I'm a long time autocrosser (20y), new Kappa (Sky Redline) owner and I thought I'd make a build thread to document some of the things I'm doing and what I run into. I know it's 'Solstice Forum' but there are a couple thousand more members here than SkyRoadster, and maybe a few more autocross/track oriented folks with tips or just general interest.
So the car: 2008 Sky Redline, salvage title. 69k miles. Bought from another forum member actually. Hit mildly in rear, no evidence, hit harder in front - hood replaced, still a little not-perfectly-aligned (seems like the frame is a little bent still). But as it's a race car, that's not too big of a deal for me, though I'm going to try to tidy up the front a bit. The best part is the GMPP tune on it, wooot love the power! (BTW if you don't have the GMPP tune on your turbo, you really need to spend the money and get it!)
The plan: roll bar, competition seats, coilovers/lower it (gosh it looks like a 4x4 truck with the big wheel gaps), wider wheels/tires (probably 275s I'm thinking), chassis stiffeners, bigger radiator, relocate PS reservoir, brembo brakes from the Cobalt, I have some interesting bigger vented discs for the rear from the previous seller, maybe a bigger intercooler, replace timing chains and water pump etc all at once, oil cooler, maybe PS cooler, smaller battery, EU brake reservoir, gauges for coolant, oil pressure, oil temp, voltage; maybe remove the radio/speakers to save weight. Maybe a big gaudy rear wing, and maybe a front lip/splitter. And wrap it in a nifty color.
More power isn't on the table, at least not this year, and what I would want actually is more power lower in the revs if possible, ie at autocross powering out of a slow corner is needed a lot more than top end power. Not sure if it's going to be CAM-S class or ASP.
Here's the car as I got it December 2020:
So the car: 2008 Sky Redline, salvage title. 69k miles. Bought from another forum member actually. Hit mildly in rear, no evidence, hit harder in front - hood replaced, still a little not-perfectly-aligned (seems like the frame is a little bent still). But as it's a race car, that's not too big of a deal for me, though I'm going to try to tidy up the front a bit. The best part is the GMPP tune on it, wooot love the power! (BTW if you don't have the GMPP tune on your turbo, you really need to spend the money and get it!)
The plan: roll bar, competition seats, coilovers/lower it (gosh it looks like a 4x4 truck with the big wheel gaps), wider wheels/tires (probably 275s I'm thinking), chassis stiffeners, bigger radiator, relocate PS reservoir, brembo brakes from the Cobalt, I have some interesting bigger vented discs for the rear from the previous seller, maybe a bigger intercooler, replace timing chains and water pump etc all at once, oil cooler, maybe PS cooler, smaller battery, EU brake reservoir, gauges for coolant, oil pressure, oil temp, voltage; maybe remove the radio/speakers to save weight. Maybe a big gaudy rear wing, and maybe a front lip/splitter. And wrap it in a nifty color.
More power isn't on the table, at least not this year, and what I would want actually is more power lower in the revs if possible, ie at autocross powering out of a slow corner is needed a lot more than top end power. Not sure if it's going to be CAM-S class or ASP.
Here's the car as I got it December 2020: