2014 SIM 1SS/1LE Search & Build Thread

[cdb95z28]

Splitter Guards- ZL1 Addons sell these. Machined aluminum guards that screw into the bottom of your splitter. They work. You'll hit these before your splitter gets ground down. Well worth it and easy to install. I also bought their Heavy Duty Magnetic Jack Pads. Another small investment to make life easier and not destroy your chassis when jacking the car.



Heritage Grille and Flowtie
I did a write up on this here: http://www.camaro5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=367071
I originally modded the Bowtie that came with the Heritage Grille (GM Part# 22965834), but I later found a genuine Flowtie.
My best cosmetic mod
See the pic in Post #9 above^^^^
EDIT: I've received tons of requests for me to sell my modded Flowtie, but sorry, my son owns it now!


Fluids and Gold Plugs- Lots of feedback from members here about the sometimes unfriendly TR6060 transmission. I drained the ATF from the trans @1600 miles and added Redline D4, took just a little under 4 quarts.

Also drained the rear gear lube @ 2300 miles. WTF! Wow, nasty sh!t. Added Redline 75w90 #57904, took 1 quart and I added GM Limited Slip Additive part # 88900330

I added Gold Plug Drain/Fill Plugs to the rear (# AP-07 need 2), and trans (IP-04X, need 2). I picked up one for the engine at AutoZone, Needa brand, M12-1.75 (# 653096). Just a little more protection as they have a strong magnet within.

[cdb95z28]

Z/28 Cold Air Intake- There are so many options on CAIs. In my view, most do a pretty good job. I am not going to concern myself over a couple horsepower, so going back to my desire for some parts looking OE, the Z/28 CAI was a natural choice. It's OEM quality, fit and finish cannot be denied. And I laugh at the continued questions concerning possible voiding of warranty. Don't they ALL possibly void the warranty? So that is not even an arguement. Price? Sure it is a bit more, but I am fortunate to get a discount at a local GM dealership. Does it work? Only time will tell if someone does a test. I can tell you there was a positive change in power, throttle response.

As a side note, some may question that between my Heritage Grille/Flowtie, brake ducts and this CAI that I have a desire to clone a Z/28. That could not be furthur from the truth. I love what the 1LE was back in the day and how it currently has been elevated to an even greater niche and has gained so much notoriety.

I did make some changes to the Chevrolet Performance Kit, part # 23454578 to look more OE, more vehicle specific, if you can believe. You can see the difference in the pics of those who used the kit's PCV parts vs. my version.
See this thread to view my changes and thoughts:
http://www.camaro5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=385592

[cdb95z28]

Service Manual- As with my '95 Z28, I bought the complete GM service manual set. No brainer. There is so much info here. Includes every model (1LE, ZL1, and Z/28 among others) and options. I believe the only place you can get it is from Helm (helminc.com).



ZL1 Belly Pan- When I started inquiring about a belly pan at my local GM dealership, I had the part #s for both the ZL1 and Z/28. There are differences between the two as the Z/28 (part # 23459995) has more openings for whatever reason. I placed my order for the Z/28 belly pan but my go to parts guy called a few weeks later to say GM was telling him it was temporarily unavailable. He knows his stuff and we have a good rapport as he used to work with my dad. No parts restriction (he was aware of the Z/28 parts restrictions). So I ordered a 2014 ZL1 belly pan (part # 23188146), which has small cut outs near the cats. Originally the ZL1 pan did not have these cut outs and there was some reflective insulation in that area. GM made a change at some point so there are atleast 3 different belly pan part #s out there.

You must also get the square "nutserts" (need 11, part # 11570215) as I call them that install within the front subframe/cradle and bolts. Any competent GM dealer can get these for you ($$) but some hardware stores may carry the nutserts. And (4) large flanged bolts, part #11609982, (7) M6x1x25 bolts and (3) M6x1x33 bolts.



If I remember correctly,where the front of the belly pan meets the bumper cover (behind the splitter) I did have to drill some new holes for those new bolts/nuts, and lightly trim the bumper cover.



I also cut the rubber air dam to mimick the Z/28. The Z/28 just has two small rubber deflectors right in front of the front tires with the middle wide open as to let the air travel across the belly pan.

