|
6'1" former (Madzaspeed) NB driver here: I never would have passed the broomstick test with anything resembling a stock seat, my thighs were almost touching the steering wheel at all times, and my hair touched the roof over bumps, but that didn't stop me from driving the car. New ones do seem better.
|
#
¿
May 24, 2018 19:43
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ Apr 29, 2024 10:47 |
|
|
Swapped in XP10 front brake pads (was runing Carbotech's street Bobcat / 1521 pad). They work fine at low temps but are noisy for street use, and I don't think I'd want to run these for daily use but they're fine for a few days surrounding a track event. Assuming Carbotech's marketing is correct and I can swap between their compounds without changing anything on the rotors, it's not a big deal (with Brembos) to swap pads for an event. I'll find out next weekend if they're better than stock pads at handing 3-4 100-40 braking events per 2 minute lap.
|
|
#
¿
Oct 7, 2019 07:01
|
|
|
Combining a couple things here: I managed to overheat Carbotech XP10s on the rear of my car at my last track weekend, and decided to buy new rotors and get the existing ones resurfaced. I priced out rotors at $50-70 each at RockAuto, then checked Amazon. Amazon had all-black EBC rotors for $35 with 2 in stock so I ordered both. They arrived and turned out to be 2-packs, so now I have 4 rotors and the Amazon price listing is back at a more reasonable $150. Old, bumpy rotors:  New, and disappointing many buyers, the wear surface does not actually stay black:  The other pending thing I needed to fix is that both front LCA (camber / radius arm) ball joints were going bad, which led to the early death of my previous front tires. This is probably a result of going off at the end of a 110mph straight last year when a bleeder screw backed out halfway through my 4th session of the day. Once again, I'm glad Arizona Motorsports Park has lots of very safe runoff and very few walls. This being a weird Australian import, GM's dealer network has one new arm available and is on national backorder for the other side. Superpro makes replacements for slightly more money with their bushings preinstalled, but I can't find any evidence anyone has used them on an SS. Because magnetic ride control is only available on a handful of HSV cars, there's a flat spot on the arm but no mounting point for the ride height sensor. So I ordered some stainless U-bolts from Mcmaster and cut a piece of 1" wide, 1/8" aluminum bar down and drilled some holes in it, and added a nut on the back side for the stock bolt to attach to. This is all driving a plastic arm on the sensor, so there's not much load. It's also slightly off: the new mounting point is probably 1/2" closer to the bushing than stock, but it should be close enough. Arms (stock & busted, with aftermarket with brackets added):  Installed:  Then I fixed the front toe using painter's tape and a laser level, as described here: https://nasaspeed.news/tech/suspension/setting-toe-with-a-laser-level/. Toe settings were way off, which makes me wonder how much those (torn?) bushings were flexing the last time the car was aligned. I'm still waiting on the other front (caster arm) replacements to get unloaded from a container and ship to me, and I'll take it to an alignment shop after that's done.
|
|
#
¿
Nov 14, 2021 04:56
|
|
|
Motronic posted:They hosed up setting the toe. It needs to be re-done properly. And the need to check the rest of their work and make sure they torques ALL of the fasteners properly. I used this guide to set toe on my car, and later had an alignment shop confirm that it was with a couple thou of intended: https://nasaspeed.news/tech/suspension/setting-toe-with-a-laser-level/ Measuring toe from 8 feet away makes it much easier.
