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Old 02-06-2011, 09:42 AM   #1
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Batmobile

Below is my first 5th gen mild build.

Here is whats left of my 1LE Twin Turbo build:

http://www.camaro5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=305757

Here is my ZL1 build:

http://www.camaro5.com/forums/showthread.php?p=8673215

__________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ ______________

The 2011 Camaro 2SS/RS M6 in this thread is the culmination of years of research waiting for the release of both the Camaro SS and the Coyote 5.0 Mustang so I could compare them head to head. Luckily this event roughly coincided with the expiration of my BMW lease.

My first thread on this:
Turned in my 335i Today

And then finally:
Turned in my 335i Today - Conclusion

The end of the quest:


In retrospect even though I chose the Camaro over the Mustang car against car, I think the trade in value i received for my WS6 would have led me to this very car anyway. This dealer gave me $4,000 more for my cherry LT1 WS6 than anyone else.

I named this thread "Batmobile" after my first trip into Philadelphia. I was sitting at a light at 16th and Market and a man waiting to cross the street with his very young son said to him "Look, there is the Batmobile" pointing to my car. I quickly left the light so as not to disappoint the boy. Sadly, the driver was no Batman.

In my next post I will lay out my goals for the Batmobile.

Mod List (I will update here as I go):
  1. GPS console bracket
  2. Drill free front license plate holder
  3. ******** mounted 4+1 Sub and Amp
  4. Heritage Grill and Bow-tie removal
  5. Cold Air Inductions CAI
  6. ADM Scoop
  7. Washer Bottle Relocation
  8. CAGS Eliminator
  9. Barton Shifter
  10. Headlight + running lights both on at night harness
  11. Long Tubes and Cats
  12. Ported Throttle Body
  13. BMR Pro Rear Cradle bushings
  14. BMR Pro Differential bushings
  15. BMR outer Trailing Arm bushings
  16. BMR Toe Rods
  17. BMR Trailing Arms
  18. BMR Drive Shaft Loop
  19. BMR Tunnel Brace
  20. Pedders HD Radius Rod inserts
  21. SS Spare Kit
  22. Vararam Wedge
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Old 02-06-2011, 09:45 AM   #2
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ya know done the right way..the Camaro would be a great Batmobile. It has the lines I think Bruce Wayne would like.
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Old 02-06-2011, 10:17 AM   #3
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2SS

Quote:
Originally Posted by Fraxum View Post
The Camaro SS in this thread is the culmination of years of research waiting for the release of both the Camaro SS and the Coyote Mustang so I could compare them head to head. Luckily this event roughly coincided with the expiration of my BMW lease.

My first thread on this:
Turned in my 335i Today

And then finally:
Turned in my 335i Today - Conclusion

The end of the quest:


In retrospect even though I chose the Camaro over the Mustang car against car, I think the trade in value i received for my WS6 would have led me to this very car anyway. This dealer gave me $4,000 more for my cherry LT1 WS6 than anyone else.

I named this thread "Batmobile" after my first trip into Philadelphia. I was sitting at a light at 16th and Market and a man waiting to cross the street with his very young son said to him "Look, there is the Batmobile" pointing to my car. I quickly left the light so as not to disappoint the boy. Sadly, the driver was no Batman.

In my next post I will lay out my goals for the Batmobile.
Nice color , bur mine is [BLACKER] than your's . NICELY DONE
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Old 02-06-2011, 10:55 AM   #4
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I hope black rims are at the top of your list...
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Old 02-06-2011, 01:15 PM   #5
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My goals

My two gripes with the Camaro are the low roof and the weight. Current owners said, "Ignore the view, you will get used to it." They were right, I did. But I still wish when sitting for a traffic light that I could actually see it. And I have already misjudged the corner of the car and scraped the SS against our own Rav4. :=(

But there is nothing that can be done about the roof height, so I will just let it go and enjoy the good looks.

The weight is another matter. I hope to keep my SS as light as possible. And where I can save weight I will. But saving weight is expensive. So I will attempt to save weight where practical and at least try not to increase weight. I have already broken this goal with my first mod, an amp and sub. I had this stuff left over from my previous car and I love music. Okay, so no more going backwards after this.

One thing I will avoid is going the FI supercharger or turbo route for three reasons.

