Pedders Track II install in progress at Norpac!

[Executor999]

I'm totally psyched! Dropped my G8 off today and should get it back by Thursday with the Track II suspension package installed. Drop springs too!

[GRRRR8]

Congrats! :woohoo:

[-Ray-]

Sweet! Another Pedderfile in the works.

[grandmacpubah]

holy %@#$ there are people from oregon on here Oo I was beginning to think it was only us puget sound peeps

[Executor999]

LOL! Yes there are. In fact there's at least two of us that I can account for! :)

[BobtheMonkee]

congrats executor. Norpac is a top notch place to get anything installed!!!

Tell Justin i said hi! I'll be going to him next week to get my coilovers installed...hopefully. Heck, if he can fit me in this week after he gets done with yours...maybe i'll come in right as yours is getting done so i can meet you and see your beast :)

[08G8V8]

congrats executor. Norpac is a top notch place to get anything installed!!!

Tell Justin i said hi! I'll be going to him next week to get my coilovers installed...hopefully. Heck, if he can fit me in this week after he gets done with yours...maybe i'll come in right as yours is getting done so i can meet you and see your beast :)


Get them installed before the meet next week. I've been thinking about the XA Street package. Are you doing the tower brace?

[08G8V8]

I'm totally psyched! Dropped my G8 off today and should get it back by Thursday with the Track II suspension package installed. Drop springs too!

Congrats Dan.

Looks like you are just about as far away from Nor Pac as I am. I assume you had somebody follow you up, left them the car for a few days, and then are coming back Thursday to pick it up? I'd hope to be able to get everything done in a day. I guess the Track II has a lot more bushings and the sway bars that don't come with the XA Street package.

Let us know what you think.

You need to make it up for another meet this year.

[BobtheMonkee]

Get them installed before the meet next week. I've been thinking about the XA Street package. Are you doing the tower brace?

yes, im doing the xa street package...my goal is to get them installed next week, but i have to get a day off of work first.

yes, i'll have the tower brace, but i have a feeling it wont fit over the maggie, so it will probably be for sale in october...lest i can figure out a way to engineer it to fit around the maggie

[Executor999]

Hey thanks!
I'll definitely let you know how it is; my decision is based on a review of the Track II package from this forum! So I have high expectations. :)

And yes, I had a very good friend trail me up to Onalaska on Monday. He's gonna bring me back on Thursday once I hear from Justin. Brandon, I will certainly pass the word to him. They have a lot going on up there, but that's not surprising since their facility is pretty large.

I will try my best to make the 6/19 meet, if not it will be some time later this summer. It will be great to meet more fellow G8 owners. I went to the PNW meet in October last year and met a few of you.

Track II is just phase one of my modding plans. Phase two will happen in August/September at TJ Wong's (Vancouver - much closer for me!) where the 'real deal' will be installed: the equivalent of the Livernois stage 1 cam package, ARH headers and intake/TB porting, and a dyno tune to boot! He's going to convert me over to synthetic oil and also install the 160 degree stat, plus an HD oil pump.

~ Dan

[grandmacpubah]

Hey thanks!
I'll definitely let you know how it is; my decision is based on a review of the Track II package from this forum! So I have high expectations. :)

And yes, I had a very good friend trail me up to Onalaska on Monday. He's gonna bring me back on Thursday once I hear from Justin. Brandon, I will certainly pass the word to him. They have a lot going on up there, but that's not surprising since their facility is pretty large.

I will try my best to make the 6/19 meet, if not it will be some time later this summer. It will be great to meet more fellow G8 owners. I went to the PNW meet in October last year and met a few of you.

Track II is just phase one of my modding plans. Phase two will happen in August/September at TJ Wong's (Vancouver - much closer for me!) where the 'real deal' will be installed: the equivalent of the Livernois stage 1 cam package, ARH headers and intake/TB porting, and a dyno tune to boot! He's going to convert me over to synthetic oil and also install the 160 degree stat, plus an HD oil pump.

~ Dan

very interested in how the cam install goes with TJ. I was thinking of doing the exact same thing...do you know if he's done a dod delete cam on a g8 yet? Are you the guinea pig lol

[BobtheMonkee]

awesome..enjoy that cam. I'm loving mine!!! Let TJ know that if he has any questions about the DoD delete, he can feel free to ask me. I been there and back ;). Jesse, TJ has not yet done the DoD delete on a G8. As far as i know, between Oregon and Washington, only Mike and myself have done the DoD delete/cam swap on the G8. I'm sure once he does the first one, it'll take him a day to get em done.

I talked to him briefly about it before i did my cam install, as i was thinking about taking mine down to get tuned by him. Its just too far...maybe when i get the blower installed i'll come to him for the final tune :)

I dont think i'll be able to make it to norpac to see ya on thursday, unless you are picking it up in the evening. Might be able to meet you in Tacoma if you have time to make the diversion. If not, i'm sure i'll get to meet you some other time Dan :)

[Executor999]

I dunno if TJ has done a DoD delete before, but he knew exactly what I was after once I told him what I wanted to do. He seemed very knowledgeable about the DoD delete process and all the parts I would need to get it done. While he's very popular in the Corvette community, he's more of a GM mechanic and does not just specialize in Corvette's. Then again, it helps that our G8's have an LSX engine because he knows them like the back of his hand. He will only need my car for four days to get all the work done. Plus he's booked until August, so he's pretty busy too! I pulled the trigger on phase 2, so it's going to happen. :)

While every car is different, he estimates that I will have around 400+ rwhp after these mods are installed. He also told me that the L92 heads are more prone to engine knock due to the chamber design, and that milling them is not a good idea. I was glad to hear that since my car has been very sensitive to engine knock from the start, especially when DoD kicks in. I considered porting the heads but it's just too way over my budget - at least for this year!

