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Setup:
2000 Camaro SS M6, Huron Speed V3 AC kit, VS Racing Next Gen 7875 (1.25 AR), 4” bumper exit downpipe, 2x Derale 16925 fans. ABS & TCS remain on the car.If you’re considering this kit, I would recommend reviewing Huron Speed’s directions first. My comments are intended to provide detail on certain areas of the install specific to my application (yours may differ). Overall the install was more involved than I was expecting but I suspect a smaller turbo could have dramatically reduced the amount of fab work I needed to do to make it all work. The kit is great quality and Jon @ Huron Speed was a great resource for me to have during the install.
Hot Side Install:
I had the k member sitting in the garage and installed the kit on the motor out of the car. Buttoning it up was straightforward – just nuts and bolts. I used the hardware provided from Huron Speed and put anti-seize on the manifold bolts.
If you have your a/c compressor on the motor, it’s at this time you’ll want to consider whether or not you’re willing to pull the hot side off of the car if you ever need to change the compressor. I installed mine after I dropped the car back on the assembled hot side and was only able to get three of the 4 bolts in. It’s a tight fit! I would rather have 3 bolts and accessibility just in case the need arises. I don’t anticipate any issues with 3 of the 4 bolts.
Huron Speed provided exhaust wrap and stainless steel zip ties with the kit but it wasn’t near enough for me to wrap the entire hot side. I had an extra roll of wrap laying around and still didn’t have enough wrap to finish the hot side and the downpipe. I have 3 different colors of wrap on the hot side! If you don’t want this slowing you down you may want to order extra when you order the kit. I’d highly recommend a $10 locking tie tool as well to make the job easier.
You will need 7,000,000 tie wraps to route and secure the harness, power steering lines, oil feed, oil drain, etc. I honestly have no idea how many I used but you will need plenty on hand to keep things away from the hot side. Aside from what you use, you’ll probably cut plenty of them before you’re satisfied with how things are routed. Leave yourself some wiggle room towards the back of the intake manifold to move the harness around when you drop the car back down on the k member.
You will need to delete your factory power steering cooler if you have one. I was able to cut the return line and clamp it to the power steering reservoir. If you plan on using stock lines like I did, I recommend installing the hot side prior to measuring and cutting the line as it’ll be running right in front of the alternator VERY close to the alternator pulley. You will likely need to re-clock the PS lines at the power steering rack and bend them a bit to get them where they need to be.
Level out the motor/trans as much as you can and clock the turbo to where the feed is on the top, drain is on the bottom, and estimate orientation of the compressor side. I had to break it loose after I dropped the car back on the k member as I needed a bit more space between the compressor coupler and the lower radiator support. Compressor orientation & oil feed drain (90* AN fitting) will be limiting factors of one another so consider one when moving the other around.
Dropping the car down on the k member w/ hot side installed:
Before you get started:
You will need to bend the brake lines as close to the frame rail as you can. I did this after I dropped the car back on the k member but would recommend bending them as close to the rail as possible prior to dropping the car back on the k member. Bending them with the motor in the car is a pain in the a$$… you have no space and your hands will be all over the fiberglass exhaust wrap in doing so. Sometimes I like doing things the hard way.
If you plan on using the factory radiator and ac condenser I recommend removing both prior. If you use the same turbo I did you will need to move the radiator and a/c condenser forward or it will make contact. Also when you bolt up the k member the weight of your transmission will likely have your turbo higher than it otherwise would be until the transmission crossmember is bolted up.
Getting started:
If you have the VS Racing Next Gen 7875 and plan on using the stock radiator and AC condenser you will need to move them both forward ~2 inches. To move things forward and fit the Derale 16925's under the factory upper radiator support I did have to do a bit of cutting but was able to make it all work with the stock support. I did have to cut the radiator support out, beat and weld the bottom side of the factory radiator support, welded some brackets to the bottom side to maintain some rigidity, and welded tabs on the factory support for reinstallation. As for the lower radiator support, I cut a hole on the left side and welded some washers on the right side and was able to use the factory rubber grommets from the factory radiator on the lower radiator support. I had to grind some of the front lip off of the front of the lower radiator support to move the bottom of the a/c condenser as far as I wanted it. I bent the lower mounting tab on the lower support down and forward 90* and welded an “L” bracket to move the mounting location forward of the bracket that bolts to the upper and lower support for the hood latch assembly. I needed to do this to clear the fans. I was able to use the stock mounting location for the hood latch mounting bracket and assembly on the upper radiator support.
