Camaro5 Chevy Camaro Forum / Camaro ZL1, SS and V6 Forums - Camaro5.com
 
TireRack
Go Back   Camaro5 Chevy Camaro Forum / Camaro ZL1, SS and V6 Forums - Camaro5.com > General Camaro Forums > Member Car Journals


Reply
 
Thread Tools
Old 02-14-2018, 08:29 AM   #1
TheInfamouSS
@LS.ACE
 
TheInfamouSS's Avatar
 
Drives: 2014 Chevy Camaro 2SS/1LE
Join Date: Jan 2017
Location: North Jersey
Posts: 296
Smile @LS_Ace: My Street/Strip 2014 1/LE LSA Build

I have been debating doing one of these things since I have gotten my car. I do post a lot of my pictures on the IG that I started as a build page as well which is @LS_Ace, but wanted to share it with my Camaro5 family as well. Since I am currently waiting on a few parts to arrive, and the funds to purchase the last few that I need, I figured I would use this time to start from the beginning and keep updating until we can catch up with real time.

Enjoy the thread, feel free to comment and ask questions and most importantly, enjoy the build!

Last edited by TheInfamouSS; 02-22-2018 at 11:17 AM.
TheInfamouSS is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-14-2018, 09:19 AM   #2
TheInfamouSS
@LS.ACE
 
TheInfamouSS's Avatar
 
Drives: 2014 Chevy Camaro 2SS/1LE
Join Date: Jan 2017
Location: North Jersey
Posts: 296
The Beginning

I purchased my 2014 Camaro 2ss 1/LE in January of 2017 from the godfather of all used Camaro's in NJ: Bridgewater Acura. At the time I did not know much about these cars at all, just that I wanted a Camaro, it had to be a v8, and it needed to be a 6 speed. After doing a little searching, I found that this dealership had a bunch of different Camaro's in all different types of options and they had one that caught my eye. I did brief research and found out that the 1/LE was a track package car with a different rear end gear and transmission. I knew I wasn't going to use it for that purpose, but the zl1 wheels and the matte black hood wrap looked way too good on that black car, and I just had to have it.

Name:  IMG_1739.jpg
Views: 2813
Size:  100.8 KB

Heres the back story:

I grew up around muscle cars my whole life. My best friends dad has owned Camaro's since I was a kid, my father used to own a Charger when he was younger, and my neighbor growing up has raced Mopars his whole life. When i turned 18 I decided to go a different route and ended up with Hondas. They were cheap, easy to find parts, and they could be quick if you knew how to do it right. My one friend was really into the whole show car scene and started bringing me out to a lot of car shows in the area. I thought that they were cool because you got to meet a lot of people and see some nice cars, but I knew it really wasn't my thing. The only good thing that came out of going to car shows was when I met a few people and got introduced to the street racing scene. This was something that I liked a lot more: actually being able to push your car to it's limits and seeing the benefits of all the hard work you put into it. I just hated having to run away from the cops when the spot would get shut down. I decided to go with my friends dad to the track one day and I never looked back.

Im going to fast forward about a good 11 years because there is no need to talk about all that. My pride and joy got stolen and stripped, had a few other cars I didn't like, and then I decided I wanted to switch it up and just go with raw american power like I grew up around my whole life. I was tired of front wheel drive cars, I knew I could drive them, I needed something different to rekindle the love I used to have for drag racing. Why not a v8? So I traded in the vehicle I had at the time, bought this car and it has been the best decision I have ever made. I looked at the 6th gens and although I knew they were quicker from the factory, they didn't have that raw muscle car look like the 5th gens do.

Enjoy the rest of this build where I will share with you my trials and tribulations with this car. Definitely a lot of stuff to do with 1320' of freedom, and since I do not have the money to dump into this thing at once, it will be a long continuous build, and Im pretty sure it will never be finished. Because.. are we ever satisfied?

