Well I have spent the last 2 months going back and forth on getting some nice wheels for the T/A. Was looking at some RPM505's until a guy on the LS1Tech forum bought a set of Forgestar CF5 wheels and posted up a pic of his car and I just had to have them. I was not looking for the "murdered" out look but damn this car looks bad.

Here is a pic of his car with the wheels installed
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d6...ps8cc96da7.jpg

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d6...psdf207bce.jpg

His wheels are 18x11 and 18x10, I wanted to be able to rotate so I just ordered 18x9.5 all the way around.
Also have a set of Strano Sport lowering springs and Bilstein HD's to install all the way around. It will drop the car about 1.5"
Now I just have to wait 4-6 weeks while the wheels are being built, come on Spring! :)

Tires arrived last Friday, went with a Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 in size 285/35ZR18 on all 4 corners...

http://s3.amazonaws.com/s3.racingjun...660589-203.jpg

Wheels need to get her soon!!!

Wheels arrived the day I left for vacation so I just put them in the spare bedroom and walked away! These are Forgestar CF5's 18x9.5 in a 40mm offset.

http://s3.amazonaws.com/s3.racingjun...929654-085.jpg

http://s3.amazonaws.com/s3.racingjun...929673-557.jpg

http://s3.amazonaws.com/s3.racingjun...929680-605.jpg

I hope to get the tires mounted up this weekend. I also have a complete set of Bilstein SLP struts and shocks along with a set of Strano front springs and BMR rear springs all brand new and ready to install in the next couple of weeks! :cool:

Finally it has warmed up bit, I have only started my car once in 4 months so it was nice to pull the cover off and take her for a spin today. Tires were mounted to the Forgestars yesterday, these wheels are just frickin awesome! Total investment for wheels and tires was $2800, I have NEVER spent that much for a set of wheels in my life but these things are beautiful

http://s3.amazonaws.com/s3.racingjun...984935-291.jpg


http://s3.amazonaws.com/s3.racingjun...984943-640.jpg

Since this car has only got wet one time that I know of its kinda cool to see all the parts tags and markings still in place. I really need to put her up on a hoist and wipe down the undercarriage...or just drive the shit out of it!

http://s3.amazonaws.com/s3.racingjun...985009-439.jpg

http://s3.amazonaws.com/s3.racingjun...985058-779.jpg

http://s3.amazonaws.com/s3.racingjun...985069-367.jpg

http://s3.amazonaws.com/s3.racingjun...985091-694.jpg

Hopefully I get some free time in the next couple of weeks, put her up on jackstands, install the lowering springs and Bilstein SLP struts and shocks.

That car should be fun on curve country roads when you get all that installed.

I know, cant wait!

Finally some sunshine yesterday and I took a decent spin, total miles at the end of the day 1,957.

http://s3.amazonaws.com/s3.racingjun...994161-223.jpg

http://s3.amazonaws.com/s3.racingjun...994179-140.jpg

2k miles is a 'little' spin ?! YOU, Sir, are coo coo for your 'bird !

No DD :)
That was the total miles on the car at the end of the day...

Installed the rear BMR springs and Bilstein SLP shocks yesterday, the hardest part was pulling back the carpet the rest was a breeze!

http://s3.amazonaws.com/s3.racingjun...068309-115.jpg

http://s3.amazonaws.com/s3.racingjun...068328-867.jpg

I havent done the front springs yet so I left the rear spring bushing in place with the new springs. Once I get the front springs done I will decide whether or not to do the heater hose mod based on how she sits.

http://s3.amazonaws.com/s3.racingjun...068878-868.jpg

Sorry for the crappy pic. I drove it about 10 miles down a bumpy country road, no rubbing and no weird noises and the car already feels tighter

http://s3.amazonaws.com/s3.racingjun...069132-079.jpg

Hope to take her to work in the next week or two for the front Strano springs and Biilstein SLP strut install on a hoist then do an alignment.

Aaaay Maaaan , nice tail dragging chort, maaan .....