I originally intended to trim the plastic piece that secures the top side of the radiator but I could not move it forward enough without issues for my build so I ended up welding some brackets up from some spare metal I had laying around. I made the brackets to accept the rubber inserts that were in the factory support to grab onto the radiator from the top side. I was again able to use the OEM rivet nuts on the factory radiator support as a mounting point for the brackets.
I was also able to keep all stock AC lines but did need to bend them quite a bit.
escargot visual of power steering cooler delete & routing of stock lines in front of alternator tri color heat wrap mocked up cold side to guestimate clocking of compressor how i routed oil feed and drain lines. you can also see another shot of the power steering lines in front of alternator. I believe I zip tied them in the end. had extra line on the oil drain. leveled it out and left it since I don't have a down pipe. cut upper radiator support, mounted fans as low as possible on ac condenser. cut and beat in the back of the upper radiator support. welded some 90* metal brackets on the back of it to retain strength. welded tabs on upper radiator support to retain ability to install/remove as necessary mock up of radiator placement. not yet secured on top side. mock up of radiator and ac condenser on right side. drilled holes for clips to reattach radiator support bent tab on lower radiator support forward 90* and welded a 90* piece of metal on it for mounting of hood latch bracket. stacked and welded washers and a cup to accept OEM rubber grommet on bottom right side of radiator. drilled/grinded hole to accept OEM rubber grommet on bottom left side of radiator. picture of hacked lower support quick spray on the upper radiator support upper radiator support and bracketry installed
Prior to install you should consider wiring your Derale fans at this time. You’ll need to tap a wire in this area and have more space now than you will after you have the intake charge pipe installed. You’ll also find it easier to route wiring for the fans without the intercooler, front bumper, etc. in your way.
You will need to move the fuse box on the driver’s side nearest the front headlight to route the intake intercooler pipe. I removed and trimmed the OEM bracket that it was mounted to, pushed the fuse box underneath it, and secured it with zip ties.
Use a spray bottle of soap and water to wet the intercooler piping during the install so you can maneuver orientation.
I used zip ties (of course) to secure the lower bumper to the Huron Speed intercooler bracketry.
I had cut the lower shields under the bumper to fit around the areas of the cold side that were in the way.
4” bumper exit downpipe install:
There are copper gaskets that are provided for the v bands on the hot side, but there were not any provided for the 4” downpipe. Jon @ HS confirmed they are not necessary for DP.
I questioned the orientation of the Wideband bung as it is near 6 o’clock but Jon mentioned it is at enough of an angle to where condensation won’t be an issue.
The downpipe is routed where the OEM puke tank is which is below the battery tray. I went to town on the reservoir with a cutting wheel, reinstalled the tray, purchased a $32 puke tank and some 3/8 heater hose and installed it in the spare tire location.
Had to cut the pinched lip on the bottom side of the frame rail for downpipe to clear. I would imagine this likely had to be done because the larger exhaust housing on the VS Racing Next Gen 7875 (1.25 AR, 4” exit) has the exhaust exit slightly larger (thus higher) than a 3” exit and the housing itself is probably taller than that of a smaller, more typical housing for this setup.
use this wire as the trigger for Derale fan relays cut OEM fuse box bracket and tucked fuse box underneath on the other side. secured with zip ties. another view of fuse box girth puke tank reroute to the back above axle and in better view
Your gonna have cooling issues with the way the intercooler pushes the front bumper cover down. I'm in the process of redoing mine. I built a new bracket for the intercooler and moved up 1.75". Now air will actually hit the air dam deflector like it's suppose to. I also had to move the BOV about 2-3 inches closer to the intercooler. What a shitty place for it, it hits and rubs on the bumper cover/turn signal area the way Huron Speed has it.
There are a few other things, you need to look at my build thread.
Over all the kit is about 90% correct, if they would have put that extra 10% engineering effort into it, it would be the best kit since slice bread.... lol
I actually have your build thread bookmarked. Your car is cleaner than mine will ever be! I have put a couple hundred miles on the setup since install and I haven't had cooling issues yet but it is cooler outside now than it will be in the summer months in Louisiana. I also have yet to use the a/c. In what conditions are you having cooling issues? What temps are you seeing?
