Hello I just bought a really clean 2003 c5 z and was wondering what some good starting mods are to help with reliability and just to make the experience more pleasant. Thanks in advance

 

Congrats on the new ride.

Many subjective possibilities so give us a starting point e.g. inside or out?

There's lots of things to make driving these things more pleasant however if the car isn't reliable, I'd say tackle that first

 

If it were me, MGW shifter and double din stereo

 

Hi',
These are the mods I have done the past 3 years after alot of research and combing the forums. We all have different goals but mine are really to enhance the driving pleasure, upgrade with high quality components, and generally stay as close to stock as possible.

Car is 2001 C5 Z06 Torch Red w/35,000 miles

1. MGW shifter with lower box
- bought and installed this month
- probably 2nd best mod so far if not #1

2. Corsa Extreme Catback with 4 inch tips
- installed last year
- this is my favourite mod so far as it sounds just about perfect however a very subjective area
- i dont plan on long tube headers. If you do, Corsa Sport might be better

3. Callaway Honker intake
- installed last year
- just a very well engineered intake.
- I really do think Corsa Extreme and Honker picked up low end torque and throttle tip responsiveness.

4. Street tune
- Seat of pants car feels way "crisper" especially low rpm throttle tip in. Feels very responsiveness with zero mushiness.

5. Continental Extreme Contact Sport
- Fronts are 275/40/17 and Rear are 295/35/18
- Just a great all around tire and I personally feel the 275 up front improved the handling and provides better front end suspension compliance. Major upgrade over oem goodyear tires.
- Car is lowered on longer stock bolts

6. Knight Drive Triple LED headlight
- installed this month
- purely aesthetics and easily reversed

Next potential Mods
- Interior seats
- Bilstein DRM shocks
- Possibly headers
- Possibly 4:10 gears

Hope this helps.
The C5Z is such a great car and just a joy to drive and work on.

 

inside specifically. I’ve heard people saying they put a c6 shifter on it instead of keeping the stock one. I may want to change the radio to make it more modern. Is there any other recommendations? Thank you.

 

awesome I think I’ll do the MGW shifter then I saw another comment saying they recommend it as well. Are the headlights better than the stock ones I haven’t seen the lights at night yet but they’ve got to be a lot better than the ones on my c3. Thanks for the reply!

 

do the double din stereos require any modifications to the center console? How’s the MGW shifter is it a lot better than something like a hurst or a c6 one?

 

Supercharger first thing! No, just kidding…

I suggest checking the condition and age of the tires. Six years is the limit. When I bought my coupe last year it had the original front tires and they had plenty of tread. I bought a new set as soon as I got the car home.

Lmc5 steering column lock bypass

1-4 skip shift bypass

Change all lubricants. I like RedLine products.

Check your brake and clutch master cylinder fluids. Dirty or discolored clutch fluid can destroy the seals in the slave and master. Tons of threads on this subject, and I highly recommend attending to this right away. My car had 26k miles and the fluid was dark and there were actually small chucks of debris. Shortly thereafter my clutch pedal fell to the floor.

Fun mods:
Upgrade the cam and valve springs.

Headers.

Tune.

Improve your shifter. Popular choices are an MGW shifter and lower box, or C6 shifter handle with TMOD lower box. TMOD is a vendor on this forum.

Upgrade your stock radio to a touch sensitive flat screen with all the app crap.

Hope this gives you some ideas!

Welcome to the forum and congrats on your Z06 …

 

The double dins do require a small amount of cutting to remove a stock bracket. Minor issue.

Some like the Hurst, I sold(got rid of) mine and did the C6/TMOD route. The MGW gets rave reviews and seems to be a great short throw shifter. I prefer a easy and smooth shifter. The TMOD lower box mod is really heads above the stock box.

Both are popular, just what suits your tastes.

 

Tires depending if they had been replaced yet or not. Huge improvement to go to non run flats and handling compared to old tires.

