Drifting brings mixed emotions to many enthusiasts’ minds. Some call it the figure skating of motorsports, and some think it’s the most spectacular display of driving that they’ve ever witnessed. I have photographed professional drifting since its inception in the States, and being trackside has given me a tremendous respect for what it takes to push a 500+ horsepower car sideways, inches from the wall, while only inches from another car. Conrad Grunewald, who has also been around the game since its inception, was recently announced as one of eight winners of a 2010 Camaro from GM.

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A resident of Monterey, California, Grunewald works as an instructor for the Skip Barber Driving School, located at the prestigious Laguna Seca. Conrad has drifted everything from under-powered Supras to S2000’s, and his latest stint put him behind the wheel of the Tanaka Racing C5 Corvette. When GM announced that they were going to give away eight 2010 Camaros to those who submitted the best ideas for a SEMA show car, Conrad jumped on board. His idea was to be the only factory-backed Camaro drifter, and it paid off. The list of winners was leaked to the public at the end of June, and Grunewald’s name was among the eight recipients of the 2010 Camaro. He took delivery of his Camaro a mere three weeks ago, and it has been nothing but fifteen hour days ever since.

How the Camaro arrived.

A Word with Dr. Jamie Meyer of GM Performance Parts.

Grunewald’s proposal apparently gave him an advantage, as he is the only known winner who is building his Camaro to be used as a purpose-built race car. His win also proved false the longtime rumor that GM didn’t want the Camaro involved with drifting. “A lot of us at GM were looking for the right opportunity,” states Dr. Jamie Meyer of GMPP. “Conrad made a lot of sense. He is young, dynamic, established in his sport, and looked at the Camaro with a very open mind.”

The gutted engine bay with the seam welded chassis.

A brief word with Bob Kern – GM SEMA Relations Director

Bob Kern was one of the key men to impress when it came to winning GM’s competition. “It was a difficult process, because we had about thirty good proposals,” states Bob Kern, GM’s SEMA Relations Director. ”One of the key functions I wanted to get involved with this year was the drift program. Conrad had a wonderful record with the Corvette program last year, and we believe he will be a great spokesman for us. I have been involved with drifting since the beginning, and as a result I know what it takes to put a drift car together. Conrad has the skill and mechanical support to make that all happen.”

LS3 Pulled for an LSA

The LS3 is great, but with the Camaro being as hefty as it is, Grunewald needed more power. He wanted to achieve that with as many GM parts as he could, so he swapped out the LS3 for an LSA. Although the LS3 can produce 500+ horsepower without a lot of bolt-ons, the LSA has the potential to produce 800+ horsepower with only minor modifications.

The primary differences between the two are the LSA’s hypereutectic pistons, smaller blower, and intercooler design. The LSA is also a fraction of the cost of an LS9. When I asked Dr. Meyer if the LSA was being considered as a candidate for future Camaros, he remarked: “I cannot confirm or deny that, though we will be looking very closely at how Conrad does with the car and how Robin Lawrence does with his LSA-powered Camaro (drag racing) at the LSX Shootout.” Could Conrad’s car be a test for a factory produced LSA-powered Camaro?

The LSA fitted into the Camaro engine bay.

A Dedication to Finding Sponsors and Building a Car Before SEMA

Anyone who has ever built a SEMA car knows how mentally and physically exhausting it can be. Due dates cannot be altered. If the car isn’t done, it just doesn’t go. This is not an option for Grunewald, as the Camaro needs to be at least visually complete for SEMA in November. “It was a challenge getting new sponsors in the beginning,” states Grunewald. “It was like this big rolling ball of energy. Once more people got involved, more signed on. Once people knew that GM was involved, they felt more comfortable.”

Completely gutted Camaro.

When the Camaro was delivered to Grunewald at BR Racing in Los Gatos, California (the shop helping him build the car), it only had eight miles on it. Since then, Grunewald has been working 100+ hour weeks, both building the car and securing sponsors. “At this point, the car is completely stripped down,” Grunewald remarked. “The sound deadening was a bit tricky to get out, as it isn’t like the normal stuff. We seam welded the chassis, the roll cage is in it, and we dry fitted the LSA. The engine is pretty much a drop-in, we just had to do a little bit of cutting where the wipers are. By the end of this week, the car should be ready for paint on the inside.” Grunewald is pretty certain that the car will be nearly finished (aside from the exterior paint and body work) within the next couple weeks.

