'14 AGM 1SS/1LE Track build [COTW 11/17/14]

[X25]

Update on BC Racing ER coilovers:
The coilovers I initially received were Q04-ER, which does not work on the revised 13+ (1LE) suspension. I suppose my luck helped me out this time: BC Racing has just finished ER series for 14+ cars (Q10ER is the serial number)! I might become the first one to try it. It will be shipped from Taiwan, and should take a few weeks. I asked for track-biased valving, Swift springs if possible, and dyno sheets of every shock.

[X25]

DeWitts Radiator

I finally got to install the DeWitts radiator. They say direct fit, right? What a cluster-crap!

As with all installs, it started well, and I quickly started removing the shrouds, the fan, and the OEM radiator.

Then came the first issue: The bottom ports are just too big! All of them (except tranmission oil lines). I started looking up and taking measurements, and realized the OD of ports are actually OD of the OEM hoses, not the ID! No wonder, I initially could not slide them in. In the end, I used WD-40 liberally and forced them in.

Then came the second issue: Remember, the OD of the ports are larger. That also meant that the OEM clips did not work! Those clips are designed to work with only a certain ID, and do not have much of a tolerance (which is why they usually don't fail and get loose). Thankfully, I found clamps laying around to replace the OEM clamps.


The third issue: This is the killer issue. The bolting locations for the fans did not align! It is too late to revert to stock since I'll be on my way to Oregon tomorrow for the track day, so I improvised yet again and came up with an ugly solution: metal zip-ties. Welcome to my ghetto engine bay!






At least, one would hope it is a huge improvement in capacity:

[camaro500]

Well thank you for the radiator update! I was curious as to how it would go because this mod was very interesting. I will not buy a Dewitts if they cannot be honest about it not being a direct bolt-on.
What a hack job, (Dewitts) NOT you. Props to you to get it up and running with what you had!
Let us know about your track temps!

[X25]

Originally Posted by camaro500

Well thank you for the radiator update! I was curious as to how it would go because this mod was very interesting. I will not buy a Dewitts if they cannot be honest about it not being a direct bolt-on.
What a hack job, (Dewitts) NOT you. Props to you to get it up and running with what you had!
Let us know about your track temps!

It is clear that there's no quality check on final product. Something like the plate being welded the other way around could easily be detected by taking a few quality control measurements. Well, who am I kidding, they did not even measure port ODs correctly : p

[L99CAMA2011]

HAVE YOU GUYS EVER HEARD OF JDP MOTORSPORTS. PLEASE CONTACT THEM AND GET GREAT ADVISE ON RADIATOR CHOICES AS WELL AS OTHER PRODUCTS FOR OUR CAMAROS, THANK YOU. Jordan installs parts on customers cars and knows a heck of a lot of what to use and what not to use.

[X25]

Originally Posted by L99CAMA2011

HAVE YOU GUYS EVER HEARD OF JDP MOTORSPORTS. PLEASE CONTACT THEM AND GET GREAT ADVISE ON RADIATOR CHOICES AS WELL AS OTHER PRODUCTS FOR OUR CAMAROS, THANK YOU. Jordan installs parts on customers cars and knows a heck of a lot of what to use and what not to use.

In full disclosure, I got this radiator from JDP Motorsports. Tyler was also surprised with all the issues as well, but said I should have called them before installing it, as if I could know all these issues before trying - which was a bit confusing response, but he said he would do his best to make it right (which is simply sending another unit without defects and asking for the return of this defective engineering exercise afterwards), so I'll definitely wait for him to get back to me. I am sure they will resolve it one way or another.

I've always heard great things about DeWitts in the Corvette world. My opinion is that this is either a rare issue, or they're dropping the ball; we'll see.

[X25]

Ready for the track day tomorrow. I set-up Torque app to read engine oil temp as well, so I'll see if it reads above 266 degrees. When I tested it, the app was reading 168.8 degrees F when the DIC displayed 169.

I decided to put the camera on the top right corner of the passenger window. This way, it shows the whole front window, steering wheel, shifter, and a bit of the sides.


I got the alignment done yesterday. I did not know that you had to purchase camber bolts (and that the car doesn't come with any such bolt). Even with that bolt, the max camber was around -2.

[X25]

Finally did my first track day with the car!

