Gretchen Gets TT - Phase 1

[rykeith]

This. Sounds. Awesome.

[GretchenGotGrowl]

Went to the shop today and not much work has been done!

Partly this is because parts have not come it, but partly I think they put a few cars in front of mine to do some quick jobs. Anyway, they were putting her on the rack when I got there. We still don't have the innercooler but we found a core today and they were supposed to order it.

Needless to say, I won't be tuning it this weekend. Given the holidays and my work schedule, I don't see anyway to get it to the track before it closes for the year. All disappointing, but it is what it is.

[GretchenGotGrowl]

The DT shorties with the V-band welded on.
EDIT: Almost forgot, they spread this from 2.25 to 2.5 inches after the collectors so it fit the rest of the 2.5 in. piping. I thought that was pretty cool. They do very good work!



The AEM Meth Kit



The multi-stage meth controller



The piping that just came in today

[mcotton]

going to be one sick car

[Pro Street]

Originally Posted by PoorMansCamaro

This is awesome. Subscribed!

Me too!

[GretchenGotGrowl]

One more thing. We have been deciding what to do about the AFR and Boost control gauges. We are trying to make this a sleeper, so the A-piller gauges didn't fit that plan too well. I found out today they do custom fiber glass work, too, and have done gauge clusters for others. SOOOOOO, I thought make a custom one to fit where the GM gauge cluster goes in front of the shifter and problem solved!

THIS IS GOING TO COST ME A FORTUNE BEFORE IT IS OVER WITH!

[Z Madness]

What was your original budget and where are you so far. Is the shop giving you free labor, or discounted? Just curious where you are at. Hope they get on it soon.

[GretchenGotGrowl]

Originally Posted by Z Madness

What was your original budget and where are you so far. Is the shop giving you free labor, or discounted? Just curious where you are at. Hope they get on it soon.

Originally we though parts were going to be $4,500 or so. They are giving me discounted labor so I budgeted $1,500. With the extra cost of the turbos, the custom intercooler and same extras I've asked for I'm probably $1,000 over budget on parts (haven't got all the detailed invoices yet). I would expect the labor to be a bit more than budgeted, too.

I was hoping to show this could be done for $6-6.5K even as a custom job, but that's out of the window now. I still think you can, but I want this thing to be safe, perform well and last a long time. For me it's worth the extra money because I'll keep this if and when I do decide to get the Z06.

Talked to Vince about the need for a potentiometer to boost the low-pressure fuel pump and he thinks he can do it from the ECU, but it may take a bit to figure that out. I figure I can always by the MSD kit later if it takes too long, but I'm going to hate all this stuff that you have to set and/or program separately. Have you given any thought about this?

[Z Madness]

Originally Posted by GretchenGotGrowl

Originally we though parts were going to be $4,500 or so. They are giving me discounted labor so I budgeted $1,500. With the extra cost of the turbos, the custom intercooler and same extras I've asked for I'm probably $1,000 over budget on parts (haven't got all the detailed invoices yet). I would expect the labor to be a bit more than budgeted, too.

I was hoping to show this could be done for $6-6.5K even as a custom job, but that's out of the window now. I still think you can, but I want this thing to be safe, perform well and last a long time. For me it's worth the extra money because I'll keep this if and when I do decide to get the Z06.

Talked to Vince about the need for a potentiometer to boost the low-pressure fuel pump and he thinks he can do it from the ECU, but it may take a bit to figure that out. I figure I can always by the MSD kit later if it takes too long, but I'm going to hate all this stuff that you have to set and/or program separately. Have you given any thought about this?

Yes, sometimes I think I should just be happy with the 5 psi. boost and be done. But then, I want more. However, its amazing how much more problems the higher boost causes throughout the system. The real problem is we don't have any aftermarket help when the problems reveal themselves. I glad you and others are stepping up to build systems.

