Long Overdue Build Progress [Main Thread]

[BatmaroBeauty]

Steve did absolutely amazing work on these pieces. Highly recommend him if you live in the NY/NJ/PA areas. It’s worth the drive in traffic! Just to give you a better understanding here’s the before and afters:


E-Brake Handle billet cover ordered in black. Nothing wrong with its appearance, I just wanted it to be forged CF instead to match the rest of the interior bezels and trim.


The grey color showing underneath the blue is the color that the jam handles were ordered in. No prep work was done to these causing the blue paint to effortlessly flake off.



The HORRIBLE work that the previous shop did to the paddles and door jam handles. They literally just threw down blue spray paint, no prep work or clear coat, then covered them with forged CF vinyl and cut out the inlays to make the blue edging that I requested. Not only that but they did all that to the wrong side of the paddles, the side with the blue edging like I asked to have done is on the side facing the dashboard so you wouldn’t even see it!


The red outlines show where the paint was already chipping off THE DAY I PICKED IT UP. I never even bothered installing these pieces until I found someone that could do them correctly.



The Doctor saves the day! —>(DrHrdroDip) He bothered to actually color match the blue to be similar to the steering wheel. Also did a ton of prep work by removing the previous layers of paint/vinyl and even clear coated everything once it was finished for protection. It’s amazing what care and consideration can do. I couldn’t be any happier with how these turned out, they are going to look stunning once I get to put them on the car!

[Vicster]

Originally Posted by BatmaroBeauty

Steve did absolutely amazing work on these pieces. Highly recommend him if you live in the NY/NJ/PA areas. It’s worth the drive in traffic! Just to give you a better understanding here’s the before and afters:

Attachment 1071177
E-Brake Handle billet cover ordered in black. Nothing wrong with its appearance, I just wanted it to be forged CF instead to match the rest of the interior bezels and trim.

Attachment 1071206
The grey color showing underneath the blue is the color that the jam handles were ordered in. No prep work was done to these causing the blue paint to effortlessly flake off.

Attachment 1071207
Attachment 1071208
The HORRIBLE work that the previous shop did to the paddles and door jam handles. They literally just threw down blue spray paint, no prep work or clear coat, then covered them with forged CF vinyl and cut out the inlays to make the blue edging that I requested. Not only that but they did all that to the wrong side of the paddles, the side with the blue edging like I asked to have done is on the side facing the dashboard so you wouldn’t even see it!

Attachment 1071183
The red outlines show where the paint was already chipping off THE DAY I PICKED IT UP. I never even bothered installing these pieces until I found someone that could do them correctly.

Attachment 1071209
Attachment 1071210
The Doctor saves the day! —>(DrHrdroDip) He bothered to actually color match the blue to be similar to the steering wheel. Also did a ton of prep work by removing the previous layers of paint/vinyl and even clear coated everything once it was finished for protection. It’s amazing what care and consideration can do. I couldn’t be any happier with how these turned out, they are going to look stunning once I get to put them on the car!

Wow, That is a great save!! Looks nice

[BatmaroBeauty]

There’s been several ups and downs over the past few weeks/months. There was a time where I began searching for another shop under the advisal from EFX Tuning because they could not guarantee a time frame for completion and did not want to continue stringing me along. I was also experiencing VERY delayed and prolonged correspondence from Will at Overkill to help resolve fuel system issues we encountered. Those two factors coupled together really took a toll on the enthusiasm and aspirations I had for this car.

So I made arrangements to pick-up my car from EFX as they suggested. I desperately began reaching out to multiple shops (RK Tuning, Tune Time Performance, BCS Auto, Tracy Lewis Performance) trying to get anyone who would help me with the 3.6 LLT/Bosch ECU platform. I was even willing to transport my car if need be, however far, to get this finished. I even made a thread in the FI V6 section asking for performance shop recommendations. Rob from RK Tuning and Justin from BCS Auto didn’t even bother to respond. Juan at Tune Time Performance flat out replied that they don’t work on V6’s. Thankfully, Tracy replied that they were working on getting it taken care of for me and would respond by the end of the day. Coincidentally, Will from Overkill responded later that same day (FINALLY) after I hadn’t received any communication from him for a month even with multiple messages being sent weekly in regards.

