carrerarod

I feel like a kid at x-mas!!! Finally got my car back from Andy this evening (A&A Corvettes). Here is what I had done to my 2002 with 2048 miles on the odometer:

-Stage II heads
-comp cam
-Vortech VS2-Q SuperCharger
-RK LT headers (ceramic)
-Magnaflow x-pipe
-NGK TR6 plugs
-170 stat
-Ed Wright programming
-Hotchkis swaybars
-Lowered 1"+
-HRE 543 black w/polished lip (18F 19R)

First off, I don't have a dyno yet. Sorry. Scheduling issues. I've only driven about 30 miles so I can't provide too much feedback yet but can share this:

-The combination of the hotchkis swaybars, the lowering and the fatter tires, the car is flat! It now reminds me of my Porsche! IMHO this is how the C5 is supposed to handle!

-The sound is awesome! Not sure if it's a combination of all the mods with the Z06 exhaust I already had (off of Andy's car) but only Angel's singing could produce a sweeter sound! Not too loud but when you mash the pedal I feel like I am at the races!

-Power. Well I was a little hesitant when I first got behind the wheel, not knowing what to expect. the first thing I noticed is the gobs of low end torque. The car will fishtail in 1st gear by simply punching the throttle 50%. Even with the 295's in the rear! I did hit the freeway and had about 1-2 miles of open space so I flicked on the radar detector, punched it while I was in 3rd doing about 55mph and a few seconds later I was in the 90's closing in a tripple digits. I rarely drive in 5th and have never used 6th gear but decided to play a bit given the new mods. 5th pulls harder than before. Didn't get a chance to try 6th.

-We had a bit of a problem with the idle. Andy removed the throttle body and drilled a small hole and voila! problem solved.

-Fuel pressure is a constant 58 or so.....I was way too busy paying attention to the road when the boost kicked in to notice a drop in pressure but from what i can tell, it's almost like the needle is painted at 58. Andy has a racetronix pump on order so I will move to that in a couple of weeks.

Overall the car seems easier to drive. Especially in traffic. Andy also says that when i change the gears to 3.90 in a few weeks, it will only get better.

Now here is the scary part, I need more power!!!! When I got home my wife asked if this new power "scared" me. I told her I wanted more! She promptly called our insurance company to increase my life insurance policy.

Sorry for the rambling....just excited about my "new" ride....

edit: Here are some pictures I just took for those of you that are curious:










[Modified by carrerarod, 4:40 PM 12/28/2002]

AP

CONGRATS ... Pics ???

carrerarod

not yet....it was too dark when I got home. Will take some in the morning. Any particular shot you looking for?

Did forget to give a BIG :thumbs: to Andy. He is one of the nicest, honest and most knowledgeable guys around. I will not hesitate to give him all my business. If your looking for a great tuner, look no further than A&A Corvettes... :thumbs:

AP

My friend is really looking to get the Vortech ... I wanted to show him the overall layout ...

Red C5

:cool: can't wait for dyno numbers. Sounds like a beast :reddevil

MelloYellow

Congrats! :cheers:
I'll have to be content looking at mine sitting on the living room floor for now. ;)

Which pulley? The 28 or 30??

evil-1

..... :cheers: Any idea how much boost your getting when you mash on it ?

Tripp

carrerarod

It's a 30...Andy told me you called a little before I arrived to pick her up! I will take some pictures today but let me tell you it's a tight fit. And I mean tight. Since I have the honor of having the first vortech C5 that Andy has built, we are still working out the kinks. It's great to have someone like Andy working out the kinks. The clearance between the top of the blower and the hood is minimal. I also have a bit of rubbing from the top of the coolant tank and the hood liner. Andy thinks he knows how to play with the bracket that was used to relocate the alternator so that the tank sits lower.

The car is a blast to drive!!! :steering:

carrerarod

I really need to take it out today and play around but looks like when I mashed it last night on the freeway coming home, I was in the 6-7 range. Andy thinks that's max given my heads and cam setup. So far I am not complaining.... :eek:

carrerarod

For those of you wondering, the Vortech S/C is compatible with the Vortex Intake

carrerarod

My wife took this short video clip with the camcorder she got from xmas. It's nothing much, just the sound of the engine with the S/C and me pulling into the garage but thought it might be fun to share the "sound". These computer speakers do not do it justice but I love the sound my car has now with all these mods!