Always..... need.... more... power...

btw.. may contain a supercharger... maybe not.. maybe i just gave away a spoiler.. maybe im just stringing you along.. enjoy!

(p.s. sorry for the shitty dealership photos. I was so excited about what I was getting and too focused on making the salesman think I wasn't really interested as I haggled the price I forgot to take pics when it was actually light out.)

Name:  IMG_1741.jpg
Views: 2627
Size:  108.4 KB

Last edited by TheInfamouSS; 02-15-2018 at 12:58 PM.
TheInfamouSS is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-14-2018, 12:50 PM   #3
TheInfamouSS
@LS.ACE
 
TheInfamouSS's Avatar
 
Drives: 2014 Chevy Camaro 2SS/1LE
Join Date: Jan 2017
Location: North Jersey
Posts: 296
First Mods

The first thing I decided to do was order some vinyl wrap off of amazon and wrap the bowties myself. It was actually a really easy straight forward process and it came out looking amazing (Much better than the ones I have seen plastic-dipped in person tbh).

I then decided to get matching black SS badges (which are going to be going soon and replaced with something else but they still look cool for the time being).

As you can see I also tinted my third brake light. The visibility isn't bad with it, just decided to leave the rear with all red lamps instead of blacking them out so I dont give the LEO's a reason to pull me over. So the tint coat is coming off of that as well once the weather breaks.

Name:  IMG_1228.jpg
Views: 2497
Size:  126.2 KB
Name:  Blacked Out Emblems.jpg
Views: 2319
Size:  163.4 KB

Last edited by TheInfamouSS; 02-15-2018 at 01:02 PM.
TheInfamouSS is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-14-2018, 01:54 PM   #4
TheInfamouSS
@LS.ACE
 
TheInfamouSS's Avatar
 
Drives: 2014 Chevy Camaro 2SS/1LE
Join Date: Jan 2017
Location: North Jersey
Posts: 296
Next I Had to Get A Little Sound, Performance, and Safety

As we all know by now, if you have a stock SS or a 1/LE without the NPP exhaust, the car just sounds way too quiet. Doesn't have that nice muscle car sound at all. I knew just getting an exhaust to start off would not net me anything performance wise, but I just needed something that sounded a lot more like it looked.

I decided to go with the Stainless Works 3" Retro Chambered Catback Exhaust to the factory connection points. I couldn't have been happier with my purchase. It was shipped extremely fast and it was at a great price (thanks to DynoSteve at RDP). Exhaust sounded absolutely amazing. (I will post up before and after videos soon when I decide to put it together in a short youtube clip). It wasn't a bad install at all either, ended up doing it in my driveway with a friend with the car on jackstands. After getting off the factory exhaust the install of the Stainless Works one was a piece of cake outside of playing with the location of the exhaust tips. I really would recommend this exhaust to anyone: it looks great, sounds great, and the people over at Stainless Works are very helpful about answering any questions you may have. I had originally planned on going with an AGP twin turbo kit, and they responded quickly to help reassure that I picked out the right exhaust if I planned to go that route, and I would be able to use it if I decided to go with Long tube headers and go the Supercharger route as well.

Name:  Stainless Works Exhaust.jpg
Views: 2456
Size:  204.4 KB

While I was installing the exhaust I found a slightly used Roto Fab Cold Air Intake here on the forums and decided to put it on the car as well. It definitely added a slight bit of happiness to the butt dyno. But I knew it was only scratching the surface without a proper tune and other supporting mods.

Name:  IMG_1229.jpg
Views: 2402
Size:  225.5 KB

A couple weeks later I decided to install a catch can just for a bit of added safety since I knew I was going to start taking this car to the drag strip soon. I went with the Moroso catch can and although it is a simple system, it has worked very effective in catching a lot of blow by for me. No complaints here.