This past Monday I called EFX to confirm pick-up and instead, to my happy surprise, they agreed to continue working on my car until it’s finished which was a relief since I hadn’t had much luck finding another shop. With newly acquired momentum, we discussed Water Methanol Injection being a good addition and may resolve us losing rail pressure after 6200rpm causing knock retard.


I hopped on the phone immediately and called Julio from Alky Control. We came to the conclusion that a trunk tank would be best for my current set-up and objective. I got Alky’s kit that they offer to JDP Motorsports with the ProMeth 4-gal trunk tank. Parts will be delivered this week and EFX will put me in the schedule to begin working on it again some time next week.

In the meantime, I made the trip down to EFX yesterday (Wed 6/16/21) to pick-up the rest of all the removed parts and to finally see all the changes to my car in person! Everything has been assembled and the BOV sounds incredible!! Thought it would be interesting to see a photo comparison of my engine bays before vs after the overhaul (top picture was when I dropped it off in Feb 2020 to begin install and bottom picture is current day June 2021):

So many changes and more to come! The bay is dirty I know, but since it’s not done yet I don’t mind… I’m just happy as hell to see that Vortech in it! There were a few deviations that EFX made for the better from how the Overkill instructions outlined installation of the kit. First, being the fact now there’s no Amsoil Air Filter intake to the blower. Instead, it’s direct air flow so more horsepower is generated by less restrictions. I got a centrifugal specific Blower-Guard for my Vortech from Turbo-Guard to help prevent any debris from getting into the blades. I live in a very urban city area so bugs or vegetation isn’t a major concern of mine. Second, was the catch can set-up because the lines had to be rerouted from their original mounting on the intake. Instead, they ran it to a breather located by the washer reservoir.

They also took the time to show me some data logs from the dyno and this set-up is already performing better than my expectations; with room for improvement once we get all the issues sorted out and proper adjustments are made.

Back in April, we were at 418rwhp/365rwtq but experiencing issues like knock retard and misalignment with the supercharger belt. The belt was not riding center and was persistently rubbing on a bracket bolt on the underside of the blower bracket causing wear. This problem was resolved with some longer spacers and a different upper radiator bracket, however, still dealing with correcting KR in the fueling system.

But after fixing the belt alignment, the most recent dyno showed an improvement from the previous one that EFX had shared with me! The latest dyno was 450rwhp/379rwtq at 6000rpm before the fuel pressure drop. The engine has the potential to continue steadily increase in power until 7000rpm, it just needs to be provided the proper amount of fuel to do that. We’ll see where we’re at again after the WMI install.

This reignited my excitement for the build since these aren’t even final numbers yet! Below are photos I got of the runs:

[morepowerjoe]

That's freaking awesome buddy! Can't wait to see those final numbers, do you think we'll see 500 when you Rev to 7000?

[BatmaroBeauty]

Originally Posted by morepowerjoe

do you think we'll see 500 when you Rev to 7000?

He did rough math while we were talking and that’s what he projected to be around, which would mean at or near 600hp overall… Not too shabby for my little V6 considering it was only just 304hp stock

[BatmaroBeauty]

Still patiently waiting for my build to be completed.. Still pending Will’s input about the fueling issue from all the dyno data provided. The final component of my water methanol injection kit was delivered to the shop on June 21 and still has not yet begun to be installed. I feel so burnt out at this point…

[TwentyTen2SSRS]

Car looks great! Congrats!

Couple questions - are you on Instagram? @badhawkss

What did full new SS bumper run you painted? I have SS but time is coming to get it replaced.

I’m going aero sport concepts (have their dive planes) for side rocker extension on my zl1 side skirts - looks like you had hell of a time with them but I have a great shop.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[BatmaroBeauty]

Originally Posted by TwentyTen2SSRS

Couple questions - are you on Instagram? @badhawkss

What did full new SS bumper run you painted? I have SS but time is coming to get it replaced.

I’m going aero sport concepts (have their dive planes) for side rocker extension on my zl1 side skirts - looks like you had hell of a time with them but I have a great shop.

