I drive a navy blue metallic 35th Anniversary Edition 2002 Chevrolet Camaro Z28. I bought it in July 2005 with 45,000 miles on it. It has a 5.7L (346ci) LS1 aluminum V8, a six-speed manual transmission with factory Hurst short-throw shifter, a Corsa cat-back exhaust, and an LS1 Motorsports airbox lid. It has a black leather interior, t-tops, and a 500-watt 8-speaker stereo.

It's currently wearing Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3 tires, 245/50ZR16. As of this writing, I've had them for about a month, and I participated in my first autocross with them last weekend. For street tires, I am very impressed with the grip. They are great in the dry and in the wet. Unfortunately, they don't give good feedback at the limit — the limit is very high, but there's no way of knowing where it is until the tires let go. Hopefully, when the tread wears out, I will be able to afford to upgrade to a wider tire and a 17" or 18" wheel. I'd eventually like a set of forged wheels, but they are prohibitively expensive, so we'll just have to wait and see about that.

Since I bought the car, I've done two modifications: the first was disabling the skip-shift feature. This involved jacking up the car, unplugging something, plugging something else in, and tying down the loose cable with a zip tie. Not exactly rocket science, but I am happy with the result. The second was replacing the shifter stick with a one-inch-shorter-than-stock piece that also eliminates the rubber isolator used in the factory setup.

You can get most of these specs by perusing the internet, but I'll make it easy for you and include them all here. The first three sections show the results from tests with me in my car; the rest are General Motors factory specs.

I want a car that is comfortable and fun to drive on the street, at the drag strip, and around a road course. I want it to go, turn, and stop better than it does now, without sacrificing ride quality or day-to-day livability, and I want to accomplish all of this while having a minimal effect on cruising fuel economy. I want the car to remain my fair-weather daily driver, and that has a few implications: I won't install roll bar, the car must run on 91 octane fuel, and above all, the car must be reliable.

I have lots of ideas about how to accomplish my goals. It could be a long time before I have the money to do everything I want to do, and you never know when I might change my mind about how I'm going to get there.

If you're interested in knowing about my pseudo-plans to accomplish those goals as of this writing, here they are:

• upgraded shocks and springs (not sure what yet, but probably ~1" lower than stock)
• weld-in 3-point subframe connectors
• lower control arm relocation brackets
• tubular upper and lower control arms at all four corners
• tubular front k-member
• torque arm that mounts to the transmission crossmember instead of the tailshaft
• tubular panhard bar (or better yet, convert to a triangulated 4-link if possible)
• C6 Z06 Corvette front brakes (14" rotors, 6-piston calipers) using TrackBracket caliper bracket adapters
• stainless steel brake lines
• strut tower brace

• Front: 275/35R18 Nitto 555RII on 18x9.5" iForged "Evolve" wheels
• Rear: 315/30R18 Nitto 555RII on 18x11" iForged "Evolve" wheels

• Strange 12-bolt or Dana 60 with posi, four-channel ABS, hardened axles, and 3.73:1 gears
• Upgraded T56 (or TR6060 from the new Viper if it turns out they are interchangeable)
• McLeod Street Twin clutch and high-strength flywheel

• Driveshaft safety loop
• Clutch scatter shield

• QTP or Kooks stainless steel long-tube headers, ceramic-coated with 1-3/4" primaries and 3" collectors, with a matching Y-pipe
• forged pistons and connecting rods
• upgraded valve gear to support a higher rev limit (I'd like to rev to 6500)
• upgraded camshaft
• some kind of forced induction (I'm thinking intercooled Procharger)
• custom-tuned engine computer (I hope to purchase a dedicated laptop and the necessary cables and software to do this myself)

• Alpine head unit with iPod integration
• 4-channel amplifier
• new speakers all around
• Dynamat in a few places that rattle

• A very high end job, with a color similar to Lemans Blue Metallic, which is available on C6 Corvettes. It's a slightly brighter blue than my stock paint.
• SS spoiler
• Power antenna from a Firebird
• HID headlight conversion
• If I'm ever really feeling ambitious, I'd like to install an in-dash computer with an LCD display, replacing and enhancing all of the functionality of the stereo and HVAC system, including MP3 playback, iPod integration, wi-fi syncing, dual-zone HVAC controls, and possibly the ability to log engine data and reprogram the PCM