Padre's SS: Let the Modding Begin! (pics&vids) [COTW 10/28/13]

[Padre]

0.43 second gain with the FTI 3200 Billet Torque Converter. Special thanks to SC2150 (Tracy at Team RX) for hooking me up (literally).

Now that 0.43 included some minor tuning, (more on that in a second), but basically it's a solid 4/10ths gain.

The first run of the day was a 12.5x @ 109.x with a 1.7x 60-foot. But there was a large "gulp" on the 1-2 shift. I looked at the logs, and for some reason, the throttle position dropped to 40% for almost 4/10ths of a second - during the shift. So I lengthened the shift-time on the 1-2 shift by 0.125 seconds. That seemed to do the trick, and along with some timing tweeks to get rid of KR, I brought it down to the 12.413 @ 110.18, 7.965 @ 87.52, 1.713 60'.

All the runs of the day were in the 12.4 to 12.5 range, all the 60's were 1.7's. I was extremely pleased to break 110 on the traps.

Mods this far are:

Fastlane Pipeline CAI, Borla Touring Cat-back, High-flow JBA midpipes, FTI 3200 Torque Converter.

Video time:

Timeslip attached. Great Day for racing.

Padre

[BackinBlackSS/RS]

Padre, that car is turning into a BEAST!!!

[10spokess]

Man I love how you are doing this build, that way we can see each gain as it's happening

[Sawyer]

Nice build so far Padre.

[Padre]

Thanks gang. It's been fun so far.

Here's an 1/8th mile run against a modded Porsche Panamera:



I didn't know I was running only the 1/8th, and he didn't know we were running a pro-tree. I took him by 1/2 second on the launch! (Then he dragged me in. :()

Padre

[Fritostud]

Hey Padre!! I remember you from the GTO board..I was the one who sent you the 6. emblem when you were doing your 408 build. Looks like you are well on your way with this one too!!

[Pro Stock John]

Enjoying your build thread, keep it going. Do you plan to install a trans cooler? What's your feeling about the A6 trans holding up?

[Padre]

Originally Posted by Pro Stock John

Enjoying your build thread, keep it going. Do you plan to install a trans cooler? What's your feeling about the A6 trans holding up?

Thanks. I have been running 7 passes each trip to the track, over the course of 2-3 hours. I have noticed one thing: the stock tranny temp gauge is an idiot gauge. I saw the temps rise into unknown territory (idiot gauge says somewhere between 180 and 320, lot of help there ) after the torque converter install.

So, a tranny cooler will go in soon. Based on my experience with the GTO, I will get a 13" fan-cooler and run braided lines. Probably going to cost me $300-$400 in total, but I've had lines go pop before, so not taking any chances.

With the tranny cooler, I anticipate no problems with the tranny unless I do something wrong. It should hold up fine if treated with care.

Thus far, I only put the tranny tune in when I am racing. Around town, I run the OEM tune. I may tweak the OEM tranny tune a bit for daily driving (e.g. AFM at low speeds with a higher stall is annoying).

Looks like May 8th will be the next time for racing. I've got time to do the JBA shorty headers (which I need to do if only to have smooth fitment - the JBA middies do not fit the stock manifold well), or I can do the 3.45 gears, or both. I figure the 3.45's will help ET and the Shortys will help MPH, but I'm also thinking the change in gears will affect MPH also. Need to do some math so I can get a good comparison of what the Shortys actually bring to the table.

Padre

[Pro Stock John]

Thanks for sharing. A 13" fan/cooler assembly, any ideas where you'd mount that? Sounds like a great idea. Did you scan after any runs and see what the trans temps were doing?

Also what is the L99 doing when the IAT's go up, is the pcm cutting back the timing in a big way? I noticed that with my Trailblazer SS that the timing would get dialed back a lot after just one pass. I'd have to cool it down 30 minutes or more.

Thanks! (non-denominational guy here)...