[grandmacpubah]

that's great dan...sounds like you are doing it right. I'm thinking mine won't be until beginning of next year...I've heard some outstanding things about TJ...my company has an office in portland so if/when I have him do the cam I would just have one of the guys come pick me up and stay in portland.

You're purchasing the livernois cam package right?

[Executor999]

That's cool that your work has a local office like that. :)

Actually, TJ is putting a cam package together that is comparable to the Livernois package. He's going to use a custom grind from Competition cams (224/230 .581/.590 114 LSA). All the other parts are GMPP and well known brand performance parts. For a lot of the parts he gets a discount and can pass on the savings. This is the case with all the parts except a Metco drive shaft loop which I will provide him to install. I'm also getting the ARH 1 3/4" LT's through him.

[grandmacpubah]

That's cool that your work has a local office like that. :)

Actually, TJ is putting a cam package together that is comparable to the Livernois package. He's going to use a custom grind from Competition cams (224/230 .581/.590 114 LSA). All the other parts are GMPP and well known brand performance parts. For a lot of the parts he gets a discount and can pass on the savings. This is the case with all the parts except a Metco drive shaft loop which I will provide him to install. I'm also getting the ARH 1 3/4" LT's through him.

If you don't want to post pricing I understand...but if you wouldn't mind PMing what the cam install with parts are I would appreciate it. As you can see in my sig I have the ARHs in already.

[BobtheMonkee]

He also told me that the L92 heads are more prone to engine knock due to the chamber design, and that milling them is not a good idea. I was glad to hear that since my car has been very sensitive to engine knock from the start, especially when DoD kicks in. I considered porting the heads but it's just too way over my budget - at least for this year!

This is true, as far as milling the stock heads and if u want port/polish, might as well buy new heads that are pre-assembled with dual valve springs. As for engine knock, the knock sensors are very sensitive, but you would not actually get a knock condition from the current mods that you have, nor would the cam cause knock...lest it was tuned wrong.

Just because you get KR does not mean your engine is knocking. There are also different types of knock retard, which are parameters that are all adjustable in the ECM. He will most likely lower max knock retard, since stock knock retard numbers are much too high and pull too much timing.

As for the cam you are getting, that is EXACTLY the same cam as the L92 stage 1 cam that livernois sells. you will LOVE it. I have yet to get over 400 RWHP, tho. I'm sitting at 383hp 355tq with a tune that needs some work still. I doubt 400 will be possible with the crappy 92 octane 10% that we get here in washington. If you do achieve 400, i may just have to go to TJ to get my car tuned :)

You can use the Livernois kit list as a reference of stuff you will need for the swap, but there are a few extras pieces that i wish i had for the install.

[Executor999]

Brandon,
Thanks very much for all the insights. I will definitely keep my expectations low regarding the hp gain and stop worrying so much about engine knock.

I got word today that Justin needs more time for the install since they have multiple projects at the shop, so unfortunately I won't be picking up the car until Friday, which is a bummer because it would've been cool to meet you sooner rather than later. At least you'll be able to see my car there. :)

I'm hoping to get up to Washington for a G8 meet. Probably won't be 6/19 though.

I'll keep you posted here and eventually post pics too!

[BobtheMonkee]

no problem sir, im here to help :) (and if something can go wrong during an install, it has happened to me :P)

i wont be out to norpac till tuesday for my coilovers. But, on friday, i may be out in puyallup around 7..and puyallup is about a 30 minute drive north of norpac. So, if you still want to meet up, we could. But if you need to get back down south, i'll just see ya during a meet :).

I'll pm you my cell phone number.

[Executor999]

All I have to say is, 'holy shit!' to the Track II experience. It's like the car is attracted to the road and has extra gravity even. The first thing I noticed is that I actually felt lower and there is an immediate sense of being hunkered down. And the car doesn't flinch at any curve I threw at it. I feel the road but not in a harsh way.

http://www.howervision.com/g8/g827.jpg
http://www.howervision.com/g8/g828.jpg
http://www.howervision.com/g8/g829.jpg
http://www.howervision.com/g8/g830.jpg

I definitely recommend NorPac. I had no idea that it is family owned until today. Rich, the owner gave me a tour of the facility, which is really three businesses in one.

Justin has an attention to detail that I can admire since I am a perfectionist in my own profession. They took the car for a ride with the stock suspension to assess the ride quality and even found that the steering wheel shimmied at 55mph, something I didn't notice. After the install and another inspection road test, the shimmy was gone.

[grandmacpubah]

you lucky bastard!!!! Really happy you like it...I can't wait for the pedders...

[BobtheMonkee]

congrats!!! pedders is awesome stuff!!!

[Executor999]

I learned some awesome stuff about Norpac.

They sell tractors, have their auto performance shop which includes dyno tuning, transmission rebuilding and they also do engine work. The last part of their business is metal fabrication.

There's an '06 black GTO in the shop now waiting for a super charger-friendly cam install. I saw what looked like three model T's being stripped and welded in the metal fabrication area. They also recently programmed a tune for a Mustang Cobra and got it into the 500rwhp club! Lastly, Rich (Justin's dad) has an '06 GTO with a nice super charger on it, giving it 575rwhp! I don't recall which brand, but it was very compact and clean looking.

[BobtheMonkee]

Rich's blown SRT8 charger is pretty sick too

Norpac is just an all around amazing shop! By far the best shop i have ever worked with.

If i didnt do my cam install myself, i would have definitely gotten it done at norpac