Started on the Strano front springs and Bilstein SLP struts last night, my biggest fear was that one torx bolt under the master cylinder but I took a T50 bit, pulled it out of its socket and used a rachet wrench to work it out. I did loosen the master cylinder mounting nuts and put some duct tape on the inner fender to keep from scratching the paint.
http://s3.amazonaws.com/s3.racingjun...118392-136.jpg
http://s3.amazonaws.com/s3.racingjun...118405-213.jpg
Its nice to work on a incredibly low mile car, all the nuts and bolts come out easy and everything is nice and clean
http://s3.amazonaws.com/s3.racingjun...118411-989.jpg
http://s3.amazonaws.com/s3.racingjun...118421-211.jpg

http://s3.amazonaws.com/s3.racingjun...118433-352.jpg
http://s3.amazonaws.com/s3.racingjun...118436-071.jpg
Both struts out in 45 minutes and I left her to be for the night
http://s3.amazonaws.com/s3.racingjun...118439-618.jpg
http://s3.amazonaws.com/s3.racingjun...118442-830.jpg

Got up this morning and headed to my buddies shop to mount the struts.
http://s3.amazonaws.com/s3.racingjun...118445-782.jpg
Painless install and no issues with anything!
http://s3.amazonaws.com/s3.racingjun...118448-383.jpg
http://s3.amazonaws.com/s3.racingjun...118455-625.jpg
Now she is frickin dirty sexy looking!! The ride height is perfect and what a world of difference in handling and corner carving.
http://s3.amazonaws.com/s3.racingjun...118474-584.jpg

http://s3.amazonaws.com/s3.racingjun...118477-103.jpg
http://s3.amazonaws.com/s3.racingjun...118504-025.jpg
http://s3.amazonaws.com/s3.racingjun...118515-803.jpg
Next step either BMR or Strano sway bar package front and rear...

HAAELL YA 'Bone !

Looks good Chris.

Craigslist score today
Local small town ad, guy was selling a watts link setup, strano springs, konis shocks, UMI subframe connectors and Strano hollow front and rear sway bars. None of the stuff had been on the car very long and he was taking it all back off just to sell the car.
I ended up buying the Strano sway bars and UMI subframe connectors for less than half of what they would have cost new.
cant wait to install them later this week!
http://s3.amazonaws.com/s3.racingjun...260807-715.jpg
http://s3.amazonaws.com/s3.racingjun...260796-575.jpg

Gotta woody, dude !

Nice upgrades!

Too much information DD!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I got the front Strano sway bar installed and it makes a hell of a difference! I am still waiting to get the bushing brackets for the rear Strano bar then take the car to work for the UMI subframe connector install
Stock front bar still in place and the GM tag still on it
http://s3.amazonaws.com/s3.racingjun...339770-418.jpg
http://s3.amazonaws.com/s3.racingjun...340065-024.jpg
Strano vs stock
http://s3.amazonaws.com/s3.racingjun...340068-311.jpg

Strano in place, hardest part was that left rubber splash shield and the metal plate that bolts to the sway bar bushing mount on the drivers side.
http://s3.amazonaws.com/s3.racingjun...340071-136.jpg
http://s3.amazonaws.com/s3.racingjun...340074-300.jpg
Slowly starting to handle the way these cars should have came from the factory :)

Do I see an auto cross or two in the near future ?! Maybe the Ultimate Street Car Challenge ?

I might...
There are a few clubs in the area and I have always wanted to try it. I know there is a nice road course up in Joliet that they have open track days on. I have never had a car that handles like this before. Most of my previous toys were mostly setup to just go like hell in a straight line.

Dropped Betty off at a local guys house Friday that does some detail work on the side. He uses a product called Opti Coat http://opti-coat.com/ its a ceramic clear coat that is permanent. It is like a protective shell for the paint about 2 microns thick when applied, that's 100 times thicker than any wax or sealant. It does not wear out over time and beads water like Teflon. Its pretty cool shit, about $400 for an application and that does not include if you need the paint buffed or corrected before its applied. I had it put on the wifes Sportage right after we bought it, 1 3/4 year later it still looks great and water just repels like it did when first applied after 2 winters of driving.
Heres how Betty looked after about 5 hours of paint correction and then the Opti Coat applied.
http://s3.amazonaws.com/s3.racingjun...467315-285.jpg
http://s3.amazonaws.com/s3.racingjun...467338-019.jpg
http://s3.amazonaws.com/s3.racingjun...467405-788.jpg
http://s3.amazonaws.com/s3.racingjun...467427-354.jpg

http://s3.amazonaws.com/s3.racingjun...467471-584.jpg
http://s3.amazonaws.com/s3.racingjun...467486-329.jpg
http://s3.amazonaws.com/s3.racingjun...467497-374.jpg
http://s3.amazonaws.com/s3.racingjun...467508-964.jpg

I'm not a big fan of black wheels on just any car, but they are really sharp on this one.

Nice job Harb.

