Testing the Chevy waters!

[mixtape]

Hey guys. I've been heavily into manual transmission Fords for years. I've owned quite a few and I've been pretty happy so far.

Though this past winter I decided to change things up and sold one of my '99 Contour Svts to go looking for a 5.0 Mustang. Somehow a friend of mine talked me into test driving an LT1 Camaro. And let me tell you, I've never driven a car that I've actually been scared of before :mrgreen:. I don't think any of my previous cars topped 180hp/torque to the wheels. Not to mention that my prior cars were fwd.

The z28 is stock as far as the motor, intake, transmission goes. My only mods right now are aftermarket struts and Corvette rims. Fronts are Koni yellow single adjustable set to full soft, and Bilstein version #b46-1914 in the rear.

I have a set of Pacesetter long tube headers and a Borla catback sitting in a friend's garage that I haven't gotten a chance to install yet. Unfortunately my optispark konked out so I haven't done much recently.

I live in Middlesex county but spend most of my free time up in Morris county where I have family and friends. I just wanted to stop by and say "hey" to fellow NJ Fbody fans! 8-)

http://img689.imageshack.us/img689/7349/img1411nu.jpg

[madness410]

sweet im sure you wont be disappointed good luck with the car

[smoke_em94]

hey if u are looking for another set of wheels i have a set of 5 star trans am wheels for150

[FlyingDutchman]

LT1 POWAA!!! :cheers:



welcome! sweet ride!

[T69SS]

Welcome! I think you will be pleased with the switch

[92REDBIRD]

Welcome to the club! 8-)

[GrandmasterCow]

:welcome:

[Anti_Rice_Guy]

Welcome to the LT1 club, where in Morris do you hang out?

[Tru2Chevy]

Welcome to the club!

- Justin

[NastyEllEssWon]

nice car...id lose the sawblades but still clean looking. enjoy it..these cars (even lt1's) will make a contour look like...well a contour :nod:


welcome to the addiction

[NjbadSS]

Optispark problems with an lt1?? Nooooooooo wayyy..haha welcome to the club, nice looking car

[maroman88]

welcome! im sure ull enjoy the **** outa that car.... i loved my 95 LT1

[mixtape]

Thank you guys :). I love the car. Had no idea what I was missing :mrgreen:.

I usually hang out around the Rockaway Mall. My mom used to live in Rockaway when I was younger so I have a handful of friends up there.

As for the rims. I know that people usually call them the "akiles heel" of the car lol. I actually don't mind them, but they will be replaced soon. I have a set of chrome z06 wheels that I need to put on the car. I just never got around to it because I heard I'll need spacers and stronger studs/nuts and possibly need to roll my fenders to fit the 18" tires on the rear. Didn't realize it at the time that they would need so much custom work. Does anyone on the forums here run 18" rears? If so, how? lol

http://img98.imageshack.us/img98/9087/z06018.jpg

[NastyEllEssWon]

they should fit without any problems

[LTb1ow]

ballin on 18s yo.

[maroman88]

yea they should fit without a prob... might need a BFH for the inner fenders, i did wen i put vette 18's on my 95

[mixtape]

Really? I was told that I would definitely need a 1/4" spacer in order to use those rear tires. I was also told that I may need stronger studs too in some cases if the spacer is big. My intended rear tires are going to be either NT05R's or 555R's on those c5 z06 wheels if I go the drag radial route (car is only driven in the summer so I'm debating between a high end summer tire and a DR).

If all I need to do is this BFH mod, that'd be awesome since I don't know much about spacers. Or is it just better to play it safe and pick up a pair?

Thanks so much guys, sorry to bombard you with questions!
Paul

[LTb1ow]

Drag racing + 18s = fail.

[Anti_Rice_Guy]

Rockaway mall eh, there are a bunch of us that hang out like 30 min west

[NjbadSS]

welcome to the club! I can say from experience, you will need longer wheel studs in the rear for the 18s, but other then that, they will fit fine. I personally ran 295's on my rears with no problems.

[greenformula92]

yay another LT1 guy :banana: welcome to the club

[mixtape]

I love the LT1. I just hear it's weak point is the opti. Though I'm sure you all know that 8-). Hopefully when I get that fixed, I'll be good to go. I picked up an MSD Optispark and ignition coil to replacing the failing stock one (made it 130k miles!). If anyone's in the area of East Hanover and wants to help me swap in the new opti and coil, let me know. Will supply pizza and beer :mrgreen:.

Rockaway mall eh, there are a bunch of us that hang out like 30 min westWhere abouts west? Budd Lake is about the furthest west that I know anyone. But I've taken the trip out west for fireworks :nod:.

welcome to the club! I can say from experience, you will need longer wheel studs in the rear for the 18s, but other then that, they will fit fine. I personally ran 295's on my rears with no problems.
Thank you :). I was talking to a guy with an LS1 running 18" rears and he said that he could get away with stock studs since a 1/4" inch spacer isn't that thick. Any larger and he said definitely change the studs. Do you think I'd be ok with just squeezing by on stock, or is it just better to look into longer studs anyway? If so, how long and what specs? Sorry for all the questions but I've never changed out studs before.

Drag racing + 18s = fail.
I don't plan on taking her down to the track, but I do want the ability to defend myself at a traffic light if need be :mrgreen:. Personally, I rather run 17" rears but it seems most Corvette wheels for sale have 18" rears. I was trying to find someone selling a pair of 17" chrome z06 wheels to match my fronts, but I haven't seen any around for awhile.

[NastyEllEssWon]

street racing or racing on the street talk is a no no around here :wink:

[mixtape]

street racing or racing on the street talk is a no no around here :wink:Sorry. What I meant was if I pulled up to someone on a privately owned road, that happened to have traffic light, in a foreign county, on a designated track :mrgreen:.

[BigAls87Z28]

Welcome to the club.
What size are the rear tires? 275 series tires usually fit back there without problems, and only with 315's might you need to remove the bump stops.
Please get rid of those Corvette turbo fin rims!!

[mixtape]

Welcome to the club.
What size are the rear tires? 275 series tires usually fit back there without problems, and only with 315's might you need to remove the bump stops.
Please get rid of those Corvette turbo fin rims!!
Thank you :). For some reason no one seems to be a fan of those old 'vette rims. I kinda like them so I'll just keep them as the winter wheels lol.

From what I read, stock 2001 Z06 wheels are:
Front: 17 x 9.5" 54mm offset
Rear: 18 x 10.5" 58mm offset

So I believe the back tires will need 295/35/18's and fronts 265/40/17's? I most likely will put Nitto N05's all around since they're more practical than a drag radial for my use. Though it'd be cool :rolleyes:.

Edit: Looks like NT05's don't come in 265/40/17. Can I run 255/40/17's in the front?

[Tru2Chevy]

Run 275s in the front, that's what came stock on 17" 4th gen wheels.

- Justin

[BigAls87Z28]

If they are in fact factory Z06's with 58mm wheels, they might stick about a bit, but 4mm is very small.