Haggard-hawk

Deflectors seemed to do their job and brakes didn't feel terrible by the end of each session. I am going to swap out the ducts for something more robust and the screens for something higher flow (the wheel well ones are cut from gutter guards from Home Depot lol).

I ran inline with my old PB, but the track has been repaved/regraded so it should be about 2s faster. I'm gonna try to get back at tbolt in a couple weeks to see if I can eek out a 31.

Really trying to resist the urge to buy Apex 18x11s and 315 Nankang CR-Ss. I was gonna wait until the coming winter, but I might have to activate that cheat code earlier.

https://youtu.be/dM_AD8o4YEo

Fuckin awesome. You're getting better and better at the wheel. Maybe it is time for better rubber? Thanks for sharing the video.
Nolan

Awesome. The CR-S's are damn good on my 'vette. I went from consistently mid pack last year on older street tires to FTD (and 4 fastest laps of the day) in my first auto-X on the Nankangs. I gained some power in between then, but that was never limiting on course.

So unfortunately the CR-S is backordered until August. The Apex wheels I want are also backordered, so I'm tempted to throw on some 295 RE71RS tires in the meantime and ride around on my current wheels for a while. Either that or keep burning off these RS4s, but I've hated them since day 1. Not sure what I'm gonna do.

Currently swapping out my dying power steering pump, brake ducts for something smoother and duct screens with higher flow. I found a great deal on an LS1 K&N FIPK intake and smooth bellow on marketplace and figured I would try to adapt it to this car. The Firehawk airbox is a leaky POS and the SLP bellow is definitely restrictive since the car does have a decent MAP drop at higher rpm. Hopefully this stuff helps.

Attachment 40601

LS1 bellow fits great on the tb.

Attachment 40602

Junky stock SLP bellow shrouds the tb badly.

Attachment 40603

Attachment 40604

Not sure if I wanna use the steel rad support from the K&N kit or dremel the stock piece.

Attachment 40605

I also need to open up the nostrils in the trufiber hood since they're so small. I'll rig up some rain deflectors too and build a box around the filter. The IAT wires need to be extended as well.

Attachment 40606

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I'm in the same boat, actually looking for a fastoys 104mm lid and may try that

looks.good tho

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Cool deal on the intake setup. Me likey. I know it won't make it any faster, but you should really considering painting the hood. It would add to the cool factor and add intimidator factor when you come up behind them Porcha's. I was looking at the still shot of it at speed and thought how much better it would look all black. Maybe even rattle canned flat black?
Just thinking out loud Bud, carry on.
Nolan

Quote:

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Originally Posted by SSlowBoat

I'm in the same boat, actually looking for a fastoys 104mm lid and may try that

looks.good tho

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They seem pretty cheap on the used market and a good alternative to the factory ramair boxes at crackhead ebay prices. Surprised nobody makes a repro for the factory stuff, but such is life as an LT1 owner.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by JOATMON

Cool deal on the intake setup. Me likey. I know it won't make it any faster, but you should really considering painting the hood. It would add to the cool factor and add intimidator factor when you come up behind them Porcha's. I was looking at the still shot of it at speed and thought how much better it would look all black. Maybe even rattle canned flat black?
Just thinking out loud Bud, carry on.
Nolan

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I've thought about it, but I would want to paint the whole car at that point since the hatch is green and all the paint on the roof is flaking off. Maybe at some point in the future although it might make more sense to swap its guts into a clean TA roller.

Hard to beat the $6.00 sewer pipe connector......

Attachment 40607

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Injuneer

Hard to beat the $6.00 sewer pipe connector......

Attachment 40607

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lol I still have that fernco sitting on a shelf. it's rock hard lol

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I would be afraid of breaking the SLP airbox with the Fernco coupler since it's super thin at the MAF connection and the angle is kinda harsh. The GM airbox seems a lot more robust.
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/ls1tech...b7823a3504.jpg

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Catmaigne

I would be afraid of breaking the SLP airbox with the Fernco coupler since it's super thin and the angle is kinda harsh. The GM airbox seems a lot more robust.
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/ls1tech...b7823a3504.jpg

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mines broken, well separated at the seams. I rtv'd it and put a small piece of 3.5" aluminum tubing inside it so it clamps against it instead of pinching the box

can you do me a solid and see if ur map value changed wot with that k&n filter compared to the ram air box??