Looking forward to seeing the intercooler relocation pics.
My car never officially over heated but once it gets up to 210 degrees, it never really comes down much in temp while driving say 45+ for a few miles. There is just not enough air being forced through the radiator due to the bottom of the bumper cover being pushed down by the intercooler and bracket. Air really doesn't hit the air deflector at all.
Even on 55-60 degree days it had trouble coming down in temp after a few WOT runs. A trick I used was to have the heater on, full heat on high and you could watch the temps drop in HP Tuners scanner. It's all about getting the heat out of the system, that trick works but not ideal on a hot summer day.
Before I went turbo, my car ran on the cool side since I have a 160 stat and a electric water pump. Most times it stayed around 175-185, NEVER went above 200, even after many WOT runs. After beating on the car a few times, you can watch the temps come down rather quickly in HP Tuner scanner while going down the road.
Never got the AC working yet since I didn't like how hot it was running. If it couldn't cool down without the AC, having the AC on will only make it worse.
I'll be making some custom ducting to guide the air to the radiator like OEM does.
Originally Posted by beau.
I actually have your build thread bookmarked. Your car is cleaner than mine will ever be! I have put a couple hundred miles on the setup since install and I haven't had cooling issues yet but it is cooler outside now than it will be in the summer months in Louisiana. I also have yet to use the a/c. In what conditions are you having cooling issues? What temps are you seeing?
Looking forward to seeing the intercooler relocation pics.
Interesting. I'm going to have to keep a closer eye on this. I also have an iron block working against me with heat soak.
I just went back and reviewed about 10 or so logs and referenced max coolant temp. Out of the logs I checked the highest numbers I saw was on a startup not long after a prior cruise. ECT was @ 217* on startup, IAT @ 118*. At 21 seconds after startup ECT runs down to 208* and IAT to 102*. In that same log after some cruising ECT moves to ~190* for the remainder of the run, IAT leveled off at ~70*. I was pleased to see temps move down to the 190's and don't think it alarming but would be willing to hear other's opinions. Being that it's cool outside and considering the issues you're having I plan on keeping a closer eye on this moving forward, particularly when things heat up down here.
I've already considered going true catfish and cutting an oval in the front bumper for more airflow. Would opening up the front bumper cover move enough air through the intercooler, condenser, and radiator to have a significant positive effect on ECT & IAT's?
The factory radiator isn't up to the task for the Huron Speed kit, I installed a BeCool dual 1" core radiator in mine and never had an issue again even with the AC running.
The factory radiator isn't up to the task for the Huron Speed kit, I installed a BeCool dual 1" core radiator in mine and never had an issue again even with the AC running.
Do you still have the fans on the condenser or do you have fans directly on the radiator after your BeCool radiator install? Got a pic you could share on how it fit?
Do you still have the fans on the condenser or do you have fans directly on the radiator after your BeCool radiator install? Got a pic you could share on how it fit?
I did, I moved the radiator and condenser forward exactly as you have done to fit a larger T7875 that my V1 kit was never meant to accommodate.
The condenser was mounted right on the radiator like stock, used twin derale fans and wired them up with a three relay system so both fans ran in low and high speeds which also made a big difference.
If you can find a used BeCool unit or an eBay one I'd go that route because I had to cut the locating pin off the bottom which would have made me nervous had I bought it new.
You're on the right track though bud, I'd also suggest using some water wetter in your cooling system and if you haven't ditched that P/S cooler yet, do it ASAP.
Fantastic honest write up of what it actually takes to make a kit fit in the car without melting anything Kudos. It's nice to hear real world experiences instead of others that just say a kit bolted in and that was it.
Fantastic honest write up of what it actually takes to make a kit fit in the car without melting anything Kudos. It's not to hear real world experiences instead of others that just say a kit bolted in and that was it.
I'm actually very surprised he had to mod the core support the way he did to use the VS 7875, I would have assumed the kit was built to accommodate it or turbos like it purely from a popularity stand point.
I'm actually very surprised he had to mod the core support the way he did to use the VS 7875, I would have assumed the kit was built to accommodate it or turbos like it purely from a popularity stand point.
Cutting the grill area would drastically help with airflow but I don't want to cut my bumper cover to allow more air in, car is too nice. Just have to engineer around it.
