[TransamGTA350]

Originally Posted by Spaceman

If you re-read my OP, I was referring to the warranty through American Racing Headers if I were to ceramic coat the exhaust, not the GM Powertrain warranty.


I'm aware that if I add this exhaust upgrade and get a tune I'm voiding the GM warranty, which admittedly scares me a bit. However, what gives me confidence is that plenty before me have done this modification, and as long as I install everything correctly and go to a reputable tuner, I shouldn't have any issues ("shouldn't" being the key word there).


As the saying goes "Shit happens," would be nice if it does happen that I have a warranty. However, we're here for a good time, not a long time, and waiting for the powertrain warranty to tick down so I can add some horsepower and growl to my car seems too far away.
(that's pointed at myself)







While my funds aren't abundant, I plan to book 2 HPDE events next year. Could I do more if I saved the money I spent on headers, and used that for the HPDE fees/pads/tires etc...? Yup.


However, this is the first sports car I've ever owned, and in my humble opinion, part of the sports car ownership experience is taking a wrench to the car and learning about how it works by adding upgrades (and making some mistakes along the way).


I do all the maintenance on the car and even upgraded the SS brake lines, pads, and rotors myself. So while I'm sure I will be cussing like a sailor during the install, I'm actually looking forward to getting under the car.


Also, and please DO NOT interpret this as "I know everything already and I have nothing else to learn." I know I have a lot of learning ahead of me. However, prior to my first track day I spent countless hours in a my own sim rig (GT Sport, GT7, and iRacing) and made frequent trips to karting tracks. So while I have many aspects of my driving to improve upon, I did have some fundamentals to build off of going in.


Again, I still have a lot to learn, but I feel like I'm competent enough on track to start making upgrades to improve my on track experience. In fact the next upgrade after headers is harness bar, race seats, harnesses, and Hans. That came as a suggestion from my instructor who said both he and I were working too hard to stay in our seats.



^Here is a clip of from my most recent HPDE. This wasn't my fastest lap but one that felt good (I've been to lazy to upload my fastest). In the later sessions my instructor and I worked on being less aggressive on the brakes and trying to carry more speed through the corners and I managed to improve by a few tenths. I'm hoping next time out, with some better technique, to trim off another second.

Excellent advice from M Camarolina. I'm in the same camp. The car needs very little to go out on track. Brake fluid and track alignment. Then as you get a little faster, dedicated track wheels/tires, camber plates (for a little more front camber) and maybe upgraded brake pads (although the stock pads can take a lot of abuse). These minor mods will not affect the factory warranty and it takes a driver with a lot of experience to extract everything the car has setup like this.

I know you say the warranty isn't important to you, but what happens if/when it spins a bearing on track? Going to be a pretty big expense for a new motor out of pocket. It's not super common, but also not rare either.

It sounds like you're pretty set on doing LT headers though. I would advise against, maintain your warranty and put the money toward seat time (that will drop your laptimes much more than headers will). But, you asked about potential issues. I have not run LT headers on my Camaro on track, so I can't say anything specific regarding that, but have installed headers on other street cars. The headers are going to get really hot, so you need to make sure any wires or hoses nearby are protected from the heat. You may need to move things out of the way for clearance and use some of that silver foil wire wrap.

Regarding the safety gear upgrades, when you do, it needs to be all or nothing. I would not do a harness bar. If you're going to do it, I would do at minimum 1/2 cage for rollover protection, fixed back containment race seats and harnesses. It really needs to be a whole package or, leave it be.

I would however recommend in the meantime to get a Simpson hybrid S (which will also work with harnesses later on) and a fire extinguisher (if you don't already have one). A fire suit is also not a bad idea as you get faster and push harder. Regarding moving around in the seat, are you locking the seatbelt with the seat retracted back and then moving it forward into your driving position so that the seatbelt is very tight (to the point where it's uncomfortable)? That helps a lot. Also use your left leg on the dead pedal to push your upper body into the seat back.