Who else is into cars/racing?

[sandwashslugger]

I've been driving sports car since I got my license. My first car was a 1990 300ZX 2+2, then a 1996 Camaro Z28, and now I have a 1999 Corvette. I picked up my car about two years ago. It had 22k miles, and the asking price was $22k. I was also 22 at the time. The car was bone stock other than the wheels, and in mint condition. Here are some pics of when I first got it.



The car was pretty much fully loaded. It had chrome C5Z06 wheels which I wanted to put the car anyway, it still had the stock wheels, car cover, seat covers, heads up display, dual power seats, blue roof, and Z51 handling package. The transmission was a 6speed and the differential had the stock 3.42 gears in it. The first thing I noticed when driving the car was that it was wayyy to quiet, and the shifter was junk. My Z28 went 0-60 in 5.7 seconds, and ran through the 1/4 mile in 14.0@100mph. For some reason the vette "felt" slower. I quickly realized that wasn't the case when I went 13.5@105mph on my very first pass ever driving a manual car. After two runs I went 13.08@106mph BONE stock. I needed more. First round of mods included HID headlights, granatelli bullet axle back exhaust, and chrome letter inserts.



Now that I was happy with the sound, I wanted to work on the looks of the car. I had the windows tinted and lowered it about 3/4".



I then decided I needed more speed. I kept hearing these reviews about a vararam air intake that would drop .3 in the 1/4 mile, and I was skeptical. Everyone said it was the best, so I dropped over $300 for it. To this day it was the best bang for the buck. It was a PITA to install, but well worth it. My times dropped .3 and I gained 2mph. I went 13.04@108mph. Awesome!


Time went by and I was getting bored with the car. I needed more. I decided to get headers for the car. A buddy of mine had a set of longtubes that I picked up for dirt cheap. I matched that up with an offroad x-pipe. While making a soundclip of the new exhaust, some guy with a Duster called me out. Turn up the volume and watch till the end.


I also had a chance to race my friends 11 second trans am on the highway.
http://videos.streetfire.net/video/9...z28_640042.htm

I hit the track again and started having all sorts of problems. My clutch started slipping and second gear was grinding on hard shifts. Due to slow shifting I was now running 13.1@112mph. I decided to have a spec twin disc clutch installed, and I had them put some new transmission fluid in hoping to cure the synchro problems. Didn't work. Time went by and I was getting more and more frustrated. I went to the track again, made one pass, and went 13.0@112mph. I was excited because I usually only trap 109-110 on my first pass, so things seemed good. Next pass I got up to the burnout box, went to do the burnout, and BAM. Destroyed my rear. The passengers side output shaft snapped, which grenaded the differential casing. The crack in this picture went up and all the way over the top of the casing.

[sandwashslugger]

I decided to have the rear and the transmission built by the best in the country, RPM transmissions out in California. I had a beefed up trans built along with a built rear. The new differential carried 3.90 gears and two hardened output shafts. I also added a transmission brace to keep the trans/rear from twisting under hard launches. I also added a new intake manifold and ported my stock throttle body. The car now needed to be re-tuned. Total bill = $5,000

After this there was only one thing left to do.... take it to the track! I have only been to the track twice since the new mods, and my best pass to date was a 12.62@115mph on street tires. The car is still completely stock internally. I am hoping to go low 12's, maybe even dip into the 11's on a tire. The car is so much fun to drive now with the gears. I am still getting 18mpg in the city, and 28mpg on the highway! Here is my newest video


I took the set of stock rims I had and decided to do a little custom paint work. They turned out better than I thought they would, and surprisingly a lot of people told me how much they liked them on the car.




Thanks for looking!

[What the Puck]

the most fun I've had driving a car was a lil go-cart aka mazda miata.. they are alot of fun to weave in and out of traffic.
my car I drive everyday is a Acura TL type 2 (07)
and my weekend car is my Toyota supra (96) twin turbo, glossy yellow with black and chrome trim. No real mods done to it, just exhauste system and air filter, the rest is stock and only has 39k on it. Never raced it , cause no time, and what lil time i do get i FISH.
but the vette does look sweet!