|
|
#
¿
Sep 17, 2022 01:37
|
|
|
Brake update day! I've been running into heat issues (pad deposits and/or high pad wear rates on Carbotech XP10s or Gloc R12, no noticeable fade or fluid issues) tracking my Chevrolet SS, so I decided to bump up to an option higher in the GM parts bin. And also control arm scoops from a 997 GT3, because at $40ish shipped they're cheaper than figuring out a DIY option. Installed: plastic air scoops that may solve the cooling problem by themselves, but I'm too impatient to not do this all at once 6-piston Brembo calipers from a C7 Z06, same general thing as a CTS-V or various Camaro or Hellcat, but with vented pistons that reportedly reduce fluid temp by 70F or so Gloc R12 pads, with GS1s to install for street duty. I only get to 3ish track weekends a year, and would prefer to not sound like a race car at stop lights the rest of the time. 2-piece OEM rotors for a Camaro SS with 6-piston upgrade, which gets the right geometry for this combo and opens up Girodisc or DBA ring options later Goodridge stainless lines, at 53k miles I feel pretty good about the lines but they're coming off anyway. Left the rear lines stock for now. Parts (before pads & lines arrived):  Scoops: cut the mounting tabs off and drilled holes for zip ties. I'll keep an eye on toe rod clearance to determine if I need to trim there as well.  Installed:  Track wheel clearance: my 18x9.5" Enkei Kojins fit over these 14.8" (edit: 14.56", good thing it's not actually .8) and brakes, with 1/8" of clearance between the caliper exterior and the inside of the rim. Spoke clearance is fine. I was fairly confident this would work, after seeing a picture of a GTO with these wheels over CTSV brakes.  Street (OEM) wheel clearance, and all done after a quick test drive: I added a 3mm spacer because there's 1/8" of space between the very nice CORVETTE label and the back side of the wheel, and my old Brembos had already caught a rock in that space and lost a slice of the sticker.  I'll be driving this at two track weekends in October, and hopefully Arizona Motorsports Park should be more reasonable with more heat capacity and cooling. Next step if any would be some ducting in the fender liner to dump more air in the direction of the control arm scoops: I don't want actual ducts and hoses on a street car, or really anything else that makes the car worse for errands and road trips. heffray fucked around with this message at 09:07 on Sep 30, 2022 |
|
#
¿
Sep 30, 2022 07:23
|
|
|
BlackMK4 posted:You coming out to Attessa next weekend?
|
|
#
¿
Sep 30, 2022 18:44
|
|
|
I was having coolant temp issues last track weekend (at Podium Club / Attessa in central Arizona). Potential reasons: that track is harder on engine cooling than anything else in the region, and I recently hit the 5 year mark of my 5 year / 150k mile rated Dexcool. So, I decided to overdo the solution to this: swapped in a thicker all-aluminum welded radiator, and moved to 75/25 water/antifreeze ratio with Redline Water Wetter for good measure. Old radiator was full of tiny rocks, bugs, and at least one cigarette butt: there's a shroud at the bottom of it, which traps debris and would require reaching way into the bumper interior with a vacuum to clean. I was also not excited about the plastic crimped-on end tanks, which are going to fail eventually.  Previous forum threads about the Cold Case radiator used here report an issue with clearance between the bottom hose neck and shroud, but it's fine.  Installed, only missing one bolt (no idea where it went, I'll grab a short 6mm * 1.0 to fill out the last mounting screw for the tiny transmission cooler in front of the stack):  I went with Cold Case because they're the only company making a direct fit radiator for the SS. Install was a little fiddly due to the increased core thickness requiring all the various hard lines to give a bit to line up, but it went together eventually. If this isn't good enough I can upsize the transmission cooler (which passes through the radiator, sharing some cooling load with the engine) and add an oil cooler replacing the coolant/oil stack: but that opens the risk of pressurized oil leaking and starting a fire if anything is not perfect. Or, I can shift the car manually and stop using 2nd gear on anything that's not a perfect flyer lap, which would keep load down. On the bright side, the 6 piston brake setup was great and didn't overheat at all. It's nice to have too much braking, now I just need to move my braking points back to spend less time on them.
|
|
#
¿
Nov 10, 2022 09:00
|
|
|
Lowered* my SS with Pedders X-Low spring set, and installed KMAC front strut mounts because the stock ones were starting to fail. Learned some things about the accuracy of various vendors' part catalogues for stuff in the G8 / SS / Commodore line. The rubber donut here should still be touching the body, and its upward movement is because a load-bearing piece of rubber is starting to go.  Before:  After:  *advertised 20mm front, 15mm rear drop Actual ride height changes: +3mm front left, +9mm front right, -10mm rear left, -6mm rear right. Probably 5mm of the front lift is due to the uncollapsed strut mount. It’s firmer now, which matches the advertised spring rates. I’m fine with the rear ride height, I was looking for a slight drop but don’t want the inconvenience of a low street car. The front is bothering me a bit: I’m thinking about cutting off a dead coil that’s fully stacked against the one below it at rest, which would knock 15mm off the front height and even out the fender to floor distance without changing spring rate. I also installed lower rear subframe bushing inserts from Whiteline. The top inserts are for an earlier version of the car and are not shaped correctly for a 2017 SS, but the lower pieces fit and may help control rear suspension movement under high lateral loads. The most correct solution is solid mounts, but that’s more expensive and more work to install.
