How much horsepower does one need?
 

I've been reading up, trying to understand the tradeoff between cost, risk of breakage, and the various HP levels (C6Z06). Usage is mostly street romps with some 1/4 miles. I've still got 2 years GMPP warranty, and have been avoiding mods because of the exhaust valve issue, but this is feeling like too long to wait so I'm thinking of doing aftermarket heads with SS valves and moving along.

It seems 600 whp is reasonable without needing forged internals for reliability?

It seems that 600 whp with DR or slicks is not advised and half shaft, drive shaft need to be upgraded for reliability?

I've not driven a 600whp car and don't know if this will be enough to satisfy my itch. I don't need to be able to spin the tires for 100 feet at 80mph

I would like to have enough power on tap that it was the drivers's challenge to position the throttle so as to avoid serious spin at any speed up to 90 when above 3000 rpm.

Will 600 whp be enough on Michelin PS, or do I need more? If more, how much?

I'm considering a ttix kit where I could turn it up later on.

You might try and find one to drive first to see if it will be enough, traction becomes a serious issue at that hp level. You will need the proper tire set up to put the power down, even on a Z06, 200 whp difference is a big difference.

IMO 600-700 whp for the street is ideal.

I think the most common answer is; "a little more than what I have now". That applies in pretty much every case.

Very helpful, I know.

Just had ESC install a "mild" SL1500 kit on my 05. 560 rwhp/528rwtq. My current tires are 305/30/19 Invos. I can spin them at almost anytime. Driving the car is a whole new experience. Around town it's like a showroom stock car. For "spirited" driving I have to ease into the pedal and really work at being smooooooth. 3rd gear pulls on the highway from 70 is unbelievable compared to stock. :thumbs::thumbs::thumbs:

http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/c...ps5a45b035.jpg

1000rwhp + is Ideal!!!

:thumbs:

Thanks, so at 650 whp what ancillaries need to be upgraded for reliability (besides heads)?

What he said :rock:

that is a pretty number, nice and even......:lol:

I would say my Eforce kit and Kooks headers and hi flo cats produces very similar results to this post except I have Michelin Pilot Super Sport tires that are a little harder compound than his Invo's though. At this level and above is where we see less experienced drivers start to get into trouble and end up on YouTube.

Ditto :rock:

want.

Thanks for all the feedback but I don't think 1000 fits my requirement of reliability and I think it's oing to require all kinds of extra parts, transmission upgrade and brace, meth kit, new block, etc.

I'm trying to set the HP goal where I don't have to change the whole car and sacrifice reliability. I think this is 600-650range. c6 cyaa and thomasmoto made comments that lead me to believe this is going to be enough to meet my goals

Whatever you end up with, I highly recommend that you have a reputable tuner set up your car, because (especially with the Z06 LS7), there are several horror stories out here. It seems to be far less forgiving to engine mods than the LS3.

I would search the forums and read up on them, so that you can discuss (and resolve) your concerns with your builder/tuner.

To your question, from what I've seen over the years of the C6Z06 production, 550 - 600 rwhp is the accepted practical "reliable" limit for power levels out of a STREET driven vette drive train.

And at that power range, you will have traction issues, especially when you turn the nannies off. You should be spinning pretty easily already if you put yours in competition mode.

When you get above the 600 rwhp range, or do a lot of drag racing, you had better be seriously considering stronger clutches, half shafts, different engine internals, trans/diff upgrades, etc.

At 600+ whp you will want to run a drag radial (I believe Nitto NT05R fit the widebody rear). With a DR, you can make real use of the 600 whp and not have to ease into your acceleration. Having WHP that just makes street tires spin is useless to me...you may as well step it down in HP. Street tires do not work well at 600 whp.
Invos are crap...I got rid of mine in about 1 month.

The only horror stories have been these items: tune, 2pc valves dropping, rocker arms coming apart, rod bolts needing replace at higher hps. In general, where the op wants to be at power wise, the 427 stock with aftermarket heads, cam will get you in the range your looking for. At 600-650rw, the stock SB should be fine mechanically. Tune is Key!!!