Name:  Catch Can Install - 1 (1).jpg
Views: 2352
Size:  119.0 KB

Last edited by TheInfamouSS; 02-15-2018 at 01:08 PM.
TheInfamouSS is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-15-2018, 02:03 AM   #5
TheInfamouSS
@LS.ACE
 
TheInfamouSS's Avatar
 
Drives: 2014 Chevy Camaro 2SS/1LE
Join Date: Jan 2017
Location: North Jersey
Posts: 296
First Day At The Track

Name:  Track Day 1 - 1.jpg
Views: 2336
Size:  150.6 KB

So it's finally the summertime at this point, and after enjoying the car for a few months I felt like it was time that I finally took the car to the track and make my first pass in any type of car for the first time in 3 years. Well let me tell you, I stunk up the place. A lot of cars were breaking down that day so I was only able to make one pass. Let me tell you: I stunk up the joint. I got to the tree and it felt like it was the most foreign thing in the world to me. After falling asleep at the tree, I went on to spin for a miserable 14.33 @ 100 mph.

Name:  First Pass Ever - 1.jpg
Views: 2339
Size:  103.0 KB

To say that I was completely disappointed was an understatement. But it was my first time back out there in a while, so I made a vow to myself that I was not going to do any more mods to my motor until I could run a 13.0 in its current condition: Stock tune, cold air intake, catback exhaust, BF Goodrich All Season Tires.

I know I'm not beating any records by running that 13.0, but it was a goal set for myself to know that I could get my car to make a quick pass in its current state, and that it would just require further seat time and other adjustments to go even faster.

I started the season late. This first pass was in August and with Jersey weather who knows when the end of the season could be. Could I make it happen before the end of the season? Was it even possible? Maybe I'm just washed up...

Maybe...

Last edited by TheInfamouSS; 02-15-2018 at 01:14 PM.
TheInfamouSS is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-15-2018, 12:39 PM   #6
TheInfamouSS
@LS.ACE
 
TheInfamouSS's Avatar
 
Drives: 2014 Chevy Camaro 2SS/1LE
Join Date: Jan 2017
Location: North Jersey
Posts: 296
Track Day Part 2

So after I had that one pass failure the week before I was determined to go back to the track the following week. My only goal was to not run another 14, and to get at least a decent pass that I was happy with going down the track.

I get there a little late. The line seems pretty long so I just wait at the end of the line after getting tech'd in figuring my car should have enough time to cool off and make a pass. And then the line started moving. I figured I wouldn't have a problem so I decided to proceed and just make a pass anyway when I got up there. It was on that pass that I found out that the clutch pedal can get stuck to the floor if you have dirty fluid, or you try hot lapping it. I left off the line pretty decent, went to go shift into second gear and my clutch pedal got stuck all the way to the floor. I never had this happen to me so I'm sitting there trying to press the pedal for it to come back up while Im cursing at my car at the same time. I then was able to grab a little bit of common sense and decided to pull the clutch pedal up with my foot and then I proceeded the drive of shame to an amazing 17 second finish.

Name:  2nd Pass Every (Clutch Stuck) - 1.jpg
Views: 2424
Size:  130.7 KB

If you can't tell, I am just off to a great start. I pull back into the pits and wanted to just leave my car there and call an uber. Luckily one of my Camaro buddies was there and knew about this problem and was able to reassure me it wasn't anything out of the ordinary and to just give my car time to cool off properly and go back in a half hour and get back in line and see what happens. I can say that after this day I studied this car inside and out from all the different forums and groups to make sure i knew this car like the back of my hand like I did all of the cars I had in the past.

I went back out for runs 2 and 3 and I was able to put down a lot better numbers than I was able to do the first 2 passes I ever made in the car. I ran a 13.39 and then a 13.35, which was a whole second faster than the week before. I felt a lot more comfortable in the car, and it reassured me that all was not lost. This goal was becoming more of a reality. I was determined to make it happen.