[roadkill]

In the service I ran a 61 Chevy Bel Air coupe, 1st with a 283, 240 hp; then put in a 409 built by Bill Grumpy Jenkins.
In college a 64 Corvette, 340 hp with slicks which I ran on the street.
After that the usual family sedans and station wagons, even a couple Mercedes-Benz diesels.
Current car is a 2008 BMW ZM coupe, 3,000 lbs and 330 hp.
My next thought is a Roush Mustang although I'm afraid I'd get bored with a domestic after a couple months, who knows? There are sooooo many greatttt cars now it is hard to pick 1.

[take one]

get rid of those low profile tires on the rear. and get drag tires whith a little more sidewall. those low profiles dont have any "spring" in them to launch the car forward. nice ride by the way. the first 60' is the most important part

[kronix]

You're missing 1 thing, a Black Bear Performance Tune. It WILL BE the best bang for your buck, GUARANTEED!

http://www.blackbearperformance.com/

Tell Justin, Kronix sent you.

Here's my 89 Calloway Twin Turbo Vette, bought it in 89 from Reedman Chevy in Langhorne for $49 over invoice...sorry for the shitty pic.

[roadkill]

When you watch the car auctions on tv, Barret-Jackson or Mechm, the 60's cars are the best. 396 Camaro's, 427 Corvettes, GTO's, Shelby Mustangs, Hemi Cuda's. No other era has the depth of cars which are so exciting or pull the most $$$$$.

[33pounder]

Originally Posted by roadkill

When you watch the car auctions on tv, Barret-Jackson or Mechm, the 60's cars are the best. 396 Camaro's, 427 Corvettes, GTO's, Shelby Mustangs, Hemi Cuda's. No other era has the depth of cars which are so exciting or pull the most $$$$$.

yea boy !! i've got a 70 ragtop challenger in the garage 440 4 spd

[ridenfish]

I had a 1997 1LE Firebird Formula. It was basically a stripped out Trans Am with every factory performance option. It had Ram Air, Koni shocks and urethane bushings throughout, but it had no sound deadening, roll up windows and was a hard top. I modded it up with stuff from SLP and a 150 shot. That thing was a beast! I got tired of dumping money into it and after owning it for three years I got rid of it. Later I found out that there were only 14 made like that in 1997.

My current ride......2004 Acura Tl 6spd. It has been the best, most trouble free car I have ever owned. Too bad the new TL is hideous

[sandwashslugger]

Originally Posted by kronix

You're missing 1 thing, a Black Bear Performance Tune. It WILL BE the best bang for your buck, GUARANTEED!

Actually I went a step over a mail order pcm tune and I had the car dyno tuned by Race Proven Motorsports in Claymont DE, home of the worlds fastest C6 Z06. Picked up 12rwhp/15rwtq.

[sandwashslugger]

Originally Posted by take one

get rid of those low profile tires on the rear. and get drag tires whith a little more sidewall. those low profiles dont have any "spring" in them to launch the car forward. nice ride by the way. the first 60' is the most important part

Stock 18" rear size drag radials will actually be quite sufficient, but I might end up going to a 17" rear rim to have some more sidewall. My buddy pulled a 1.73 60ft on stock size 18" drag radials.

[take one]

Originally Posted by 33pounder

yea boy !! i've got a 70 ragtop challenger in the garage 440 4 spd

now that i need to see. i used to have a 73 camaro with a ZZ3 gm crate motor. turbo 350 trans. she would run 13.4-13.6 @ 108-110 all night long. with a 1 legger rear and street tires. now geoman's (barner) kid has it in a nova a believe

[yaker4life]

Originally Posted by 33pounder

yea boy !! i've got a 70 ragtop challenger in the garage 440 4 spd

33 Pounder, I also have a 70 Plum Crazy Challenger R/T with a 426 hemi. Had many offers for it but I would never sell it.

[kev316]

my brother has the same car as you,same year,color,and wheels.sweet ride.

i used to be a huge motorhead when younger.i liked the old ones though,i had a 69 charger,a 454 camaro,a 70 chevelle,2 70 camaros,this was my favorite-

i kinda pieced it together from junkyards and swap meets,traded parts for parts and stuff.

[take one]

Originally Posted by kev316

my brother has the same car as you,same year,color,and wheels.sweet ride.

i used to be a huge motorhead when younger.i liked the old ones though,i had a 69 charger,a 454 camaro,a 70 chevelle,2 70 camaros,this was my favorite-

i kinda pieced it together from junkyards and swap meets,traded parts for parts and stuff.

very nice, iam a camaro buff. i had 3 actually. 2-72's and a '73. in my opinion the best years body style wise