|
|
#
¿
Jan 12, 2023 07:21
|
|
|
BlackMK4 posted:It looks good, hopefully it improves tire wear too Not driving this weekend, I'm driving a rental Camry around southern New Mexico going to national parks at the moment. I'll be out for the time attack dyno weekend and probably the March event, my calendar is a mess.
|
|
#
¿
Jan 14, 2023 02:37
|
|
|
Following my recent spring install: I spent some time figuring out the mismatch between the KMAC strut bushings and the hardware I had available, and found a solution. Problem: both the OEM nut and the supplied KMAC nut with a stepped section to align the top of the strut mount with the shaft don't extend below the bottom of the threads. I'm assuming my MRC struts have a different unthreaded / threaded length combo than normal VE/VF parts, but at any rate it won't tighten down:  So, onward to Mcmaster to find a suitable spacer. I could also buy a spacer that matches the ID and OD and have a step machined into it, but that's more legwork. I found a "press in drill bushing" that matches the sizes I need. The ID is about .3mm too small, and the OD is a similar amount oversized. So, dremel sanding wheel until things fit:   This all worked nicely, I can get more than enough front camber with the strut mount and the stock adjustment, and NVH is reasonable considering I replaced a large piece of rubber with machined steel and a thin urethane layer. I also cut a dead coil off the Pedders front springs, for a net lowering of 3mm (rear is still 11mm lowered). It rides well though, and is definitely firmer but is in line with what I'd expect for a factory car with a sport suspension package.
|
|
#
¿
Jan 26, 2023 01:02
|
|
|
Bought new track tires. I got 8 days out of my RS4s, but one is showing a couple cords on a shoulder and the rest aren't far behind. The new Kumho V730 looks to be around NT01 pace, longer lived than most fast 200TW tires but unclear on lifetime overall, and very cheap: I got this set for $175/each from Simpletire, 20% cheaper than Discount or Tire Rack. Installed on my 9.5" wheels today, but I'm not expecting to drive on them until mid March. I'm trying to figure out if I can fit more tire under the car without exceeding the fender limits, but for now I have a fresh set of 275s to drive on. The outside half tread pattern is about 2/32" deep, and won't last long. I wonder how many people are going to buy this expecting an actual street tire. 
|
|
#
¿
Feb 1, 2023 02:27
|
|
|
Installed PSR rear subframe bushings: stock was rubber that's improved over earlier Commodores, but still moves around a lot. The new ones are aluminum, which does not move. NVH impact is supposed to be zero, but if I later upgrade diff bushings that's where the noise comes from. Price including $140AUD of international shipping was about $10 more than urethane versions, and aluminum should be even better at keeping things aligned. Process: put rear on jackstands, pull tires, loosen one side of subframe bolts, disconnect shocks & MRC sensor, remove one exhaust hanger bolt, remove subframe bolts on working side. Let the subframe drop enough to put something (a large socket) between the body of the car and the stock bushing, then jack up the subframe and apply heat until the stock bushing falls out. Then clean up any leftover plastic bits, drop in the aluminum bushing, and put it all back together. Of course, the new bushings were slightly too large and had to be pushed on while tightening the bolt. Old bushings, which I'd planned to remove with a heat gun, but ended up needing my "heat shrink" (usually for steak) torch. The line about "it can't be stuck if it's a liquid" ended up applying to some degree. One bushing was more irritating to remove than the others: the center tore out before the plastic shell started moving, which required me to cut a slit in the shell, and some extra fire to finish breaking up the glue.  New, post-install, since I didn't take any pictures during the process:  I also took this opportunity to check rear tire clearance while the shock/spring combo was disconnected. There is not any spare clearance on the outside edge, and I should probably roll the fenders a bit more and trim the top corner of the mud flap / bumper. I haven't had any clearance issues after doing the initial fender roll, but it doesn't quite clear at this amount of compression. I definitely do not have room for another 1" of wheel width here.  I'll do a similar check on the front next time I'm working on that end: I'm going to swap down to urethane strut mounts, because axially loaded spherical bearing strut mounts are noisy and irritating on a street car.