 

A supercharger is definitely on the list as something I wanna do later on I love the instant torque and the nice whine they have. The tires I was told were new I’ll have to double check to make sure. I’ll check to make sure all the fluids are clean and chunk free. That clutch falling to the floor must have been pretty terrifying at that moment. I think I’ll do the MGW I’ve been getting a lot of comments about it. Thank you I appreciate the reply!

 

The LMC5 should be the first thing if it hasn't already been done. This should 100% be done to EVERY C5 Z06. It's not a "sexy" mod, but it will keep you on the road.
Tires and fluids have also been mentioned. Make sure that the car is reliable first. For the shifter, most people prefer MGW. Although a C6 shifter with a t-mod box is a good choice too. The anti venom mod is cheap, and will also help with the shift "feel". I could go on and on. It depends on how deep down the rabbit hole you want to go. I would look at suspension mods next. However, I would want to know what your goals are for the car before going any further with mod suggestions. Is this a daily driver, a weekend street toy, a hardcore track build? How you use the car will direct what mods to consider.

 

awesome I’ll check out the double dins then I saw other posts talking about them as well. Thank you for the reply!

 

it’ll be my daily but also something I’d take to the track or mountains for the twists and turns every now and then. I’m fine with a stiff suspension it’s not a big deal as I’m not a big fan of a soft shocks and other suspension bits that sacrifice performance for comfort.This is my first modern car so sorry if I sound dumb with my questions, but are some good starting mods for the engine like simple bolt ons and supporting mods i could do that won’t require me to tear the engine apart? Thank you

 

I always suggest Seats Shifter Shocks. the oe versions were mediocre when new and 20yrs later, they stink.
Seats: Corbeau Evo X or similar. The oe seats are a bag 'o marshmallows & really insulate you from the car. Good seats makes the experience much more connected.
Shifter: my personal fav is Tmods rebuilt lower box if it's loose, and shorten the stocker. Run a shift ball of your choosing, I like the good old fashioned cue-ball type.
Shocks: DRM valved Bilsteins will transform the handling/ride.

After that, decide what's important to you. I have a bangin stereo with no headunit at all - just blocked it off & run Bluetooth through my phone. Lighting: I don't drive a lot at night & the Sylvania SilverStars bulbs are enough for me. Power - infinite options there. I have a built LS2 based 427 making 550whp through built trans/diff and 4.1 gearing. Over the top fun.

have fun!

 

You'll certainly want to upgrade the sway bars. I would look at C6 Z06 sway bars. They are a nice upgrade that will bolt right on. If you have the budget, coilovers are great. For normal daily driving you don't need them, but if you are going to track the car, they're great. A more cost effective option that will still work well for you would be to swap the OEM shocks out for C6 Z06 shocks. This will still give you a good ride on the street, but will really help with handling performance.
For simple bolt on performance mods, I would start with long tube headers, and x-pipe. No need to change the catback as the Ti setup that comes stock is actually pretty good in terms of performance. If you don't already have them, a set of high performance summer tires makes a night and day difference. That night not be a good option for you though, since you plan to DD the car. Summer tires cannot be used if the temperature is below 40 degrees. I personally went with a supercharger kit from A&A Corvette. That might be farther than you're looking to go though. Good luck with your build!

 

Yes, you’ll need a new center console and there’s a bracket that needs to be cut out for the double din install. It’s not terribly difficult to install though. As to the MGW I don’t have any experience with other shifters to compare to, but I’m very pleased with mine

 

In addition to the many positive mods that can be done listed above, make sure the seats do not have the rocking seat syndrome. If they do, several vendors here on the forum sell kits to tighten things back up.

And just have to add a +1 on getting an LMC5 column lock eliminator for the car.

 

In order of importance
LMC5 module
Address any maintenance issues (full tune up/tires if needed etc)
MGW shifter
Lower it on stock bolts then alignment

Simply enjoy it for a while.

Next round when funds available:
Longtubes/Xpipe/catback/dyno tune

 

No mods = good mods.