Name:  3rd & 4th passes - 1.jpg
Views: 2383
Size:  107.9 KB

Last edited by TheInfamouSS; 02-15-2018 at 01:17 PM.
TheInfamouSS is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-20-2018, 08:28 AM   #7
TheInfamouSS
@LS.ACE
 
TheInfamouSS's Avatar
 
Drives: 2014 Chevy Camaro 2SS/1LE
Join Date: Jan 2017
Location: North Jersey
Posts: 296
Project Darkness and the Z/28 Wing

So after finally being able to make a somewhat decent pass with my car , I figured I would finally get to doing the few other aesthetic mods I really wanted to do with the car. After ordering a spoiler and wing king Z/28 style spoiler off of amazon, some plasti-dip, a can of nite shades, and a nice set of headlight tint from Big Worm Graphix, I was ready to go. The project seemed like it was going to be an easy one, so i figured I would start off early in the day and be done by night time. So I jacked up the front of my car and proceeded to take off the bumper.

Name:  Bumper Off - 1.jpg
Views: 2344
Size:  171.9 KB

The most important part of this project was to black out the chrome trim. I had already removed the chrome Camaro fender badging a couple of weeks prior, and was ready to finish the project. At first I had thought about going with the z/28 grille, but I liked the way that the stock upper grill matched with the lower, so blacked out trim was what I decided to go with. Everything about taking off the bumper was self explanatory. But when they tell you the clips for the chrome trim are a PITA they are not lying. Messing with those clips and being careful to not break them off took so long I had to finish the project the next day. I ended up bringing my bumper inside my house and removing the trim in my living room so i could take my time. I know that I could have masked off the bumpers and spray the chrome trim with plastic-dip, but i knew if i could see any small exposed area (even if nobody else would be able to spot it) it would drive me crazy, so I wanted to remove the trim and just do it right the first time.

The next morning I was able to get everything else finished. I sprayed some nite shades on my foglights so that they would match the headlight tint that I was going to put on, and I used black plasti-dip to paint the chrome trim that I removed from the bumper. Using plasti-dip for this project ended up working out great (it was the first time I ever used it), because it matched perfectly with the trim of the car.

This is where I was at so far:

Name:  Black Trim And Fogs - 1.jpg
Views: 2398
Size:  286.9 KB

The first time I put the upper grille piece back on, I could not get the middle of the trim to line up against the bumper properly. I am sure there is an easier way to do it, but being that it was August, it was extremely humid outside, and I was tired of messing with the chrome trim so I decided to just keep hitting the inside of the bumper where the trim and tabs meet with a rubber mallet and at some point it ended up clicking into place. Pretty sure it's not the right way to do it. But if it works, it works.

Now that the hard part was out of the way I decided to install my z/28 style spoiler from Spoiler and Wing King next. I ordered it in the matte black to match the old spoiler and the rest of the 1/le look, and it looked amazing. Even compared next to my friends authentic z/28 spoiler you couldn't even tell the difference. I would definitely recommend it to anyone. Word of advice though when taking off the stock ss spoiler. Either be very careful or have a second person do it with you. I didn't realize how much force that clip had in that spoiler so I had to give it a really hard tug and ended up smacking myself right in the face and the spoiler falling on the ground (luckily missing the car in the process). Yes it hurt, yes it messed up the old spoiler, yes the inside of my lip was bleeding, so obviously I just kept working, and the rest of the install was a piece of cake.

I then borrowed the parking spot in front of my house real quick to snap this photo and run an extension cord outside to put the headlight tint on that I got from Big Worm Graphix.

Name:  z28 spoiler - 1.jpg
Views: 2458
Size:  223.5 KB

The headlight tint had to be the absolute easiest part of the install. Big Worm definitely has some high quality film that he uses for his products, and the results came out looking amazing.

