Finally got some time to let it idle and warm up so I could burp the coolant. Gotta go get that exhaust hooked up though, lol! :D
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9WPGgBwYlVI
Finally got some time to let it idle and warm up so I could burp the coolant. Gotta go get that exhaust hooked up though, lol! :D
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9WPGgBwYlVI
best sounding 3800 I've heard
Thanks, it'll sound better once it's tuned. Idled happy at 850 though, so that's nice.
The shop's been super busy, but they finally got some space open on one of the lifts. Just gotta connect the headers to the x-pipe. Yes, I'm running cats so I don't get hassled, and the cats help mellow out some of the inherent V6 rasp.
I don't think anyone here is gonna knock you for running cats - the environment is everyone's problem, and updated high flow cats won't REALLY restrict your flow. This is a great car, thanks for sharing.
Thanks, and yeah I'm not going to see much loss with the cats. I'd much rather run them than not. It's not like I'm running leaded race gas or anything anyway.
Short idle clip, time to get the break in done so we can get it on the dyno to finish tuning!
Been a very busy week or so, finally got some time to do a little work in the garage and figuring out the return spring stuff for the parking brake. I'll make sure to include that info in the write-up since that isn't covered explicitly in the conversion instructions from the company. That might be updated now though, so who knows.
The car sounds great, need to clean it up as it got covered in dust and I haven't had a chance to clean it yet, let alone drive it to get it inspected. More progress soon!
So I just finished adjusting the CTS-V brake caliper alignment, getting the parking brake just right, and a few other nagging issues taken care of. Decided to take it for a light throttle, low rpm drive (200 miles left on break in and on a conservative tune) and wanted to test some spots for my gopro while doing a minor shake down. Seems the consensus is the best part is around the 4 minute through 5 minute mark.
Kooks true dual exhaust and longtube headers, large cam, high compression, and a little temperamental on the idle command when you come off the throttle, lol! Gonna fine tune that this week with HPTuners.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94H0-3TuqkE
That thing sounds pretty delicious. Is there a reason you didn't want a cross over, sound aside?
Oh, it's got an x-pipe, it's hidden by the crossmember. It sounds a whole lot better getting it from both ends, but I'm kinda limited on my gopro snazziness right now so I can't get a good mic recording from the whole thing.
super cool project you've got....love the direction and attention to detail, and with that wheel/brake package against that color, its pretty evil looking.
i NEVER thought i'd liken the sound of a 3800 to something akin to a 60's sportscar exhaust note like around 5:25 in your video. that is seriously ear candy. can't wait to hear you really give it the cane.
Thanks for the compliment! I thought it sounded a bit like a classic as well. It's full stainless all the way, true duals w/ x-pipe. Catted on top of all that.
I redesigned the header merge collector with a venturi setup instead of a straight slip-fit merge. Just a combination of small things to work together, I guess.
Got her inspected today! The guy at the inspection station was somewhat skeptical of me having cats in regard to how "loud" it was. Still passed, had full cats thanks to the Kooks true duals. I don't like getting hassled by shops or cops, so yeah. Time for an alignment!
Took the car to get an alignment today. Almost got it dialed in but the shop was pretty busy so I'm gonna need to do a few minor things and bring it back. Car feels a lot better already, just need to dial the camber/caster in a little closer to the spec that's needed. Still need to do some fine tuning on the idle control, it wants to die coming down from rpms with the clutch in while coasting to a stop. HPTuners is very limited on what you can do with this PCM, and the last option is to drill a small hole in the throttle blade to calm it down. It's better than it was earlier when I got it, but it still isn't quite there.
Wow, I always loved how these look when clean. (which is soooo damn hard to find nowadays)
Haha that's what the guy doing the alignment said! He mentioned how most of the ones he sees nowadays are just ratty and falling apart.
the gen before are even worse...
I just spent a few minutes perusing craigslist and realized. a: only pewter and black cars survived apparently? b: holy E36 M3 that interior is bad...
Almost done with break-in!
In the mean time, fixing some things now that I've got a little more opportunity. Took it to a friend's shop and got a new headunit and a backup camera installed. The camera wasn't a "NEED" but it is helpful in many aspects including in a cramped paddock at the auto-x events when you're trying to back into your spot and your coordination suddenly is trying to escape you.
I wonder if intense-racing.com would be of help? They have custom PCM's for the 3800's
In reply to TIGMOTORSPORTS:
Nah, I'm not one for mail order tunes. I have hptuners, but there are limitations to what you can do to the idle commands with the drive by wire throttle. It is a common issue even on the automatic v6 fbodies that are built. Standalone ecu is in the planning stage tho.
Testing out some new camera locations and an external mic for that ohhh so good exhaust burble and lope from the big NA cam on this car. Learning new things, something I always enjoy!
This is still only part throttle and maybe 4500 rpm max.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbp1VDltzow
Moar!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dzx1X4jCFxw
Halfway finished collecting my budget trackday wheels! Just need one more pair of 18x10.5 C5 Z06 Speedlines and then I can get some sacrificial rubber! Probably not hoosiers A6/7's for the first set, gonna need to save up for replacement front hubs so I don't have any catastrophic failures!
Got out and enjoyed some partly cloudy weather. Wish I had more time to mess around with the shots, but this was my favorite one out of the bunch!
So a month ago, I hit some nasty, nasty debris on the highway. Didn't have anywhere to go (sandwiched in with traffic) and the danger wasn't quite apparent until all hell broke loose.
At first, I thought it was a pair of ratty blue jeans, and then it sounded like everything exploded under me. Lo and behold, that ratty blue jean was a strap, attached to a tie-down hook. It punched through the barrel of my driver's side rear wheel and left me sidelined. New wheel was ordered and a replacement tire had to be ordered (thank goodness for road hazard warranty).
I walked a mile back and picked up the piece of debris so nobody else would run over it. Hitting this damnable piece at 70mph was not the way I wanted to end my day. Crazy thing is a month or so prior, somebody was killed while passing through town when a receiver hitch and ball went through their windshield. This wouldn't have been any exception to the rule, so I was pretty pissed at somebody's negligence.
Everything else is good under the car, I needed a change of pants, that's for certain.
The wheels are a flow-formed set, and I've got a sneaking feeling that if I had gone with cast reproduction Corvette wheels like every f-body owner on the planet, that wheel would have disintegrated. I was able to come to a safe and controlled stop and wasn't in much danger outside of the rear end of the car going airborne. I had to retighten the watts link setup as well.
Because of this turn of events, I didn't get to run the last auto-x event of our season here, so I was a bit saddened since I didn't have track tires yet or the final dynotune completed. Anyway, I figured I'd get my "big boy camera" out and take some pics, I'm super rusty and always pressed for time. It's an older rig with a regular kit lens so it's not super flashy. I feel the pics came out good though.
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