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Best mods to start with? A4 LS1
#1
Instructor
Thread Starter
Best mods to start with? A4 LS1
Ive heard that just changing the gears (i have 2.73s) and the stall that I could be a low 12 without touching the motor. Is this true? Id like to eventually save enough to build a stroker or something of some kind but until then im open to other mods lol. Id really love to breaks into 11s without too much $$. If the gears and stall thing is true, maybe I could do gears, stall, headers, a cam and some slicks and hit 11s? =D
#2
Team Owner
You could do gears, higher stall converter, headers/X-pipe, cold air intake (Vararam is good), dyno tuning and tires and hit 11s (in cooler air at least)...the cam is not necessarily needed at that point though it will certainly help get you even further into the 11s and keep you there even when the weather turns very hot/humid.
#3
Ive heard that just changing the gears (i have 2.73s) and the stall that I could be a low 12 without touching the motor. Is this true? Id like to eventually save enough to build a stroker or something of some kind but until then im open to other mods lol. Id really love to breaks into 11s without too much $$. If the gears and stall thing is true, maybe I could do gears, stall, headers, a cam and some slicks and hit 11s? =D
www.dragvette.net
Seriously though you want to invest in the drive train if you want to do a lot of drag racing. Upgrade the 4l60, maybe a trans brace, 3.42's and at least a 2800 stall TC. Also as mentioned - Drag radials and a line loc. I would do all of that before adding power to the front end. Most of all - have fun.
Last edited by 7secondsquarter; 09-26-2011 at 01:04 PM.
#4
Instructor
Thread Starter
Absolutely...with drag radials as well of course.
You could do gears, higher stall converter, headers/X-pipe, cold air intake (Vararam is good), dyno tuning and tires and hit 11s (in cooler air at least)...the cam is not necessarily needed at that point though it will certainly help get you even further into the 11s and keep you there even when the weather turns very hot/humid.
You could do gears, higher stall converter, headers/X-pipe, cold air intake (Vararam is good), dyno tuning and tires and hit 11s (in cooler air at least)...the cam is not necessarily needed at that point though it will certainly help get you even further into the 11s and keep you there even when the weather turns very hot/humid.
#5
Instructor
Thread Starter
Trade it to me and buy a real race corvette & save yourself a ton of money as once the bug bites it can be terminal!
www.dragvette.net
Seriously though you want to invest in the drive train if you want to do a lot of drag racing. Upgrade the 4l60, maybe a trans brace, 3.42's and at least a 2800 stall TC. Also as mentioned - Drag radials and a line loc. I would do all of that before adding power to the front end. Most of all - have fun.
www.dragvette.net
Seriously though you want to invest in the drive train if you want to do a lot of drag racing. Upgrade the 4l60, maybe a trans brace, 3.42's and at least a 2800 stall TC. Also as mentioned - Drag radials and a line loc. I would do all of that before adding power to the front end. Most of all - have fun.
#6
AMP Racing
Member Since: Aug 2006
Location: Washington TWP NJ
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2023 C5 of the Year Finalist - Modified
2017 C5 of Year Finalist
St. Jude Donor '09-'10-'11-'12
There are many different opinions on how far to mod your vette. 3.42s (at the minimum) or 3.73s are a good place to start. along with a higher stall converter. Sticky tires, cold air intake and headers/x-pipe round out the list and still maintain excellent drivability.
There are quite a few options for 18" drag radials that are relatively safe on the street, so you won't have to buy a dedicated set of wheels - although, if you plan to race a lot, 17" wheels are a better choice.
You will need a tune of course, so include that in your budget.
If you're going to track it a lot, better get a trans cooler as well. and start saving for a tranny rebuild.
None of these things have to be done all at once, or at the same time (except gears/converter/tune)
Join us October 22nd at Englishtown's Raceway Park for the nnext Corvette Challenge race. We are a (mostly ) friendly bunch and anyone there can help with advise.
www.corvettechallenge.info
enjoy your new ride.
There are quite a few options for 18" drag radials that are relatively safe on the street, so you won't have to buy a dedicated set of wheels - although, if you plan to race a lot, 17" wheels are a better choice.
You will need a tune of course, so include that in your budget.
If you're going to track it a lot, better get a trans cooler as well. and start saving for a tranny rebuild.
None of these things have to be done all at once, or at the same time (except gears/converter/tune)
Join us October 22nd at Englishtown's Raceway Park for the nnext Corvette Challenge race. We are a (mostly ) friendly bunch and anyone there can help with advise.
www.corvettechallenge.info
enjoy your new ride.
#7
Safety Car
Member Since: Nov 2004
Location: The Pines South Jersey
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some of the best advice is to go to Etown for one of the Challenges - a ton of r&d will be there and you can see what combos do what.
Oh yeah and buy a tech card so you get a baseline on your car.
Oh yeah and buy a tech card so you get a baseline on your car.
#8
Burning Brakes
Member Since: Nov 2006
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Ive heard that just changing the gears (i have 2.73s) and the stall that I could be a low 12 without touching the motor. Is this true? Id like to eventually save enough to build a stroker or something of some kind but until then im open to other mods lol. Id really love to breaks into 11s without too much $$. If the gears and stall thing is true, maybe I could do gears, stall, headers, a cam and some slicks and hit 11s? =D
#9
Instructor
Thread Starter
Yes! This is awesome lol. Okay cool, ill look into the gears thing. So I guess ill go with 3.73s since most of the response on here was that. I didn't want to effect the car to much but im glad to hear all of this! Im going to have to look into one of these Corvette challenges as well!
#10
Team Owner
In an A4 car, 3.42s will deliver better highway fuel economy then 3.73s or 3.90s and can make less exhaust/engine noise at speed as well, that's a given.