I did pick up a NEW GM LT1 radiator the other day, it's about .30" thicker than my stock OEM LS1 radiator. Might not seem like much but that's about 30% thicker. So many others on here claim it cools so much better. I'll be a little closer to the compressor housing but still won't touch. Now getting the turbo blanket back on, that's gonna be a bitch...
I figure with moving the intercooler up 1.75", adding some basic ducting/air-guides and the LT1 radiator, it can't be worse, only more efficient.
I did, I moved the radiator and condenser forward exactly as you have done to fit a larger T7875 that my V1 kit was never meant to accommodate.
The condenser was mounted right on the radiator like stock, used twin derale fans and wired them up with a three relay system so both fans ran in low and high speeds which also made a big difference.
If you can find a used BeCool unit or an eBay one I'd go that route because I had to cut the locating pin off the bottom which would have made me nervous had I bought it new.
You're on the right track though bud, I'd also suggest using some water wetter in your cooling system and if you haven't ditched that P/S cooler yet, do it ASAP.
Cool, thanks! P/S cooler has indeed been deleted.
Originally Posted by The ******
I'm actually very surprised he had to mod the core support the way he did to use the VS 7875, I would have assumed the kit was built to accommodate it or turbos like it purely from a popularity stand point.
I too was surprised. All of my clearance issues were due to the exhaust housing on this 1.25 AR unit. I suspect things would have gone smoother with a turbo that had a smaller exhaust housing. I'd be curious to know dimensions on the VS next gen 7875 1.25 AR vs some of the other turbines offered with this kit that have smaller exhaust housings.
Originally Posted by ddnspider
Fantastic honest write up of what it actually takes to make a kit fit in the car without melting anything Kudos. It's not to hear real world experiences instead of others that just say a kit bolted in and that was it.
Thanks. For a minute I wanted to melt it lol.
Originally Posted by Billiumss
Cutting the grill area would drastically help with airflow but I don't want to cut my bumper cover to allow more air in, car is too nice. Just have to engineer around it.
I did pick up a NEW GM LT1 radiator the other day, it's about .30" thicker than my stock OEM LS1 radiator. Might not seem like much but that's about 30% thicker. So many others on here claim it cools so much better. I'll be a little closer to the compressor housing but still won't touch. Now getting the turbo blanket back on, that's gonna be a bitch...
I figure with moving the intercooler up 1.75", adding some basic ducting/air-guides and the LT1 radiator, it can't be worse, only more efficient.
I agree and hope it works out for you! I'm still leaning against my better judgement to make another cut on my bumper cover. I already put a hole in it for the DP so I wouldn't have to mess with exhaust in my driveway again lol.
Keep going man, once you drive it, it will all be worth it.
I wasn't too sure when I was building mine but when I took that first drive set on a paltry 5-6lbs. and felt that boost come in, that was it, I was hooked.
Keep going man, once you drive it, it will all be worth it.
I wasn't too sure when I was building mine but when I took that first drive set on a paltry 5-6lbs. and felt that boost come in, that was it, I was hooked.
I've actually been driving it since 11.2020 - I just posted this after the build to help out others before I forgot some of the details and before the pictures I took get buried under new ones. I started on gate only 9.5 pounds and it lasted about 2 weeks before I decided to get an EBC and turn up the boost. My brand new NT05R's wont hook up @ WOT on 14 pounds of boost in 2nd gear - this thing is a blast. I'm already looking into meth kits for more boost and trailers for when it breaks the ?160k? mile SBE, 130k mile T56, stock 10 bolt, and stock driveshaft lol. Yes, I know it will break which played a role in the decision to route the DP out of the front bumper. I'm done fighting exhaust in the driveway
Tuning WOT is fun and exciting. tuning idle is boring and frustrating. I've created a histogram to measure boost on the spark advance table axes since you can't adjust relative to map in HP Tuners which should really help spark tuning into boost. It was a nice reference for me to increase timing up 5-6* in some of the areas between no boost and full boost in the main spark table which I'm thinking and hoping will help spool it up a bit quicker (currently full spool ~3800 RPM). I've made the edits but have yet to go for a test drive for more logs. I planned on doing a separate post here for others to reference but I'll go ahead and share now since I'm sharing here:
I used a user-define math parameter to define boost within the software. We define boost by subtracting Barometric Pressure from your upgraded MAP sensor (2, 2.5, 3bar) reading. Then I plotted the newly user-defined math for boost on the spark table x and y axes. I referenced the high boost values on the histogram to adjust my spark table in my tune line by line. math parameter for boost histogram setup for logging boost logging boost! significant updates to spark table coming into boost compared to prior tune!
