2014 SIM 1SS/1LE Search & Build Thread

[h018871]

this is a picture of a 275/35-20 with 8.0 degrees of caster (cdb got another degree by moving the pivot fully forward), I centered the bolt in the fence.
https://www.camaro5.com/forums/showp...&postcount=141
link shows what I did

I tracked the car with both 285/35-20 and 285/30-20 Goodyears too. No rubbing with these three sizes.

[SS Performance]

The car I am working on is going to be a dedicated track car. I will most likely be running 315/30 or 35-18's.

[cdb95z28]

The above pics are the Camaro kit.


Here is some info on the Baer Tracker Bump Steer Kit:
https://baer.com/Baer-Tracker-Tie-Rods-3301018.html
The picture of the kit in the above link is not the actual kit.

Here is how I had the black 6061 T-6 aluminum sleeve drilled and tapped:

This is done on the end that screws onto the Camaro's rack & pinion
-Drill and tap to 16mm x 1.5mm threads
-The drill size for the 16mm thread is 14.5mm
-Use a 16mm x 1.5mm bottom tap
-Drill and tap to a max depth of 38mm. This duplicates what Baer's original 14mm thread depth was.


The Rod End specs:
-.625" RH thread diameter
-1.650" thread length
-.625" inside diameter of ball
-.750" ball thickness


I concluded that opening up the original Baer 14mm x 1.5mm threads of their kit to the 16mm x 1.5mm threads will not compromise the integrity of the sleeve because the rod end thread diameter is .625". 16mm converted to inches is .630". With only a .005" difference, they are damn near the same diameter.

[AG1LE]

What are your thoughts on how these would hold up to daily driving, including salty road conditions?

[cdb95z28]

I want to say that the salt won't be good for them. Especially the rod end.

[cdb95z28]

Winter mods:
-Tilton # 55-1005, organic twin disc clutch kit.
https://tiltonracing.com/product/st-...waAilXEALw_wcB



-BMR Gen6 Radius Rod Spherical Bearing, #BK070



And while the transmission is out, maybe a light rebuild.....

[AG1LE]

Why did you choose those?

[cdb95z28]

I found this on Rockauto.com.

Brembo now has their own aftermarket 2 piece ZL1 rotors. They look identical to their same 2 piece rotors they supply GM with.

I have purchased them and they have the same vent design, vane count and the same hat and fasteners The finish looks the same.

https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/...hub,rotor,1896

BREMBO #09A66513 Left
BREMBO #09A66523 Right

Prices sometimes change on RockAuto, but they are currently about $170 each, compared to the GM sourced Brembos at about $290

It is possible that the cast iron is different, but everything else looks to be the same. As I mentioned, I have purchased a pair . Since I track my '14 1LE with the 6 piston front brakes and have no reservations with using these on track. They very well could be 100% identical but without the GM price surcharge.

https://www.brembostoreusa.com/produ...rotor/09A66513
https://www.brembostoreusa.com/produ...rotor/09A66523

[cdb95z28]

Originally Posted by AG1LE

Why did you choose those?

Tilton has been in the racing clutch business for a long time, they have a reputation for high quality. These new street kits are competitively priced with other twin disc kits. Lighter(10 lbs), machined aluminum pressure plate, matching flywheel. And the kit comes with a new slave/throwout bearing. I thought I try them out.

The BMR radius rod balls will reduce any rubber bushing deflection. Maybe there will be an improvement in the steering feel. I'm always down with better steering feel.

[SummitWhite1LE]

Let us know how the new rotors workout. If they hold up, that would be a great alternative. What pads are you using on the track? How did the gm oem hold up.

Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk

[cdb95z28]

I have used the GM ZL1 Brembo and the DBA 5000 rings. I believe the DBAs are a little bit better as far longevity.
The DBAs seemed to have done a better job at the crazing that occurs with track use. They went longer before they had to be thrown out. Crazing is the fine heat stress cracks that develop with hard track braking. Once the cracks get deep enough for your fingernail to catch or the cracks run too close to the rotor edge, they become a liability.