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I found some old IMSA showroom stock races featuring some Firebirds going up against M3s, RX7s, Cobra Rs, Porsche 968s, etc. The racing series is called the Firestone Firehawk Endurance series (and later the Speedvision Cup) which is where the SLP Firehawk name comes from. These are relatively stock cars with very minor prep, not tube frame race cars.

One of the drivers of the winning #32 black/yellow Bird is John Heinricy who was a GM engineer that worked on the Corvette and F-body platforms back in the day. He goes on to win the championships in 1996 and 1997. The car was also prepped by Phoenix Performance which is a race shop local to me. Sometimes I share the track with a couple of their prepped C5s when I run with MOE HPDE lol.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PP6vYFI2VBY

That was cool. It made me think back and remember that the Gen 2 LT1 was the revival of GM from a high performance standpoint. Everything had anemic engines for right at 20 years. There were alot of performance shops that were founded off the LT1, one locally was Thunder Racing.
Also I was surprised to see Honda Preludes racing along side in the videos. I hadn't realized the Prelude VTec's were capable of racing with F-Bodies and Fox Mustangs.
I bought my daughter one to start college when she got earned a scholarship. Didn't really dawn on me just how quick it was.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by JOATMON

That was cool. It made me think back and remember that the Gen 2 LT1 was the revival of GM from a high performance standpoint. Everything had anemic engines for right at 20 years. There were alot of performance shops that were founded off the LT1, one locally was Thunder Racing.
Also I was surprised to see Honda Preludes racing along side in the videos. I hadn't realized the Prelude VTec's were capable of racing with F-Bodies and Fox Mustangs.
I bought my daughter one to start college when she got earned a scholarship. Didn't really dawn on me just how quick it was.

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The Preludes are in the lower Sports class so they aren't directly competing. The Birds are in Grand Sports with all of the faster sports cars like the Cobra R, M3, RX7, etc. The Supra that's there is a N/A model and is in the Sports class with the Prelude. I know there are Supra Turbos in other vids in the GS class.

Oh ok, they all race together but in different classes. Gotcha
Thanks for sharin the videos.
Nolan

I used to watch those races on TV - what a throw back. I share a last name with one of the Formula Firebird drivers too!

With respect to the crazy ebay airbox prices; I think my hood/airbox combo is worth as much as my entire car. I'm also rocking the Fernco coupler!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by rentedmule

I used to watch those races on TV - what a throw back. I share a last name with one of the Formula Firebird drivers too!

With respect to the crazy ebay airbox prices; I think my hood/airbox combo is worth as much as my entire car. I'm also rocking the Fernco coupler!

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I figured I would sell mine and cash in on those crackhead prices to fund more racecar parts. My airbox in particular was only available on 94-95 Hawks, so there were only about 1200 ever made. This car is too far gone, high mileage, and modified for a restoration so I'm not opposed to letting stuff go. I have the OG floormats too lol.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Catmaigne

I figured I would sell mine and cash in on those crackhead prices to fund more racecar parts. My airbox in particular was only available on 94-95 Hawks, so there were only about 1200 ever made. This car is too far gone, high mileage, and modified for a restoration so I'm not opposed to letting stuff go. I have the OG floormats too lol.

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think mine came from slp [emoji102]

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Cleaned the K&N up and mounted it. There's compliance built in to the L bracket via a grommet so the carbon fiber in the filter doesn't crack.

Attachment 40609

Attachment 40610

I also reinstalled/relocated my cruise control to where the headlight module sits, built new brackets for both. The brake ducts run right where the CC used to be so it had to be moved.

Attachment 40611

Also pulled the trigger on some 285 RE71RS tires. Taking my wheels to get them mounted tomorrow.

