Hello, I have owned my 02 ZO6 for about a year and a half and so far it's been kept all stock with the exception of my HID headlights. Now I've really been doing a lot of thinking and some research on performance upgrades. Like many people today I don't have too much money. I'm not a professional but I can do simple and routine mechanics. I'm looking to start with some bolt-ons that will give me noticeable results without breaking my bank.

I recently ordered a BBK cold air intake from corvetteguys.com and am awaiting its delivery. I am looking into upgrading my headers(I do live in Cali so they need to be smog legal!!) I am also thinking of replacing the stock H pipe I read that it is pretty restrictive, and also some hi flow cats. Other than that I've considered a throttle body/intake manifold upgrade, and also a better shifter. And of course a professional tune after everything else.

My questions to all of you informative corvette owners out there is which of these upgrades would you say are necessary or unnecessary? And which products would you recommend for a good price?

 

california is pretty tough on headers and cats.

best talk to a knowledgeable smog person on what will pass or fail.

shifter.

peruse the parts section for prices.

 

The stock H-pipe itself isn't that restrictive, it's just poorly designed, and not a full cross-over pipe since the opening is about the size of a dime. Doing exhaust mods without LT headers is a waste of money, IMO. Either try and find a inspection place that's known to be liberal, or save up money for other effective mods that'll pass inspection. Like a small cam kit. It'll give a nice boost, even if you can't have headers. Or get a CARB approved supercharger/turbo kit. Guaranteed HP, but spendy. Any intake manifold, and TB upgrades won't really add that much power for the money. The FAST manifold is really the only effective one, and even then, without headers, is less so. Spending the money for some type of FI is the only power adder that'll give you large gains, w/o headers. I think AFR heads are approved, and with a small cam, and shorties will probably give you about 50-60 HP. A blower will give you at least 100, and cost very little more than doing all the bolt-ons.

 

Personally I would say all those things you listed are necessary, but that's just me.

It didn't take me long to put the basics on my car, intake, full exhaust, tune, etc.
I bought an intake within the first month of owning the car, everything else came much later.
You won't need a manifold or TB unless you're running a cam or other power adder. Lots of money for a few extra horsepower with a stock setup...
Shifter is a must for me, love my B&M short throw.

I never regretted my basic mods, but as was stated above, you should check with what you can get away with in Cali.
I don't know Cali rules. I'm registered in Prescott, AZ which is awesome because we don't do emissions at all.

 

I do plan on upgrading my cam and heads eventually but for now I would just like to take care of some of the less expensive bolt ons.

In your opion is it a noticeable difference from the stock shifter, and does the B&M automaticaly overide the stupid skip shift setting?

 

Ok so heads and cam is definatley a way to go even if I can only have shorties?

 

here is my post and may answer your questions.i'm in kaliforneia too
..one thing for sure is a "good tune." made a big difference in performance and general driveabililty with my Z..
look for some mods used on the "for sale" parts section...ya might save a few bucks..
get the skip shift, and i have a b/m short shifter, they are definitely more percise than stock.....
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c5-z...my-04-z16.html
hope that helps..

 

Like someone else mentioned find a mod friendly smog shop. Ask around some of the performance shops they should be able to help you.

 

thanks a lot everyone for your suggestions, and bud for that link.

 

the skip shift is a separate piece.

go to zip.com or corvettecentral.com and download a catalog.

do a search for: c5 parts catalogue if you need more sites.

do research, make a plan, execute that plan.

 

They can also turn the 1-4 crap off with your tune so you don't have to bother buying something. The turned mine off without me ever buying anything

 

Nice...thanks

 

If i was doing mods on a budget, I would do them in this order:

1) Cold Air Induction
2) Long Tube Headers (if you can have those in CA)
3) Tune
4) Shifter

I would look to the parts for sale section for most as you can save quite a bit.

Rick

 

decide how much power you're looking to gain first!!

if i could start over from day 1 of ownership, i would have saved a little more money and installed an A&A s/c..

 

That sounds like a solid list, I am glad I saw this thread because I might move to Cali in a few months, so the more emission info the better. From what I understand though, long tubes wont pass the visual inspection because the cats are relocated. But, I wondered if it was possible to have a special tune to lean out the AFR, so it doesn't pollute so much. I might be dreaming though.

 

I'm not sure about that plan. Maybe some CA members can chime in.

 

Also you might want to consider street legal drag radials and gears!

 

Ok so here's 2 combos.... 1 is stealthy completely under the radar and less $$$ , the other will pass but needs attention to detail.... And a little less attention by the smog operator.
1) keep the stock 243 heads
Shorty headers (B&B are probably the best shorty)
Magna flow cat less down pipe into an Xpipe and catback. (keep the stocker for smog time)
Have a custom cam specd or any of the 224 cams on either 114 or 115 lobe
TPIS modified 90 mm LS6 manifold,90 mm ported TB and a Vararam intake.
Estimated 410-420rwhp and 390-400rwtq. Pass smog and visual easily. With all bolt-ons

2) AFR 205 or 210 heads (cuz they have E.O #s)
SLP makes Longtubes that have a down pipe that can connect to stock cats.
(or Just use shorties)
Again custom spec'd cam, but you can pass with a 228-232 115+4 sized cam and a good tune , ported FAST 90-92-102 whatever's available...Paint it black or the previously mentioned TPIS 90mm/LS6. Estimated 430-450rwhp and 410-430rwtq. With all bolt-ons. Depending on which headers and which cam are selected.
So combo 1 is a guarantee... Combo 2 is more of a max effort and kind of walking the fine line of passing by testing the technicality of the visual, but retains stock cat positions. Since you have an '02 you are not removing pup cats,the FAST intake may not have an EO# but probably wouldn't be to noticeable painted black. The TPIS 90mm/LS6 is high flow but fully stealthy...I would recommend a mellow catback like stock TI's or Magnaflows!

 

Most long tubes with cats will pass the sniffer but not the visual, CA use CARB to make more money it really has very little to do with actual smog issues. There are smog shops that will look past the visual but you kinda have know the right people or get lucky. Its pretty dumb.

 

I already ordered cold air and a shifter, and no I can't legally have long tubes and it seems that the stock manifolds are about the same as shorties so I don't think I'll be doing headers unless I find some that actually make a noticeable difference.