|
|
#
¿
Feb 20, 2023 08:25
|
|
|
Replaced Kmac strut mounts with Superpro urethane. Car no longer slightly clunks any time the front end hits a bump, and I've learned an important lesson about using spherical bearing strut mounts on a street car. This also lowered the front end by about 10mm, putting it closer to where I wanted (about 16mm total front, 12mm rear).
|
|
#
¿
Feb 27, 2023 21:29
|
|
|
Fairly simple project: even after bumping up to 6 piston calipers (Bremo/GM parts bin upgrade), track pad lifetime is looking worrisome. I haven't had any fade issues, but it seems likely that lower temperatures would help things last longer. I'd previously tried Porsche GT3 control arm scoops, but they didn't catch much airflow and also didn't quite clear the tie rods. GM's Alpha cars have options for control arm scoops with similar general geometry, so I got a set of CT5V Blackwing scoops for $19 per side. They're attached to a piece of 12ga aluminum sheet, zip tied to the control arm, with screws and jam nuts acting as a stud. Everything clears well, I can take the nylock nuts off and remove them to avoid clearance issues in the off season, and there's a sweet V logo on the part exposed below the rest of the undercarriage. I also made a much smaller heat shield to protect the wheel speed sensor and trimmed off half the stock dust shield, which was blocking the area where the scoop dumps air. Starting point:  Adapter:  Installed: 
|
|
#
¿
Mar 6, 2023 00:45
|
|
|
BlackMK4 posted:That looks awesome
|
|
#
¿
Mar 6, 2023 01:10
|
|
|
I've been losing small(ish) amounts of oil lately, only at track events. It's less than a quart per weekend, but I'd prefer to not burn oil. I decided to splurge on Improved Racing's stuff for oil control: it's not cheap, but neither are fresh crate motors, and it seems better engineered than some other brands. So I got a catch can, windage tray, and oil pan baffle. Pulling the oil pan is pretty high effort and I'm holding off on that job, but at least it' shares a lot of steps with the front sway bar install. It looks like oil is coming through the PCV into the intake tube:  Now with 7oz catch can with very overdesigned filter media  Since this is California and oil/air separators are specifically called out as not requiring CARB approval, I'm going to have to print off and highlight pages of a state pdf when I take it in for smog check. I'm also going to have to put the stock airbox back on for a bit.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 8, 2023 06:05
|
|
|
STR posted:Wait, I thought the ###Z always referred to engine size, not hp. Then you have Cadillac, which settled on torque in nM for their naming logic.
|
|
#
¿
May 7, 2023 04:33
|
|
|
New street wheels: Konig Heliogram 18x9.5" +38, General G-Max RS 275/40-18 square. The sidewalls are bulgier than the previous Hankook RS4s I've had in this geometry, but there's an entire 1.5mm of clearance between the front sidewall and the strut. Clearance on the 6 piston C7 Z06 calipers (over 2pc G6 Camaro rotors) is fine. Rear fenders were already rolled, which they'd need with this setup. I could fit another 15mm of tire on the inside of the rear, but then I wouldn't be able to have a square setup. Ride quality is a bit better than with the stock 19s, and it'll be nice to be able to rotate tires. 
heffray fucked around with this message at 03:14 on Jul 26, 2023 |
|
#
¿
Jul 26, 2023 02:08
|
|
|
Upgraded sway bars: Whiteline 30mm front, Superpro 27mm rear, both adjustable. Hopefully this improves outside edge tire wear on track: I'm out of good options to add front camber at 2.3 degrees, and want to keep ride quality reasonable for the other 95% of car usage. Stock is 26mm F / 25mm rear, so I'm looking at 60-100% more bar stiffness front, 40-65% more rear. Rear bars, didn't get any pictures of the front:  Also failed at the project of installing Improved Racing baffling to the oil pan: I wasn't able to even see some of the bolts, let alone reach them. I haven't had any problems with oil pressure on track with 200TW tires and the 8qt pan on the SS (compared to 6qt on many other LS3 cars), but this may be worth paying a shop to do. Worst case I hold onto the parts and get them installed if, for some reason, a new engine goes into the car (I don't plan on doing this on purpose). Also changed my oil, first time doing it myself. As long as the local Chevy dealer keeps offering changes for $40 (buy 3 for $120, any car), it's both cheaper and less of a mess to let them do it: 8 quarts of Dexos 2 full synthetic is more than $40, plus filter, and various paper towels as I spill oil in the garage.
