Impala SS

[MostMint]

OK, so what could possibly be a project about a 2008 car with 14k miles? Figuring out what all the buttons are if nothing else! I'm reading the owners manual and I am on page 61, not out of the safety section yet. Prior to that I spent about half an hour finding all the controls and setting up the programming for some of the 36 presets in the radio. I'm still on the rental company's dime for the XM radio.

I put a CD in but it did not play it - and I'm not sure how to make it play.

No complaints here, just the adventure of learning my new car. I'm not sure but I think there is a little new car smell left in it.

I can tell you that the traction control works, and the tranny shifts automatically at 6000 RPM. BP's advice was good: when you stick the throttle, keep both hands on the wheel. It has some serious torque steer. At least you know its not some wimpy engine in there. I really like the white color.

You can hear the exhaust when you get on it, but it is a little quiet for my taste. I am not sure how I'll address that just yet. Here are some pics:




Next week I'll get it on the scale, and first chance I'll get some baseline numbers.

[Fred32v]

The first project should be to read and understand what is in the SS's owner's manual.
It's amazing have intelligent that SS really is. It's doing secret things that you just
would not believe are going on. Took me quite a while to get through my car's
books, but I'm sure glad I did. Enjoy!


Always liked White. Almost stealth like, that could come in handy.

[TheRookie]

If you want to stick with satellite radio, I'd highly recommend Sirius over XM. I like the programming much better. In most cases, there is a $100 or so Sirius box you install and just plug the radio and antenna into it. Then all the steering controls and radio head stay the same and still scroll the info, etc. How's that for a mod?

[ttamrettus]

NICE Andy, nice.

Mods.

A. remove or change the gold bowties to white or something matching.
B. mild window tint
C. HID bulbs in the lights
D. LED's in the interior
E. K&N cold air
F. search youtube and you'll find some dude with a Borla exhaust on a 08 SS. sounds GOOD.....

[MostMint]

thanks Matt. Could not find the borla link - i'll try again later

The fresh air package is on the list, so is some suspension mods. need to find the strut tower brace. Here is a start:

http://www.gmpartsdirect.com/results.cf ... &pkgid=121

Did find a w-body forum where a guy put 40 series flowmasters on his Monte SS. Someone has to do a video from inside the car so I know how loud it is from there.

Also found that huge resonator thing under there. Methinks that has to go.

edit:
other links I might be interested in:
http://www.ls1lt1.com/forum/archive/ind ... 15813.html

http://www.ls1tech.com/forums/archive/i ... 49821.html

http://www.ls1tech.com/forums/ls4-front ... 5e-hd.html

http://www.ls1tech.com/forums/ls4-front ... tions.html

Here's one running mid 13's:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oqg5OO0HoG0

specs from edmunds:
http://www.edmunds.com/new/2008/chevrol ... specs.html

As far as tires, the P235/50 R18 Turanza with Serenity is 27.3" diameter (very expensive), and the P255/45 R18 Potenza RE760 Sport is 27.1" diameter.
On 5/23/08 the Turanzas were quoted at $650, the Firehawk GT at $530, w/out road hazard.

Upgrades and costs
$208 - K&N kit
$212 - Flowmasters
$260 - exhaust fab work
$209 - down pipe and strut tower braces
$935 - laptop and tuner software

[ttamrettus]

Andy, my mistake it was AOL videos.

http://video.aol.com/video-detail/2008- ... 3173482549

[MostMint]

Andy, my mistake it was AOL videos.

http://video.aol.com/video-detail/2008- ... 3173482549

Thanks for the link.

It's funny, I had seen that video on youtube, but there was no explanation of the exhaust like there is on the AOL link. What this guy did was custom work though - there is no complete Borla system - at least not on the Borla website.

Anybody know what is on the inside of a resonator?

I drove the car again a couple times this weekend, and I am really starting to warm up to it. Its the first FWD I've owned that can spin the tires at will. With a supercharger or a turbo this could be a real sleeper car.

[MostMint]

Magnaflow has a complete catback system, and they have videos on their website so you can hear the exhaust sound. It sounds really good. Looks like about 7 c-notes will get it.

Update: Car has been to dealer twice now. The first time they did the four wheel alignment, but there is still a problem with a hub or something up front. Today I Iwent back to have a mechanic road test the car. He was able to hear the sound so it is going in on Tuesday. I'll be glad when this is done because I hate when other people work on my car.

[MostMint]

Update: The was in the shop today and got a new hub on the left front. So far so good.

