From reading posts on this board, I've gathered that two of the most popular "first mods" many do to their C5 is cold air intake and new exhaust systems. It seems to me that such mods would not only increase HP but perhaps gas mileage as well do to the improved throughput.

So my question is, why didn't GM put these on to begin with? Was it production costs? Curb Weight? A desire to have a starting place for mod-hungry enthusiasts? Or perhaps such mods may affect maintenance costs, reliability, or wear/tear on the drivetrain?

I read EnglandGreen's C5 Corvette Modifications Primer, so I can understand there's a cost for every modification. Shall I assume everybody who upped their input/output did so at some cost to their vehicle?

s'noJob

 

Keep in mind that GM has very different requirements for their mass produced car than we, as individual owners, do. Did you happen to notice all the different intake and exhaust systems used by individuals to personalize their Vettes. Hint, hint--we all like something different and GM is trying to take the middle of the road to meet GOVT regulations and the general publics needs/likes!

 

Emissions are altered with both aftermarket exhaust & intake. Also fuel mileage can also be altered. The Government already puts the big thumb on performance with the gas guzzling tax. Besides if GM were to put these exhaust on their cars, where would Corsa, Borla, Magnaflow & others be.

 

I haven't started modifying my C5...yet. However, I've done plenty of mods to my 2006 Mustang GT. It also has a stock air box that is very restrictive, although exhaust in that car doesn't really need to be modified. In the case of my Mustang a lot of it is to reduce noise, vibration and harshness, reduce costs, or to improve reliability. Emissions can come to play for some mods, too. For a production vehicle there are always compromises.

The engineers could have installed a better flowing intake. That intake would probably whistle a lot. There's an NVH issue.

Not to mention that those use an oil coated air filter. What a warranty disaster! Can you imagine all of the MAF sensors coated in oil turned in for warranty repair? Or worse the owners that clean it and don't oil it? The filters cost $50, too! That would tick off a lot of owners, me included. I hated oiled filters. I prefer no-oil intake filters, like the ones sold by AEM or AMSOIL. More restrictive, but they filter air much better and there is no risk of over oiling. Most of the public would prefer the ease of a throw away paper element and replacing it with another inexpensive paper element.

As far as the exhaust, I'm guessing the engineers carefully thought about that. You want to have a good exhaust note under acceleration or when idling, but very few will purchase a car (except for me!) that drones on and on at highway speeds. Besides, the C5 was pretty much the fastest car anywhere near it's price range when it came out. Why over design the exhaust? 350 horsepower was a lot during the C5 generation!

 

That's exactly why mine will remain stock.

 

I posed a similar question to a friend of mine, at the time he was Lead Engineer in Diesel Engines at Ford. I was ******* the engineers for the design of a Quad-4 in which I had to pull the entire engine to replace an $87 water pump which is attached to rear of the block, behind the exhaust manifold and runs off the cam chain, internally. He told me it is not the engineers, but the Bean Counters. He told me the magic number seemed to be $0.50 per car unless it is a safety issue. If they can save $0.50 per car, the water pump will be put there. Long story/short, the bean counters (and lawyers) have final say in design.

 

Why not?

 

GM needs to balance cost, emissions regulations, noise standards, etc. against what they put on a production car. I tend to think that allowing room for improvement/changes it gives mod hungry car owners somewhere to help out the economy.

 

I am with Kevin mine is still how it was from the factory

 

Plus they needed to avoid the gas guzzler tax.

 

Read the book:
All Corvettes Are Red

It details the development hurdles and triumphs in bringing the C5 to the market. A good look into the inner working of GM.

You'll learn why we have balsa wood in the floor, twin cell fuel tanks, and a ton of other good info.
I got my copy off Amazon, used. Cheap book and a great read.

Rob

 

A lot of it is primarily for looks in my case........gas mileage etc...isn't critical for me in the Vette cause it's a Vette Filling my Chevy Prizm is something I detest however cause it's just a Prizm. Hey, I'm Irish and don't have to be logical

 

You and Peter Pan

 

 

I read somewhere that US Consumers spend somewhere around 4billion dollars in after market products for their vehicles. GM has to adhere to Gov. car manufacturing standarts. then why some of this aftermarket products have to be certified GM certified? How much do you think GM gets for that corvette logo? It's A SCAM

 

Yep, in my opinion, the number 1 reason GM doesn't performance items on is to keep costs down. Imagine how much the price would go up if all the exhaust manifolds where mandrel bent stainless! Others commented about emissions and that's true also.

Cost? Yep, sadly mod's don't come cheap but there is a definite joy in having them... you're customizing the car they way you want it... both performance (headers, cold air intakes, ect. ect) and comfort(e.g. sound system upgrades, seats, sound insulating, ect ect)

That my $0.02.

 

It's in the Corvette owner's hand book, rule number #155

"Ye shall mod the sh*t out of your Corvette until ye are broke or dead"

 

Why Mod?


Because it's there........ and we can

 

GM wanted a well manured vette that wasn't so loud that some people wouldn't buy it, once you mod those two little things are vettes become screaming banshees. something the 55 to 65 year old buyer might not want.