Video: AMS Performance and Chris Wargacki Build 8-Second LS3 ‘Vette

vette2There’s a lot of stuff happening in this video, most importantly a solid look at Chris Wargacki’s awesome 2008 LS3-powered, Paxton NOVI-supercharged street-driven Corvette. Whew… that was a mouthful. 

The real street car still has the factory leather seats, air conditioning, and everything else the factory installed – there is no weight reduction at all. AMS Performance put together a 416 cubic inch LS3 engine for the car that pumps out an incredible 930 rear-wheel horsepower on race gas using methanol injection.

11.25:1 compression comes as a result of AI LS3 cylinder heads atop an HKE short-block, stock (!) throttle body, and custom camshaft designed by Pat G.

Kooks 1 7/8-inch headers and catless X-pipe are underneath the car, and if you can believe it, the stock catback exhaust is still in place. At the track, Wargacki’s machine gets the exhaust out more quickly thanks to the use of a set of DMH‘s electric cutouts. 

Engine management is handled by a reprogrammed stock ECU, while the Stage 1 fuel system comes from East Coast Supercharging and runs through stock fuel rails and FIC 1000 fuel injectors.

vette1RPM Transmissions supplied one of their Level VII 4L65 transmissions to go with the FTI triple-disc lockup torque converter, 3.42 gears, and Driveshaft Shop driveshaft. Mickey Thompson ET Street Radial Pro tires ride on Weld Racing RT/S wheels (17x4F, 15x10R), and QA1 adjustable shocks are at all four corners.

If you can believe it, they report that the car is actually driven to and from the dragstrip every single time Wargacki goes to make passes – he doesn’t even own a trailer. 

Don’t miss the 8.92 pass at over 151 MPH, achieved after the 1.22 short time pulls the wheels solidly off the ground.

This is one hell of a ride – enjoy the video! And don’t miss the car in the other lane doing the wheelstand dance – he’s lucky to save it. More pics and info on the car can be found here. Thanks to AMS for the video!

About the author

Jason Reiss

Jason draws on over 15 years of experience in the automotive publishing industry, and collaborates with many of the industry's movers and shakers to create compelling technical articles and high-quality race coverage.
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