[MostMint]

Shakedown runs today. More for me than the car. Learning to race FWD with 300+ HP is a challenge.

On the first pass I ran 15.31 at 97 with a 2.6 60 foot time. Not too good. Wheel spin was not controllable. I tried several things but it took til the fourth pass to get a payoff. After the third pass I cut the tire pressure in the front to 30 (down about 5-6 PSI), which got me to 14.70. Each pass I cut the pressure a little more and pushed a little harder on launch. So I went 14.61, 14.56, 14.53 and then finally 14.42 at 98.42. 60' time down to 2.30.

I ran the whole time without traction control. I think I'll try it next time to see if it is better than I am.

I can smoke the tires using the e-brake to hold it back. The one time I tried it though I had the worst 60' time of the day (it was before I started lowering tire pressure). Not sure if the extra heat affected tire pressure or what. The best success seems to be with a practice start as far back as I dare go without getting into the water - just floor it and spin the tires til it starts getting close to the start line.

The converter is real loose. I can hold it at 1500 with little brake pressure. I may try lower starting RPM next time to get a little extra roll before putting the power on.

It shifts 1-2 at 6000 RPM. I was holding shifter in 1 til then to make sure it stayed in first while I was pedaling the throttle. It reaches about 5900 in 2nd in the traps. I can also experiment with the 2-3 shift to see if it helps the ET at all. I don't know where it will make the 2-3 under WOT if I leave it in D - I'll have to find out.

With a little more experimenting, longer cool down period between runs, and cooler temperatures (mid 60s today), I can probably get it under the 14.20 posted in the magazine.

It has been a long time since I had to learn how to race a car. Next time maybe I'll get to work on reaction time.

Edit: Had 3/4 tank of gas and other stuff in the car. Drop the spare, run on 1/8 tank and drop the other trash and I could get .1 right there.

[MostMint]

OK so there's this yellow Lotus Elise that follows my the same path to the office as I do. Today I had a chance to "test" my SS against the Elise. He gave me the jump. After he figured out what was going on he got on it and was pulling on me but he quit before he got ahead - must've been satisfied that he was gaining.

I slowed down enough for him to get ahead of me because my co-pilot spotted a police cruiser. So I had a chance to try and follow him in the corner to the next street. It is a nice flat turn from one four lane road to another - one of my favortie corners to test handling.

Needless to say he crushed me in the corner. He was able to get on the throttle a lot sooner than I was. I am going to say the SS has understeer.

First street run in the books. Did better than I expected. Going to Summit as soon as possible.

[MostMint]

So I bought the K&N kit on ebay. Made an offer of $205 and he took it. Free shipping. Yikes this is like $285 at Summit.

K&N says its good for over 13 HP.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayI ... 0047848052

[MostMint]

The K&N has been on for several weeks. Does it sound good! It was too quiet before, and its still quiet when you don't get on it. It has its own distinct sound, not like the old small block, but thats OK. Try not to grin after you hear it.

There are many improvements I want to do, but right now I think the push I get in hard cornering is next. I think I want a better front sway bar.

On the exhaust I'm leaning toward a custom exhaust with Flowmasters. I'll probably start with 50 series. If I think its too quiet I can switch to 40's.

I also sat in a Grand Prix GXP and I like the seats a lot better, so I'll be on the lookout for a set of those in beige leather (regular Grand Prix seats also good). First I need to see a set up close so I can determine if they fit in my car. It's a W-body so they should, but I want to see if the wiring harness is the same and the floor pan is the same.

Had it out with a black WRX tonight on the freeway. saw him getting on the turnpike - had vanity plates. So I pulled up alongside and cracked the throttle as I rolled by. He got the idea and went for it. I kinda gave him a jump but not too much. So I was behind him in the high speed lane and closing at a fair clip, then I cut to across middle lane to the slow lane right to pass him and a slower car in the middle lane. Dang stabilitrak cut the throttle on me for a second breaking my momentum until the car was straight again . Then I cleared the traffic and started reeling him in. I would have passed him but had to back off as there was a car in my lane and I thought I might run out of room before I got by him. He just did not have the power on the big end. Did I mention I love this car?

One of these days it is going to land me in jail.

[ttamrettus]

So it lives up to the SS heritage I take it.

Yeah, I love my Avalanche too. Same 5.3 V -8 I think.

[markss327]

The Impala SS 5.3 is all aluminum, where as the AV will have an iron block. I'm also betting different cam, and more aggressive (i.e., power) electronic control.
Have ya run your AV at the track?