About month and a half ago, I ran something over on the 10 freeway resulting in some superficial damage to my 2003 Z06. So I took it to my bodyshop and that’s where I was told about Talent Motorsports in Van Nuys, CA. The bodyshop guy couldn’t stop raving about how good Talent was at modifying corvettes, so I gave them a call and before I knew it, I was pricing out an install on an A&A supercharger kit. Talent proposed such an incredible deal on the install and dyno tuning that I simply couldn’t pass it up. The deal was so good in fact that I even called A&A to see if they knew about Talent and if they were legit; A&A confirmed that they were.

So when I got the car out of the bodyshop, I took it to Talent. Talent Motorsport is owned and operated by a young guy named Talent and his brother Tiko, two of the nicest people you’re ever going to meet. Their shop is somewhat Spartan; no posters or flat-screens on the walls and you won’t find a fancy waiting room. They also keep very odd business hours. For example, the shop opens around 11:00 am or later, but they work until 2:00 or 3:00 am. Knowing this, both Talent and Tiko gave me their cell numbers and I never had a problem getting a hold of either of them.

While the car was there, I decided to also get the T-1 sway bars with the C6 end-links which Talent installed for peanuts. He even lowered the front end beyond the factory max and threw in those rollers that protect my front spoiler for free. Additionally, during the install, my fuel pump went south and Talent replaced it – having to remove the tank, etc. – all for a lot less than I would’ve been charged at my regular shop (I called them to make sure).

I have to say, what these two guys lack in normal business hours or a flashy shop, they MORE than make up for in customer care and technical knowledge. Talent is clearly a perfectionists (borderline obsessive) when it comes to the working on his customers’ corvettes. Every detail had to be right and he checked and double checked everything before giving me back the car. Plus, every email, text, or telephone message was promptly returned and Talent took his time to fully explain everything so that I understood what was going on. They’re really into what they’re doing and they knew how to make me happy.

I told Talent that I didn’t want to go crazy with the blower and that I wanted to make sure the engine/transmission was not going to be damaged. The car only has 43,000 miles on it and it’s in very good condition. I also have an extended warranty which I don’t want voided. However, Talent assured me that he would strike a perfect balance that would preserve driveability and amplify performance.

With that, he delivered the car with 507 rwhp which I understand translates to approx 588 flywheel hp. And this is with a stock exhaust mind you.

The car runs pretty much like it did before, but a little smoother during acceleration; the best way I can describe it is that it feels lighter, effortlessly getting up to speed. However, when I get on it, it laterally converts into a fire breathing MONSTER! It’s even scarier than my viper.

Moreover, the sway bars and lowering really improved the feel of the car. Not only does it look nicer, it’s much more responsive. Talent set the sway bars on the middle setting, but I think I’m going to have him put them on the hardest setting to further improve the feel. Also, while he doesn’t recommend it, I’m probabaly going to have him lower the back too, maybe 1/2 inch more...maybe.

Here’s a link to a dyno video that Talent put up on his website: http://www.talentmotorsports.com/

The Pics are here: http://www.talentmotorsports.com/ind...egory&catid=10

The only problem I’m experiencing so far is the gas mileage seems to have taken a huge dump. Both Talent and A&A said that it shouldn’t have changed much over stock so I’m supposed to drive it till it’s empty before calculating the mileage. If it is off, Talent wants me to take it back to him so that he can do some tweaking on the tune.

Now for the real world experience. I got the car back last Tuesday and on Thursday night this nebish in a brand new black Ferrari 599 kept trying to test my mettle; while I do not condone street racing, this guy just wouldn’t quit.

I beat him to the first light; and when the second light turned green, I beat him again.

After that, it was like he simply couldn't accept the fact that I was faster. He kept following me and trying to pass, but couldn't. The entire time, my active handling kept turning on, even though I was trying to control the wheel spin.

At the last light, I smiled at him and even waved but all he could do was stare back at me with a dumb look on his face. I was surprised at what a sour sport he was - older gentleman with grey hair. He just couldn’t accept the reality that he had seriously overpaid for his car. He seemed mad at me. So when he didn’t smile back, I laughed at him, told him he was number one with a simple hand gesture and made a right turn to get away. What does he do, he followed me, making a right to come after me from his lane! I didn't waste my time, gas, tires or clutch on him after that - I just let him howl past me like he wanted.

So if anyone is thinking about getting a blower - getting the best of both worlds - I HIGHLY recommend the A&A kit. And if you’re in the Los Angeles area, I just as HIGHLY recommend Talent.

If I can get the gas mileage back to where it was, this was one of the best purchases I could've ever made. Now I have to get to work on the viper - can't have that being slower than a vette.....