[cdb95z28]

EDIT: I do not have the Vitesse or the Bo White Throttle Body anymore. I also moved the shift light to the tiny upper air vent just above where it was. Vitesse Throttle Control- GM really has put the laziness in their throttles. My G8, Sierra and this Camaro all have had lazy throttles. Part of it I believe is the torque management and part of it is the "Desired Throttle Area" maps within the PCM, which can only be mildly modified before the PCM decides that it does not like that change. Worst case scenario with modding those tables can make the PCM unresponsive.

So I bought the Vitesse and it does work. Wow, almost too touchy. At this point it was time to put the car away for winter and I really have not had a chance to try it out. I ran the wires inside the center console and mounted the display in the center console storage bin. It is out of sight yet easy to make changes.



Bo White Ported Throttle Body- Another popular mod that some say also improves the throttle response. And again, I have not had a chance to try it out. I sent Bo my OE TB and he did his magic.

Raptor Shift Light-While I am not doing any drag racing with my 1LE, I still need a shift light as my factory tach seems a bit off and I do not like having to look down and wait for my shift rpm. The Camaro tach #s are small and hard to read in a quick moment. I wanted a small shift light so I could mount it in the left HVAC vent and the Raptor was perfect. I tied into the cylinder #1 coil harness for the signal. I mounted the Raptor so it was near the vent opening enough that I would easily see it, yet deep enough that it would not interfere with the vent door.






That thing is pretty damn bright and I got it in blue to match the blue highlights of the Camaro gauges.

[Casperadub70]

Love the idea for the shift light. Nicely done

[cdb95z28]

Thanks!

[cdb95z28]

SRP Racing Aluminum Pedals- I have not mastered heel-toe downshifting yet. I did it a couple of times in my '95, but I haven't been able to practice in 5 years. Having the right pedal spacing helps so I installed a set of SRP pedals, plus they look great.




Z/28 Brake Ducts- GM/Chevrolet Performance part # 23252398. Why not the Quantum Brake Ducts?? This is mostly a street car. For now the Z/28 ducts will be fine. They are simple, light and are a seemless install. If I get into the open tracking deeper I will give the Z/28 ducts a chance, and possibly move up to the Quantums.

[cdb95z28]

Z/28 Flowtie-It was about this time I found a genuine Flowtie. I always thought the Chevrolet performance cars should have had a better looking Bowtie, so when the Flowtie came about I thought it was perfect. Back in the day (1995ish)I liked the red Bowtie that was on my Z28 and it was prevalent on all of Chevrolet's racecars of the time. But that one, to me, is now out of date. Currently the Flowtie is a restricted Z/28 item, but let's just say you can look at the typical "auction" websites. I googled "Flowtie" and found it. So I removed my modded one that I described in post #15 and installed this one. By this time next year you'll probably be able to buy one from GM when the restriction is lifted



Rear Bowtie Decal Overlay- I bought this from GrafxWorks. Carbon Fiber decal overlay for the rear Bowtie. Carbon Fiber is cool, but I'm not a fan of a lot of use, for a street car like mine, it is borderline "poser" to have too much CF. For extreme cars, go for it! And really, I can't afford too much of it anyway

[JDG1LE]

When you bought the flowtie did it come with the back part to mount it or did you fab something up?

[cdb95z28]

OE Alignment Specs- I've been doing my own alignments for a couple of years. It stemmed from not being happy with alignments from shops plus the costs of the alignments and not being able to play around and not go broke at the same time! I bought a Longacre Camber/Castor Gauge (#78295) and their Toe Bar (#79622). I work hard at removing all variables for consistency and repeatability, within 2/10's of a degree.

Here is what I found @ 4000 miles, full fuel tank, 35 PSI in all tires:

LF RF
Cam -.8* -.8*
Cas +5.6* +5.8*
Ride HT 668mm 669mm

FRONT TOE
.355* (.173")TOE IN


LR RR
Cam -.3* -.3*
Ride HT 685mm 685mm

REAR TOE
0*

[cdb95z28]

Originally Posted by g6t6o

When you bought the flowtie did it come with the back part to mount it or did you fab something up?

It did not, but I just used the same mount I made for the modded one.

[PlatinumIce]

Liking the 1LE's as I ease drop reading your thread. Really like your friends car aswell but bias towards black. cars. Will look forward on seeing what you continue to do with your mods. Good job

[cdb95z28]

Originally Posted by PlatinumIce

Liking the 1LE's as I ease drop reading your thread. Really like your friends car aswell but bias towards black. cars. Will look forward on seeing what you continue to do with your mods. Good job

I can see you liking the black 1LE's Nice mods on your's

[cdb95z28]

I just checked out you build thread, awesome build!