Slap a number on it and let's go racin' !!

Thanks Rabbit, I wasnt a fan either but this car just look goprgeous in solid black! Next step is to gloss black powdercoat those exhaust tips.

DD I am looking at a few amatuer events going on in the area this summer. I will post up pics if I pull the trigger.

Chris, go for precision and FUN. THEN turn up the wick a bit ! It can be more challenging than one thinks ......

I finally got the chance to install the UMI subframe connectors I bought in April

http://s3.amazonaws.com/s3.racingjun...260796-575.jpg
Having a drive on hoist makes it easy, put the car on the hoist, put the rear jack on the frame rails and lift the car till the lower control arms are parallel to the ground.
http://s3.amazonaws.com/s3.racingjun...072263-722.jpg
http://s3.amazonaws.com/s3.racingjun...072274-903.jpg
take off the tunnel brace, put the provided threaded bars in the front frame rails, take out the drivers side rear lower control arm bolt, slide the subframe up in the back and reattach the lower control arm
http://s3.amazonaws.com/s3.racingjun...072274-903.jpg
Loosely attach the front subframe bolts, do the same procedure on the passenger side.

http://s3.amazonaws.com/s3.racingjun...072280-306.jpg
http://s3.amazonaws.com/s3.racingjun...072327-470.jpg
Lower the rear jack, snug the rear lower control arm bolts to 92 ft lbs and tighten all the rest
Car feels tighter, cant wait to see how she feels in a corner!

My oldest and best friend is a professional digital photo and videographer and has been wanting to shoot my Trans Am since I bought it last year. Well he had an open window this week and had me drop it off at lunch!
Cant wait to see the results and he plans on keeping the car for a week so he can setup and shoot every possible angle.
I snapped some shots when I dropped it off, notice the size the light box above the car...

http://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/ls1tech....c3ae6a7db3.jpg

Teaser shot...


http://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/ls1tech....a3ecac2f86.jpg

Nice! Going to be some great pictures.

OK
Got a few more via email
Need to go by his studio and get some higher resolution downloads
The hood shot is sweet, you can see the "Ram Air" sticker on the hood and the license plate insert in the shadows...
http://s3.amazonaws.com/s3.racingjun...402337-327.jpg
http://s3.amazonaws.com/s3.racingjun...402340-545.jpg

Here are some higher resolution ones...

[img width=800 height=503]http://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/ls1tech.com-vbulletin/2000x1258/80-hood_fc716bf90724954adc429cde11dc74bedf566a72.jpg[/img]

[img width=800 height=302]http://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/ls1tech.com-vbulletin/2000x758/80-profile_hero_fade_43d37052d1de50f6cad6c3249f0bd632 b0a7ba70.jpg[/img]

[img width=800 height=302]http://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/ls1tech.com-vbulletin/2000x758/80-profile_hero_fade_lights_037ad81bd978e570acad5dd5f f62e1b05399a69b.jpg[/img]


Changed her oil on Sunday, she just hit 3,510 ,miles so I put about 1,800 miles on her this year.

[img width=800 height=449]http://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/ls1tech.com-vbulletin/2000x1124/80-20141207_114323_73de4766c7cc283a6e6e393b2b14190b19 0dbb43.jpg[/img]
I swapped the wheels back on in preparation for winter storage. My stock wheels are mint and the original Goodyear F1's only have about 1,700 miles on them. I hadn't seen the car with the stock wheels on and lowered, looks pretty good!

[img width=800 height=449]http://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/ls1tech.com-vbulletin/2000x1124/80-20141207_140128_93b56b74cae63bf0eb76a6bf3822a60b4a 427fc4.jpg[/img]

[img width=800 height=449]http://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/ls1tech.com-vbulletin/2000x1124/80-20141207_140151_6fe2f1a99a4a41508fcc4f848fcdaf5fc9 b8bd82.jpg[/img]

[img width=800 height=449]http://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/ls1tech.com-vbulletin/2000x1124/80-20141207_160338_71b0cb57cc283c4420582ac1d49bb52099 15c6fd.jpg[/img]

[img width=800 height=449]http://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/ls1tech.com-vbulletin/2000x1124/80-20141207_160412_8f5abe83544cd240a6584c87ad4dd0833d 0e054d.jpg[/img]

Here are some higher resolution ones...

http://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/ls1tech....bedf566a72.jpg

http://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/ls1tech....32b0a7ba70.jpg

http://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/ls1tech....b05399a69b.jpg