2010 IOM 2SS/RS DD/Track Build

[STONE SS]

I have done so much to my car it is starting to get hard to remember so I finally decided I would start my build journal. It has been a lot of fun working on the car and making it perform better. This all started when I was at a local Chevy dealer and saw this beauty on the lot. At the time I was driving a 2010 Malibu and was ready to get back into a sports car. One of the best decisions I have ever made, at least for my happiness, maybe not my wallet. lol

I bought the car used in 2012 with 6k miles on her. The car already had an intake and "Pypes" (WHY?! haha) axle back exhaust installed. (not my preference, but hey it came with it) Pics below are shortly after purchase.

[STONE SS]

First couple mods. Added Factory Reproductions staggered setup. 20x10 front/20x11 rear with Nitto Invos (275 front/315 rear). Also had the lower front fascia vinyl wrapped in matte black.

[STONE SS]

So this was a mod more out of necessity than cause I wanted to. I started noticing some noise from the front right. Ordered 1LE hubs from Maureen at Rodgers Chevy and replaced the factory SS pieces. Problem resolved As you can see the factory ones looked pretty rough.

[STONE SS]

So the drive for suspension mods came mostly because I had always wanted to run at Texas World Speedway in College Station, TX. The track was slated to be closed in June 2015. I started collecting pieces on a limited budget and registered for the HPDE in February 2015.

Ordered the following:

• Pedders subframe inserts, UCA, LCA, outer trailing arm, and radius rod bushings
• Pedders 27mm front sway bar from forum classifieds
• FE4 LCAs, 1LE rear upper shock mounts, and front/rear end links from Maureen
• 1LE struts/shocks from Tyler at JDP
• Detroit Speed 35mm FE4+ rear sway bar from Tyler at JDP-
• Hotchkis drop springs from forum classifieds

The first thing I did was the radius rod inserts. Pretty straight forward install that anyone with tools can do. Just removed the bolt, dropped the arm, pulled factory inserts, slapped in the Pedders inserts and bolted back up. Unless you have slotted the mounts no alignment is needed.

For the outer trailing arm bushings I used the hole saw method I saw on the forums. Simply used a hole saw that barely fit over the bushing, a piece of all-thread, a couple nuts, and a bunch of washers I had lying around. Was pretty easy to get them out. (Sorry I didnt take pics of this)

Took the new LCAs and LCA bushings to a friends shop and had him press in the new bushings.

Now some may give me crap for this, but I wanted my sway bars to match so I sanded down the Pedders bar and painted it black.



Finally had time one weekend to get it all installed (minus subframe and UCA bushings) and was very happy with the results.

I also added the Jacfab front license plate bracket.

[STONE SS]

Next I wanted to add a little power so I found some used Kooks 1 7/8 long tubes for sale on the forums. Needless to say they didn't look too hot, but no dents or issues that would affect performance.



I couldn't leave them this way so in my infinite wisdom I decided I would try my hand at polishing them up. So I bought some fine grit sandpaper and mothers polish.

After hours of polishing by hand I had gotten this far...



So what is a much better alternative you might ask...Ceramic coating!

[STONE SS]

Now to get the rest of the suspension bushings, headers, exhaust, and tuning done I went to Corey at Henderson Performance. I have had him work on all my cars and wouldn't go anywhere else. I don't have pics of the exhaust from underneath but I bought the exhaust that was on SSE 4 2SS's car (Brandi) previously. It is custom 3" with Magnaflow mufflers. Much better than Pypes! haha

Progress pic...



Car on the dyno...

[STONE SS]

Video of the car running on the dyno.

[STONE SS]

Somewhere in here I added DBA 5000 series 2 piece front rotors, Powerslot slotted rear rotors, Hawk HP+ pads front and Hawk HPS pads rear. I also flushed the brake fluid with Motul 600 using the Motive pressure bleeder (one of the best tools I own) Don't mind the rust on the rotors. I washed/polished/waxed the car last night and haven't driven it yet.

[STONE SS]

So the car was finally ready for the first HPDE weekend. Had a great time and met some good people. I have video of each session, but this particular one is the best because of what the instructor tells me to do at about 12:30.

[STONE SS]

So after the first HPDE weekend in the car I found a few weaknesses. The biggest one being brakes were not up to the task. I successfully went through all of the HP+ pads that weekend as you can see below. Soon to follow are brake ducts and better pads.

[scdude37]

Love seeing some of this, gives me ideas of what is needed to help the suspension on my ss and love seeing peoples projects come together.

[STONE SS]

To fix the brake fade issue I ordered the Quantum brake duct kit with NACA ducts from JDP along with Carbotech XP10 and XP8 pads. Got it all installed (minus the pads, running OEM pads on street) along with a tow hook, bowtie delete and SLP front splitter. I also had the SLP splitter wrapped in matte black vinyl so it would match the vinyl on the lower part of the fascia.

[STONE SS]

I ran another track weekend in May, which I thought would be my last at TWS, but "developer issues" delayed it's closure so I planned for another day for July. Now, I live in TX where it gets hot as hell (literally) so I knew a remote oil cooler was going to be necessary so I did some research and put together a list of parts.

For the cooler I went with the Jegs Deck mount - P/N 555-51705. I wanted to mount mine in the lower grill opening to provide it with good airflow and this one is a great fit. I used Eastwood radiator paint to paint the cooler black so it wouldn't be seen through the grill.

Since I live in TX I decided to get the adapter without the thermostat. It provides better flow as there is no restriction from the thermostat. Also the Lingenfelter adapter I got has -10AN inlet ports instead of -8AN ports like all of the Improved Racing adapters. I got mine from Summit Racing cause it was cheaper and free shipping. P/N - L300025297

For lines and fittings I got them all through Improved Racing. I went with -10AN for everything.

I got the plug for the block and the 2012+ upper radiator hose from Maureen at Rodgers.

Here is the cooler mounted to the crash bar.



The adapter mounted with heat shielding on the lines...


View of the cooler with the front fascia back on the car...

[STONE SS]

During the track weekend at TWS in July I was seeing temps around 290 on the factory gauge. Granted the factory 4 pack gauge leaves a lot to be desired as far as granularity and is a calculated reading anyway so it's hard to say exactly where my temps were at. I have since added the Baron Concepts gauge pod and some gauges so I can really tell where I am running. I originally ordered the SLP pod that mounts on the steering column. Right after I opened the box and saw it I taped the box back up and sent that thing back. I suppose if you don't care what it looks like and don't mind putting holes in the steering column cover it would be good.

I used the 2 gauge pod, Prosport adapter, and Prosport oil and water temp gauges.



Since adding this I have noticed some deviation between the 4 pack gauge and the Prosport although not a lot. I thought I would be able to put it to the test at NCM during Camaro Fest, but since we were running in the rain all but one of the sessions it never got that hot. I have another track day scheduled for Oct 24-25th at TWS so I will see what it does then.