Now if the Z-28 gets announced soon, I will be done the V-6 and be moving on to a Supercharged Z. lol

[GretchenGotGrowl]

Originally Posted by Z Madness

Yes, sometimes I think I should just be happy with the 5 psi. boost and be done. But then, I want more. However, its amazing how much more problems the higher boost causes throughout the system. The real problem is we don't have any aftermarket help when the problems reveal themselves. I glad you and others are stepping up to build systems.

Now if the Z-28 gets announced soon, I will be done the V-6 and be moving on to a Supercharged Z. lol

Don't bail on us! You and Jim505 were what convinced me to try this.

[scrming]

Originally Posted by Z Madness

Yes, sometimes I think I should just be happy with the 5 psi. boost and be done. But then, I want more. However, its amazing how much more problems the higher boost causes throughout the system. The real problem is we don't have any aftermarket help when the problems reveal themselves. I glad you and others are stepping up to build systems.

Now if the Z-28 gets announced soon, I will be done the V-6 and be moving on to a Supercharged Z. lol

See... that is what I'm thinking... everyone is b*tching that Lingenfelter, Vortech, Procharger, etc. haven't come out with a system yet, they aren't interested, they don't love us etc.... I don't think that's the case.. I bet they built some test system and then I'm guessing they are a LOT like you.. they knew they wouldn't be happy with only 5 PSI and when they tried to up the boost, like Lingenfelter did, they ran into all of the same issues and simply made a business decision not to continue... either to expensive or they couldn't get the system to their level of required reliability...

and of course if you do get a SC'd Z-28, you would just be looking to up the boost on that! Kind of like I promised I was going to mod this car! LOL!

[GretchenGotGrowl]

Originally Posted by scrming

See... that is what I'm thinking... everyone is b*tching that Lingenfelter, Vortech, Procharger, etc. haven't come out with a system yet, they aren't interested, they don't love us etc.... I don't think that's the case.. I bet they built some test system and then I'm guessing they are a LOT like you.. they knew they wouldn't be happy with only 5 PSI and when they tried to up the boost, like Lingenfelter did, they ran into all of the same issues and simply made a business decision not to continue... either to expensive or they couldn't get the system to their level of required reliability...

and of course if you do get a SC'd Z-28, you would just be looking to up the boost on that! Kind of like I promised I was going to mod this car! LOL!

Yeah, it's why I get a little pi$$ed at the folks complaining about Ligenfelter on that thread and Vince on all the threads. We've made a lot of progress. I'm not in this to make money, but the big companies are (and should be). If what we do ends up solving the problem then maybe they will create a product.

That being said, it will take someone manufacturing a better low-pressure pump, forged pistons, etc... I can't afford to do all that. But I can help solve the 5psi problem. Vince appears to have the fuel rail issue fixed and just needs to find the tables to contol voltage to the low-pressure pump. If he can't do that, I'll put a MSD or KenneBell on it and be done. I know it's cheezy, but it will prove it can be done. Again, hopefully the LPEs of the world will take notice.

Now that I'm off the soap box, I've a few more pics I'll post later today. They ordered the IC and it should be here Tue. or Wed. next week. They ran into some issues with the passenger side mount of the turbo, but he was close to getting it resolve at lunch time. That one will probably have the bottom even with or 1/2 inch below the frame. Oh well, if it's not one thing it's another...

[GretchenGotGrowl]

Here are some more pics.

On the Rack
Had to show off the SLP tips; they are huge. Just wish these things didn't run so rich...



Driver Side Header
The header is installed and waiting on the turbo to be clamped on.



Passanger Side T3 Flange
This is the problem side. Those two oil lines are in the way. The Garrett kit for the V8 gives you replacements. We are just going to lower this one a bit and push it back towards the rear of the car. If it hangs too low we will do a skid plate.



Turbos Ready To Mount
Here they are. Once he gets the position right, they will just clamp one (gotta love v-band; worth every penny).

[ArkySS]

Dang man how did you have the patience to sit and watch