1. FI adds weight.
2. You can have too much horsepower.
3. I can't afford FI anyway.

My number two reason needs some explanation. I love horsepower, like most everyone here. But on the street (and to some extent the track) there can be more power than is usable. A few years ago I got back into motorcycles. I was so amazed I could buy a 10 second bike for $5K. Then once I had it I set about making it even faster. I quickly found out that 10 second vehicles are not very usable on the street. I rarely could even use more than first gear and part of second wide open. One night my throttle stuck wide open and I learned what it means to see your life pass before your eyes.

So my horsepower goals will be moderate. I can get to 420 rwhp with bolt-ons and maybe later 450 rwhp with a mild cam. That should be enough to have fun on the street and on the track. And the costs are reasonable. If I ever decide to go for more after that it would be with a stroker with strengthened internals.

Another goal is enhanced handling. After driving both the Mustang 5.0 and the Camaro SS it was easy to determine that the Mustang was the better handing car. While both are comparable at the track when you look at times, the Mustang feels better. Can the Camaro approach the handling feeling you get in the Mustang?

Here is my thread on that topic:
Rename the Z28?

Apparently, the answer is yes! I will try.

So I am not a fan of the upcoming HPE Camaro and not in favor of calling it the Z28. I had hoped that Chevy would call the new FI car something other than Z28 and save that name for the Camaro Boss 302 competitor.

Edit: Glad to see Chevrolet took my suggestion to name the car ZL1!!!

My thread on that:
Can the Camaro Handling feel Be Improved?

I do think the new Camaro will be cool, but like the GT500 it will most likely be a focused straight-line car. Fun I am sure, but not for me. The spirit of the original Z28 is what I am shooting for.

I want to have fun with this car. I want to take it to Atco. While I have street raced many times in my distant past I have never run a car down a real track. I plan to start tracking the quarter mile this spring. I will post my times here.

I also want to try tracking with curves. The NJ Motorsports Park in Millville is not far from my house. I want to attend a driving course there and learn how to track my Camaro road race style too. Autocross may be a good place to start.

Apart from all this I have some appearance goals. I do like the clean look. While I like other colors, black is by far my favorite car color. To me the stock grill is hideous. And the gold bow-ties are an eyesore. They have to go.

Right now my SS has no stripes. But lately I have been looking at the stripe threads and thinking maybe.

Also I would love the IOM interior. I really wanted this on my car but I could not find one locally. Would you want to sell me yours? I would be happy to trade interiors and give you the cost of the option. I do like the black interior, but the IOM raises the excitement level for me.

So to summarize my goals for the Batmobile:
1. Modest Horsepower goals
2. Upgrade the suspension
3. Track the quarter
4. Track the curves
5. Make it more mine
6. Keep spending under control
7. Have fun


What do you think? Blackout for the taillights?

Dump the SS emblem? (it's the only one on the except for the steering wheel)
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Old 02-06-2011, 01:36 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by WhiteCrane View Post
I hope black rims are at the top of your list...
Interesting!

edit: 1LE rims. Or perhaps the whole 1LE.
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Old 02-07-2011, 08:25 PM   #7
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First mods

I started small. I really wanted GPS but no factory one is offered other than OnStar. I am reluctant to buy aftermarket in dash since it is a thief magnet. Maybe I will change my mind later once there are more options. Maybe Chevy will put out a factory GPS that fits the 2010-11 dash. Let's hope.

So for now the bracket will allow me to use any old GPS. Most of the time I know where I am going. My wife would not agree.

Later on I make even better use of this little mod.

GPS Bracket $65

I really did not want to drill my bumper for a license plate holder. I always regretted drilling my last 4th gen WS6. I found a solution. Search is your friend!

No drill front license plate holder < $1
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Old 02-10-2011, 06:03 PM   #8
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My sub install. Steve @ ******** figured out what I needed like a BA harness with a LOC for the MB Quart amp I had.

My wiring is a bit messy. I did not cut anything and just rolled up the leftovers. There is so much room around the battery.

The 10 inch hits just fine for me. And sounds great even with the seat up. The sub is upside down. Oops.

Also in that last pic is the PAC Bass knob I bought. I ran the RCA jacked wires coming out of the LOC through the bass controller and then back to the amp.

I made good use of my NaV bracket for the sub mound.

There is a bass controller for that Discus Amp, but it is super expensive although it supports all of the Amp controls.

Some songs need bass reduction and other need more bass. I wonder if this is due to the sampling rate of my MP3 collection?

I added no additional sound insulation. The install is rattle free although I can make the rear view mirror fuzzy.

Nice fit with the ******** panels and the custom connector is a real time saver. The trunk install is a snap.

Now if I can just come to terms with adding 30 lbs to the car.