-Beau
I've actually been driving it since 11.2020 - I just posted this after the build to help out others before I forgot some of the details and before the pictures I took get buried under new ones. I started on gate only 9.5 pounds and it lasted about 2 weeks before I decided to get an EBC and turn up the boost. My brand new NT05R's wont hook up @ WOT on 14 pounds of boost in 2nd gear - this thing is a blast. I'm already looking into meth kits for more boost and trailers for when it breaks the ?160k? mile SBE, 130k mile T56, stock 10 bolt, and stock driveshaft lol. Yes, I know it will break which played a role in the decision to route the DP out of the front bumper. I'm done fighting exhaust in the driveway
Tuning WOT is fun and exciting. tuning idle is boring and frustrating. I've created a histogram to measure boost on the spark advance table axes since you can't adjust relative to map in HP Tuners which should really help spark tuning into boost. It was a nice reference for me to increase timing up 5-6* in some of the areas between no boost and full boost in the main spark table which I'm thinking and hoping will help spool it up a bit quicker (currently full spool ~3800 RPM). I've made the edits but have yet to go for a test drive for more logs. I planned on doing a separate post here for others to reference but I'll go ahead and share now since I'm sharing here:
I used a user-define math parameter to define boost within the software. We define boost by subtracting Barometric Pressure from your upgraded MAP sensor (2, 2.5, 3bar) reading. Then I plotted the newly user-defined math for boost on the spark table x and y axes. I referenced the high boost values on the histogram to adjust my spark table in my tune line by line.
math parameter for boost
histogram setup for logging boost
logging boost!
significant updates to spark table coming into boost compared to prior tune!
-Beau
I just picked up HP Tuners myself and am very excited about getting in and playing with the tune.
The car I just picked up is tuned for WOT but the cold start and low speed tunes needs work, it doesn't like to stay running when cold started and wants to die on long decel/coasting coming to a stop.
Where do you find good info on using HP Tuners, is it on this forum?
I just picked up HP Tuners myself and am very excited about getting in and playing with the tune.
The car I just picked up is tuned for WOT but the cold start and low speed tunes needs work, it doesn't like to stay running when cold started and wants to die on long decel/coasting coming to a stop.
Where do you find good info on using HP Tuners, is it on this forum?
I don't have one particular source. I google and youtube a good bit. Your best bet if you're new to it is to develop a basic understanding of the program, populate your channels for logging, make some logs, and digest before changing anything.
HP Tuners forum has a good how to for gen 3's that would be worthwhile for you to check out. I really like ChopperDoc's youtube videos (he's a forum member @ tech). They're fantastic.
Save your base tune as one file and save a copy of your base tune you plan on modifying. I date and label my tunes, i.e. 1.11.21 VE update, 1.11.21 timing update. You can always compare one tune you have to another to see what's different.
Certain areas of the program won't be as relevant as others depending on your tune. Because of this you'll want to figure out if your car has a dynamic tune that uses a MAF sensor or is tuned via SD so that you're not learning information that doesn't apply to your setup. In doing so you'll prevent yourself from going town a rabbit hole that turned out to be a complete waste of your time (for your application).
Within the scanner I'd also put emphasis on making sure you have all channels you want to log populated early on correctly and that they're all feeding to your scanner if you want your logs to be useful. As long as you are logging the channels and saving logs you can always go back and review that data - even if it's on a new chart from an old log. I save and date my logs just as I do with my tunes with comments that will make it easy to find (i.e. 1.11.21 idle, 1.11.21 cruise, 1.11.21 *enter timeslip info here*).
For tuning boosted cars you'll need to know what type of MAP sensor your car has and make sure that anything related to boost is tied to the CORRECT MAP sensor. If you don't have a wideband I recommend you buy/install one.
This is the first car I've essentially done the tuning for and as aforementioned it's only been on the road since 11.2020. With that being said I'm not the guy that knows it all but will share what I have and help where I can.
12-29-2020, 10:06 PM
Huron Speed F body V3 AC Install 
Kudos. It's nice to hear real world experiences instead of others that just say a kit bolted in and that was it. 