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by SSlowBoat

think mine came from slp [emoji102]

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The airbox? Isn't yours the WS6 style? I have the WS6 top piece from Mark's car but it doesn't fit onto the Firehawk lower box unfortunately. The one that says Firehawk at the top is so flimsy it's a joke.

I have one of those SLP leather shift knobs people go ape for. Gotta list that too lol.

The hood and airbox on the Formula are the SLP "Ram Air HO" package. The hood and airbox were identical to the 96+ WS6 items, except the lid did not have the "Ram Air" and "Pontiac" logos cast in and the lid did not have the rectangular rubber seal glued to it. Instead SLP supplied a couple lengths of weatherstripping that I applied to the hood. I had a genuine WS6 box at the time (received it in trade for some other parts???) and otherwise the genuine WS6 box and the Ram Air HO box were identical.

I cut the grid out of the lid, then reinforced it with thin threaded rods running front to back, because it would distort without them. The outlet of the box was drilled and reinforced for two nitrous nozzles. The engine was running speed-density so it had a 3" filler piece for the missing MAF sensor. Originally I ran the SLP bellows between the filler and the TB. But and the difference in elevation and the distortion appeared to be negative with regard to air flow. So I tried the Fernco, and it worked well. The baffles were also cut out of the area behind the hood nostrils. If the car was sitting outside, or on the trailer in the rain, I had a foam plug to keep the water out.

As far as I know the airbox was free of damage when I sold the car in 2022, and it had been in place for 22 years at that point.

Attachment 40612

My Camaro was originally a SLP SS. A original ram air box gets stupid money on these too. All of the SLP stuff was long gone when I bought it. It was a nitrous drag car in it's earlier life. I took the shifter with the leather knob out and put in a slightly longer Hurst stick and black knob. The original "joy stick" was just a little short for me as far as leverage on gear changes. I kept missing 3rd and sticking it in 5th. All thats left of the SLP options is the door and under hood stickers.

So the Firehawk box is something entirely different and the uppers/lowers do not swap with the later WS6 stuff. There are no manufacturer, material, and date codes on the earlier 93-95 boxes whereas the later WS6 parts are covered in markings and look like legit OEM parts. My guess is that SLP had low volume tooling made without GM's involvement on the earlier parts, hence the lack of markings as this is a huge no-no in the OEM world and can create problems with importing/exporting vehicles and parts globally (look up IMDS). I'm guessing GM stepped in with the reintroduction of the WS6, redesigned the airbox to make it less shitty, and moved production to Canada where our cars were made. If you think the WS6 stuff is junky, you'd be amazed at how much worse the SLP parts are. Little Tikes cars feel more robust than this.

Here's what the WS6 box looks like. Notice 4 fasteners at the top of the lid and 5 nubs/slots at the bottom so the forces are distributed better throughout the part. Also, notice how the lower edge of the upper lid has a radius on it right under where it says "Pontiac" and "Ram Air." This is a very subtle design change, but it really stiffens up the front wall where the nubs/slots are.

Attachment 40613

This is the Firehawk airbox. Notice there are only 2 fasteners at the top and 3 large nubs/slots at the bottom.

Attachment 40614

Firehawk upper lid on the top and the WS6 style on the bottom. The top plane of the lid itself is nearly wide open on the Firehawk box and is flimsy as hell whereas the WS6 piece is very stiff in comparison. Also notice the lack of radius near the front wall where the nubs are, see how insanely bowed it is. If you look closely at the Firehawk lid, you can see where some genius PO screwed deck screws into the lower corners since the nubs wouldn't hold the lower edge down.

Attachment 40615

Both of these airboxes use the same C4 Corvette filter. The WS6 box is perfectly sized for this and clamps down the edges fine. The Firehawk box is too wide and doesn't clamp the smaller edges of the filter well... if at all.

Attachment 40616

I plan on reconditioning this one and modifying it to actually seal, then sending it to eBayland where it belongs.

The irony of these early SLP parts is that they're actually hot garbage. The hood was a similar story since it delaminated and the 2OTL looked like it was bent and welded by Stevie Wonder.

In other news, I got the RE71RSs mounted. Caddy was doing SUV duty lol.