Edit: Steve @ ******** has a new plug coming to replace the stock BA Amp with no wire cutting. Can't wait. I already have a nice Discus 4ch Amp but it is too big for the stock location. I will have to get creative. How about the underside of the trunk lid?
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Old 02-10-2011, 06:06 PM   #9
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looks great, go with Chrome wheels if you change them, looks much better.
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Old 02-11-2011, 05:14 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 2010 SSRS View Post
looks great, go with Chrome wheels if you change them, looks much better.
My plans for the wheels are:
  • Drive the originals until the stock tires wear out.
  • Mount Winter tires on those wheels.
  • Replace the front brake pads with non-roller-skate pads.
  • Buy lighter weight 19" wheels with performance tires.

Yes I like chrome with black too. But the lightweight wheels probably will not be chrome.
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Old 02-11-2011, 06:06 PM   #11
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Here is the Bass Knob mounted on the GPS Bracket. No holes in the SS. Also I was able to run the wires for the knob hidden without taking anything apart. Nice.

The down side is my Discus Amp required a LOC from the ******** BA harness. Along with that I had to run my Amp signal to the front of the car and back through the knob. So the bass is a little muddy, but plenty loud.

Here is the knob mounting:

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Old 02-13-2011, 09:20 PM   #12
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Looking forward to the Z28 if it happens. My ideas on the Z28.

The Z28 does not need a ton more HP.
  • 450 HP at the crank would be fine
  • Offer a V6 version too
  • Add tighter bushings, beefier adjustable sways and links
  • Lighten it up where possible, but don't go crazy, keep the costs down
  • Use lightweight 19" wheels and tires, same size all around
  • Add ZL-1 brakes and front brake scoop
  • Offer real cloth sport seats
  • Start with the 1SS/1LT level, offer only 1SS/LT options
  • Add some unique Z28 graphics, don't go for subtle
  • Add some race level Z28 parts, work with existing vendors, but offer factory engineering support
  • Keep the V8 starting price right around a loaded 2SS/RS, $37,500.
  • Do not make production limited
  • Start a race series where Mustangs, Camaros, Hyundais, and Challengers can face off
  • Offer the race to RWD V6 Turbo (limited boost) and V8s

Edit: Chevy is doing this, but a high perf V6 will come later and no mention of a race series (yet).

I am going to mod and enjoy my SS now and not worry about the future.
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Old 03-14-2011, 05:57 PM   #13
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Heritage Grill

I am not a big fan of the standard grill. I suppose they were going for a 1969 look but overdid the grate size to my eyes. But grill preferences are an individual thing. The Heritage grill is a major improvement to me. I looked around and found that with a black car an unpainted Heritage grill looks good.

For the lighter colors a painted grill looks awesome. I have a compressor and paint guns but decided for now at least to leave the grill unpainted. I also wanted to get rid of the giant gold chevy insignia front and rear. So the end result here is a cleaner looking car and the only badging that remains is the rear SS and the CAMARO on both fenders. I might move the rear SS to the center later once I decide on striping.

Of course the mail slot in the front tells those in the know that this is an SS or at least a V6 with the V8 front fascia. Works for me.

I put the grill in when the temps were below freezing. My foyer made a great grill workshop. The boot made a great prop.


This whole operation made my huge hyper-active dog very nervous.


Clean front view:



Clean rear view:


I left the rear SS there so Mustangs will know what this is.
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Old 03-18-2011, 07:52 PM   #14
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Next I added some performance.
  • Cold Air Induction's CAI
  • ADM Race Scoop
  • Washer Bottle Relocation

Although pricey the C.A.I. CAI is a nice piece. I went with the silver to brighten up things under the hood.

The CAI install is easy and should only take a few minutes. But the Scoop is harder. The best way to do this is peel back the fender liner. And since the Scoop needs the space where the washer bottle is, this has to be moved.

Also be aware you to trim a plastic plate to allow cold air in. This is easy with a dremel. Other methods not so easy. Use this project as an excuse to buy a dremel if you do not already have one.

Great thread on this here:
http://www.camaro5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=115433

I did not want to cut any metal. So I built a bracket to let me mount my new tiny washer bottle on the now exposed stock intake post:


Here is the relocated washer bottle. Since it hold a lot less liquid than the stock one this is a weight saver!


Finished look:


You can really feel this mod. The car now makes a deep howl at high RPMs. You can hear the deep breathing. But it is not an annoying sucking sound I have heard on other cars with a CAI. Great mod and 15+ RWHP.
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