fredrik94087 Posted November 9, 2018 Share Posted November 9, 2018 ^^^ or 2nd set just in case you know what. if you can afford it, do it. Ibhave maintained 2 sets of wheels and tires for my 3.6r and my wrx... and contemplating doing the same for my new car. it is a bit of overhead but peace of mind. "It's within spec" - SOA "Depth is only shallowness viewed from the side." - Fredism "So, how much did it cost for your car to be undriveable ." - Stephen (very close friend) "You have done so much it would be stupid to go back." - Sunny of Guru Electronics 2018Q50RS | 2015WrxThread | Shrek Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodan Posted November 16, 2018 Author Share Posted November 16, 2018 Camaro update... I was planning on having the new tires installed today. I prefer to remove/install the wheels myself, so first step is getting the car up on jack stands. The Mustang had been kind of a PITA to lift, so I decided to look online to see what folks were doing with the Camaros. I soon discovered that there were a lot of aluminum components that could be damaged if used as lift points, and some folks had even had their cars damaged by the dealer when doing service! After determining the pinch welds were safe lifting points, I went out in the garage to get to work. And immediately ran into a problem. There's all kinds of stuff in the way, and I didn't have a window big enough to get my jack onto the pinch welds without putting pressure on something that wasn't structural. Back to the 'net.... I found some aluminum jacking points that clamp onto the pinch welds, and a jack adapter for pinch welds. I also ordered a 4 pack of hockey pucks for good measure. Thank goodness for Amazon Prime... one day shipping cost me a grand total of $3.99. Amazon may indeed be evil, but they are handy! Magnetic jack pad adapter on pinch weld: Aluminum jacking pads: In place: Front Rear With the car up (finally), I could get the wheels off.* Lots of big tires... Since the wheels were off, here's some hardware pics... Big rear brakes Bigger front brakes, with two piece rotors. Note the heat exchanger in the front fenderwell... Aero goodness under the front... Looking around under the car, oil changes will be nice and easy. Just a bit more of a hassle to get it in the air than most... All seasons going on tomorrow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris GTO TT Posted November 16, 2018 Share Posted November 16, 2018 A lot of cars built in the last 5 years are like that. Even our Outback is a bit of a challenge to jack up side to side. The pinch weld is covered by some plastic, I tend to just crush the little bit of plastic for simplicity. 2003 Baja 5MT 2016 Outback 2.5i Premium w/Eyesight Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodan Posted November 17, 2018 Author Share Posted November 17, 2018 Forgot to post this yesterday. Pardon the crappy potato pics. The DT folks had some fun getting the tires on the wheels... And then this knucklehead rolled into the lot... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris GTO TT Posted November 17, 2018 Share Posted November 17, 2018 1. It's time to get a new phone 2. Is that trailer missing an axle, or just the wheel? 2003 Baja 5MT 2016 Outback 2.5i Premium w/Eyesight Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodan Posted November 17, 2018 Author Share Posted November 17, 2018 Yup, the whole axle... Sometimes it takes decent pics, sometimes they look like these. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodan Posted November 25, 2018 Author Share Posted November 25, 2018 Took a little drive with the 'gang' yesterday... First chance to really play on the Bridgestone all seasons... they're OK, obviously less overall performance than 'summer' tires, but still perfectly capable of reaching imprudent speeds on mountain roads. Aggressive corner exits were giving the TC light a real workout... Also did a little roll-on comparison from ~50mph with the GT3 in the picture. Light weight was no match for HP! I honestly thought it would be a little closer... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris GTO TT Posted November 25, 2018 Share Posted November 25, 2018 996 GT3's don't have all that much horsepower though... Which wouldn't stop me from wanting it. I like how the C5 and Miata are stashed in the corner away from the higher dollar cars lol. 2003 Baja 5MT 2016 Outback 2.5i Premium w/Eyesight Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodan Posted November 25, 2018 Author Share Posted November 25, 2018 The 996 is a Turbo; the GT3 is the red 991 in the back. 475hp and ~3300lbs. Spectacular car, but no match in a roll... might be interesting from a dig, though. The guy driving the red NA yesterday is much better known for driving this: He got some YT notoriety a while back from a little mishap with Jay Leno aboard. His NA is super clean (and all stock), but he hasn't been sucked into the nuclear arms race with the rest of us! