Category Archives: Cam’s Cars

What can I say? I love cars (and trucks). This section of my blog contains all the posts about my favorite hobby.
If you want to view posts by vehicle just click on the link below to visit Cam’s Car Index

Do You See What I See?

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You probably don’t see anything in the first picture (which is the point)… But in the second picture (a close-up) you can see the line of my Corvette’s new ClearBra.

In order to preserve my car’s paint (Utah roads are not particularly kind to cars) I had Tint & ClearBra Specialists in Midvale put on their most extensive package (front bumper,headlights, half hood, front fenders, rocker panels, side mirrors and rear fenders). They also did a color wash (the ClearBra was put over it) to make sure everything looked immaculate.

I’ve had it for a few months now. It looks really nice and was very well installed. Except for one small corner that had an issue when I washed the car, it’s stayed in place just fine (I guess you’re not supposed to powerwash them). And the other day I was really happy to have it when I drove over a pile of tar covered gravel that someone was nice enough to leave in the road. Not a cheap accessory, but it’s good peace of mind.

Yep, I feel like I have to document everything. It’s like some kind of disease.

Posted by Cam, Jun 14, 2012

Camaro Aftermarket Subwoofer Review

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So here are a few of my Camaro stereo impressions thus far.

JL Audio 10W7AE Subwoofer:

Wow. Just wow. This sub is amazing. The 10W7 provides so much more depth and bass than the 10W6 in the Corvette that’s hard to believe. I honestly feel like this is all the bass a rational person could ever want. Even with the sub turned up the sound is full and smooth.

JL Audio JX1000/1D Amplifier:

I had originally intended to use a Kenwood XR-1S (the same kind my Corvette has) but the preamp signal in the RCA outs carries six volts which would fry the Kenwood. I opted for the JX1000 because it can take the six volts with no issues. The JX1000 also mutes the outs as soon as the receiver is turned off so there’s no sub thump when things power down (this can be an issue with the stock Camaro stereo and some aftermarket subs and I didn’t want to use a ground loop isolator if I didn’t have to).

Feature-wise the JX1000 is pretty straightforward. I picked up JL’s remote so I can control the gain while I’m driving. This is especially nice on cars where there is no separate sub out (hence no way to adjust the sub volume). Everything works just like it’s supposed to. It’s powers the sub with no issues and sounds excellent.

Performance with the Boston Acoustic System:

I wrote about how I thought the Boston Acoustic set up in the Camaro was pretty good for an OEM offering. I stand by that. As the speakers have broken in the seem like that have lost a little off the clarity but it could be that the sub woofer just overpowers them a bit.

I had to do some tweaking with the stock stereo settings (which is tricky, since they don’t give you too many options) to try and balance the stock speakers with the 10W7. Not physically balance- I’m talking about the volume and frequencies. Overall I think the stock speakers and the JL sub compliment each other quite well.

As far as physical balancing goes I think the staging in the Camaro is exceptional. The music is right in front of you, just beyond the dash (possibly that front center channel makes a difference). Even the sub tones sound like they are coming from the front of the car.

Mounting: 

As I briefly mentioned already the box I got from SubThump.com was excellent. The fit in the Camaro’s trunk is perfect. I mounted the JX1000 onto the subwoofer box because there was room and because the box seemed very sturdy. I checked to see how much vibration the amp was enduring and it’s pretty minimal- the sub box is like a rock. In addition to being impressed by the performance, I’m also visually satisfied with the outcome.

Conclusion: 

I’m pleased enough with the Boston Acoustic speakers and JL Audio sub & amp that I’m not planning to add aftermarket speakers (woofers & tweeters) or an amp in the near future. I think the music I listen to is well served by the configuration as-is. With the Camaro I do think a sub is critical if the musical experience is important to you.

Stereo Shootout:

At the onset of my stereo shoot out I was pretty sure I preferred the Camaro. So to make things more fair I decided to fix a few issues in the Vette. I spent a long time trying to isolate and eliminate the alternator whine (not gone, but much better). I moved the staging to the front of the car and did a lot of tuning; I think it makes a huge difference in sound quality and enjoyment.

So with the stereos on more equal footing I will shortly commenced the 2012 Camaro vs. Corvette stereo shoot out.Stay tuned!

Camaro Mods So Far

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I think in general when someone gets a car they do something to make it theirs. Maybe it’s a few stickers, some seat covers, a new shift knob or all of the above. I already mentioned that I got some floor mats, put on a couple stickers and added a sub woofer. Here are my other mods to the car so far.

Upgraded exhaust: I added the OEM GMPP axel back exhaust (made by Borla). With regard to the stock exhaust, I thought the tips were okay I really disliked how the stock mufflers looked under the car. The upgraded exhaust is less constrictive and gives the car a nice growl. Sure, there are better exhaust options, but I wanted the warranty (for now)

Interior Accent Lightning: This was a splurge, plain and simple. I had added some accent lighting in the Vette and I really liked the idea of having something like that in the Camaro. This factory option has lights that shine out of the cup holders and in both footwells. The coolest part is that a toggle switch allows you to switch between red and blue.