All in all I can say it was a successful project and the results came out looking amazing (if I must say so myself)

Name:  All Blacked Out - 1.jpg
Views: 2417
Size:  236.0 KB

Name:  side shot - 1.jpg
Views: 2463
Size:  383.4 KB
TheInfamouSS is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-21-2018, 10:29 PM   #8
TheInfamouSS
@LS.ACE
 
TheInfamouSS's Avatar
 
Drives: 2014 Chevy Camaro 2SS/1LE
Join Date: Jan 2017
Location: North Jersey
Posts: 296
First Goal Met

Alright, so that is pretty much how my car sits now looks wise. So I'm going to fast forward a couple of weeks. I was able to go to another drag strip by me and was able to run a 13.2 and a 13.194 @ 110.42. I was getting closer to my goal. The following week I decided to head back to Englishtown and see what I could do. I started getting a lot more comfortable with driving the car and was really getting used to it so I was hoping I was going to be able to finally hit my goal. That night I ran 2 13.0 passes back to back.

Name:  13.0 time slips - 1.jpg
Views: 2368
Size:  202.0 KB

I know with better tires and more seat time I can get a better 60' down and im pretty sure I could have ran quicker times in it's current state but I met the goal that I set for myself before I started modding this car. I started the drive home happy and started thinking about which route i was going to take and what I was going to get first.

And then driving my friend home who lives by the track I stopped at some back road gas station since they live in the middle of nowhere. It was a reputable name company so I didn't think it would have been too bad, and I only put enough in to get back to my house.

On the way to the highway, the car sputters and my service stabilitrak light comes on. After unplugging the battery I somehow made it home before it did it again. It turned out to be the dreaded p0641 code. I knew part of my issue had to be the bad gas. I brought some quality 93 to put in the tank with some iso heet, changed spark plugs and wires (just because which ended up being good because they didn't look so hot), the problem went away for a while and then came back. Ended up listening to my one friend finally and changed both my MAF and MAP sensors and it ended up resolving my problem.

But now I can now get to the fun part: The Mods....
TheInfamouSS is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-22-2018, 11:15 AM   #9
TheInfamouSS
@LS.ACE
 
TheInfamouSS's Avatar
 
Drives: 2014 Chevy Camaro 2SS/1LE
Join Date: Jan 2017
Location: North Jersey
Posts: 296
And So They Begin...

Now it was time to start modding my car. My original plan here is to eventually go with an ECS Kit for the '18 season and build off of that. When I got the dreaded p0641 code, I sold the Roto Fab intake that I had on the car and returned everything back to stock just in case I wasn't able to find the solution myself and have to walk into some dealership I've never dealt with before. Since I was lucky enough to figure out my problem (put a whole bunch of miles on it even to make sure), I decided to reach out again to the one and only Dyno Steve to get some more of his great deals and excellent customer service. I ended up purchasing Stainless Power 1 7/8" Long Tube Headers w/o cats, a Cold Air Inductions CAI intake this time, and one of his SCT x4 Programmers with free tunes for life deals.

Now I like doing work on my cars, but if you can't tell by the pictures I don't really live in the most ideal place to do so at the moment. I live on a hill, and there is only one parking spot that is even close to level and that is the end spot, which is a little bigger than the rest leaving just enough room to do work on the car. A few friends of mine had dealt with a shop that is pretty local to me and told me to reach out to the guy and at least see what price he would charge me to install the headers, I might be surprised. Surprised was an understatement. He gave me an unbeatable quote to install my headers and fix my little picky issues I had with the exhaust.

I had already installed the Cold Air Inductions Intake prior to going, and had a new e-mail tune already sitting in the car from Dyno Steve as soon as the car was done. All I can say is WOW! The addition of the headers made this thing sound like a whole different animal. The 1 7/8" headers to full 3" Stainless Works exhaust gave the car the true muscle car sound that I was looking for. Has a nice rumble at idle, and once the RPMs start to go up the car just screams. Not to mention Dyno Steve really has the e-mail tunes on lock. Great guy to deal with all around, and I would recommend him to anyone. I'm really hoping it clears up a few weeks before I end up going Forced Induction so I can at least make a couple passes and post up the results, but we will have to just wait on mother nature and see.

