OK , I just received my first Corvette Central Catalog and I'm blown away . I already saw about 10 things I want to bolt on to increase a little performance here and there. The one thing I'm looking into besides my exhaust is a ram air type setup. they have the Vortex Rammer setup. I researched that product on these forums and got mixed reviews. I'm really interested in the ram air that inducts through the front plate area. I really couldn't find much info and reviews about it. I also can't find who sells a good one. Also , does this setup take away fresh air from my radiator and cause hotter temps? Or is that just a rumor. Will it give a little increase in power seeing it is using fresh air? Thanks

 

It's up to you, but the stock air cleaner pulls enough fresh air for the L98 engine to breath all the air it needs ..The real restriction on the L98 is the intake which only allows usable rpms up to about 4600 . It's a known fact that the first things to change on the early C4s are the intake and exhaust. This allows any future mods to work to there full potential........WW

PS..Be carefull ordering all the "add ons" from the parts sites , many add little or nothing to the performance of your car, but promise hugh increases....

 

And you can't add all them all together to get the total either.

 

BEWARE most of this stuff....its ONLY pretty, not functional.

The get to make these big HP claims based on test on THIER engine on THIER test stand, in THIER lab and with THIER techs doing the work....

So, 99% of it does not apply to the real world. aka, street cars.

marketing people know every trick there is to SELL you STUFF. The 4 letter word that's equivalent also starts with an "S".

That's what most is. Some is looks, other is capable of changing the way the car runs, not always for the better. Like many of the hard air dams...look great, help push air around the vehicle so higher top speeds are possible at the expense of air to the cooling system .....not a good trade off unless you are seeing 160mph + on your commute every afternoon.

Just beware the marketing HYPE...that's all it is.
I bought EVERY piece they offered the 1st ten yrs....and when I moved from my home in Ventura I literally had to get a dumpster and I FILLED it with mostly unwanted, un-used Corvette aftermarket 'stuff'......thousands and thousands of dollars of "stuff"...out the window. Most of it useless.

if its "dress up stuff" , go for it according to your taste. If its performance stuff, less is more. Exhaust, tuning and THEN if you want more you have to go inside to make any REAL differences. That's where the real $$$ starts to flow...

Keep the catalogs in the restroom. Leaving them by the Nite stand or on the coffee table will get you a visit from the UPS guy, every time.

 

I just got my catalog yesterday. It went in the trash. Get the same parts on Ebay for a much better price.

 

So the airfoil and ram air are pretty much junk? I'm getting that magnaflow polished cat-back. not just sound and performance but it looks sweet. Also , rather than cut my factory airbox , I can buy onefor only $25. This way I can save my original one. Is this the best option for my air induction? Of course I'm adding a K&N element.

 

The only thing worth getting from corvette central is muffler eliminators, not even, have meineke make you a set. Seriously, I had some trouble with them. The people that welded my muffler eliminators didn't know how to weld. The drivers side eliminator hung down an inch more than the right after we made it stick straight out as before is was literally facing away from the rear of the car, it was facing like 7 o'clock on the car. I called them and told them about it and they tried to make me send them back before they could issue a replacement. I told them no way, my other muffler are in the garbage, what am I going to use on my only form of transportation? After talking to a few people I finally got them to send me one without having to send mine back first. When the new one got here, I had the same problem. Me and my father actually had to bang the hanger part with a mallet, and push the exhaust pipe over the cat back y pipe half way to get it to fit properly. A freaking nightmare, they looked nice after we got done with them though. But, unfortunately the heat of my exhaust from the untuned cam, intake, timing, and headers made the exhaust really really hot. The little tag on the differential that says limited slip additive actually melted and dripped onto the ground, and the exhaust was probably 8 inches away from it. At the coldest part of the exhaust no less! My beautiful stainless steel tips turned golden champagne colored and they don't look as good. I don't think there is anything I can do to restore them either.

 

It's like anything else, you have to know what you want. I used a combo of Ecklers and Central to restore my interior of my '88. I used Jegs for the temp switch because they were cheaper.

 

I just purchased a used copy of 101 projects for you corvette from a forum members. It has already saved me $1000's of dollars. I can not speak to the earlier C4, but for my 94 Z07, looks like headers and exhaust really not much more effective than stock. Already have the J55 from the Z07, so also no need to go C5 brakes and rotors for normal street use. Looks like the only thing I will be doing for a while is NORMAL maintenance and figuring out a way to soften up the leather seats. So I guess no Corsa, and new leather seat covers. Thanks Richard Newton!!

 

I buy some of the cosmetic stuff from these magazines, maybe a shirt or a hat. Occasionally a relay or something that isn't carried anywhere. Then I throw them away.

If you want performance buy from Summit. Do not trust any HP gains listed in them.