|
|
#
¿
Oct 10, 2023 18:56
|
|
|
Thing I was planning on doing this weekend: swapping back to stock springs. The ride quality hit from the Pedders springs is a bit much (and may be playing poorly with the dynamic behavior of the magneride shocks), I don't care about the visual impacts of the 12mm drop, and I'm not making it to as many track days as I'd like. Thing I found at the front of the car: I damaged one of the strut mount bearings, probably while installing it. So I taped the broken piece of plastic back in and reinstalled, Superpro is sending me a new bearing for $15. Rear of the car: torn CV boot! GM OEM CV boot kit is $40 and is backordered until December. OEM axle is $500 and is backordered until December. So, onward to a temp fix: repacked with grease, and applied high vibration/flex silicone to try and seal the crack. Before:  After:  I'll give it 24hr to cure and poke at it tomorrow. Waiting on a quote from the dealership to do a boot replacement, at which point I'll decide if it's worth doing myself, or paying for. If I do it myself, I'll need to get a couple tools, and either way I should decide if it's worth combining this with a new wheel bearing (at 66k miles, no problems yet) and a slightly early diff fluid change.
|
|
#
¿
Oct 15, 2023 03:57
|
|
|
Rear wheel bearings on the C5, it was audible on the freeway (65 limit, 80ish traffic pace) on the way across town from buying it. Seller mentioned it, and they're $120 a side for SKF hub/bearings. Glad I bought 2 and planned to do both sides, because I was wrong about what side it was. I was also getting an ABS/stability control error any time I backed up, and the new hubs (incl wheel sensors) fixed that. Replaced center air dam, which went missing at some point. I also raised the front back to almost stock ride height, and I can now fit a jack under it without plywood under the tires. It still drags the air dam on my dad's driveway. Replaced the low beam bulbs with Hella Long Life 9005s after trimming off the tabs preventing them from fitting in a 9006 position. They're improved, but the car needs more lighting upgrades.
|
|
#
¿
Dec 3, 2023 06:46
|
|
|
I'm several posts behind on this with ongoing projects, but a partial update: Sound deadening! I thought this car sat at 89dB at highway cruise, and then I learned that my phone sound meter app calls anything loud "89dB". I would rather add 30lb to the car than have it be that loud as I drive it several hours to track events, or on other road trips, or around town. So, Resonix stuff. CLD on broad fiberglass strips that seemed ringy, with more coverage on the few steel panels. Fibermat over the rear wheelwells, in the headliner, and on the torque tube/exhaust tunnel. Trunk got some CLD, with more coverage and Fibermat over the wheels.  Behind-seat bulkhead is reportedly a major noise source and is steel, so it got more coverage (CLD, and a Fibermat layer under the carpet).  Headliner is also a big noise source, so CLD and Fibermat here again. The foam layers in the OEM headliner are flaking, but I can just add a bunch of 3m weatherstripping glue and get it mostly secured (new headliners are $850).  Doors weren't too bad: there's a lot of depth to work with, and noise issues seem more attached to sealing than noise through the door. Still, it's a good place for CLD, tying the crash bar to the door panel with butyl rope, and a Fibermat layer on each side of the crash bar. I also owe a caliper measurement to Crutchfield about their Metra door speaker adapter plates being too large to actually fit in a door, but that's waiting for me to pull the door panel again.  The torque tube (and exhaust) tunnel is a source of noise and heat, so this got more CLD and Fibermat (replacing the stock recycled fabric and cardboard layer):  Also did Redline Goods boots on the shifter and e-brake, since the boots had holes in them and my MGW Flat Stick shifter is shorter than stock. They're nice, but not showing up in my USPS queue while requiring a signature meant I had to go to the post office. Brakes! EBC SR11 pads in stock sizes, Raybestos $50 front rotors with cool looking slots (that are going to fill up with pad material due to negative rotor wear), ACDelco rear rotors, Powerstop SS lines with a sweet red coating. Currently on Ate Typ 200 fluid while I chase out bubbles, with 2qt of SRF waiting to swap in. I'll probably look at a fixed 6 piston caliper after this set of pads, but want to see how they work as-is. This also fits under 17" stock front wheels, and not buying more wheels is nice.  