48 Hour build

[ccm399]

Thank you for that write up. Very informative and honest. Can't wait to call you guys to order some of those triple adjustable shocks for my Firebird!



Chris

Bret you have E-mail by the way... Talk to you after SEMA.

[bret]

Well, it's been a few months since I've posted anything significant on the 48 Hour Camaro. Lots of reasons for that...wintertime...busy building/shipping product...building a new 33 Ford project...
But one of the main reasons I've not posted anything since last fall is because...the car didn't need any work! Yes, we went through a little spat of transmission problems last summer...and an extremely untimely fuel pump failure in Nebraska, but after the optima race after SEMA last year, there was no large punch list of items to redo or fix.

Having said that, Mike Copeland from Lingenfelter calls me on January 4. He says "me and Ken think you need more horsepower." I said "I was thinking that very same thing just now!" They want us to try out their new 417 cu.in LS package in the Camaro.
We had just had the discussion at the shop that the engine ran so well that there was absolutely no need to freshen it up. BUT, what hotrodder can ignore the lure of more horsepower? So we snatch the engine out of the car, send it to Lingenfelter, and have them turn it into a 417 package. One saving grace of changing the engine was that we found the clutch to be toast. Not sure why, but I don't think it would have lasted another 4-5 races.
I've been wanting to try out one of the new Centerforce Dyad clutches ever since I saw the first one being built last winter for Jimi Day's AMX. This thing is absolute artwork! The design, the machining, the lightening holes...looks like a million bucks.
We got the engine back from Lingenfelter around April 1. In it goes with the new Dyad clutch in front of the American Powertrain T56 Magnum [that we had changed over to late last summer].
It starts and runs like clockwork. The 417 is about 50 cu.in larger than the original one, but the Holley EFI did a nice job of accommodating the difference. After driving around town a little bit we drove down to Holley [about 2 hours] to put it on their chassis dyno for some power tuning.
The old engine made 469 hp and 451 torque. The new 417 makes 488 hp and 491 torque! AND...it's making 400 lb ft of torque as low as 3000 rpm. THAT is what the buttometer feels! This thing now pulls much stronger off the corners and makes downshifting much less necessary.
Oh, yes, the clutch...it works at least as well as it looks. Smooth, linear, quiet, and able to handle much more than the 580-600 hp it is currently managing. Its is at least as nice as the clutch in my CTS V, and much superior to the one in our 2010 Camaro. The end result of this increase in hp and torque, and the new Dyad clutch, is that the 48 Hour Camaro is about as good a package as I can imagine a Camaro to be. I was making a mental list of items to fix/change on my drive to Bowling Green. I was reduced to thinking of the following items:

* add a couple of Kicker midrange speakers - stereo is too "tinny"
* find a better holder for my iphone so I don't have to chase it all over the car
* somebody lost the cigarette lighter
* there is a little annoying squeak in the rearend - don't know if its the suspension or the cage, or something else
* The car is now so refined that the exhaust seems a little...loud. I may try some more/other mufflers
* The fixed back Recaros are fine for the track, but I've got to find something more appropriately sized for my butt.
* I need a drink holder on the console

That's it. I could not think of anything else to change. I would put my wife in that car and point her towards California in a heartbeat. [I would have to install seat heaters first. It is smooth, reasonably quiet, the ride quality is better than Sharons 750 BMW, and the power and handling is better than my Z06 Corvette.

Since we've basically run out of ideas to improve this Camaro...we are building a 69 Camaro just like it for Marc Meadors from Goodguys this summer. Look for the build thread to start on it in a couple of weeks!

[andrewb70]

Great update Bret!

Hope to see you and the Camaro at some events this year.

Andrew

[jturkey69]

Awesome update!...man we STILL..havent made any progress on out budget beater Cutlass..with that said...I think you need to make some vids trying out different muffs, and let the public decide what it should sound like..lol...vids would include outside idle and rev, drive bys at cruising and cruise and punch...and lastly interior....only because you said it doesnt need anything, and you have time;)..lol

[bret]

Time for another 48 Hour Camaro update!

I think this car is living proof that EVERY hotrod gets a little better with age. You learn what the car likes, how it turns, how it stops, what makes it go fast. You make small changes to make it perform better and hope that at least half of them are successful!

It has been a great summer so far for ridetech and the 48 Hour Camaro. Most of the basic components are unchanged and working nicely...the Vintage Air is still ice cold, the Moser rearend is perfect, the Ricks/vaporworx tank performs flawlessly, and the Baer brakes are incredible. Oh, the ridetech stuff...yeah, it works OK too
So, what did we change and why is the car so much faster? In no particular order:

* Tune up - After some discussion with Lingenfelter, we changed over to the GM EFI ECU. This is the ECU that Lingenfelter has the most experience and success with. We spent nearly a whole day on the Lingenfelter chassis dyno tweaking and refining, resulting is 502RWHP and 496 RWTQ. Beyond that, the torque as low as 2000rpm was well above 400 lb/ft. It's now got as much grunt as my CTS V! It feels like a new car in ways that I cannot describe...smooth, linear, just ready to be leaned on! Definately the best engine I've ever had.

* trans rebuild - we noticed at the Midwest Musclecar Challenge that the trans was scratching going into second, so we opened it up to see if there were any problems. Nothing terrible, but while we were in there we replaced the blocking rings adn upgraded to bronze shift forks. We also replaced second gear because it was just a little chewed up adn changed over to ATF instead of teh gear oil that we were instructed to put in it at first. Day and night difference! NOW you can really shift the thing!

* Centerforce DYAD clutch - this thing looks like a piece of artwork...the design, the machining, even to packaging nad installation instructions are just...beautiful. AND...it flat works. Never slips, easy pedal, linear engagement...I'm not sure how you would improve on this piece!

* Hawk Blue brake pads - The Baer system cannot be beat, but since we are running without a power booster we wanted to get some more agressive pads for the upcoming roadcourse events. Glad we did...they work awesome!

* Tires - We tried out a set of the Falken 615k Azenis tires on our California Camaro this past spring. I was so impressed that I ordered another set for the 48 Hour Camaro. I could go on and on, but here is the bottom line: 2.5 second faster on a 35 second lap compared to our old setup. That is not a misprint. TWO AND A HALF SECONDS. That is beyond epic. I was HOPING for .5 seconds.

* Shock tuning - now that we have some grippier tires we've had to go back and retune the shock settings. Fortunately our TA's have enough range that this did not require any hardware changes, just some knob turning.

And the result of all these refinements and changes? Well, at the Battle at the Banks event in early May we were nearly 3 seconds slower than Danny Popp driving the Lingenfelter L28 Gen 5 Camaro. Last weekend at the optima Race at Road America...we won the autocross segment by 3/10ths over that same car and driver. And all this with a sock subframe Camaro with no subframe connectors!
And were not done yet. Look for us at Des Moines this weekend, Columbus on July 6-9 and then the Motorstate Challenge on July 14-15.

[eric1967]

Thanks for the update Bret. I will be at Des Moines may have to ride shotgun. Thanks Eric

[bret]

Our Director of Engineering, Britt Marolf will be driving in Des Moines. While not as entertaining as I, he is a bit faster

[TheJDMan]

I did not realize you are not running subframe connectors. Are you going to be installing them in the future?

[bret]

Doesn't need them...the Tigercage does a better job of resisting torsional stress.

[72nova]

Are you going to be at LSFest. I would love to see the car.

[bret]

Yes, we will be at the LS Fest. Come over and take a ride!

[brownz]

are rides welcome?? lol