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Old 07-22-2008, 08:14 AM   #1 (permalink)
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Central Fla. Tuners?

Any recommendations on knowledgeable tuners in the Tampa/Central Fla. area? Also, looking for reputable shop to lower/align the Z. Thanks in advance.
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Old 07-22-2008, 09:49 AM   #2 (permalink)
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Re: Central Fla. Tuners?

dickie should know.. or FRC tom
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Old 07-22-2008, 11:55 AM   #3 (permalink)
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Re: Central Fla. Tuners?

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Originally Posted by Tampap999 View Post
Any recommendations on knowledgeable tuners in the Tampa/Central Fla. area? Also, looking for reputable shop to lower/align the Z. Thanks in advance.
I wouldn't hesisitate to contact FRCTom via PM here through the site. He is in the Tampa area and is one of the best tuners anywhere. His laptop is down right now, but should be back online with a new one by the weekend.
If you need him immediately PM me and I'll get you his phone #
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Old 07-23-2008, 05:56 AM   #4 (permalink)
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Re: Central Fla. Tuners?

Thanks for the info guys. Not a pressing issue as I still need to order the KB w/ Beehive. Will contact FRCTom next week then. Thanks again.
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Old 07-24-2008, 02:17 PM   #5 (permalink)
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Re: Central Fla. Tuners?

Anyone have feedback on Mike Norris Motorsports (by Orlando)? Thanks
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Old 07-24-2008, 04:47 PM   #6 (permalink)
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Mike is top notch, indeed!

Mike Norris has a excellent reputation. He built a C5R 427 for a Navy friend of mine a couple of years back. Did an excellent job. He has his own shop with a DynoJet Dyno and has been tuning C5's and C6's for years.

He was a highly regarded GM Certified Corvette tech at a Chevrolet Dealership for many years before going on his own. I met him personally a month ago to discuss some upgrades for my C6/ Z06 that I road race etc.

He is very well versed in power-adders such as Superchargers, turbo's and Nitrous as well as naturally aspirated tuning and building. His shop is very well organised, very clean and well equipped with all the latest technology.

You won't be sorry using Mike.

BOL, Justin~



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Anyone have feedback on Mike Norris Motorsports (by Orlando)? Thanks
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Old 07-24-2008, 08:51 PM   #7 (permalink)
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Re: Central Fla. Tuners?

The Tampa area has two of the best in the state, FRC Tom is in Clearwater, and Greg at Antivenom is in Seffner. Antivenom has a an inground dynojet. Both Greg and FRC Tom tune cars out of Greg's shop. Cannot go wrong with either one of them.

Greg built Orange Krush for me, a 454 LSX block that is putting down 620 HP and high 500's in torque with a very mild cam.

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Old 07-25-2008, 06:32 AM   #8 (permalink)
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Re: Central Fla. Tuners?

Thanks again for the input....decisions....decisions....I hear they are both very good (FRCTom and Mike Norris).
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Old 07-25-2008, 04:52 PM   #9 (permalink)
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Re: Central Fla. Tuners?

Wow, I'd would really enjoy checking out a dyno sheet with all the data. Congtrats, I don't know anybody "putting down" those numbers using pump gas and a mild cam in etc.

What are the cam specs and what type of heads are you using as well as the compression ratio? Reliablity, fuel thirst, etc?

TIA, Justin



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The Tampa area has two of the best in the state, FRC Tom is in Clearwater, and Greg at Antivenom is in Seffner. Antivenom has a an inground dynojet. Both Greg and FRC Tom tune cars out of Greg's shop. Cannot go wrong with either one of them.

Greg built Orange Krush for me, a 454 LSX block that is putting down 620 HP and high 500's in torque with a very mild cam.

Mark
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Old 07-25-2008, 06:59 PM   #10 (permalink)
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Re: Central Fla. Tuners?

Props for Mike Norris! I would trust any car to Mike. He knows his stuff and has integrity that is beyond reproach!
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Old 07-25-2008, 08:19 PM   #11 (permalink)
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Re: Central Fla. Tuners?

Those are numbers at the crank, The dyno sheet was 525 RWHP, and 497 (I think) RWTQ. Driveability was my number one concern, drove the car from Tampa to Phoenix in February, and I am thinking of driving it to Boston in the fall.

I will be driving it to BG for the Fest in about 6 weeks.

Mark
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Old 07-25-2008, 11:05 PM   #12 (permalink)
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Re: Central Fla. Tuners?

