Go2GuyTX

So a few weeks back I called up Brian with RPT to talk with him about his install special he was running on the Kooks Headers with catted X-pipe. After talking for a little while, the original plan was to come down there on a Saturday morning, get the headers and Hinson motor mounts installed and then head back to College Station!

The "problem" came in that after talking for a while longer we got on the topic of planning a cam change next year. After literally an hour on the phone it was decided that I would just bite the bullet and do it all at one time in an effort to save money in the long run. I told Brian that I needed him to assure me that all of this could be done in a weekend as I only have the corvette and it's my daily driver and he said it shouldn't be a problem at all. The original plan got pushed back a couple weeks b/c I needed to talk a friend in giving me a place to stay for a weekend, and this would also give me the chance to make sure I was making the right cam selection for the car. Earlier I said that it was a daily driver so street manners are definitely a concern. Long story short, I ended up going with Spinmonster's 230/234 114+2 cam because of everything that I had read about the drivability and power of the cam without having to go too extreme

Last Friday came and I left CS about 3:45PM and took off to Brian's shop, letting him know that I was on my way and should be there about 5:45PM or so. Showed up and met Brian for the first time, an extremely nice guy that really loves what he does. Talked with him for a few minutes before throwing the car on dyno for it's baseline run. With just a Halltech CAI and Borla ATAK, tuned by a non-forum person, the car put down 363/359 and Brian said this was right in line with the other LS2s he had seen with similar mods, so that was a good thing. Brian let us hang around his shop till the friend of mine coming in from the far side of Houston made it to Austin. We took off about 7:45ish and Brian was kind enough to drive me back to the house, extremely nice guy as referenced above Brian assure me one last time I would be in good hands and the plan was to get everything installed on a Saturday and tuned on Sunday so I could get back on the road

The following mods were added to the car over the course of a weekend:

Spinmonster 230/234 114+2 cam
Kooks 1 7/8 headers with catted X-pipe
Lunati Gold Dual Valvesprings (.660" lift)
Comp Cams 7.400" Puchrods
Comp Cams Trunion Kit
NGK TR6 Spark Plugs
Lingenfelter 160* Thermostat
TFS Seat Kit
Hinson Motor Mounts

So fast forwarding to Sunday, I got the phone call about 3PM that the car was ready for me to pick up and everything had gone super smoothly! So we head that way to check everything out, I'm super excited of course, lol. Anyway, get there and talk with Brian for another couple minutes about the tune, what all was installed, and the car in general before I get in the car and run off. After all was said and done, I thanked Brian again for willing to work on Sunday to make this a possibility for me, couldn't have asked for better customer service in my mind So I headed out and all was said and done.

The finals numbers on the car were 432/394 which is pretty much right in line with what the other LS2s have gotten without changing anything on the top end, Spin had mentioned roughly this power in some of his other threads about LS2s. The future plans, like 2-2.5 years from now if I decide to do it, are to add a FAST 92 and port the 243 heads...going to just the LS3 top end is a possibility as well but I'm sure I'll be happy for a while. Though I'm sure we all say that after making modifications

Drivability really is near stock on this cam and Brian was extremely impressed by the performance of the cam. He told me this was his first time tuning the Spin cam and he's always up for trying something new. Just to give an idea of Brian's ability, you can cruise around in 6th gear at 1200rpm with no bucking/surging if you really wanted to Driving manners kind of get thrown out the window when you stomp the gas pedal though, with just myself in the car at about 3k rpm in 1st gear I punched it and the tires broke loose and all the traction stuff from the corvette popped up...it was awesome lol. Anyway, the extremely flat torque curve makes driving the car a blast and it is definitely a positive difference from stock. The car pulls like a beast in every gear, keeping in perspective what each gear is actually used for of course Car is running about 178* on the coolant which is right where I expected it with the 160* thermostat!

Probably something that can not be expressed without actually getting a chance to experience it is the seat upgrade that Brian did to the seat. The majority of us have something bad to say about corvette seats and my seat was in dire need of some fixing. On Brian's FB page you can see the pictures of how bad my seat actually was (I was using a custom pad sitting on top of the seat b/c it was that unbearable). Anyway, just a great inexpensive kit that I think a lot of people would enjoy if they are having the same kind of issues with the outside of their seats like I was.

So my overall experience through all of this has been EXTREMELY positive and I have no regrets at all looking back. I appreciate everything the Brian has done to make me feel comfortable throughout the process and I can honestly can't stress the customer service aspect enough...he came to work on a Sunday!!!

Assuming it can pull a link off facebook, here is the dyno sheet; if not, it can be found on his Reckart Tuning FB page

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fb...2774466&type=3 <~~~wasn't able to pull it so here is the direct link

And a couple youtube videos of the idle and dyno pull. As usual, the video can not express how awesome this thing sounds in person but you get an idea of what the chop is like. Still no droning with the Borla ATAK even after the headers, so that is definitely a positive.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ziKkB...&feature=share

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-Rm7...&feature=share

So if anyone needs their corvettes, or vehicles in general, worked on and you're in the Austin area, give Brian a call...I don't think you'll be disappointed One final thanks goes out to Brian and all his people for their hard work and making this an awesome experience for me!!!