The rear roll cage installed.

Plans for the LSA Powerplant Support

The LSA is going to be powered by an AEM standalone. The EMS is a universal setup that has been calibrated for the type of sensors that come on the LSA. Aside from that, the newly built engine harness should be completed this week. For the blower, Hennessey is porting the stock blower and going to a smaller pulley for more boost. A Holley 90mm throttle body will help deliver that additional boost, and will also convert the car back to a cable throttle body (rather than drive-by-wire).

For exhaust, Stainless Works will supply headers with 2” primaries that merge to a 3” collector. The goal is to attain around 600 horsepower and 600 ft-lbs of torque, with more on tap if need be.

Because the LSA flywheel is an 8-bolt and the LS3 is a 6-bolt, Exedy will be making a custom 8-bolt flywheel based on an LS3 6-bolt, which will allow for an OEM fit with the Tremec TR6060 transmission. An Exedy triple-plate carbon clutch (similar to what Grunewald ran in the Tanaka Corvette) will provide the gripping power between the transmission and engine.

Tackling the Heavy Chassis

The Camaro comes from the factory with a decent 52/48 weight balance, though it weighs nearly 3900 pounds in stock form. Grunewald will be happy if he can get it to 3250 pounds or less, and if not, he will have to go on a diet. To help reduce the weight, Grunewald has cut away all of the unneeded metal, retaining only what he will need to keep him legal in Formula D. Replacing as many parts as possible with carbon fiber will also help get the weight out. Grunewald has been working with Seibon on a carbon fiber dash, front bumper, side skirts, hood, rear bumper, doors, and rear firewall. Seibon will also be creating three different hood designs for Grunewald to choose from.

The front bumper will be a functional piece, with a splitter and a wider opening to allow for more airflow to the radiator. Grunewald personally made a classic NASCAR style rear spoiler over five days, with some fiberglass and an aluminum wing as a base. It was then sent to Seibon for rear downforce analysis and to be recreated. Since Grunewald teamed up with Hankook tires for the 2010 season, the car will be painted in a traditional while, silver, black and orange color combination.

The team cut everything from the chassis that they don't need, in order to lighten the heavy Camaro.

A Look Through the Rest of the Key Components

Since the 2010 Camaro is such a popular car, finding companies that have production performance pieces for them is a breeze. For the suspension, Grunewald is going to work with Eibach on their new dampening and rebound adjustable coilovers. These will likely be Eibach’s Multi-Pro R2 coilovers, which have externally mounted remote reservoirs for the shocks, providing additional dampening power. Eibach will also be working with Grunewald on their ERS springs to determine the proper spring rate. There was no mention of Eibach sway bars, but I assume they will be in the mix as well.

The brakes will remain relatively stock with the OEM Brembos, though Brembo will swap the rotors out for two-piece units that boast an eight pound weight savings per corner. The rear E-brake will have another Camaro rear caliper affixed to the rear disc as an independent piece. Having a separate rear caliper for the E-brake will give a more consistent pedal feel, as having a hydraulic E-brake tied through your rear brakes can make the pedal dive on activation.

For the wheels, Forgeline will be crafting a custom set of 18×9.5 front and 19×11 rear ZX3-Rs. “A 19×11 rear is two inches wider than factory, and we have had some customers that have gone really aggressive with 19×12 rears,” states David Schardt, Forgeline’s Director of Marketing. “The ZX3-R that Conrad is using is a step lip for additional weight savings. The total weight on the wheels in the front will be around nineteen pounds and twenty in the rear.” The SEMA car will feature matte black centers with gloss black barrels. Additionally, Hankook is going to be making a custom tire size, designed specifically for Grunewald’s wheels.

The front steering angle has been the biggest challenge for Grunewald. “The front frame rails are really wide on the Camaro, and we are losing about three inches of overall tire diameter in the front,” states Grunewald. They are going to try to get some custom control arms made to help fix this problem.

Ready for Testing after SEMA

After the close of the SEMA show in November, Grunewald plans to take the Camaro to Thunder Hill for some shakedown runs. They will begin with some conservative grip runs, and once they sort the car out, they will go into full drift testing. The Camaro will definitely be completed and ready for the Formula Drift season opener in Long Beach. We can’t wait to see it in action.