The clip is a .MOV (quicktime) and is about 3Meg in size.
http://www.lanthier.biz/Gallery/Shared/Vette.mov

7LitreC5

Congrats! :thumbs:

Your car looks and sounds great! Thanks for posting the pictures and the movie.

How much can the blower whine be heard from inside of the car?

I am in the process of installing a Vortech in my car. I am at the part of the installation where I am working on the aftercooler. I know that Andy installed and plumbed your aftercooler a little differently than the instructions called for. Would it be possible for you to take some pictures of how Andy routed the hoses coming from the aftercooler radiator? I am trying to figure out how best to route them since I will be attaching my aftercooler radiator to the air conditioner radiator like Andy did with yours.

Thanks.

MelloYellow

WOW, new pics AND a video.
Awesome! Thanks. :D

Sounds great. Wow, the SC is pretty quiet.
:cool:
Got to ask Andy if mine was the same or whose was quieter.
Not annoying at all..
How does it sound with the hood down?

Did that come with the kit? Weird. What does it do??
Plz post more videos.
:cheers:

P.S. Car and wheels look awesome!



[Modified by MelloYellow, 12:12 AM 12/29/2002]

alexWS6

OH MAN, your car is bad as$! :eek:

I cannot wait to see what it dynos at.


You have to take some photos showcasing the new wheels as well :cool:

Yano

Awesome car!!!!!!!!

A bit camera shy are we??? :bb

carrerarod

Only when you really step on it. With the new cam, headers and exhaust, I don't hear the whine at all. WOT at 5500 RPM and above you can here it. Windows up not much.

If I can...things are pretty tight in there and I rather not start taking things part just yet. Did you see the other post I made last week with the "in-progress" pictures? PM me with specifics and I will see if I can get them for you. I'm sure you can appreciate that there is a lot going on under the hood and might be difficult to find some of the plumbing. I know the major re-route Andy did was one of the hoses called to run across the fan shroud across the air bridge. He decided to punch a hole through the shroud and run it underneath. Wanted things clean.



[Modified by carrerarod, 10:16 PM 12/28/2002]

FASGLAS

:cool: , Very :cool:

carrerarod

I think you do. Andy and I were shooting the poopie when I went back with my first CEL and he said you have the same blower.

I think I might have him go with a 28 pulley when he does my 3.90 gears in a few weeks. I would like to try and squeeze a little more juice out of this bad boy. It's amazing how quickly you get used to the extra power!




[Modified by carrerarod, 10:24 PM 12/28/2002]

MelloYellow

Looking forward to your dyno results.
It'll help me decide on the 28 Tooth pulley also.
Our setups will be similar except for the heads.

What type of tires are you running?
How is traction?
Any tuning details on Timing?
How much boost are you seeing with the 30 Cog?
Do you still have the stock main cats?
:)


[Modified by MelloYellow, 11:18 AM 12/29/2002]

carrerarod

295/35 in the rear on 19x11 wheels. They are Michelins.

Pretty Good so far. If I mash it at high RPM's in 1st and even 2nd it gets fishy back there but so far so good.

Nada. this is the weak link. I want to see the graph and I want it fine tuned.

The wife gave me permission last night to "spank" Mr. Granatelli (Mr. Paxton Supercharger himself - Granatellin Motorsports) in his LS-400. We were going out to dinner with them and my wife said " a Lexus is faster than your new car?". I just grinned and floored it. I only looked for a second but needle went about 7lbs boost and looks like my fuel pressure dropped to 55 or so. Needless to say Vinny was not happy. At dinner, he said he was going to pull out his '73 Nova with custom blower and "teach me a lesson" :smash: Bring it on GrandPa!

Pup cats are gone since I got LT headers but the mains are still stock. Andy offered to swap them out. I didn't at this time because I am not clear what effect that would have on CA smog....I have 4 years to wait until I am required to smog so maybe I should just do it.

My next mod is the 3.90 gears. I think this will help a great deal with my setup. Depending on the extra $$$ of getting a 29 pulley, I may or may not do it at the same time.

If I could only stop the CEL from the new cam.... :crazy: