor Mounts came in -- 1/4 in lower will help with access to the ZL1 Blower lid for sure... Thanks X25!

I'll be putting these on when I do the drive shaft and axles...

Fun to come!

Found a Powder Coat run in the Left Rear wheel -- the folks @ Wheel Repair Solutions here in Carrollton did the work in August of this year, drove the car up there, and 4 days later still not right -- 2 times in a week and still didn't get it right -- finally had to get the car back ( they kept leaving it out @ night near the train station and expressway -- yep, not doing that). They did, however, refund my money for the 1 wheel that was not right, so I'll give them credit. They just have a hard time getting their 'warranty' work fixed. Off to a different shop tomorrow to see if they can 'fix' this one...

-Don

[13FastBlkSS]

Great build Don, looking forward to see what else you have planned!

[hammdo]

Thanks! Its been a fun journey.

Porting of the snout, pulley for the SC, injectors, Ron Davis Heat Exchanger, probably another intercooler pump (duals!), maybe an electric water pump!

Getting the motor mounts, cf driveshaft, and the axles will be next for sure -- then I'll go from there. I'd probably do the RD Heat Exchanger and second intercooler pump -- based on the Texas heat. Did the radiator and that helped for sure...

It's fun!

-Don

[hammdo]

Ordered these today:



Will be ordering next month my Ron Davis Heat Exchanger and second pump -- want to see how that works out as I also plan on moving IAT to the SC ZL1 location (will have to adjust the tune to account for that)...

-Don

[hammdo]

Well, started to look into the ADM 8 Rib pulley upgrade. Love the idea, but, looks like I'll have to pass on it. One of the changes necessary is converting the VVT to LS3 -- meaning replacing the cam, sprocket, and oil pump. So, for me, I don't want to invest that in the L99 since I have plans to goto an LSX-B15. Looks like a great upgrade, but not for my L99 so I'll stick with what I have for now. I do have the suspension, drive-line, and heat exchanger upgrade on tap so I'll just do those. Sometime in March, I'll have Ryan @ GPI do a fine tune to see where I wind up with the latest upgrades - then drive the heck out of it ;o)

-Don

[hammdo]

Well, the wheels are in fantastic shape now -- all the runs are taken care of -- looks like it should...

-Don

[hammdo]

Ordered my upgraded Ron Davis Heat Exchanger from JDP:



and Second pump with Harness from Lingenfelter:



-Don

[hammdo]

I started looking into how I gained 25 rwhp since the last tune by Ryan @ GPI -- the only items I added was a Race Lid from ADM (already had the ADM CAI street), the Big Gulp from RotoFab, moved the Windshield washer bottle, upgraded the radiator, remixed the Dex-cool for the Radiator and Intercooler, added the Hotchkis Max Brace and ADM Solid cradle Bushings.

I can see maybe a 6 to 10 RWHP gain from the ADM race lid and Big gulp, but the other 15 RWHP is what I'm curious about.

I'm sure the engine did not produce the extra 15 rwhp, but the 'drive line' loss may have improved the 'efficiency' of delivery since I removed a ton of 'slop' with the bushings and brace. Those are the only items that makes sense as I didn't really add more 'power' except via the updated CAI/Big Gulp. Not sure if anyone else has notice any 'improvement' via less parasitic loss to the wheels -- Same tuner, same dyno machine, dynoed on a 'warmer' day than the 565 RWHP day (it was in the 40's that day and 90's the day it made 590 + in October).

I'll test out the CF drive shaft to see if that improves delivery or not -- can't see anything else as the rest has stayed the same. Nothing else changed in the engine -- except more miles on it... just see that as interesting...

I'm going to hold off on the motor mounts after seeing discussion on how the 'poly' bushings seem to not hold up to heavy use -- not that I race like the others -- but don't want to be swapping out bushings (and 3+ hours to do that since I'd have to remove the headers). Outside of the 1/4" drop, not seeing any reason to upgrade those right now.

Waiting on the DSS CF drive shaft, axles, and Razors Edge tie rod ends for the front -- then alignment and have Ryan do one more tune to finalize fueling (I'll do a dyno run before he makes any changes to see if the drive shaft improves efficiency to the Rear Wheels).

Love experimenting!

-Don

[hammdo]

Razor Kit arrived today -- gonna setup and get them install.
I have to measure the toe (which I'll do with my QuikTrick) and verify it afterwards. The idea is to have the Razors parallel with the front lower control arm -- it adjustable so that should be good...

Waiting for the drive shaft and axles before I do an alignment again...

-Don

[hammdo]

Well, I began installing these new outer toe rod ends, and, wouldn't you know it, I found the left inner toe rod is bent! I know I didn't bend in, so it must have been that way when I bought it. I've had this aligned twice, and no mention of it (since the toe was always 'correct' to begin with) ...

So, I'll need to replace it, but, since I'm in there, I'll replace both to ensure no 'loose' parts. Ugh, but I'm glad I found it...

-Don

[hammdo]

Got the inner toe rods from Huffines Chevrolet. Will be updating both since I'm in there. $69 for both so not bad at all.

Did a lot more research on the axles and it appears the M6 has more issues than the A6 so for my power level, sticking with stock. Drive shaft is still gonna happen. Lingenfelter's on a 3 week back order for the pump so that is gonna wait. Ron Davis is on its way!

-Don

[hammdo]

Well, got the inner tie rods and boots today:

Tie Rods:



Boots:



Before I started, I made sure to use my QuikTrick so I knew what the current toe was:

Back of the front tire:



Front of the 'Front' tire:



With that I proceeded to remove the inner tie rods.

Here is a video on YouTube that is very good:



Here is the 'bent' inner toe/tie rod vs the new one:



No wonder my alignment was going off.

After installing the new inner rods (make sure to use RED loctite and clean the threads inside the rack and pinion) and boots:





I did 'break loose' the inner tie rod:



Threads to clean:



I then installed the Razor Bumpsteer kit:

Left side:





Right:





Tomorrow, I'll recheck the toe to make sure its '0' and straight...

-Don

[hammdo]

OK, finished the toe adjustment using my QuikTrick -- worked great! Dead Nuts 0 toe with steering wheel straight! Bump Steer kit is parallel with the Lower Control arm and adjusted -- noticed the difference on bumps and turns!

Ron Davis Heat Exchanger came in -- now waiting on the pump -- still waiting on the CF Drive shaft. When those come in, I'll get them installed...

-Don