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• • > Chuck CoW Travels to CHINA for TUNING - THE VIDEO < • •
Chuck CoW Travels to CHINA for TUNING
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A bit over two years ago I was contacted by a race team based in Hong Kong, China. Initially, I was asked many questions about preparing a "MAIL ORDER TUNE" for a 2007 ZO6. I suspected this guy was an amateur driver looking to play with his car like so many of us do... Boy, was I wrong.
Back in the beginning of 2007 we had just moved into our new location and found ourselves in the office quite late most nights of the week getting settled in... On a few of those late nights, the phone would ring at near midnight (which was likely about noon in China) and the fella would ask all kinds of questions regarding the mail order tune and other questions about the Corvette he had purchased. This went on for a while and each time we spoke, I got another small piece of the puzzle.
Finally, after several conversations at midnight about his project, I decided to ask him straight out..."Now that we've spent all this time on the phone...What kind of project is this and when are you going to commit to it???
Over the next few days the conversation changed from him asking me questions to me asking HIM questions about what he was doing and what he needed.
I soon learned that he had purchased four 2007 base model Corvettes and four LS7 crate engines, and all of the necessary parts to build four incredible steel framed ZO6 race cars for FULL COMPETITION RACING.
Since the vehicles were gutted of any and all factory systems, we decided to make custom engine harnesses and utilize the stock electronic throttle bodies and engine control computers. I also sent over four VARARAM Snake Charmer intakes and miscellaneous parts to make everything work. Last but not least, four engine control computers were specially modified and tuned so that the LS7 engines could exist and operate correctly in the absence of all of the other electronic systems removed from the vehicles.
After sending everything over to them, we had another important conversation. I asked him...What EXACTLY are you doing with these cars and HOW FAST do you drive them??? He explained and then told me he was to be racing in excess of 250 Kilometers per hour.
A quick check with an online metric conversion site told me that he would be racing at speeds approaching 170MPH! OMG, how much air does the VARARAM move at 170MPH??? I had NO IDEA!
Michael, I told him....I think it's necessary for me to come there to tune them in person...otherwise, I think something's gonna BLOW UP! Only God knows what the AFR is gonna be like at 170MPH...Cause I sure don't...
After some hurried negotiations, some plane tickets were bought and we were off to meet Michael in Hong Kong to discuss the car and then on to mainland China for some dyno testing and on track tuning
The video you are about to watch starts off when we first arrived at the track where the Corvettes were being built and tested and ends with a fantastic in car camera view of some recent FULL COMPETITION RACING.
Ironically, and despite the fact that I was actually in China to tune the cars back in March 2007, Please realize that the "MACAU" racing footage at the end of the video was actually tuned through the mail.
In other words, the car is presently running a "CHUCK COW MAIL ORDER TUNE" where three different E38 C6 computers, each with a slightly different engine calibration, were UPS'd to China overnight delivery immediately before the car was shipped to the track.
For anyone interested, the MACAU GT CUP track is one of the FASTEST CITY tracks in the world. Below is a link to a video we were given that better shows the type of racing our Corvette had to endure. The track is VERY EXCITING and at times SCARY. In Asia, it is quite an honor have the opportunity to compete at this facility as usually only the Pros qualify to race here.
Nice work Chuck , better late than never. Did you get to drive the finished product?
No, but wish I did..... I got kinda queasy on the Zhuhai track durring testing and you'll notice my "tuner in training" had to take over for me with the laptop while I re-organized my guts!
No, but wish I did..... I got kinda queasy on the Zhuhai track durring testing and you'll notice my "tuner in training" had to take over for me with the laptop while I re-organized my guts!
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• • > Chuck CoW Travels to CHINA for TUNING - THE VIDEO < • •
I had NO IDEA!
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, better late than never. Did you get to drive the finished product?