Attachment 40617

Attachment 40618

Dam, that caddy looks clean as hell!

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Love the Caddy-hauler!

Cool info on the air boxes too, I've always coveted the SLP stuff, but I guess that wasn't warranted. I've never been able to get a clear answer on what my airbox is. It has the attachment points of the WS6 box but doesn't look like the one you pictured and doesn't have any logos on it. Given my bird is a '95, someone must have added it and the hood after the fact.

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...6f53b196_c.jpgDSC_0005 by Rented Mule, on Flickr

Quote:

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Originally Posted by rentedmule

Love the Caddy-hauler!

Cool info on the air boxes too, I've always coveted the SLP stuff, but I guess that wasn't warranted. I've never been able to get a clear answer on what my airbox is. It has the attachment points of the WS6 box but doesn't look like the one you pictured and doesn't have any logos on it. Given my bird is a '95, someone must have added it and the hood after the fact.

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That looks like mine did (post #382) before I cut the grid out of the top. It looks just like the WS6 box without the logos. Came with the SLP "Ram Air HO" aftermarket hood, which was totally identical to the 96/97 Ram Air hood, with different decals, and without the big rubber/foam molded sealing gasket. Bought it direct from SLP in Toms River. As noted, I had a real WS6 box with the logos that I got in trade for some wheels/tires. They were identical except for the logos. I didn't look for part numbers or markings inside. Sold it, because had no need for it.

Awesome, thanks for the info. There's a seal on the underside of my hood that matches up with the box.

Ditto... I explained that in post #382. That's the cheap weatherstripping that was included with the SLP hood/airbox.

Attachment 40619

The hood baffles have been cut out.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Injuneer

Ditto... I explained that in post #382. That's the cheap weatherstripping that was included with the SLP hood/airbox.

Attachment 40619

The hood baffles have been cut out.

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and it's been cut out further for all the airflow now [emoji1787]

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by rentedmule

Love the Caddy-hauler!

Cool info on the air boxes too, I've always coveted the SLP stuff, but I guess that wasn't warranted. I've never been able to get a clear answer on what my airbox is. It has the attachment points of the WS6 box but doesn't look like the one you pictured and doesn't have any logos on it. Given my bird is a '95, someone must have added it and the hood after the fact.

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...6f53b196_c.jpgDSC_0005 by Rented Mule, on Flickr

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The underside of the OE WS6 box looks like this. I wouldn't be surprised if the unbranded SLP one has the same markings as they probably share injection molding tooling for the inside cavity.

Attachment 40620

RTM is likely a plastics vendor local to St. Therese CA, you can see the catalog p/n, date code wheels, and PA6 nylon material called out.

I don't think there's any real reason to build an SLP car in 2024 other than clout (they do look sick lol). 4th gens are so far removed from modern performance cars that an extra 20hp and some soggy Eibachs/Bilsteins aren't gonna cut it when there are so many new SS1LEs out there.

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Ed Hamburger was still building Camaros under his new company (same location in Toms River NJ) Specialty Vehicles Engineering (SVE).

https://specialtyvehicleengineering....-yenko-camaro/

WOW on the Yenkos.

Well hot damn! What a difference these tires made.

The stars aligned and I broke into the 1:29s at Thunderbolt yesterday.

https://youtu.be/WGUq8FcajOk

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Awesome. Fuckin A, B and C on your new PB.

Great driving!

Did an autocross yesterday since my trackday at Pocono got canceled. Choppy pavement and rod ended LCAs felt like hell. I'm not great at reading these courses either lol.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VBRhOkRDDk&ab_channel=JunkRacecars

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Catmaigne

Did an autocross yesterday since my trackday at Pocono got canceled. Choppy pavement and rod ended LCAs felt like hell. I'm not great at reading these courses either lol.

https://youtu.be/-VBRhOkRDDk?si=AdFifTwykPe0ra2H

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that looked fun but stressful lol

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by SSlowBoat

that looked fun but stressful lol

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Yeah they always are lol. My setup is way too tight and non compliant so it's a handful when the pavement sucks.