I grabbed a C7 Z51 brake (control arm) cooling scoop kit for 2x  and will try to adapt those on, to catch the air the stock ducting is throwing in the direction of the wheels.Front spring "lowering" bolts: C5 front ride adjusters are a bolt with a big rubber bushing, and the bushing is 21 years old. The replacement part includes a new front spring, and is no longer available because base C5 owners bought all the Z06 parts. I'm trying to stick with stock ride height: the C5 doesn't have much travel, it already scrapes on things, and the fender design means it's never going to "tuck tire" anyway. So, VMS "lowering bolts" that are shorter than stock by replacing the rubber bushing with Delrin.I have not noticed any ride quality reductions from this, but my rubber bushings were shot anyway.  Replaced a $50 extension harness on the Corvette attached to a wheel speed sensor. The pins on these loosen over time due to vibration, the sensors don't actually go bad (except for the one I cooked because it was inside a failing wheel bearing, but that's a freebie because it's part of the wheel bearing part). Losing one of these disables stability & traction control and ABS. The car is on stock-ish tires with fairly aggressive brake pads, and the pads want me to do 3-5 90-20mph stops as rapidly as possible, so ABS would be good to have. I'm also not sure I have all of the air out of the brake lines after swapping to stainless lines (along with pads and rotors), and I can't do the ABS auto-bleed from the scan tool with a current trouble code. Added 5lb of left over CLD to the trunk of the SS, as a first step in making that car less noisy. Focused on the rear seat bulkhead and fender area, didn't touch the aluminum trunk lid or plastic spare tire tub. 
|
|
#
¿
Jan 8, 2024 10:12
|
|
|
Did some work on the C5. Passed emissions, which I was kind of worried about : in 21 years, no one has used LS1Edit or HPTuners on this car in a way that CARB disagrees with, despite having 8 previous owners and things like fancy shocks, tire rub marks and a skip shift eliminator. This does make my life easier: I can get plates for it, and can save the stock tune for future smog tests once I do something that calls for tuning. Approximately the only CARB-legal power add with a reasonable price:hp ratio is an intake, so I picked up an aFe with non-oiled filter. No idea if it added power (haven't dynoed the car yet), but long term fuel trims shifted from 0/1 to 7/8 after installing, so the ECU thinks it's getting more air and needs more fuel.  Installed multi-element LED headlights from knightdrivetv, and am almost happy with the aiming on them. Stock C5 headlights are awful; I shoved 9005 bulbs into the low beams immediately but they're still not acceptable. Dropping HIDs or LEDs into a reflector housing probably results in bad geometry, so full replacements are the way to go: knightdrive is a bit cheaper than ASA and the sleepy eye popup is kind of cool. I think I need to do a third pass on leveling though: the right side is a couple degrees above parallel, which is not ideal. [  Installed a 5 channel amp, mounted under the passenger seat. A few weeks ago I did a Kenwood receiver with Android Auto, and cheap/reused amps for the 4 mains and a 8" Infinity Kappa sub. I wasn't happy with the mount locations for the amps (in a rear storage cubby, but they were too tall for that area), and realized that under the passenger seat was the best spot for an amp without compromising cargo storage. New setup is a d'Amore d660.5, and 55w * 4 and 300 * 1 should be ideal for my Infinity speakers. Wiring an amp in a new location is messy while in progress:  But once everything is in place, it's reasonably clean (and is under a seat anyway):  Tomorrow's project is a coolant change (and also hoses, thermostat, expansion tank, and cap) because I have no idea when that was ever done on this car. I'm hoping that stock radiator filled with distilled water + water wetter is good enough for Atessa / Podium Club next month, because I do not want to also buy a $900 radiator upgrade and $500 of hood louvers right now.