Thanks just hoping I get it back soon. They say they’ll be getting to installation this Monday 7/12 but they haven’t met a deadline yet that they’ve set so we’ll see..

Yeah I’m on instagram, click the banner in my signature and it’ll take you directly to my page @fueledbysnacks ..haven’t been able to post much content since the cars been gone for so long, mainly just have my ZX6R for now.

I bought an OEM SS bumper from a GMC dealership for $310 total to start over. Sold my old one that was giving me a headache for dirt cheap to someone who just needed a bumper.

Rockers should be more straight forward install. The SS bumper gave me issues with the ASC splitter extension because the bumper itself is at an angle and not leveled off for the splitter which is why I got the ACS Composites T4 to connect the two. My skirts aren’t ASC though, they’re custom made by a local aero shop in NJ. Hope that helps, GL!

[Pearlj10]

Hey Batmaro, I fought the fueling issue on my 2011 LLT for nearly a year. I finally just increased the pulley size from Will’s standard 3.6”. First I tried a 3.7” pulley, and that cut the fuel rail pressure drop significantly. Then I went to a 3.8” pulley (the largest that Vortech sells for this 8-rib application). Now, fuel pressure on the high side holds strong at 1860 psi at max boost. No dips, whatsoever, throughout the rpm range with 7k shift points. I’m also running meth and just dyno’d at 404 rwhp on a notoriously stingy mustang jet that was reading 30 hp less than another dyno that I tried after the meth install. All that on a 115 degree day in Phoenix and the car was spinning tires on that dyno in the peak of that heat. I’m just glad to have the fueling headache over.

Down the road, if I get bored, I may add a wastegate before the intercooler, go with a small pulley, and dump any boost over 8.5-9.0 psi. That way you get high low end torque from the smaller pulley kicking in sooner, plus all the high end hp we’re expecting.

Good luck with your build. It’s looking awesome!

[BatmaroBeauty]

Originally Posted by Pearlj10

Hey Batmaro, I fought the fueling issue on my 2011 LLT for nearly a year. I finally just increased the pulley size from Will’s standard 3.6”. First I tried a 3.7” pulley, and that cut the fuel rail pressure drop significantly. Then I went to a 3.8” pulley (the largest that Vortech sells for this 8-rib application). Now, fuel pressure on the high side holds strong at 1860 psi at max boost. No dips, whatsoever, throughout the rpm range with 7k shift points. I’m also running meth and just dyno’d at 404 rwhp on a notoriously stingy mustang jet that was reading 30 hp less than another dyno that I tried after the meth install. All that on a 115 degree day in Phoenix and the car was spinning tires on that dyno in the peak of that heat. I’m just glad to have the fueling headache over.

Down the road, if I get bored, I may add a wastegate before the intercooler, go with a small pulley, and dump any boost over 8.5-9.0 psi. That way you get high low end torque from the smaller pulley kicking in sooner, plus all the high end hp we’re expecting.

Good luck with your build. It’s looking awesome!

Thanks for the advice and happy you figured it out. I’ve been emailing Will every single day since July 2 (today is July 16, so 14 days with emails sent) asking for acknowledgement that he received the dyno data and files he requested from the shop that they sent June 17 and CC’d me on so he could advise on this fueling issue. Still nothing. I’m just truly disappointed with his lack of guidance and answers to the issues I’ve experienced with installation of this kit. I knew he had delayed communication and response but I feel going an entire month without a reply is unacceptable by any business standards to make a customer wait that long. Especially for the price (approx $7k total for SC Stage 3, 76mm TB, with HP Tuners and lifetime support) I expect the same level of investment by the seller/business for timely responses regarding any matters or questions that arise. There’s really no justification or excuse at this point.

I remember last you and I spoke in your thread, you mentioned you had stage 1 but I’m running stage 3 so I have a much smaller pulley provided by Will. I think I roughly measured my pulley at 3.2" last time I stopped by the shop since I mentioned to them you were experiencing similar issues with FP drop and resolved it by upping the pulley size so we were trying to figure out the size of mine quickly. The shop said the issue with upgrading the pulley size is that it doesn’t necessary fix the fuel starvation issue, it just changes when the issue occurs. So if with a 3.2 pulley I’m experiencing FP drop at 6200rpm then upping the pulley to 3.6 would hypothetically just cause that FP drop to happen at 6700rpm instead.