But these non-GM sourced Brembo rotors most likely won't go on till next year. I am currently on the GM Brembos. Though, if I get new pads I will switch to the fresh non-GM Brembos.

I have been running Raybestos ST43 pads with the 6 piston setup. The ST43s do run hot, putting more heat into the rotor.

[cdb95z28]

Update:

-Rebuilt TR6060 by Bowler Transmissions with non-advanced 2nd and 3rd gear, 1-4 gears full carbon blockers, ZR1 pick up tube, and Viper Vespel shift fork pads. My second and third gear syncro teeth were worn, Craig @ Bolwer suggested the old style non-advanced gears as they have shown to be more durable with cars that are tracked. GM used to use the non-advanced in the early TR6060s but switched to the advanced design after some C6 owners complained of notchy shifting. The cost was as good if not better than some of the other popular TR6060 rebuilders. I'm pretty confident I could have rebuilt it myself, but between my limited room in my garage, the fact that it would take me a long time and that a TR6060 rebuilder would know what to look for and do to make a good rebuild, I farmed it out. Craig Meyers @ Bowler was excellent. His communications and knowledge was first class. He responded to every question in every email with loads of info and did it quickly. And from the day I sent it out to the day they shipped it back was 2 weeks.

-Tremec HP-MTF trans fluid. Some TR6060 owners are using this fluid and have no complaints, but so far I am having the cold trans hard engagement that many of us experienced in our Camaros when new. The viscosity specs on this fluid look great for high heat use, but the shift quality when cold may push me to go to something different. Craig was cool with me trying this as they suggest any "Syncromesh" type fluid. They use Royal Purple SyncroMax or the Driven STF. I'm going to give it more time, but if it doesn't get any better I'll put in some Royal Purple.

-Tilton ST-246 clutch. Things did not go smoothly here. I got the flywheel (FW) on and started to install the pressure plate (PP). I followed Tilton's directions, which were very well done. The PP seats on a raised step on the FW, not by way of dowels like other clutches. The PP did not want to draw down evenly without the bolts wanting to get tight. I repositioned a couple times but it just did not want to go on evenly. I took it off and looked at it better and found two of the nuts that hold the PP assembly together were not tight. This caused the discs and floater to sit cock-eyed and this would cause the assembly to start off crooked in relation to the FW.





I attempted to tighten the nuts but the bobbins inside the PP would spin and I had no way to hold them. I called Tilton and they sent a shipping label for me to send it back to them. Jeff @ Tilton also had great communications. It was about 2 weeks and I received the PP back from Tilton. Install went better this time.

Since this kit comes with a new release bearing, there is some measuring and setup for proper operation, and once I got that setup the trans went in on the first try. I borrowed my buddy's steel alignment tool instead of a plastic one. Using a steel one helps a lot with proper alignment. Pedal effort is higher with the Tilton. I spoke to Jeff about this and he did expect the effort to be slightly higher. After 200 miles of driving the car, I am used to the higher effort. Honestly it was a bit of a shock when I first stepped on the pedal! I measured the bore of my spare GM master and it was .750" diameter and Jeff said that was perfect. In doing some research on the Gen5 Camaro pedal feel, I decided to change the orientation of the clutch pedal spring. This spring, in the OE orientation, actually will cause the pedal to move easier towards the floor. I swapped the spring the other way and the pedal travel feels more linear.

Also, Tilton requests that a brake fluid dry boiling point of less than 550*F as they have seen some +550* fluids cause seal swelling. I bought some regular Brembo DOT4 fluid with a 500* dry temp.

As for how the Tilton feels, other than the stiffer pedal, it feels good. The pedal is high just like the OE clutch. I'm getting used to the rpm vs release. I think the lighter assembly causes the engine to spin easier with throttle application. So I found myself giving it too much throttle when starting to move. I can get the car to move without using any throttle pretty easily. It is just a relearning of the clutch. There is no chatter, it is smooth and, as it should be for an organic setup, street friendly. I have no regrets on this clutch. Yes, the pedal is stiffer, but I'll get used to it. While I have not given the car a full throttle blast yet because the ambients are not high enough for tire grip, it does feel like the engine wants to spin up faster. I've been able to boil the tires, but the OE G:2s need alot of heat to have any chance of putting power down.