But to me the performance gains would be worth it.
The 3.42s might be cheaper to do because you can simply buy the whole 'take out' rear from any manual C5 and install it as it is (no need to remove/replace the ring & pinion inside of it as long as it's all working/not broken).
If I had a C5 auto and was seeking 11s with stock internals while still maintaining a 'streetable' set up, I would likely go for a 3.73/3600+ stall combo. If one has the tolerance for it they could even go for 3.90s with a 4000+ stall but that's really not for everyone.
#11
Instructor
Thread Starter
It depends on your tolerance level and possibly even which cat back exhaust you're using.
In an A4 car, 3.42s will deliver better highway fuel economy then 3.73s or 3.90s and can make less exhaust/engine noise at speed as well, that's a given.
But to me the performance gains would be worth it.
The 3.42s might be cheaper to do because you can simply buy the whole 'take out' rear from any manual C5 and install it as it is (no need to remove/replace the ring & pinion inside of it as long as it's all working/not broken).
If I had a C5 auto and was seeking 11s with stock internals while still maintaining a 'streetable' set up, I would likely go for a 3.73/3600+ stall combo. If one has the tolerance for it they could even go for 3.90s with a 4000+ stall but that's really not for everyone.
In an A4 car, 3.42s will deliver better highway fuel economy then 3.73s or 3.90s and can make less exhaust/engine noise at speed as well, that's a given.
But to me the performance gains would be worth it.
The 3.42s might be cheaper to do because you can simply buy the whole 'take out' rear from any manual C5 and install it as it is (no need to remove/replace the ring & pinion inside of it as long as it's all working/not broken).
If I had a C5 auto and was seeking 11s with stock internals while still maintaining a 'streetable' set up, I would likely go for a 3.73/3600+ stall combo. If one has the tolerance for it they could even go for 3.90s with a 4000+ stall but that's really not for everyone.
#12
Team Owner
won't a giant stall like that effect driveability? I know what the stall does, but ive never driven a car with a high stall. lol i'm a N00B. but even still, I don't think I can handle 3.90's with a 4000 stall. That would just be a mean drag machine. Which is awesome, but I want drive it places too. And sometimes that can mean 200+ miles, so probably not the best idea to go that high. I kind of already had it in my mind that 3.73's were the highest id go hhaha.
Meaning that a 4000 stall converter can actually feel less loose and be potentially better suited to daily (stop and go traffic) driving with 3.90 gears than say a 4000 (or even 3600) stall with only 3.15 or 3.42 gears.
The downside of course is higher RPMs on the highway (more noise and slightly worse fuel economy) but as far as 'feel' goes, the numerically higher gears can actually compliment the higher stalls.
Of course with a stock motor there is a point of diminishing returns as well. You generally wouldn't put a 5000+rpm stall and 4.10 gears in a stock internals/naturally aspirated LS1 car on 26" tires.
#13
Team Owner
Member Since: Jan 2007
Location: cookeville tennessee
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Trade it to me and buy a real race corvette & save yourself a ton of money as once the bug bites it can be terminal!
www.dragvette.net
Seriously though you want to invest in the drive train if you want to do a lot of drag racing. Upgrade the 4l60, maybe a trans brace, 3.42's and at least a 2800 stall TC. Also as mentioned - Drag radials and a line loc. I would do all of that before adding power to the front end. Most of all - have fun.
www.dragvette.net
Seriously though you want to invest in the drive train if you want to do a lot of drag racing. Upgrade the 4l60, maybe a trans brace, 3.42's and at least a 2800 stall TC. Also as mentioned - Drag radials and a line loc. I would do all of that before adding power to the front end. Most of all - have fun.
#14
Burning Brakes
Member Since: Nov 2006
Location: Detroit Area Michigan
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I can't even argue with you on this post....he might as well save himself 10 years of aggravation and buy your rocketship and be done with it...hahaha. I have heard that this is where we all end up at anyway
#16
Safety Car
Ive heard that just changing the gears (i have 2.73s) and the stall that I could be a low 12 without touching the motor. Is this true? Id like to eventually save enough to build a stroker or something of some kind but until then im open to other mods lol. Id really love to breaks into 11s without too much $$. If the gears and stall thing is true, maybe I could do gears, stall, headers, a cam and some slicks and hit 11s? =D
What are you running now? I would get used to what you got and drive it well then add stuff later. That is my plan. I got 300hp, why have 400, when one cannot FULLY tame 300. My 2 cents worth.
#17
Instructor
Thread Starter
In a later post you say your still a NOOB. I consider myself this as well I only got 20 passes on my 93 so far. I came to the conclusion mods are worthless if you cannot drive the car. Granted I'm a 6 speed manual so that makes things more tricky.
What are you running now? I would get used to what you got and drive it well then add stuff later. That is my plan. I got 300hp, why have 400, when one cannot FULLY tame 300. My 2 cents worth.
What are you running now? I would get used to what you got and drive it well then add stuff later. That is my plan. I got 300hp, why have 400, when one cannot FULLY tame 300. My 2 cents worth.
#18
Instructor
Thread Starter
#20
Safety Car
Im a n00b to corvettes. Not racing. Lol I have a 550rwhp truck I run all the time. My stock Corvette is awesome, but has nothing on my truck......YET =D and I've run the car about 5-10 times now. Ran a 13.5 everytime. So as far as im concerned, I should start bracket racing and try to win some money hahaha
That is funny, my 93 runs pretty consistent 13.50's. Even with 2.1X sixty foots....I'm working on that.
I think your goals of reaching 11's and keeping it street able are very doable. Being a auto this should be easier yet. Good Luck.