IMHO, anything over 600 rwhp on the street is a waste of money. My ProCharged C6 makes 550 on a conservative tume. I could push 600+ if I wanted, BUT, even with 305 Invo's, traction is non-existent in 1st and 2nd gears. On cool days, 3rd gear can also be an adventure. I've had my car try to spin me at 80 mph with massive wheel spin on a day with cool tires and cool pavement. I guess the big hp guys are running around town on drag radials with 10 psi in them. Thats nutz.
I realize that some guys carry a laminated dyno printout in their car and say, look at this! But, unless you are a racer, save your money.

Some guys will say 500 is too much, other will say 1000 is just getting in the ball park, only YOU can answer that question, but if your asking it you will probably be fine in the 550-600 range. :thumbs:

As much as you can afford and hopefully more then the other guy

500-650 is more plenty for the street.:thumbs:

Lol 305 invos. Try on some real shoes and you'll see why more is better. I run 345 05rs out back and it's a much better package for traction than my 345 invos were.

I don't run 10psi, actually around 20-25psi.

I really liked all my vehicles when they hit the 600 mark. It seems to be a sweet spot in our cars. On low boost I'm in the 7xx rwhp range and it's incredible. When I turn it up I feel like I'm entering warp speed.

Once each level becomes "slow" to you then you can step it up. I don't suggest going straight to 1k from stock unless you've been there before.

Exactly and building the entire car with the end power goal in mid saves a lot of dollars and headaches

All of it :rock:

My car was fun at 700 rwhp and lots more fun at just over 1000 rwhp.
Yes, you can get traction at this power level.

If your car isn't getting traction at 600hp then you aren't running the right tire ;)

For me it's always a couple hundred more than I currently have, there's no such thing as too much HP...

My first thought. The more traction you have the more power you want. 600rwhp kept a smile on my face a long time. Then I added a direct port.

I just happened to reread this thread and didn't recall initially that you had a Z06 LS7 and I couldn't agree more with this gentleman's assessment about your LS7. They are far less forgiving than the LS3's. Now they make much more power to begin with, but you should take this advice seriously. JMHO sorry I didn't notice engine type and size before.

How much does one need?




Always a little more then they have now...

:iagree:

For now...

You're in the homeland area of one of the most reputable shop for the C6 Z06, talk to ED at RPM and he will lead you onto the right part, my advice, 650rwhp with a new ZR1 clutch and some C5 Axles will do you fine, a set of Nitto's 05 will do the trick with hooking, it works on the stock Z06 wheels. I know you will be satisfied for a very long time. The most amount of fun I had with my car was went it was making 684rwhp. :thumbs:

Thanks for all the comments, what I'm learning is

- choose parts that will work with higher levels - later on
- 550 to 600 is a good initial goal
- include drag radials
- think about a clutch and half shafts while the car is apart anyway

I'm still thinking ttix so I can have what I want know and keep options open for more later (understanding that I will need to change block or at least forge if I ever want to turn it up)

If I could have done it again I would have gone with TTI over my ECS setup. The same system is just as comfortable making 500hp as it is making 1000hp, plus being turbo allows you boost by gear for more traction.

Clutch, preferably a twin disk is essential as well as a solid fuel system - even though your initial goals can run on a boost-a-pump you might as well do an A1000 or twin walbro 350s to handle present and future goals, all you would need to do is swap injectors. Both of these done together would save you time and labor charges.

Tires depend on the cars purpose. Initially I said my car would see a lot of road courses but i had a lot of cooling system issues that prevented me from ever going crazy. I had toyo r888s all around and changed the rear down to an 18in. This let me roll into second even at 750rwhp

I now see that I prefer playing on the highway and drag strip so i will be using MT 345/35/18 on my next build, they should still take turns but not the 1.3Gs I was seeing on the toyos

Most of all find a tuner, not a tooner to build your car right the first time.

Please let me know if you have any questions about modding a corvette I have done a lot of work myself and with various shops on the forum so i think I can give good insight and advice

IMO the best part about my TT kit isn't that you can turn it up, it's that you can turn it down.

Later on when you decide to forge the motor and build out everything else like fuel & drivetrain, you would enjoy being able to turn the kit down every once and a while.

I usually only turn it up for real challenges where my blower cars were always full kill mode.

Thanks so much for this offer, particularly the tuner comment. I'm near Raleigh NC but have been thinking about driving South to Vengence or north to ECS and leaving the car for the build. It's still early days, I haven't even called George yet, still planning mode.

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