Category: Camaro

Would you expect to gain over 100whp & 70lbft from just long-tube headers and Flex Fuel on a nearly stock naturally aspirated vehicle? Yeah, neither did Jason when he brought his Summit White 2019 Chevrolet Camaro SS in from Maryland for that exact scope-of-work, but that’s where we landed!

Up first, Charlie performed pre-work dyno runs to establish a starting point, and with the only modification being a Chevrolet Performance air-intake system, the baseline came in at 353.87whp & 395.79lbft. Far less than expected, but after inspecting the datalogs, we noticed that the short term fuel trims were alarmingly out of line. The only logical conclusion we could draw is that the intake wasn’t playing nicely with the factory calibration, which is obviously odd given the manufacturer.

David brought us his Hyper Blue Metallic 2018 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for the next round of modifications, featuring a Whipple 2.9L supercharger!

First round, we set the LT4 up with a GripTec 2.30″ upper supercharger pulley, a Mightymouse Solutions Mild catch can, and a custom calibration by Vlad via HP Tuners, resulting in 604.21whp & 637.23lbft on 93 octane — and within a month, David got that itch for more again! This round, we took it a bit further, and installed a W175AX 2.9L twin-screw system from Whipple Superchargers, 2.00″ primary OD long-tube headers from Stainless Works Cerakoted by Detective Coating, spark-plug wires from MSD Performance wrapped in Protect-a-Boots from Design Engineering, Inc., all topped off with upper trailing arms, lower trailing arms, and rear-cradle lock down from BMR Suspension.

Not to use a trendy term here, but this is a serious relationship goals story…

Husband and wife duo Damian (HIS ZL1) and Cody (HER ZL1) brought their brand new 2019 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1s in for identical modifications! Just days apart, each received Roto-Fab, LLC dry filter air-intake systems, ZPE GripTec 2.30″ upper supercharger pullies with Gates HD Green belts, Stainless Works long-tube headers with 2.00″ OD primaries Cerakoted by Detective Coating, MSD Performance spark-plug wires, Design Engineering, Inc. Protect-a-Boots, Borla Exhaust ATAK exhaust systems, Mishimoto Automotive 180° thermostats, all topped off with Mightymouse Solutions Mild catch can systems.

Sean has been bringing his cars to National Speed since 2008, and over the years, has brought in quite a variety: 370Z for bolt-ons, EVO X for a full build, ’66 Nova for a ZZ454 engine swap & build, all leading up to his latest project, his 2016 Chevrolet Camaro SS. And back in November of 2017, Sean brought her in for a Magnuson Superchargers Heartbeat TVS2300 supercharger system, a Roto-Fab, LLC intake system, Stainless Works long-tube headers & complete exhaust system, and a custom calibration by Vlad via HP Tuners, coming in at 546.80whp & 545.77lbft through the 8L90E. Hell of a nice starting point!

Several months later, Sean was ready for some quicker & faster ETs, and brought her back in for the next big step! And this time around, it was a block-out affair. First up, John removed the engine and disassembled it to the bare block, and proceeded with installing drop-in Wiseco Automotive forged pistons, JRE camshaft, Johnson Lifters Dog Bone 2110 lifters, Brian Tooley Racing valve train, ARP fasteners, AFM/DOD delete utilizing OEM GM components, OEM LT4 high-pressure fuel pump & fuel injectors, DSX Tuning Flex Fuel conversion & auxiliary fuel pump system, Circle D Specialties 258mm Pro Series torque converter, Driveshaft Shop driveshaft & 1,400hp axles, and then topped the setup off with a 70mm upper pulley, OEM LT5 throttle body mated via JRE adapter, and changed out the old-style Roto-Fab intake for the new Big Gulp setup.

After the mechanical work wrapped in the shop, Matt strapped her down to the rollers for Vlad to perform a custom Flex Fuel & TCU calibration via HP Tuners. Even with 103° ambient air temperature, and the converter unlocked, the new setup laid down 682.19whp & 656.51lbft on 93 octane, and 740.05whp & 694.24lbft on E50, at only ~12.5psi! That extra 193.25whp & 148.47lbft should definitely show up in Sean’s track times!

Back in 2015, Angel brought us his 2011 Cadillac CTS-V to have the wick turned up, and now, he’s back with his new toy: Nightfall Gray Metallic 2018 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. This round, we’re cooling the LT4 down a bit, and letting it breathe a bit deeper & a bit easier by installing a JLT PerformanceBig Air intake system, a ZPE GripTec 2.30″ upper supercharger pulley with Gates Green belt, a Mishimoto Automotive 160° thermostat, all exhaling through Kooks Custom Headers long-tube headers. After Andrew wrapped the mechanical work in the shop, Matt strapped her down to the rollers for Vlad to bring it all together with a custom calibration via HP Tuners.

The result? 622.08whp & 653.57lbft! All around killer outcome.

Carl brought his 2017 Chevrolet Camaro SS to have the LT1 put under a little pressure! The goal with this initial scope-of-work was to safely cross 600whp, with stock-like drivability & reliability, and also lay the groundwork for more performance down the road. Naturally, the Whipple Superchargers 2.9L twin-screw supercharger fits the bill perfectly for these goals! To address the future fuel delivery needs, we proactively upgraded the fuel system with LT4 fuel injectors, LT4 high-pressure fuel pump, and ZL1 low-pressure fuel pump. After the mechanical work wrapped in the shop, this Alpha hit the rollers to get dialed in by Vlad via HP Tuners! The result? A goal-exceeding output of 614.15whp & 622.86lbft, all through 100% stock exhaust system! Now equipped with ZL1 stomping power, Carl is sure to enjoy the new performance!  

Josh’s 2018 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE is in for its first round of work! Up first, Andrew is setting the LT4 up with Stainless Works long-tube headers, JLT Performance cold-air intake system, ZPE GripTec 2.30″ upper supercharger pulley, then she’s hitting the rollers to get dialed in by Vlad via HP Tuners! Stay tuned for results!

It goes without saying that the 650hp/650lbft LT4 engine found in the C7 Corvette Z06, Gen-VI Camaro ZL1, and V3 Cadillac CTS-V is an absolute beast of a power plant. The only drawback? The OEM supercharger is on the smaller size (1.76L), and is already rather highly spun from the factory (~20,000rpm). While there is definitely performance to be had by modifying the factory supercharger (pullies, porting, etc.), there’s a far more direct path to 700whp+… direct-fitment 2.9L twin-screw from Whipple Superchargers!