• Michelin Pilot Super Slows were awful. They do provide great grip for 2, perhaps 3 laps, and then they overheat and grip drops! I was all over the place whole day! I had to do cool-down laps due to this every few laps.
• When I updated my routing for brake ducting, it turned out my driver side was a little bit short for the new route. I didn't think it would be an issue, but it actually ripped during my trip to the track. This meant that the driver side brakes were not cooled as good as the passenger side.
• All calipers' color darkened a little bit. I remember this happening to my '11 EVO's brakes, too, which were also Brembos, so I presume this is normal.
• The brakes did never fade during the day. I was able to smell them, though, so they were getting hot.
• Engine oil quickly climbed to beyond 266 degrees. Fortunately, I was able to track the oil temp using a Bluetooth OBD II reader, and Torque app on my Android phone. The oil temp settled around 280-285 degree range, and never got beyond 289 degrees. That said, I had to do quite a few cool-down laps due to overheating tires, so it might have exceeded 289 degrees if I could push it more without a cool-down lap.

Action items:
Brake pads:
ST43 pads worked great with no issues, but they do SCREAM! Scream as in wife of an SUV driver turns her head to me and says "Oh my god!", in utter shock of how loud my brakes are. Scream as in a firefighter's siren, only in more annoying higher pitch.

• I made a quick experiment by replacing the front pads with stock ones, leaving the race pads in the rear to see if it's the fronts or rears (or both?) that make the noise. It did not help much, if at all. The rear brakes were still screaming like there is no tomorrow.
• At this point, I am considering trying a different pad. Any suggestions? ST43s were loud on my EVO as well, so perhaps this is something common with these Brembo pads' shape, at least for this kind of brake pad.

Engine cooling:
EDIT: It turns out the oil temp sensor is fake, so the temps I read were not correct. The radiator itself might indeed be sufficient like it has been for me on my '13 Corvette Z06. Please ignore this following conclusion. The radiator by itself did not keep the engine oil temps satisfactorily cool enough. The coolant never exceeded 220s F, but engine oil quickly got to 280s F within few laps.

• One option is to use the larger Z/28 liquid-to-liquid heat exchanger. If it could keep the temps at 260 degrees or less, I would be a happy customer.
• The other option is to add an air-to-oil cooler. The problem with this solution is the possible oil leak or clogged thermostat issues, not to mention having to add plumbing for the cooler, etc. It is also about $800 when you build a kit to last and perform well.

Tires:
I knew PSS tires would not help much, but I didn't expect such a bad performance. Or perhaps I am just spoiled by all the R-compound tires I've been using on my former cars and the Miata. I am still undecided on what to do on this. I can:

• Buy Nitto NT01 in stock size; $375/tire.
• Buy 19"x11" wheels all around and find a good matching tire. The candidates are Trofeo R, Michelin Sport Cup 2, R888 to name a few. They are around $550/tire(!!!), except the R888, which is about $390, but I don't want that tire!

New mod: yellow Chevrolet decal! :P


Here is the video from the day. I was all over the place. Still, the time was not too bad at all. It gives me hope that it can do wonders once the car's set-up is dialed in, and it is shod with appropriate tires. 2: 02.12 was the best lap of the day.


Same track with my Miata (counter-clockwise):

[X25]

I had good progress:

• The oil pan baffle is finally installed!
• Radiator fitment issue: I trimmed the bottom driver side tab of the fan enough to let it fit inside the tab on the radiator, and then bolts finally have aligned. Perhaps the driver side tab was a tiny bit misplaced, since once I fixed that with a bit of tempering, everything else aligned itself. I think I'm all set!
• Motor mounts: I finally installed the BMR MM004 motor mounts. The passenger side was relatively easy, but I just could not remove that stand that bolts on to the engine block (with 4 bolts) on the driver side; the oil cooler was on the way. I suppose I did not lift the engine high enough, but I was pretty much at the limit of my jack.
• Test drive: Once finished, I took the car out for a spin. I can hear the engine much easier now, and there is also the vibration of the engine that you can easily feel. I am sure my wife wuld not like that if she drove my car. BMR states that it calms down quite a bit as it breaks in, so I'll give it some time to make the final judgement.
• Dyno: I am taking the car to dyno tomorrow! It will be my baseline, and I'll go back again once I install the headers and tune the car with FSP's tune via inTune.

[X25]

Current mods list
Legend: Planned | Procured | Installed

• Engine / Powertrain
  • TSP 304 LT Headers with 3" X Pipe (Catted) - $1009.98 + $173.75 = $1183.73 shipped.
    