[Padre]

Originally Posted by Pro Stock John

Thanks for sharing. A 13" fan/cooler assembly, any ideas where you'd mount that? Sounds like a great idea. Did you scan after any runs and see what the trans temps were doing?

Also what is the L99 doing when the IAT's go up, is the pcm cutting back the timing in a big way? I noticed that with my Trailblazer SS that the timing would get dialed back a lot after just one pass. I'd have to cool it down 30 minutes or more.

Thanks! (non-denominational guy here)...

The tranny cooler would have to be mounted in front of the radiator, likely involving removal of front bumper, etc. I've seen a couple of installs on this forum that look good. But for cooling, I also have a Meziere EWP (2010+ Camaro specific) waiting to go on. Since the tranny is routed through the radiator, and the tranny cooler is in series, I figure this might help as well. The tranny cooler/fan is a B&M (70297 - http://www.summitracing.com/parts/BMM-70297/) and has a 175* thermo switch. I'll mount it after the radiator, so that if the radiator can't cool it enough, the cooler/fan may get it down to 175-180. Don't want it too cool.

Stock, the L99 is pretty much the same as any LSx motor. There's a table that pulls timing based on IAT, which can be tuned out if you like.

However, my IAT's are pretty consistent because I have the Fastlane Pipeline 4" CAI, which is basically the "down and out" style that draws air from behind the fog light. Once the car gets moving, IATs drop to ambient + 7-9* (heat off the track, I suppose). In the staging lanes it looks bad, because it's getting hot asphalt air and hot engine air, but it works well for me when moving.

Padre (humbled that you should take an interest in my build )

[Padre]

Originally Posted by Pro Stock John

Also what is the L99 doing when the IAT's go up, is the pcm cutting back the timing in a big way? I noticed that with my Trailblazer SS that the timing would get dialed back a lot after just one pass. I'd have to cool it down 30 minutes or more.

In addition, regarding cooling, I did not notice a big heat soak problem. With HP Tuners, I can turn on the fans, leave the engine running, and in a few minutes, the Engine Coolant Temp will drop (from 212*+) into the 192-196* range (that I can view on the DIC).

The heat soak problem is one thing steering me away from a blower at this time. My friend with the GT500 would put ice on his Whipple for up to an hour between runs, and one run, boom, it's hot again and killing timing.

Padre

[YOUNGnRECKLESS]

awesome build thread!!! great car. wish i knew a little more about the computers and such but its extremely interesting and its like a lesson for me haha. keep it going and good luck!!!

[Pro Stock John]

Padre, you mentioned you had a built GTO before this car. What size converter did you run in the previous car? Reason I ask is, I've been thinking that 3200 would be the smallest converter I'd potentially run, also thought a 3600. In the old LS1 4th gen days a 3200 stall was not very noticeable to me. I used to run a Yank TP4500. I did run a 4800 and then a 5500 stall in my last 4th gen, and the last converter was... unstreetable.

[Padre]

Originally Posted by Pro Stock John

Padre, you mentioned you had a built GTO before this car. What size converter did you run in the previous car? Reason I ask is, I've been thinking that 3200 would be the smallest converter I'd potentially run, also thought a 3600. In the old LS1 4th gen days a 3200 stall was not very noticeable to me. I used to run a Yank TP4500. I did run a 4800 and then a 5500 stall in my last 4th gen, and the last converter was... unstreetable.

On the rebuilt/strengthened 4L60E, I ran a reworked stock converter with 4200 stall. I had a very aggressive EDC cam on a 408 LQ9/LS1 motor.

It ran 11.5's and cut a 1.50 sixty all day long.



It was also featured in one of the High Performance Pontiac's Pavement Pounder's Shootouts (Summer 2007).
http://www.highperformancepontiac.co...lle/index.html

Personally, with this build, I am not going "Max Race" on every component. It is still a daily driver and I'm hoping the mods, while not MAX on everything, are sufficient to make it a contender.

Padre