Fuel Door: I looked at some aftermarket offerings for the fuel door, but really liked the design of the OEM upgrade. My plan is to powdercoat it black at some point.

Custom Chevy Bowtie Emblems: I’m not a big fan of the gold colored bowties so I got this custom painted set (I picked the colors).  I had originally wanted to do all red, but I did a mock-up in Photoshop and decided all red looked like a clown nose. After playing with different color combinations I thought the contrast of the pinstripes looked best.

Tinting: I had ceramic tinting added to the windows. I stuck with legal tinting on the two side windows (I don’t know why, in retrospect) and then 20% on the rear sides and back. I also had the taillights blacked out (I think it makes the car look more menacing).

Also, if you’re local I can recommend Tint & Clear Bra Specialists in Midvale for any tinting needs. I have used them several times and they have been excellent.

Powercoated Rims: At first the silver wheels grew on me; I thought they added a nice contrast. But before long I knew I wanted to get black rims. I shopped around a bit, but I couldn’t find any rims I liked better than the 20″ OEM’s. LA Wheel offers a wheel exchange program so I decided to try it out. They sent me a pair of black powercoated OEM wheels and once I got them I shipped back my silver ones. Compared to buying new rims it was fairly inexpensive.

The rims are 40% gloss which makes them much less shiny that the body of the car. I think it provides a nice contrast while still giving the car a more aggressive look. You can see below that I’ve already dinged the wheel (in a car wash- don’t go through car washes with any car you care about).

In the coming months I may have the opportunity to have a prototype turbo kit installed on my car (kit at cost w/ a free install) so I’m considering that. I’m also considering trying out a supercharger (Whipple of Kenne Bell?). My goal is to have my Camaro more powerful than a stock ZL1 by May of next year. But I digress –  that’s mechanical stuff, and this post was meant to be about cosmetic mods.

The only other cosmetic additions I’m considering for now are a body kit and some racing stripes. I just need to find a reliable dealer to who can do these right.

Mini Sports Cars – The Smorvette

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As we were heading back to our car after lunch I noticed a Smart Car in the parking lot. I knew they were small, but seeing one sitting there with a person in it made the car seem more like a go-kart (I might have been so amused that I took a picture). Anyway, it reminded me of an email that my Dad sent with photos of shrunk cars (it was a “is this the future if gas prices keep rising” email).

Smorvette : Mini Corvette

Smamborghini: Mini Lamborgini

Smorsche: Mini Porsche

Smerrari: Mini Ferrari

Smamaro: Mini Camaro

This last picture was not in my Dad’s email. I thought the mini cars were cool and went looking for a shrunk Camaro. Since I could’t find one I made my own. If you’re curious, this picture is what I started with and no, I don’t think I’m a Photoshop god.

Personally, I don’t think I’d drive a mini. Sometimes when I end up behind a hybrid car I think “Ha ha! I’m driving behind you undoing all your planet saving.”

Whine, Whine, Whine…

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The stereo in my Corvette has always had a small alternator whine (audible through the tweeters). It never bothered me enough to trouble shoot it until I upgraded the alternator and the whine became about twice as loud. Since I was planning on doing a stereo shootout of sorts (Corvette vs. Camaro) I decided that it was finally time to take a closer look at the problem.

I started by unplugging the RCA cables on the amps, but the alternator whine lingered. I pulled out the speaker wires from the amps- still there. Even though I was sure it wouldn’t make a difference, I pulled out the stereo fuse. As expected, no change. Even with almost everything unhooked and zero power running to any components the noise persisted. I tracked the noise down to one spot: rear passenger tweeter.

In the Z06 Corvette the battery is in the trunk. Along the passenger side of the car there is a substantial cable connecting the alternator and the battery together. I was pretty sure this cable has something to do with the problem, but I wasn’t sure where to go. I had to bring in the big guns- Studio head JW Brown. I explained the situation and he offered me this explanation: The crossover was being electromagnetically induced by the power cable causing the tweeter to emit the alternator whine. Duh!

In theory something somewhere might not be grounded correctly (and no, I don’t need to do the “Big 3” upgrade, but thank you). I checked a few things, but it seemed like the simplest solution would be to just relocate the crossovers. It was sad…I was so proud of how I mounted them when I put in my stereo. In any event, I went to work pulling everything apart.

I moved the crossovers to the rear left storage compartment (the battery is in the other storage compartment). The sub woofer also sits in the left compartment, but there is plenty of clearance for the crossovers too.

I figured since I was this far in I’d go ahead and run some better speaker wire to the rear speakers & crossovers. And one thing that had always driven me nuts was that the RCA cables running to the sub amp were a little too short thus necessitating the use of an extension. I finagled them a bit (moved the diagonally underneath the trunk floor) and was able to get enough slack to plug them directly into the amp.