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris GTO TT Posted November 25, 2018 Share Posted November 25, 2018 Oh hahaha I remember that episode! Oh didn't realize it was the a 991. Would have figured it'd be closer, but a 100hp is a lot to make-up from a roll. 2003 Baja 5MT 2016 Outback 2.5i Premium w/Eyesight Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodan Posted December 14, 2018 Author Share Posted December 14, 2018 Got some new shoes today... After mounting up the all seasons, I'd been looking for a set of wheels to mount up the stock Goodyears for track use. I ended up stumbling on a smokin' deal on a set of HRE wheels in stock sizes, with near new, and never track driven, R888Rs. It was a 450 mile round trip to pick them up, but worth it. Planning to mount them up for some pics tomorrow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris GTO TT Posted December 14, 2018 Share Posted December 14, 2018 Those look ridiculously huge 2003 Baja 5MT 2016 Outback 2.5i Premium w/Eyesight Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Code Posted December 14, 2018 Share Posted December 14, 2018 The 996 is a Turbo; the GT3 is the red 991 in the back. 475hp and ~3300lbs. Spectacular car, but no match in a roll... might be interesting from a dig, though. The guy driving the red NA yesterday is much better known for driving this: He got some YT notoriety a while back from a little mishap with Jay Leno aboard. His NA is super clean (and all stock), but he hasn't been sucked into the nuclear arms race with the rest of us! I saw the episode where he rolled that car My Brother in Law has a ZL1 with the lingentelter stage 1 kit on it. Scary fast. "Striving to better, oft we mar what's well." - Bill Shakespeare - car modder Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodan Posted December 14, 2018 Author Share Posted December 14, 2018 Those look ridiculously huge They are. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fredrik94087 Posted December 14, 2018 Share Posted December 14, 2018 Those wheels and tires are a big win! "It's within spec" - SOA "Depth is only shallowness viewed from the side." - Fredism "So, how much did it cost for your car to be undriveable ." - Stephen (very close friend) "You have done so much it would be stupid to go back." - Sunny of Guru Electronics 2018Q50RS | 2015WrxThread | Shrek Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodan Posted December 14, 2018 Author Share Posted December 14, 2018 Mounted the wheels up today... HRE FF04, stock ZL1 sizes (20x10, 20x11) Toyo R888R, 285/30-20, and 315/30-20 On my bathroom scale, the fronts were 56.5 lbs and rears 59.5 lbs. Compared to 67 and 68lbs for the stock wheels with Bridgestone RE980AS, these take 10.5lbs off each front corner and 8.5lbs off each rear corner. 38lbs total, which will make for a big difference on track. Anyway, here's some pics: I think I'll be swapping the tires around so I can run these as the daily wheel. They're too pretty to run them only on the track. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodan Posted December 29, 2018 Author Share Posted December 29, 2018 Coming up on time for an oil change... Doing some research, I discovered that GM is changing the specified oil for the LT4 engine (CTS-V, ZL1 and ZO6) to a new Mobil 1, 0W-40. Previously, they had spec'd one oil for street use and another for track use, creating an obvious problem. This new oil is approved for both street and track, making life a little simpler. Comes at a cost though... ~$11/qt and 10 quarts for an oil change. At least the filter is cheap! I'm hoping that the cost will come down as mainstream retailers start to carry it. Right now, I was only able to find a few shops that had it in stock. Ended up ordering from Summit. Sorry for the huge image... grabbed it off google. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KartRacerBoy Posted December 29, 2018 Share Posted December 29, 2018 Got some new shoes today... After mounting up the all seasons, I'd been looking for a set of wheels to mount up the stock Goodyears for track use. I ended up stumbling on a smokin' deal on a set of HRE wheels in stock sizes, with near new, and never track driven, R888Rs. It was a 450 mile round trip to pick them up, but worth it. Planning to mount them up for some pics tomorrow. Those look like tank treads off a T34 they're so wide: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodan Posted December 29, 2018 Author Share Posted December 29, 2018 Those look like tank treads off a T34 they're so wide: Yeah, the stack of four is comically tall. And they're still narrower than the 1LE setup (305/325!), which I eventually plan to go to for the track... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodan Posted December 29, 2018 Author Share Posted December 29, 2018 Since we're talking tires, I'll ramble a bit... There's not a lot of choice in track tires for this car. Using basically stock sizes (20s) you have: Stock GY Supercar F3 Michelin Cup 2 Toyo R888R Hoosier R7 If I go to ZL1 1LE sizes (19s), I can choose from: Stock GY Supercar F3R Michelin Cup 2 Nitto NT01 Toyo R888R The 1LE spec GY F3R is basically a one-off cheater tire GY built specifically for the ZL1 1LE. It supposedly has grip approaching Hoosier levels, but doesn't last long. On the good side, they are a good bit less expensive than the other tires. Hoosiers are too much $$, and cycle out too fast for HPDE. I hear the Cup 2s are really fast... for a couple of laps. And they're $$ as well. My go-to track tire for HPDE has generally been the NT01. In my experience they last a long time, and have good grip through their lifetime. I hear the same from others who have them. Not the fastest, but still faster than the 200TW class. I'm hoping the R888R will prove similar. Since Nitto/Toyo are under the same parent company, I had always thought the two tires were the same tire with different tread patterns. From what I am finding online, folks are not reporting the same love for the R888R as they do for the NT01. I guess I'll find out. If I'm happy with the performance, I'll stick with 20's and run R888R. If not, I plan to pick up a set of 19s and run NT01 in 1LE sizes. And I can always throw on a set of the F3Rs if I want to set a lap record... