How to Make a C8 Stingray as Powerful as a Z06 WithOUT Boost (AHP 600 RWHP C8 Corvette Package)
The American Heritage Performance C8 Corvette package produces 570-600 rear-wheel horsepower with the Stingray’s naturally aspirated 6.2L V8, bringing rawness to a refined generation.
Full disclosure: American Heritage Performance is a CorvetteForum vendor. But this post is NOT sponsored.
The C8 Corvette generation marks a dividing line in so many ways. The mid-engine layout. Upmarket materials and pricing. The loss of the manual transmission. A base model Stingray has never been more capable or more popular. And, yet, many in the community miss the days when driving a Corvette was more raw and connected. Case in point THIS THREAD where a longtime CorvetteForum member noted that the C8 Stingray “feels like it’s soulless compared to prior Corvettes and muscle cars I’ve had.” If you’ve ever felt this way, boy, do I have the perfect solution to putting the soul back into a C8-generation Stingray (and likely E-Ray)…
The American Heritage Performance (AHP) 600 Horsepower Package for all 2020+ C8 Corvette Stingray coupes and hardtop convertibles (HTCs).
What do YOU think about this package?
How have you modded YOUR Stingray?
Let us know HERE in our forums!
What’s the AHP 600 HP C8 Corvette Package?
Tucked into a humble brick building in the South Bay of Los Angeles, you’ll find a world-class speed shop that builds some of the most coveted Corvette performance parts on the market. From full race engines to cylinder heads and camshafts, the operation is the brainchild of Kohle Heimlich (LS7Jesus on Instagram). A master technician who cut his teeth working on Corvettes and only Corvettes, Heimlich built a name for himself perfecting LS7 cylinder heads after General Motors’ best engineers could not.
Today, Heimlich’s team at AHP builds motors and CNCs parts to ship around the globe while hot rodding Corvettes in person for locals and those who ship Corvettes in from around the United States (and even sometimes across oceans). One of its latest turnkey package offerings is the AHP 600 HP C8 Stingray Package.
It includes —
- (2) AHP LT2 Cylinder heads with several valvetrain upgrades
- (1) AHP Custom camshaft
- (1) aftermarket throttle body
- (1) aftermarket PTR intake manifold (coupes)… OR
- (1) ported OEM intake manifold (convertibles); note: there IS an aftermarket convertible intake in the works that will be installed in the future
- (1) high-flow air intake
- (1) set of Kooks headers
- (1) Corsa catback exhaust & high-flow cats
- Custom dyno tuning
- Labor, fluids, & other miscellaneous parts not mentioned above
The process, Heimlich says, takes about a month from drop off to pick up. The first step involves pulling the engine’s computer (ECU) and sending it off to HP Tuners to be unlocked. Heimlich’s AHP team then lowers the rear subframe to remove various OEM components and replace them with aftermarket upgrades. By the time the computer arrives back in Southern California, it’s time to put everything back together again and send the car over to Church Automotive Tuning where everything is tested and dialed in.
Real World Results
AHP C8 Corvette Package (red graph, green text) v Stock C8 Stingray (green graph, yellow text)
The AHP 600 HP C8 Corvette package should deliver 600 horsepower at the rear wheels on 91 octane pump gas for C8 Stingray coupes.
However, because there’s physically less room above the engine in the convertibles, AHP ports the OEM intake rather than installing an aftermarket intake manifold, which means convertibles are good for 570 horsepower. Or 571 horsepower & 527 ft.-lbs. of peak torque at the rear wheels, according to the graph above, which was captured on an early customer’s HTC. (NOTE: So far, AHP has only installed the kit on convertibles, but the aftermarket intake manifold will add 30 more ponies to the above.)
For context, this package places the Stingray, with its naturally aspirated 6.2L LT2 V8, in league with the stock dyno results for the 2023+ C8 Z06, which makes 670 horsepower at the crank from the 5.5L dual overhead cam flat-plane-crank LT6 V8. In a video posted by Jesse Iwuji back in January of 2023, his C8 Z06 delivered 617 rear-wheel horsepower and 434 ft.-lbs. of peak torque.
Now, naturally, there’s a whole discussion we could have about dyno inconsistencies and variables. But my point is that this package makes the base C8 Stingray almost or equal to the peak power of a C8 Z06, but delivers said power earlier in the rev range and with GOBS of extra butt-dyno-approved torque.
How Much?
At this time, the AHP C8 Corvette 600 Package costs around $28,000 for the coupes, and a little less for the convertibles. (It requires one less part.) And that includes everything. All parts, labor, shipping the ECU to HP tuners, transporting your car to the tuner and back, and custom dyno tuning.