I did fairly comprehensive testing to ensure that the relocation had eliminated the alternator whine and to ensure there would be no interference in the crossovers from the overhead sub. When I hooked everything back up this time I did a much better job than my original install. This time around I was meticulous about wire position and made sure all the connections (+-) were correct and secured tightly. I even reinforced the amp rack.

When I was done – and this was a big project spanning several hours a day over three days –  I fired her up and heard… sweet nothing. I took the car out to road tune the stereo and with the stereo off there is still a tiny noise from the speakers but it’s so much better it’s not even an issue. Only someone afflicted with OCD (me) would even notice. Hooray!

Check out my stereo shoot out on UtahCamaro.com (coming soon!).

Camaro Aftermarket Subwoofer Install (Part 1)

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There are a lot of forum posts trashing the Boston Acoustic system that comes in the Camaro. Personally, I think it’s pretty good for an OEM system. Distortion at high volume (22 for me) is minimal, good sound range and clarity (maybe a hint of muddiness) and I love that they nailed the sound staging- the music comes from right in front of you. The one major element that the BA system lacks is bass.

Chevy offers an OEM subwoofer solution. I checked out their subwoofer but I didn’t feel like it was a good fit for me. I confess that I’m not a big MTX fan and I wasn’t impressed with the specs (200 watts for two 10″ subs isn’t enough for me). I also didn’t like the placement of the MTX sub box (right behind the rear seats- you lose the pass through). Here is a picture of the installed box. It’s really not bad looking at all, but it wasn’t what I wanted. And at $1145 installed I was certain I could put together something that would work better for me.

In the end I decided to go with a JL Audio 10W7AE, a JL Audio JX1000/1D Amplifier and a sub box from subthumb (& their custom Camaro RCA Output T-Harness).

I picked the 10W7 because I have a 10W6 in the Vette and wanted something that could hit the deeper notes with a little more power. I briefly considered the 12″ JL Audio sub but, in my opinion, the 10″ subs produce tighter bass. The weight & cost were also 12″ sub deterrents.

I got the JX1000 because at 3 ohms it puts out 750 watts RMS (the nominal impedance of the 10W7AE is 3 Ω and it can take 750 watts RMS). Compared to some other amps I looked at it seemed like a good value.

And I went with a subthump.com sub box because they are a killer deal for a custom fitted solution. I had the box cut for a 10W7AE, and it came carpeted (super close match to the OEM grey) and was excellently constructed. In the past I have commissioned and helped build my own sub boxes, but I don’t think I could have pulled off this box.

Anyway, here are some install pics (after which I’ll talk about performance):

I dug down to the battery (trunk batteries rock). Measured out the wire (4 gauge for this project). Unclipped the factory amp and…

…plugged in the subthump.com harness. This harness is a lifesaver. It taps right into the preamp audio signal (before it goes into the factory amp) and gives you RCA outs. Then you can just plug in your sub! Got the sub box ready (I like to cut away fabric where the seals hit the box).

Sub ready for install. The W7AE subs have a unique mounting system which looks really cool, but it is a little trickier.

Attached terminal connectors to my wires (power & ground) and then installed the fuse. Here’s a pic of how the connector sits on the battery.

Getting the Subthump box in takes some doing. Had to move a couple wiring harnesses and cut part of the trunk carpet wall (side note: when you buy the box you’ll get a link to installation instructions). Once it’s in, the box fits great. The amplifier wired up. I ended up mounting the amp to the sub box (I do what I want). Moved the wires out of the way to clean up the look. Then cut my Lloyd’s  trunk mat so it rested against the sub box.

And here is the finished product. Personally I like being able to see the amp and I especially like having the sub mounted off to the side. For me this is more aesthetically pleasing than the factory sub. Total install time was about five hours (I ran into some unexpected complications) and the total I dropped on this project  was a little less than cost of the MTX sub.

That’s it for Part 1. In Part 2 I’ll talk about the sound, tuning, and my late night stereo shoot out.

 

Premier Parking Spot Corvette Joyride

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Premier Parking Spot is supposed to watch your car while you take a cruise. In this case they were taking a cruise in the car while ABC watched. Reminiscent of “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” it turns out owner Jay Nieves was taking his customer and his customer’s cars for a ride. If this weren’t bad enough the victim of Jay’s latest joyride was a red Corvette. Check out ABC’s undercover investigation!

Sometimes I wonder if this has happened to my cars. On occasion I have gotten a car back with damage or with what, in my opinion, is an excessive amount of mileage (“We have to test drive them, you know.”). This is one of the reasons I try do all my own work and I never leave the car with anyone unless it’s absolutely necessary. You just never know what people are doing with your car when you’re not there. And then amount of disregard some people have for the property of others is mind blowing.