I seen Orange Crush at the Winterfest in Phoenix, and is definitely a stand out looker coupled with hidden aggressivness on tap.

I would have to say that, LG Motorsports is a meticulous, stand-up shop. Although located a bit further than your area, the drive from Tampa area was well worth my dilemma at the time. The team at LG Motorsports did my car right and when I left out, I had a 483/484 rwhp/rwtq FRC on 91 Octane through a Forged 402 block. This was still running a stock intake and throttle body, with a medium sized cam.

I had zero issues for just over two years. Only when I beat on my car at the track and on the Autobahn of Germany did I start to see any issues. And all that was attributed to a failed lifter, which was most likely caused by excessively hot oil from racing. (Who knows). But I had all the choices in the world on who I was to ship my car to for repairs when the lifter took out my engine. I shipped it back to LG Motorsports. They redid my car in under 1 week and since then, I had a two failed rockers and a bad head gasket. HOWEVER, LG and his team had me take my car to a tuner locally and had THEM rework the issues and foot the bill so I was back up in a matter of 3 days at no cost to myself. Yes, it was an inconvienence, but the "We make it right" attitude was top knotch. And hey, sometimes, things happen. It was a bad passenger side head gasket that needed to get swapped out and at the time, my stock rockers had 90K+ miles on them, so it was time for a new set regardless. So they swappe dout BOTH head gaskets and installed some new rockers I purchased separately. Not sure what I am putting down now, but LG and his team upgraded my cam to the G6X3 and went with a 92mm Intake and 90mm Throttle Body.

At least I know that LG Motorsports stand behind their work! Unlike my personal experience and nightmare with Antivenom in Seffner, Florida. I am still waiting for my $4000 refund for the damage and total loss of my engine that needed to be replaced.....

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Last edited by GR8 WHITE : 07-25-2008 at 11:10 PM.
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Old 07-26-2008, 01:19 PM   #13 (permalink)
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Re: Central Fla. Tuners?

LG has a great reputation and from your experience I wouldn't hesitate using them.

I recently purchased LG's coil-overs after comparing them to the PFDAT's.

The mounts are significantly better. There's an owner that had a PFDAT coil-over Shock mount fail after running over a piece of wood debris on the road. The damage was significant. LG duplicated the event several times with his own personal C6/Z06 and proved his mounts won't collapse under similar conditions.

I would sue and report the guy who ripped you off for the $4G! I just moved to Bradenton on the beach not to far from this dude. I considered using him based on a recommendation, but a couple of folks here warned me about him via PM and about some guy that invested in tuner software and a laptop with no real hard investment or tech certification.

~J


Quote:
Originally Posted by GR8 WHITE View Post
I seen Orange Crush at the Winterfest in Phoenix, and is definitely a stand out looker coupled with hidden aggressivness on tap.

I would have to say that, LG Motorsports is a meticulous, stand-up shop. Although located a bit further than your area, the drive from Tampa area was well worth my dilemma at the time. The team at LG Motorsports did my car right and when I left out, I had a 483/484 rwhp/rwtq FRC on 91 Octane through a Forged 402 block. This was still running a stock intake and throttle body, with a medium sized cam.

I had zero issues for just over two years. Only when I beat on my car at the track and on the Autobahn of Germany did I start to see any issues. And all that was attributed to a failed lifter, which was most likely caused by excessively hot oil from racing. (Who knows). But I had all the choices in the world on who I was to ship my car to for repairs when the lifter took out my engine. I shipped it back to LG Motorsports. They redid my car in under 1 week and since then, I had a two failed rockers and a bad head gasket. HOWEVER, LG and his team had me take my car to a tuner locally and had THEM rework the issues and foot the bill so I was back up in a matter of 3 days at no cost to myself. Yes, it was an inconvienence, but the "We make it right" attitude was top knotch. And hey, sometimes, things happen. It was a bad passenger side head gasket that needed to get swapped out and at the time, my stock rockers had 90K+ miles on them, so it was time for a new set regardless. So they swappe dout BOTH head gaskets and installed some new rockers I purchased separately. Not sure what I am putting down now, but LG and his team upgraded my cam to the G6X3 and went with a 92mm Intake and 90mm Throttle Body.

At least I know that LG Motorsports stand behind their work! Unlike my personal experience and nightmare with Antivenom in Seffner, Florida. I am still waiting for my $4000 refund for the damage and total loss of my engine that needed to be replaced.....

