By now you would know of Melbourne's F1 Performance - the company responsible for the mechanical makeover of three previous AutoSpeed feature cars. Well, here's the beastie that belongs to the head of F1 Performance - Steve.
What you see here is an ongoing test bed for LS1 V8 engine development and racetrack development of the VT-series chassis. Purchased new in January 2002, Steve's LS1 monster is a VX Series 2 SS Commodore whose only visual deception is the fitment of a Berlina rear garnish - there's nothing else to suggest that he likes to stray away from factory fare.
Anyhow, enough of what you can already see...
Under the big red bonnet, Steve and his team have massaged the 225kW spec LS1 to deliver some 300kW. How? Well - after some extensive dyno testing - the engine is equipped with heat coated Pacemaker 4>1 extractors and a custom F1-designed exhaust system. Comprising 2 ½-inch diameter pipes, custom mufflers and a trick X-pipe, we can vouch that this system sounds sweet - Steve likes to let everyone enjoy the glorious singing of the free-breathing LS1.
With the exhaust system thoroughly taken care of, it makes sense to ensure that the air intake is equally restriction-free. Interestingly, Steve retains the original Holden airbox but feeds it with a very large diameter cold air tube. The filter element itself is a washable K&N item. From the lid of the airbox, intake air passes through a gutted factory airflow meter, a 100mm tube and, finally, a 78mm throttle body. Steve says Holden's plastic fantastic intake manifold is pretty good - he's seen a non-blown LS1 punch out 600 horses with the factory runners in place, so it's gotta flow reasonably well.
To optimise the flow gains with the heavily revised exhaust and intake, Steve alters fuel and ignition parameters using LS1 Edit software. The big benefit of this approach is none of the original ECU functionality is lost. Oh, and note the twin valve covers (ala GTS) that Steve's installed to dress up the bay.
Unlike some of F1 Performance's customer cars, this vehicle makes do with the original camshaft and cylinder heads and, according to Steve, that's what is presently holding power back to around 300-odd kilowatts. The base-spec camshaft is simply no good for over 300kW (which is no surprise given the C4B 300kW Calloway engine uses a different camshaft). The 300kW figure being claimed for this engine is derived from comparative chassis dyno figures - the stock VX2 SS makes 160kW at the wheels of F1's Dyno Dynamics chassis dyno, while in current form it pushes out around 220kW at the treads. Apply this 37 percent power gain to the 225kW factory flywheel figure and you're talking just over 300kW.
Steve tells us this type of engine package typically costs his customers around $4500 - which ain't half bad considering the sizeable power gain. Steve also speaks of total reliability with these mods in place - the only thing he does advise, however, is the use of a specific grade Penrite engine oil. From his experiences this has prevented the oil consumption problems he's found using other oils.
Steve says, after 25,000 of development kilometres, the standard LS1 Commodore driveline has stood up without problems. His car retains the original 6-speed manual 'box (now equipped with a F1 Performance 30 percent short shift mechanism) and, although having given no reliability issues, the original diff was turfed for a shorter 3.63:1 ratio. The shorter final drive gearing makes the most of the engine's torque curve - who cares about the fuel consumption penalty!
Content that the team had cost-effectively nudged up against the 300kW limit of the stock camshaft, Steve's next areas of focus were the suspension, steering and brakes...
Handling has been significantly improved after the fitment of a Quadrant suspension package comprising Bilstein dampers and lowered springs (which drop the car around 1 ½-inches). Add to this Whiteline front and rear swaybars and - since our shoot - a front strut bar and you have a Commodore that makes mincemeat out of challenging corners.
F1 Performance's track testing has revealed that the standard Holden power steering system is unable to cope with the rigours of motorsport. This has resulted in a few instances of fluid overflow and, in the worst cases, destruction of the power steering pump. This is now a thing of the past, thanks to the inclusion of a power steering cooler and the use of very high quality fluid.
To effectively slow this 1597kg projectile as it approaches intersections at warp speed, Steve entrusts a set of EBC Green pads working with the standard calipers and discs. While these pads offer a good braking improvement over the stockie Holden pads, Steve switches to an aggressive set of Pagid pads for track days. With the availability of 300-odd kilowatts, however, the big Harrop anchors that Steve is talking about sound like a very good idea.
At the time of our photo shoot, the VX2 SS interior trim remained completely factory - which is no bad thing. Now, however, you'll find a leather gear knob and boot and a massively upgraded beat system. Gone is the crumby Maestro head unit and cheap-o speakers and in its place is an Alpine CD/tuner connected to two Unidimension amps, Focal front splits and rear 6 x 9s plus a Focal 13-inch (yes, 13 inch) subwoofer in da boot. Freeway Car Audio in Malvern can be thanked for the quality sounds.
Also at the time of our photo shoot, the car kicked around on its standard 17-inch alloys - again this is no bad thing, but Steve's now gone one better. A tasty set of Series 2 GTS 18s have been rattle-gunned on to improve looks and handling but without compromising ride quality too much.
So where to now? Well, when time becomes available, Steve will be upping the power tally by around another 50kW at the wheels with the fitment of a more aggressive camshaft (plus upgraded valve springs, retainers, rockers and pushrods) and some tickling of the alloy heads. After that a stroker kit - taking the swept capacity out to around 6.2-litres - is well and truly on the cards. A bit over the top? Maybe. But this is a business promo car after all...
Contact:
F1 Performance Equipment
+61 3 9894 4228
www.f1performance.com.au
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