The plan right now is that I got an Alky Control single nozzle two trigger manifold air pressure kit with the 4-gal trunk tank from ProMeth. I went with MAP instead of MAF because after talking with Julio he mentioned that’s the setup he recommends when there’s a centrifugal blower since if the hose pops off the throttle body it could trigger full signals for meth and spray it all over the engine.

If that doesn’t resolve the issue, I discussed with the shop the potential of running a secondary aux fuel line dedicated specifically to boost but I’m pretty tapped at this time for investing money in the car so we’ll tune it to be driveable and have to revisit that possibility at a later date. I need to focus my financial priorities on buying a home and as much as I wouldn’t mine living in my Camaro, it wouldn’t be an ideal situation with two big dogs lol

[Pearlj10]

I hope your current plan works out Batmaro. I wish that Will was more transparent about the fueling issues, especially on the LLT motors. These issues were documented by Gretchen, Tampa Tuners, and others many years ago and, as far as I could tell, people got frustrated with not being able to find a solution and moved on. It would be different if we could just replace the HPFP with an upgraded one. At least the LFX folks have an option or two there. Even the Mace cam upgrade only helps the HPFP by 10-15%. I’m not sure that’s enough for an application like yours, and it’s a ton of labor to try it. I hope that your car is out of the shop and on the street soon!

[BatmaroBeauty]

Originally Posted by Pearlj10

I hope your current plan works out Batmaro. I wish that Will was more transparent about the fueling issues, especially on the LLT motors. These issues were documented by Gretchen, Tampa Tuners, and others many years ago and, as far as I could tell, people got frustrated with not being able to find a solution and moved on. It would be different if we could just replace the HPFP with an upgraded one. At least the LFX folks have an option or two there. Even the Mace cam upgrade only helps the HPFP by 10-15%. I’m not sure that’s enough for an application like yours, and it’s a ton of labor to try it. I hope that your car is out of the shop and on the street soon!

I hope it works too! Included in my kit from Will was an in tank ZL1 fuel pump and pretty large 131# injectors. I already have MACE performance 210°/210° camshafts installed and I even sprung for the modified fuel lobe upgrade to them as well, which Will outsources at an added cost for the fuel pump overdrive to be done in queued batches by a machinist. That’s why I said I’m pretty tapped investment wise since I did more than just the supercharger during this installation and unfortunately I can attest to it being just as labor intensive as it is costly so far. I feel like I’m in too deep to give up at this point.. I’ve come too far just to go this far but damn this has unquestionably been a very trying process.

[BatmaroBeauty]

So I took a trip down to the shop yesterday (Mon 8/9/21) to see where everything is at. The Alky Control MAP kit with ProMeth 4-gal trunk tank is all installed. They just have to verify to ensure there’s no leaks in any of the lines before putting it on the dyno again. I’ll be taking a trip back down to record some video footage of that whenever they say it’s ready to go. There was an undesired hole towards the bottom left of the ProMeth tank just below the sight level gauge and when the shop called ProMeth to inquire, their response was just for the shop to plug it up. That reply ticked me off considering I paid $300 for that tank and it got sent with a defect. I hope that doesn’t come back to bite me in the future by causing any leakage.



Another issue that was addressed was getting a washer fluid reservoir relocation kit from Rotofab since the original washer reservoir bottle and pump supplied in the Overkill kit was out of a 2000 Ford Crown Victoria which prevented reinstalling the BMR 4pt strut tower brace I had due to where it was mounted. The new Rotofab WW reservoir is installed next to the brake fluid reservoir.



So my power steering, brake fluid, and windshield washer reservoirs are now all in a row tucked neatly out of the way towards the rear of my engine bay.


Just have to button up a few odds and ends, but I will hopefully be getting the car back this week! Dropped off the triple pod a-pillar with gauges so they can install it with the WMI low level and activation sensor lights. Don’t see how wiring all that up could take more than a day or so but I’m keeping my expectations low given the prolonged history.

[morepowerjoe]

Well I'm glad to hear you'll be getting it back soon. I don't think they could have taken any longer 😕.