Video link to the GR8 WHITE at start ups.....

YouTube - GR8 WHITE Cold Start 27 MAY 08

YouTube - GR8 WHITE Cold dStart 1
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Old 07-26-2008, 10:36 PM   #14 (permalink)
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Re: Central Fla. Tuners?

Justin, you might want to check your facts before you jump to conclusions. Greg was a certified Vette tech at a dealership in Clearwater for several years before going out on his own. He and FRC Tom have worked together tunig these cars for the last four years, and FRC Tom is widely held as one of the best Vette tuners in the country, not just Florida. In fact there is a shop in your area that regularly brings their cars to Antivenom for tuning because they do not know how to do it.

Now Gr8White and Greg have had an issue, and I do not pretend to know what happened, but I do know there are always two sides to every story. I do not know the specifics of the incident with Gary, but I can tell you that I have been using Antivenom without an issue for the last 4 years.

So, before you go spreading hearsay around about a vendor you have never done business with, you might want to check things out for yourself.

Mark
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Old 07-27-2008, 10:45 AM   #15 (permalink)
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Re: Central Fla. Tuners?

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Originally Posted by mdickie View Post
Justin, you might want to check your facts before you jump to conclusions. Greg was a certified Vette tech at a dealership in Clearwater for several years before going out on his own. He and FRC Tom have worked together tunig these cars for the last four years, and FRC Tom is widely held as one of the best Vette tuners in the country, not just Florida. In fact there is a shop in your area that regularly brings their cars to Antivenom for tuning because they do not know how to do it.

Now Gr8White and Greg have had an issue, and I do not pretend to know what happened, but I do know there are always two sides to every story. I do not know the specifics of the incident with Gary, but I can tell you that I have been using Antivenom without an issue for the last 4 years.

So, before you go spreading hearsay around about a vendor you have never done business with, you might want to check things out for yourself.

Mark
I agree with you Mark. And I do not dispute that there is another version of what really happened in the shop that day FRC Tom came back and said..."Somethings wrong.....Your car just lost all sorts of compression".....

Now I am no expert, but I do know the wrong sized push rods were installed. That, was stated by Greg himself and it was "an easy swap".....

Unfortunately, communication was out the wiondow when he didn't mention anything to TOM. Tom got my keys and took it out for the street tune. Within, about 15-20 minutes I would say, my car came limping back. GREG and TOM did compression checks on the cylinders and found some that were very low. Of course, at that time, I didn't know beans about what was going on.....

Later that evening, I was standing RIGHT THERE when Greg took apart my car to see what was up. As always, I had my camera ready to document what was up...Greg said "Please don't take any photos...I really don't want this to get out on the forum..." I respected his request since we were in his shop..... Well, when he got the intake off and removed the heads, well, low and behold...It looked like something came apart and chewed up the pistons and took a chunk off the heads. So, Greg had to reinstall my old heads and work with what he had. Meanwhile, I stood there like WTF??? And Greg took off the next day for the Z06 FEst while I was assed out.

So, yes, there are two sides to every story....My side, which is also the TRUTH side. I have nothing to hide.... And yes, I am sure there have been some successful stories at his shop. I just was NOT one of them. And this could have been a different ending had Greg MANNED UP to his responsibilities and mistake that cost me $4000. If I was fabricating this story, I woul dnot have remained SILENT for about 2 years, wondering if he would make things right without me blasting his competence. I am sure, without a doubt, we could have worked some sort of payment plan out if it was too much for him to repay at once.... I am sure his shop had insurance...Or manbe at that time, he didn't. Who knows....

Bottom line is, I do not have a positive experience. At least I know when something went wrong with LGs initail install, (WHICH BY THE WAY, WAS A CHUNK OF THE HEAD STUCK UP IN THE INTAKE THAT WAS NOT CAUGHT) THEY MADE IT RIGHT! Whatever it took.....

So, yes, I am sure there is HIS side of the story too. But this is the real deal. And I saw the torn up heads and the rockers that came apart. But what causes the rockers to move? Ahhhh, the PUSH RODS!!! Well, is it NOT possible that the dam push rods stressed the rockers (which only had 40-50K miles on them) to such an extent that they came apart, falling into the pistons, and caused a chain reaction from that point on...... Think about it.....I knew I should have taken photos!

Last edited by GR8 WHITE : 07-27-2008 at 10:50 AM.
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