Thanks for the advice.

I'm moving away from a 750 RWHP Mustang Cobra. I love my car, but I want a little more refinement and prestige. I used to own a '90 Corvette and that was such a fun car, but DD the car made it just another car.

Now Power Adders, I'm leaning towards ECS's System, but I'm intrigued with a Turbo and Hinson's setup looks good. I don't want to crack the engine, once you do that reliability goes out the window. I want a car that I can make 450-500 RWHP with and still have the ability to take the car for a long 400 mile drive if I want to with zero hassles.

 

Unless your pockets grow money you might want to check with your insurance company about the difference in cost between a Z06 and a std C-5. I just went through this and damn near died from sticker shock. I bought a Z51 Roadster and I'm luvin it!.

 

I would go drive all three models you are thinking about the Coupe, FRC and Z as all of them will scream with a blower and I have not converted to an A4 and will not anytime soon with my boosted Coupe

 

That bad huh? I didn't even think about that, then again, I have a pretty good company that I can use for "Show Car Insurance". My Cobra was insured for a stated amount $30,000 and it was not used as a daily driver. Maybe that might help, but I really appreciate that tip!!

What are you using as a power adder?

 

If you're going to leave it stock the Z06 has a lot of performance advantages, but if you're going to go FI, on a street car, it really doesn't have any significant advantages imo. Pick the one you want.

Yes, a Z06 has steeper lower gears, but that may or may not be an advantage with FI. More significantly, the Z06 has gearing optimized for road racing, not drag racing/top speed. The difference is that the percentage drop in the first 4 gears of a Z06 is almost exactly the same, which makes matching revs for downshifting easier. But that means the drops at higher speeds, where wind loading is greater, are "too large". The standard MN6 has normal progressive gear ratios, with smaller and smaller drops as you go up the gears. Both of course have large drops to 5th and 6th, which are really gas mileage gears.

If you like top speed runs, the coupe has significantly better aerodynamics. Note that the factory chose the coupe body for the C5Rs.

Stick with a 2001-mid-2003. These are the easiest to mod because they have the late computers, but avoid the "2004" fuel system.

As to which is the most cost-effective mod platform, it's somewhat of a wash. You can find coupes that have most of the Z06 features sans the engine (like mine ). For a modder, the only significant difference on the engines is the Z06 has better heads. Nowadays 243 castings like the Z06 uses are quite cheap, so I wouldn't worry about it. The Z06 also has higher compression, so if you're looking to do a stock longblock FI setup, you could argue that the late LS1, which has the Z06 block, is the better choice.

An FI A4 will require a beefed trans. An FI MN6 does not, even though plenty of people do buy a better trans. Why do I say it's "not required"? Because there are quite a few guys who have gone well into the 9s on numerous occasions with completely stock (save clutch) MN6 drivelines. The key is avoiding wheelhop at all costs.

Overall, your goals are entirely reasonable. If I was in your shoes I would find a coupe that was either already done, or that at least had a beefed suspension and brakes. I would go with an ECS Paxton setup, and I would call EnglandGreen (Vero Beach) or Mike Norris (Winter Garden) to do the install.

Feel free to PM any questions if you want. I had exactly your plans for my car but decided to go C6 Z06 instead.

 

Back in the day the Z06 was the hot number but now with so many power adder options its kind of a has been. Plus I like the looks of the coupe a lot better than FRCs or Z06s. Also I can take the top off. I have a coupe with a Pro charger.

Rick

 

I have an A&A ATI DS1C setup with a forged 346 and it is a handful and does leave a smile on my face everytime I get in my boosted Vette