-Gen6 radius rods with BMR spherical bearing/Bump steer tuning. I bought a bump steer gauge this winter so I can minimize the bump steer that I have, which was caused with the increase in caster and also the ride height drop. Bump steer has been a thorn in my side with the increase in caster and last summer I was able to get a bump steer kit for my car. My previous posts touched on this kit, but to get the benefit of the kit, you must measure the actual bump steer. There are various factors that determine how much and what type of bump steer (toe in or toe out?) a car will have. Some factors can be adjusted, while others not. I was able to minimize my bump steer to about .005" during compression and rebound. Also, the widely stated comment about the tie rods must be parallel with the lower control arm (LCA) are not always true. If the steering rack is on a different plane and/or has the inner tie rods pivot at different points compared to the lower control arm, then they may not need to be parallel for the minimization of bump steer. If you compare the Gen5 rack and pinion/ LCA location vs the Gen6 rack/LCA you can see a big difference. The Gen6 looks to have a better relationship and that helps minimize bump steer.

Here's a good video on bump steer:



The BMR spherical bearings were easy to swap over to. I also stiffened the DSE front anti roll bar (ARB) by using the OE 1LE ARB chassis mounts. These mounts use a rubber bushing that is reinforced inside. And the brackets are very strong. GM's idea with the OE 1LE mounts is that it wants to grip the bar super tight to add ARB stiffness. They do this instead of using a larger diameter bar, which saves weight and cost. So by way of using the GM mount, I can add stiffness to my DSE ARB. And after driving my car for 200 miles so far, this added stiffness along with the precision of the Gen6/BMR radius rods, my car has never felt as responsive and precise as it does now. The precision is amazing.

My wanting to add front bar stiffness comes from me feeling like there is not enough roll control with the DSE setup. I want to be able to minimize the camber loss in roll, for which MacStrut cars do not have very good camber control. And consider this. The OE 1LE front bar diameter is 27mm and the bar is solid. The DSE front bar is 28.5mm, but since it is hollow, it has a true stiffness of less than a comparable solid. IOW, the 28.5mm hollow will be softer than a 28.5mm solid. Is it as stiff as the OE 1LE 27mm? I don't know but the end result of using the OE mount is that it makes it stiffer, and that is what my desire was. And I'm not afraid to experiment. There are two theories on suspension design: small spring/big bars, like the OE 1LE, or big spring/small bars, like the OE Z/28. The DSE Speed Kit 1 is kinda like a soft spring/big bar setup, I just made the front bar act a little bigger. Now to get the balance back I should have to stiffen the rear bar. Unfortunately using the OE 1LE mounts won't fit over the big 35mm rear DSE ARB. I feel, though, that since I will run alot of front camber, that my rear bar stiffness requirement will not be as large. I've run full stiff on the DSE rear bar anyway with high front camber and felt the rear ARB needed to be a touch softer. So I'll try this setup with just the DSE ARB set to full stiff with the DSE mounts and go from there. Worst case scenario is the car understeers because of the stiff front bar. I am looking at ideas for a stiffer rear bar mount. Actually, you'd think worst case is the car oversteers because the front has gained grip because the camber loss is better controlled! Sometimes a car can gain front grip with a bigger front ARB. Sounds counter-intuitive, but it can happen. IF that happens, then I can adjust the rear DSE bar further soft as it has 3 points of adjustment. And a softer rear roll bar helps put the power down better.

[cdb95z28]

I also have spoken to Turner @ SPL Parts about arms for the Gen5 Camaro. They are looking into it and I have offered to send them some OE front arms to get the ball rolling. He said they have seen steady growth in the Gen6 market and that he would take me up on the offer in about a month. These arms have high quality and a great reputation. If you are looking for premium high quality arms, let them know! The more interest we can show them the better chance they will open up their products to the Gen5 market.

I'm itching for a spherical bearing lower control arm that can offer roll center adjustment with no bind.

Here is their Gen6 linup:
https://www.splparts.com/camaro-6th-gen-2016/

[cdb95z28]

I'll update with some more pics