If there’s one thing that can be said about the sixth-generation Camaro, is that it offered the perfect balance of muscle car straight line acceleration, with the capability to take a corner. That statement is even more true for the ZL1 version.
With a supercharged LT4 under the hood, that cranked out 650hp at the flywheel, the potential that this car brought to the table was incredible. Where its rival, the Hellcat Challenger, produced more horsepower, the ZL1 was 500-pounbds lighter and could actually handle. It was all about balance with the ZL1, and thanks to a lot of great people in the aftermarket, every aspect of the car could be even further improved upon.
And that’s exactly what one owner, Eddie Kincaid, has elected to do with his example; hired Erik Bentley of Florida High Performance to work his magic on. Eddie’s car already had a couple of bolt-ons, like a Roto-Fab cold-air intake and a Corsa catback exhaust system.
But wanting to take things to the next level, he needed help. With FLHP on board, things have morphed to another level. Starting from the top, the stock supercharger was part on the shelf, and Erik swapped on a Jokerz Performance full-tilt ported LT4 103mm snout, and Katech throttle body to up the intake side of things.
A smaller upper blower pulley also increased boost, and a set of NGK 6510 spark plugs provided the right type of spark the combination needs to help the 93 octane or E30 race fuel combust more effectively. Being able to switch back and forth between 93 and E30 is Mae possible, by a DSX Tuning flex fuel sensor module that Erik also installed.
The spent fumes are expelled through a set of Kooks long-tube 2-inch diameter headers, an X-pipe, and into the existing Corsa exhaust. The headers were probably the biggest performance gain our of all of the parts, except the blower. With all of that air being forced into the combustion chamber, you want to get it out as quickly and efficiently as possible. Erik does mention that a set of 1-7/8 would have worked for this build, but the car’s owner does have more mods planned in the near future, and didn’t want to have to upgrade them again.
All of this work resulted in 642hp and 691 lb-ft at the tires on 93-octane, and 663hp 709 lb when tuning the E. Both of these run were on 13-psi., with some timing changes. Prior to any tinkering, the car baselined at 555 rwhp and 546 lb tuning 10-lbs of boost. Those are incredible gains with such small changes. Evidently, they paid off when the crew took the car to Sebring
Rick Seitz is the owner and founder of GMEFI Magazine, and has a true love and passion for all vehicles. When he isn’t tuning, testing, or competing with the brand’s current crop of project vehicles, he’s busy tinkering and planning the next modifications for his own cars.