|
|
#
¿
Feb 4, 2024 09:01
|
|
|
Coolant-adjacent maintenance on the C5! Carfax on the car has some recent dealership work on oil (1500mi ago), diff fluid, and transmission fluid, but nothing about coolant. GM spec is 5 years, then every 3 after that: I'm guessing this car has not had its coolant changed 7 times in 50k miles. And for future track use, I don't trust a bunch of 21 year old plastic and rubber bits dealing with pressurized coolant. New upper & lower hoses, thermostat, expansion tank, and cap. Filling with distilled water, Water Wetter, and maybe 1/2gal of Dexcool for a 25ish freezing point, or just more distilled water because San Diego 2nd car that lives in a garage and doesn't have all season tires. As I was taking things apart to reach hose clamps, I realized that I was closer to access some other changes in and around the front bumper.  Items here: install tow hook (After Dark Racing, feels sturdy and came with hardware and good instructions), figure out front license plate mount, maybe relocate the LED driving lights and nose camera. Results:  Camera went back where it was before, as did the lights. Installing the rivnuts for the hook (17/32" hole for 3/8-16 bolts) was irritating because of cramped access: I had to use a wrench and mandrel instead of my rivnut gun, and I can't really reach the point on the bumper beam where I'd want to put the driving lights. So I'll see how much they move at highway speeds, and whether they're even useful with the LED headlights. Future maintenance includes replacing the sacrificial lower radiator support: it's a $90 assembly that scrapes so the subframes don't, and mine is chewed up but still in one piece. Replacing this means pulling the bumper, at which point I'll be able to reach more of the bumper beam to solidly mount the driving lights. I got one of the Show-n-go license plate frames, looked at the bumper scrape marks that I'd be installing it on top of, and will be returning it to Amazon. Adding something that hangs down an extra inch doesn't seem like a good idea, and the C5's panel that covers the front plate mount area will cover up the screw holes if I stop needing a front plate. It's not a show car.
|
|
#
¿
Feb 6, 2024 08:27
|
|
|
e: double post, oops
heffray fucked around with this message at 17:03 on Feb 26, 2024 |
|
#
¿
Feb 26, 2024 08:28
|
|
|
Tried to combine some tasks: 2/3 installs went well, one thing is stuck. Main task: install remote clutch bleeder in the C5, because it's very challenging to bleed, and I doubt it's been done on this car. Clutch material tends to work its way into the fluid and cause the pedal to fail to come up on fast 2-3 shifts, and I'm guessing the fluid is mostly water after being ignored for 20 years. Fluid is definitely dark. Secondary projects while I get to that: insulate the tunnel plate separating the exhaust from the torque tube and cabin, and replace the midpipe with an X-pipe crossover. Exhaust: measure and cut behind the secondary O2s (keep the stock stuff in front of that), slide on and clamp. The X-pipe crossover should sound smoother and more exotic, and this setup from NXT Step (fka Granatelli) seems well made and was $200 cheaper than an equivalent Borla. The stock H-pipe crossover is closed off except for a 1/2" diam hole in the crossover pipe, and still results in drone at highway speeds. I'll be keeping the stock titanium mufflers and headers due to CARB limitations: there are shorty headers, but paying $800 for 7whp is an awful deal.  Added foil reflective insulation to the bottom (facing exhaust) side of the tunnel plate, and bubble wrap + foil insulation on the top side. There are $200 replacement panels for this and $100+ pre-cut insulation kits, but I have scissors and this was $20 of materials from Amazon. I don't know if it'll do anything, but it was cheap and convenient to try.   And, the Problem: it seems the Tick Performance remote clutch bleed kit was not designed to be installed in a car with its drivetrain in place. I've been able to snug up the fitting replacing the stock bleeder by twisting the hose and just barely getting a crowsfoot wrench on extensions on it, but can't really apply torque to it. Common strategies for this include not attempting it until everything's out for a clutch job, cutting a 6x6" hole in the floor of the car for access, welding up a custom wrench, or stacking a bunch of weird adapters to apply a wrench to the fitting. I'm attempting the last one, with some offset box end wrenches and flex shaft extensions on their way to see what I can make work. 
