I just purchased a 2003 50th Anniversary Z06 with 48k miles. I am not a newbie to LS1 F-body perfomance but i am to LS6 Corvettes. My friend has a 2005 C6 vette with a Varam air intake and i was wondering if that would be the best cold air intake to purchase for my Z06. If their are any other better air intakes i would like to know. Thanks.

 

Vararam, LG longtube Pro's, 3" X pipe & Hurst shifter were the first mods that I did to my 03 Z. I did them all @ once and during the first year the car was brand new. The Callay Honker was not out @ this time. I think both of these systems might be the best two out there @ this time to get the much needed air to increase HP, lets say once to speeds 40 mph & beyond. Try & do most of your HP mods @ one time. That way you won't be spending X tra bucks on the dyno for tunes, etc. I'm sure your friend w/ the C/6 & Vararam can tell you that he can tell the difference in performance since his install. Hope this helps , & welcome to the forum.

 

Thanks for the advice. Yeah my friend did say that the Vararam intake did make a big difference. My only concerned was sucking up water. Which is what happened to my my friends c6 vette. He barely ordered a new ls2 but tells me that he still plans to keep it on their, just next time he's gonna be more careful when it rains. I know the LG longtubes are a must. My friends c6 made 40hp extra on just the LG longtubes alone. I hope to be a more advid reader on this site.

 

On the lower end of the scale Blackwing, Vararam power duct, and honeycomb screen,(my personal choice). On the other end Callaway Honker (because with modified radiator Shroud, you get cold outside air or the ram air effect).

 

Let's see some pics of your new car. We love pictures.

 

If concerns are Hydrolock from water w/the Vararam, I'd go w/ the Calloway Honker system. It's first class all the way!

 

I hope i did this right, but here is a couple of photos of my new 03 Z06 . To top it off i just came home and realized a frigging rock chip in the windshield. Dont know how much its gonna cost me to replace the windshield but that will be the last time i take that car on Interstate 20.

 

Better do some research before going to your claims adjuster for windshield. They say they are putting on a Z glass & put the standard in there. Z glass has a different part # than regular glass. Your car is amazing! Looks like it just rolled off the assembly line.

 

Torch, I have to admire the ride, congradulations. I too just 3 weeks ago bought a Z06 Red with the mod interior.
I couldn't help but notice the 'Z06 badge isn't on the front fenders but rather on on the verticle roof. Is that how they come in that year?

I am a total newbie. I have much to learn.

Also what little I have read about regarding the windsheild if you have the HUD, it needs to be a glass designed with the HUD in mind.

 

Nice Z and welcome to the Club If it's only a small nick or chip in the windshield and hasn't spider cracked. An auto-glass guy can fix it with Epoxy for under $75 bucks, but do it Quick, Once it's gotta a crack it's too late. The Actual C5Z06 windshield is gonna cost you or your INSURANCE around $1400-$1500 bucks.

 

Ahh No, they did not come that way. Someone either decided it looked better on the roof Pillar or it the car maybe had paintwork??

 

Congrats on the new purchase. You don't need a new windshield, just get the chip fixed. It's usually $50 or so.

 

I bought the car with the Badge on the side of the roof. I guess the original owner thought it would look different. Im pretty sure no paintwork has been done to the car, i inspected that car down to a T.

But more than likely i think im gonna remove it from the side of the roof and put it back onto the fender.

One other weird thing that i noticed when i purchased the was, for some reason the original owner painted black lines on the tail lights. Never seen this done but apparently it was for some reason.



I need to remove it as soon as possible

 

Save your money on the air intake , do the zip-tie mod, put the money towards some American Racing headers.

 

Your Car really does looks Great! I've never seen the Tail lights painted like that either.. The original owner had his own style, good thing they're easy fixes. Happy Modding!

 

Congrats. I would definitely put the z badges back into the OEM location and remove the other ones.

Oh, I hope the black paint comes off the rear tail lights.

Looking sharp!

 

 

I guess the previous owner thought the stripes on the taillights look cool but when you remove them you will see that he painted over the reflector stripes that are in the lens. Not really a good idea for safety. Also, relocating the emblems to the original location looks so much better. Additionally, you will find as I have, when a potential moron pulls up next to you in some inferior car aiming to entice you to race the first thing they do is look at the fender for the emblem. It's like the warning symbol to back off, which they usually do. I like your color as mine is also torch red. Bought mine new and I'm not even close to being bored with it. As far as the windshield is concerned, don't be alarmed about it. Driving a very low car, you will find the windshield to be a chip magnet. Every other vehicle in the world is higher than you so all the garbage off their tires finds its way to your windshield. One more opinion and recommendation. You might want to consider lowering your car a little which is a no cost mod designed in to the suspension. It is done by adjusting the bolts on the leaf spring suspension. It will first of all make your car look a lot better getting rid of the space above your tires. Secondly, in the video that originally came with your car when new (you might not have gotten it) there is a section where the GM narrators recommend lowering to improve handling. Enjoy, you've got a great new toy!

 

Here's an idea I thought of if you want to remove those taillight stripes. The lights remove quickly with a Torx screwdriver. Then carefully sand down the lenses with progressively finer wet sandpaper. Finally, get one of the kits now being sold that polish worn out plastic headlight lenses. That should bring the lenses back to new. I know that Meguiar's makes a kit and I'm sure there are also others.

To remove the emblems, get some fishing line and saw the adhesive strip that holds it on to remove. Any remaining glue should rub off with your finger then repolish. To remount in the proper location, 3M makes a double side tape for mounting moldings. Places like Advance Auto will carry it. Glue one side to the emblem and trim before mounting on the car. You might want to get measurements for the correct location off another Z. Next, lay out the area carefully where you'll be mounting the emblems with masking tape. The 3M tape only gives you one chance to get it right. Screw up and it will be difficult to start over. It holds like you wouldn't believe. BTW, clean the area really well beforehand. You can use alcohol but if the car's been well waxed I'd use acetone or lacquer thinner to really strip the surface. Good luck!

 

Yeah my cousing told me that from far away at night, it only looks like i have two taillights instead of four. I then figured that the black lines were covering the reflector part. You sound so right about them rock chips, i took mine out on I-20 for the first time and low and behold i found like two rock chips by the end of the day. Now i gotta go get them filled with that epoxy stuff. By the way Striper, how do you adjust the bolts on the rear leaf spring ? Do you gotta get underneath the car ? Well hopefully today if the roads dry up i will take that emblem off and put it back where it belongs. Anyone here know the exact measurements of where the emblem went exactly? I really dont know of anyone with a Z06 here in my hometown where i can measure it off their car.