I would like to thank Jerry from Jerry's Speed Shop in Fords, NJ for doing the header install and fixing my exhaust. The prices you have for the amazing work you do are unbeatable, and your customer service is amazing. Ever since I came to you for the header install, you have always been there to answer any questions and help point me in the right direction as I move forward through this build. Being able to find a shop that I can trust with my car makes me feel at ease, and helps decrease my downtime during the season with my work schedule. Anyone that lives in the area that is looking for a reputable, clean shop that does great work, contact Jerry and I know he would be glad to help you.

So here is what she looks like now with the headers and new intake installed. I will be posting sound clip videos as soon as I get some parts back I needed to send out for my build.

Name:  CAI And Headers - 1.jpg
Views: 2334
Size:  182.3 KB
TheInfamouSS is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-22-2018, 11:47 AM   #10
TheInfamouSS
@LS.ACE
 
TheInfamouSS's Avatar
 
Drives: 2014 Chevy Camaro 2SS/1LE
Join Date: Jan 2017
Location: North Jersey
Posts: 296
Everything Happens For A Reason

They say that everything happens for a reason right? Well, my one friend has been trying to convince me to get an LSA blower for the longest time. He would always send me when someone had one for sale somewhere, and I would always tell him I wasn't going to do it. Not like I really had the extra money to spend at the time, but I had planned on going a different route.

But I do believe that strange events happen consecutively sometimes and you just have to go with the flow. One day I finally get the promotion I have been working my tail off for, and the next day that same friend just happens to be sending me an LSA Supercharger for sale somewhat locally off of a zL1 that is going a different route.

The offer was WAY too good to pass up, so this is where the real build thread technically begins. I ended up meeting up with the guy (and making a new local Camaro friend in the progress), and purchasing:

LSA Supercharger with solid coupler, 2.55 upper pulley, 10.0 lower, C&R heat exchanger, Roto Fab CAI, and almost everything else that I needed to complete the LSA conversion on my car.

LET THE FUN BEGIN!!!

Name:  m- - 1.jpg
Views: 2331
Size:  155.0 KB

Nice 2.55 upper pulley already installed:

Name:  2.55 Upper - 1.jpg
Views: 2363
Size:  120.7 KB

This 10.0 Lower I am going to save for my next round of mods after I get the ATI Damper to go with it as well, but it came with it so might as well show you:

Name:  10.0 lower - 1.jpg
Views: 2349
Size:  101.3 KB

C&R Upgraded Heat Exchanger:

Name:  CR Heat Exchanger - 1.jpg
Views: 2402
Size:  211.5 KB
TheInfamouSS is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-24-2018, 01:29 PM   #11
TheInfamouSS
@LS.ACE
 
TheInfamouSS's Avatar
 
Drives: 2014 Chevy Camaro 2SS/1LE
Join Date: Jan 2017
Location: North Jersey
Posts: 296
Intercooler Brick

So just like any normal person would after spending a nice chunk of money, the first thing I did as soon as I got the supercharger home was take it apart. I removed the intercooler brick and shipped it out to Dedicated Motorsports for their Intercooler Brick reinforcement services. The turn around time from this place was absolutely insane! They shipped it back the day after it got there. Doesn't get much better than that!

Looks amazing too!!! I would definitely recommend this to anyone with an LSA supercharger. For the price they charge, it can't be beat for the added security. It was also extremely easy to take the supercharger apart, so there is no reason not to do it:

Name:  Intercooler Brick After - 1.jpg
Views: 2381
Size:  82.0 KB
TheInfamouSS is offline   Reply With Quote
 
Reply

Tags
1/le, build, drag racing, lsa, supercharger

Thread Tools

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 10:11 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.9 Beta 4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.