CAMARO6 - View Single Post - Back to Black

MostlyHarmless · 11-22-2016, 08:30 PM

Guys

I bought my 2SS A8 Vert from a dealer last month. I was really lucky to get a 20% tag vehicle, but this was a bit of a double edged sword as it did not have black wheels or NPP exhaust. But honestly 20% discount was too good to miss out on, and the car was at my local dealership less than 1 mile from my house.

So now the work is mostly done, and I am very pleased with my Back to Black Camaro

I managed to get some take off rims from Craigslist and have them powder coated by a local shop in low gloss black. Added the black front bowtie, removed the rear bowtie completely and added the Blacked out rear lights.

Also decided to go with the GMPP Axleback as I am (probably overly) paranoid about warranty.

So a few comments. Firstly, delighted with the GMPP exhaust. As has been reported before it is not quite as loud as an NPP exhaust in fully open mode, but it is damn good with a really deep noise on start up and a great rumble at anything over 50% throttle. But no drone on light throttle applications. For comparison I traded out of a Corvette C7 Z51 with the NPP exhaust and that could have some harsh drone when cruising. The GMPP exhaust has about 80% of the noise but none of the drone, really pleased with it.

Interesting that the Exhaust comes with a GM tune that is also installed at the dealer. The dealership honestly did not know whether it was more for emissions or performance (I suspect emissions) but it does make the cost difference less when a tune is included with the price of the exhaust.

If anyone knows the details of the tune I would love to know what it does.

So major shout out to Gene at Cultrag for getting me all the parts at a great price. Gene is a top notch guy who will help out anyone with parts and advice.

I am also pleased to say that my dealer is Autonation Chevrolet in Timonium, and as a large dealer I was not expecting them to be helpful on fitting parts not bought from them. But they were awesome and accommodating. Put a Corvette trained tech on the car (I wanted someone who knew what they were doing and would be careful) and he did a great job. Exhaust is well lined up, wheels don't have a mark on them from swapping the tires. Most impressively the cost to install exhaust, upload the new tune, swap the tires, TPMS and fit the new rear lights was under $350. Some of you may think this is daylight robbery if you do this stuff yourself, but for me to have Genuine GM parts fitted at a GM major dealership was worth the money.

The eagle eyed amongst you may notice an absence of center caps on the wheels. I forgot to order them so got the dealer to put the wheels on without them and I will clip them in place when they get here next week.

Please excuse the poor quality images below, taken with my phone in less than perfect light.

Hope everyone has a great Holiday Weekend and gets some chance to enjoy time with Family and Friends.

P.S. I now have a set of SS 20 inch wheels with less than 200 miles for sale. Come with center caps but no TPMS

Mark

11-22-2016, 08:30 PM	#1
MostlyHarmless Drives: 2016 2SS A8 Convertible Join Date: Oct 2016 Location: Maryland Posts: 85	Back to Black - a few mods to my 2SS Guys I bought my 2SS A8 Vert from a dealer last month. I was really lucky to get a 20% tag vehicle, but this was a bit of a double edged sword as it did not have black wheels or NPP exhaust. But honestly 20% discount was too good to miss out on, and the car was at my local dealership less than 1 mile from my house. So now the work is mostly done, and I am very pleased with my Back to Black Camaro I managed to get some take off rims from Craigslist and have them powder coated by a local shop in low gloss black. Added the black front bowtie, removed the rear bowtie completely and added the Blacked out rear lights. Also decided to go with the GMPP Axleback as I am (probably overly) paranoid about warranty. So a few comments. Firstly, delighted with the GMPP exhaust. As has been reported before it is not quite as loud as an NPP exhaust in fully open mode, but it is damn good with a really deep noise on start up and a great rumble at anything over 50% throttle. But no drone on light throttle applications. For comparison I traded out of a Corvette C7 Z51 with the NPP exhaust and that could have some harsh drone when cruising. The GMPP exhaust has about 80% of the noise but none of the drone, really pleased with it. Interesting that the Exhaust comes with a GM tune that is also installed at the dealer. The dealership honestly did not know whether it was more for emissions or performance (I suspect emissions) but it does make the cost difference less when a tune is included with the price of the exhaust. If anyone knows the details of the tune I would love to know what it does. So major shout out to Gene at Cultrag for getting me all the parts at a great price. Gene is a top notch guy who will help out anyone with parts and advice. I am also pleased to say that my dealer is Autonation Chevrolet in Timonium, and as a large dealer I was not expecting them to be helpful on fitting parts not bought from them. But they were awesome and accommodating. Put a Corvette trained tech on the car (I wanted someone who knew what they were doing and would be careful) and he did a great job. Exhaust is well lined up, wheels don't have a mark on them from swapping the tires. Most impressively the cost to install exhaust, upload the new tune, swap the tires, TPMS and fit the new rear lights was under $350. Some of you may think this is daylight robbery if you do this stuff yourself, but for me to have Genuine GM parts fitted at a GM major dealership was worth the money. The eagle eyed amongst you may notice an absence of center caps on the wheels. I forgot to order them so got the dealer to put the wheels on without them and I will clip them in place when they get here next week. Please excuse the poor quality images below, taken with my phone in less than perfect light. Hope everyone has a great Holiday Weekend and gets some chance to enjoy time with Family and Friends. P.S. I now have a set of SS 20 inch wheels with less than 200 miles for sale. Come with center caps but no TPMS Mark Attached Images