  • Improved Racing oil pan baffle.
    
  • DEI heat wraps / coil boots - $100 shipped.
    
  • 2000 degrees F matte-gray exhaust coating.
    
  • Diablosport Intune w/ custom tune from FSP - $489 shipped.
    
  • DeWitts radiator - $575 shipped.
  • Improved Racing oil cooler with Setrab Series 1 / 72 rows.
  • BMR engine mounts - $259 shipped.
• Interior
  • Schroth Racing RallyE 3 ASM - $179.95.
• Handling
  • BC Racing ER 8kg/12kg coilovers; track-biased-valving. $1799 shipped.
    
  • BMR Bushings - $600 shipped.
    • BMR BK024 Cradle Bushings
      
    • BMR BK039 Rear Upper Control Arm Bushings
      
    • BMR TCA026 Trailing Arms (black)
      
    • BMR BK006 Rear Outer Trailing Arm Bushings
      
    • BMR BK018 Front Lower Control Arm Bushings
      
    • BMR BK019 Front Radius Rod Bushings
  • SB039 Sway Bar Package - $500 shipped.
    
  • Nitto NT01 285/35/20 tires $400.61 shipped x4 = $1602.40
• Brakes
  • Quantum - Competition Brake Cooling Kit - $239.95.
    • Naca ducts: $20.
  • ST43 R1001 Front pads - $261.45.
    
  • ST43 R592.15 Rear pads - $199.
    
  • Stock front rotor (92245928) - $69.45 shipped x2.
    
  • Stock rear rotor (92245929) - $85.31 shipped x2.
• Misc.
  • Blown smart-fuse for skip-shift - $1.
    
  • HSA elimination - $80 shipped.

[X25]

I will receive my oil cooler kit soon. Here are a few remarks about:

• I did go with Setrab's Series 1 (Shortest for lower pressure drop) 72-row (most # of rows for least pressure drop) oil cooler core.
• This core, coupled with huge 12-AN fittings, should provide the least drop in oil pressure possible. Actually, I might see an increase in oil pressures since it will allow the oil stay much cooler during track duty!
• I went with the 212 degrees F thermostat for the cooler kit. This means the oil cooler will almost not run at all at the street, and will only engage at the track. 215 degrees is about what I see the oil temps settling at during street use with the OEM cooler.
• The pressure drop rating of this core is only 0.8/1.0 PSI, and is rated to support 600+ HP!

Parts list (The last number is quantity):

• AHL-12 Raceflux lightweight black nylon racing hose, -12AN 12 feet.
• DS-090-12 Hose end, double swivel, 90-degree, -12AN, black 3.
• DS-120-12 Hose end, double swivel, 120-degree, -12AN, black 1.
• EGM-113-12AN / EGM-113 Oil cooler adapter, low-profile, thermostatic, GM LS-series engine, rear sump, high temp (212 degrees F).
• ORB-12-08 Adapter, -12AN flare to -08AN straight thread o-ring boss, Viton o-ring, black 2
• 50-172-7612 Setrab 72 row Series 1 115mm oil cooler, M22F threads.
• M22AN12-SE M22 to -12AN Adapter, OEM FD3S oil cooler and Setrab coolers 2
• ABKT-235 Setrab oil cooler bracket, 235mm core 2.
• 12561663 PLUG - Coolant Plug for GM LS Engines 1
• FF-12 Fireflex hose sleeving, 1" (-12AN) 3.

[X25]

Just got a baseline dyno. It is bone stock, including tune, except the cat-back exhaust and air intake. Well, it also has radiator, but I don't think it has any impact.

First 2 pulls are on 4th, and last one is on third gear. Looks like it has about ~400 whp (SAE-corrected). Looking forward to getting it dynoed again after TSP headers w/cats and FSP's mail-order tune.

STD-corrected results (correction for imports)


SAE-corrected results

[AG1LE]

Do you have any plans to add an air scoop for your CAI? I have one installed and am wondering how to best route the driver side brake duct with that scoop still in place (if possible).

[X25]

Originally Posted by AG1LE

Do you have any plans to add an air scoop for your CAI? I have one installed and am wondering how to best route the driver side brake duct with that scoop still in place (if possible).

To be honest, I don't think I even need the header, but I bought it anyway, so will install it; I do not have any plans for the CAI. It was actually installed by the first owner. I was going to remove it and revert it back to stock, but realized how such a high quality it is with very good insulation, and left it in place.