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KartRacerBoy Posted December 29, 2018 Share Posted December 29, 2018 My old law firm used to represent Hoosier so I say HOOSIER!!! Great bunch of guys dedicated to one thing. But money is money and I know from kart racing heat cycles matter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodan Posted February 23, 2019 Author Share Posted February 23, 2019 We're three weeks out from our next event, which will be the first time out for the Camaro. I've been waiting, because I wanted my wife's first time on track in the Camaro to be on a track she knew, so she could concentrate on learning the car. Only one problem... the track has a 95dB sound limit, and I know from talking to other drivers that a stock ZL1 won't pass sound in track mode. Well, it has active exhaust... why not just use "stealth mode"?? The manual specifically says not to use 'stealth mode' on the track. I think this is why... So, I've been planning a 'Laguna Seca' exhaust for the Camaro. I found a couple of pics online that gave me some ideas: The other problem is that the track has two sound meters... one on each side of the track, so the "point it away" trick won't work. So I'm going to try "point it up"... One nice thing, with the active exhaust in track mode, all of the exhaust goes out the outer two tips. Any gasses that do end up coming out the inner tips will have gone through the muffler and I'm not worried about that. So I only have to build two tips. I started with some 3" 90 degree bends from Summit. Nice thing is they slip right into the stock tips. Bad thing is they're very close to the bumper. I could only find 60* or 90*, and I really wanted something in the middle. So I broke out my HF bandsaw on the SWAG Offroad table (have I mentioned I love this thing?!), and cut a wedge out of the bend. The wedge was to take ~15* out of the angle, and once tacked back together, you can see the difference from the 90*. And both tacked up... Don't have time to finish weld them today, but once I do, I'll start working on a bracket to mount and support them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris GTO TT Posted February 25, 2019 Share Posted February 25, 2019 Gotta love Laguna pipes! And holy crap what does the Stealth mode do with the exhaust? 2003 Baja 5MT 2016 Outback 2.5i Premium w/Eyesight Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodan Posted February 25, 2019 Author Share Posted February 25, 2019 Here's a pic of the stock muffler (which is huge)... The exhaust has four modes: Stealth Tour Sport Track In Stealth mode, the valve on the outer tip is completely closed, which forces all the exhaust through the tiny holes on the inlet pipe, so everything goes through the muffler and then out the inner tip on the opposite side. On a 650hp car, on the track, this generates a LOT of heat, which builds up in the muffler due to the restriction. Then the bumper cover has a meltdown. Not a problem with street driving, as you can't run full throttle long enough to be a problem (without going to jail!). In Track mode, the valve is always open, so virtually all the exhaust goes out the outer tips. This is what the owner's manual suggests for track use, and it specifically says not to use Stealth mode on track. In Tour and Sport, the valve is variable depending on throttle position and rpm. It's really a great exhaust... quiet when you want, but capable of sounding really nice. And no drone anywhere. The only problem is straight through is too loud for sound limited tracks, and Stealth is not an option... thus the Laguna tips. Which hopefully will attenuate it just enough to make 95dB. They shouldn't cause any additional heat buildup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodan Posted March 1, 2019 Author Share Posted March 1, 2019 (edited) So this is where I was with the laguna pipes... I had finished the bends, and they fit snugly in the stock tips, but I still had to fabricate a bracket to secure them on track. I decided before proceeding further, I wanted to do some testing. I downloaded a decibel meter app to my cell phone, and we went out to do some drivebys. I have enough experience with cell phone dB apps to know the absolute numbers are not reliable, but I was mostly interested in the back to back delta. The good news is my laguna pipes changed the exhaust by 1.5dB. The bad news is they made it louder... My wife even said it was noticeably louder with the laguna pipes installed. Looks like we're not running the ZL1 at the trackday this month... Guess I should have tested the exhaust before having the track alignment done this morning... Edited March 1, 2019 by rodan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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