Simply drop off (or ship) your C8 Stingray to AHP, and they’ll give you back a mid-engine monster ready to go and running perfectly. For those who aren’t local or don’t want to ship their car, AHP will eventually offer packaged kits for DIYers or other performance shops to install all of these parts.
When I asked Heimlich about the expense, he noted that everything in the LT platform (2014+ Corvette motors) is much more expensive than the LS-gen motors, from the injectors to the valvetrain components to the costs to unlock and tune the ECU. And, of course, this package includes the time and labor, and seems to be roughly in line with the costs other brands charge to modify C8 Stingrays.
For example, ProCharger currently offers multiple C8 Stingray supercharger kits in the $16,500 – $22,000 range, not including installation. And Lingenfelter currently charges $25,000 to $38,950 for its various supercharger C8 kits, including installation. Lingefleter also offers a 7.0L LT2 motor for $29,950, installed. But that price doesn’t include other parts like the throttle body, intake, and the full headers/exhaust.
My point? While it’s hard to call $28 grand budget-friendly, it’s very much in line with the cost of building this platform. Especially given how radically different the car feels after this kit is installed. And this has the benefit of being all motor and built with better-than-factory precision parts, so you don’t have worry about the extra heat that boost adds to builds, and it should be extremely reliable.
Any Caveats?
As best as I can tell, there are effectively two caveats to this package.
First, at this time, the C8-generation 8-speed dual-clutch transmission DTC remains locked. Meaning, you can’t tune the transmission at the same time as the engine. (A transmission tune, to oversimplify the process, would dial in shift points and the way the system manages torque.) Still, as Heimlich pointed out during my ride-along, the C8’s DTC is self-learning, and from my perspective, the DTC appeared to be adapting to the upgraded powerband. (More on this in a moment.)
Second, those looking for emissions-compliant packages will likely need to look elsewhere.
First Impressions: A Generational Wakeup Call
Even with an aftermarket exhaust, starting up a C8 Corvette Stingray is a relatively lackluster auditory experience. Sure, it sounds like a classic American V8. And you can make it pretty loud. But it’s a bit like a V8 engine dressed up in a top hat and tails for cocktails and cigars. Formal and, relatively, subdued.
The AHP C8 Stingray package sounds like someone in Bowling Green time-traveled back to 1968, picked up a Bow Tie Big Block, and stuffed it into the modern mid-engine Corvette. Like a pissed-off fairy tale monster waking up after being disturbed by unsuspecting mortals, the AHP C8 Stingray bellows to life before settling into a frothy, lugging chop-chop-chop-chop. With Kooks headers and a Corsa Extreme catback, each blip of the throttle and rev is a screaming symphony of bald eagles.
All of this glorious drama and we’re still in the parking lot.
Out on the street, with peak numbers bumped by 132 horsepower and 115 extra ft.-lbs. of torque, the C8 Stingray Convertible’s powerband is nothing short of explosive, ripping the tread off the factory Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires with ease. Heimlich starts out in Track mode — clicking off firm, manual shifts as he goes — getting some heat into the summer tires.
There’s a touch of drone at cruising speeds (I’m over-sensitive to such things), but the tones clean up when the hammer drops. Shifts are also a touch clunky cruising around parking lots, but as the transmission learns and adapts, those too become more subtle.
Switching into Tour mode, the Stingray settles down, shifting crisply and smoothly, and offering a little more stability from the C8’s traction control system. In Tour mode, the AHP 600 package feels louder and more capable version of an OEM C8. And then back into Track mode, it’s like Heimlich figured out how to make a mid-engine C6 Z06. Traction control loosens up a bit and it becomes a man-versus-machine battle for precision and control as Heimlich calmly pilots this beast of a grand tourer.
In short, American Heritage Performance’s C8 Corvette Package completely transforms the base Stingray, especially in Track mode.
The chop.
The explosive power.
Frankly, this is what the C8 Stingray has been missing, an abrasive mix of old-school, small-block soul stuffed into the modern refinement of the Corvette engineering team’s most marvelous mid-engine chassis.
I know AHP isn’t the only game in town. But it’s my first experience with a built LT2. And the results, especially in the context of AHP’s dedication to quality and precision, blew me away. If you have the budget, run-don’t-walk for a chance to add this package to your Corvette.
To Learn More About the AHP 600 HP C8 Corvette Package
Interested in experiencing the AHP 600 HP C8 Corvette Package for yourself? (You definitely should be.)
- American Heritage Performance.com
- (310) 326-2399 (call or text is okay)
- HP@americanheritageperformance.com
- Kohle Heimlich is LS7Jesus on Instagram.
If you’re local, AHP is only open to customers by appointment only, so make sure to call or text before heading over.
Photos: Michael S. Palmer
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