|
|
#
¿
Feb 26, 2024 08:41
|
|
|
Bled Castrol SRF brake fluid in. Clutch needs more bleeding to remove the air that got in during the remote bleeder install, so I'm doing that with Prestone and will swap to SRF once the air is gone. Wheel sensor is still throwing errors after replacing the connector, so I guess next step is replacing the wires between there and the control module.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 4, 2024 01:28
|
|
|
Simple things 2 days before leaving town for my first track weekend with the car: LS engines love inhaling oil via the PCV on track, so I installed a Moroso catch can. Reasonable(ish) price, and a well put together kit with no surprises. Picked up a Katech serp belt tensioner while getting their clutch bleeder, but that's a Later Problem (along with A/C belt and idlers).  Did steps 25 through 27 of the LED headlight install process, and added the relay that keeps the low beams on while the highs are on. Highs on this kit are the same LED setup as lows but angled up a bit, so this should be a more useful light pattern. Useless garage shot, with the even-higher $30 Amazon spots on as well: 
|
|
#
¿
Mar 13, 2024 07:57
|
|
|
Full Collapse posted:I didn't think a car could pass Cali Smog with a catch can? Page 40 within Appendix C of the smog check manual lists "Oil Separator/Filter – Crankcase gas filter" as an item that does not need a CARB EO number. Venting a catch can to atmosphere is pretty obviously illegal. I'm probably going to print out the relevant pages next time I smog the car. https://www.bar.ca.gov/pdf/smog-check-manual.pdf
|
|
#
¿
Mar 13, 2024 18:23
|
|
|
After reshaping the throttle body tube with a heat gun so it's not shaped like this: I swapped the stock airbox (with new FRAM filter!) in, because the C5Z pings at WOT high in 2nd and into 3rd with the aFe intake, and apparently installing a new airbox on these cars sometimes requires a tune to make it not ping? And, being a CA registered car, I can't show up to emissions testing with a custom tune. I know I'll have to do that laptop-based back and forth if I blow up the LS6 and replace it with a newer crate motor, but I don't want to do that dance for an airbox. I also set up an appointment with a dealership to check for updated programming, because 91 octane E10 at sea level didn't exist when this car was released. I'm also tentatively wondering if I can ballast (via sound deadening and slow tires) this car into NASA TT4, because that sounds more pleasant than adding 80hp, a wing, and a splitter to a street car to then lose at TT3.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 2, 2024 07:52
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ Apr 29, 2024 10:47 |
|
|
Wrapped up a round of C5 work. Primary cause: LR wheel bearing was bad when I bought the car, so I dropped in a $115 SKF replacement before driving the car from Phoenix back to San Diego. Wheel bearings on these cars are short-lived consumables on track: you either buy a $400 SKF X-Tracker bearing, or any of the others ($85-185/ea) will last between less than one to several track weekends. The project plan spreadsheet for this car has a lot of items on them, and $1600 of wheel bearings was not at the top of the list. I did two days of track driving at Podium Club / Atessa in central AZ: my track timer reported a lot of 1.2g cornering, and coincidentally, the X-Tracker product benefits list includes not failing at 1.2g cornering as a feature! The normal $115 Rockauto bearings do not have this benefit (gif crops out my hand shaking the top of the wheel, note that the brake caliper is not moving):  So, ordered a hub from LG, and bolts from Belmetric for the 2 positions that can use a $2 Grade 10.9 hex head bolt instead of a $28 recessed torx GM bolt. I kept the old ones as spares for the position that needs an OEM bolt. I also got extended ARP studs: reports indicate these hubs only fail if you crash the car, so I might as well get this all done at once. Also Gorilla open lug nuts to match the extended studs.  While it was apart, I picked up a set of cheap rotors to move back to the Hawk HPS pads that came with the car for the summer (track) off-season. I'm expecting 6 months until my next track event, so I might as well not have loud EBC sintered brake pads that entire time. I also took this opportunity to install aFe urethane control arm bushings on the left rear, and added grooves in the center of the bushing and zerk fittings so I don't have to push the bushings out to re-grease them later. The pictured shock mount zerk doesn't actually fit though: it's been replaced with a set screw because it runs into the adjuster on my Pfadt shock. I'll have to locate it differently on the other side, and swap between the screw and a zerk annually to grease this.  I also installed my aFe Johnny O'Connell branded sway bars (backordered for 4 months): my stock end link boots looked awful, I don't want to swap leaf springs, and I'm ok at this time with my externally adjustable shocks, but the car has more body movement than I'd like with modern 200TW tires. Bars are 35mm / 26mm (3 position adjustable) compared to 30/23.6 for the stock C5Z bars. I can't find wall thickness info on the aFe bars and customer service doesn't have an answer, but if it's the same 4.5mm front / 3.5mm rear as stock, it's about 70% stiffer front, 40% rear before shortening the bar.  Up front, I installed the new sway bar, street brakes, and cleaned off what looks like coolant from a failing water pump: I have a pending project of belts and tensioners, and I'll have to see if this is an old problem that was fixed and not cleaned up, or a current problem. Adding a water pump to the belt job wouldn't be a huge problem, but I also just did a coolant flush and don't really want to dispose of another bucket of coolant.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 29, 2024 05:06
|
|