what needs to come first?
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 181
Likes: 0
From: CA
what needs to come first?
I have been a car guy for many years. The only problem that is has mostly been pre 70 muscle cars. Low tech in its purest form.
Now that have finally bought my first Vette the question came to me. Where do I start?
I have a 2001 C5 automatic all stock. Should I start with a performance chip or a larger throttle body or headers and exhaust? I do not have this problem with my 68’ 440 Roadrunner. First off there is no performance chip. What set up worked the best for you?
I wanted to also see if you could opinion of the different manufactures of performance chips. Are there big differences and which one performed the best for you.
I’m not looking to drag race the car, that’s what the roadrunner is for, but I do want quicker throttle response, I do plan on autocrossing.
Any help would be greatly appreciated. I’m very proud of my car and can not wait to show it off at the first car show I can find,
Thank you in advance,
Sui
Now that have finally bought my first Vette the question came to me. Where do I start?
I have a 2001 C5 automatic all stock. Should I start with a performance chip or a larger throttle body or headers and exhaust? I do not have this problem with my 68’ 440 Roadrunner. First off there is no performance chip. What set up worked the best for you?
I wanted to also see if you could opinion of the different manufactures of performance chips. Are there big differences and which one performed the best for you.
I’m not looking to drag race the car, that’s what the roadrunner is for, but I do want quicker throttle response, I do plan on autocrossing.
Any help would be greatly appreciated. I’m very proud of my car and can not wait to show it off at the first car show I can find,
Thank you in advance,
Sui
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Before you decide on a chip or handheld programmer try and take a step back and think where you want to go mod wise...I know thats difficult 
Personally I wouldn't waste money on a chip or programmer....get a new intake...Blackwing or whatever...headers and exhaust then get the car tuned either LS-1 edit or HP Tuner.....those mods will run ya ~$1600 plus probably ~$300-350 dyno tune....and if you shop forum vendors you can probably get the stuff for a little less
Personally I wouldn't waste money on a chip or programmer....get a new intake...Blackwing or whatever...headers and exhaust then get the car tuned either LS-1 edit or HP Tuner.....those mods will run ya ~$1600 plus probably ~$300-350 dyno tune....and if you shop forum vendors you can probably get the stuff for a little less
Team Owner
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 21,234
Likes: 19
From: Freestate Corvette Club! Elkridge, MD
St. Jude Donor '17
Hi Sui
You were in the same boat I was when I got my Vette. I had owned a multitude of older hot ros - everything from FLat Head Fords to my last GTO. The Vette is a whole different (and far better) world!
I started off with replacing the CAT back and the airbox. I went with the Blackwing air cleaner and have been VERY happy with it. It gave it a lot more throttle response, and improved the motor sound. The CAT back gave NO hp (the stock exhaust apparently is pretty good) but changed the whole attitude of the car with the sound.
After this when the $$ was ready - I got a set of Long tube Headers and Hi Flow CATS - I understand LT's are not legal in CA so that may not work for you.
You could jump right into a new gear set for your rear - this is a GREAT mod that gives INSTANT feel and acceleration results. After that the sky is the limit I have found!
Main thing is to have fun!
You were in the same boat I was when I got my Vette. I had owned a multitude of older hot ros - everything from FLat Head Fords to my last GTO. The Vette is a whole different (and far better) world!
I started off with replacing the CAT back and the airbox. I went with the Blackwing air cleaner and have been VERY happy with it. It gave it a lot more throttle response, and improved the motor sound. The CAT back gave NO hp (the stock exhaust apparently is pretty good) but changed the whole attitude of the car with the sound.
After this when the $$ was ready - I got a set of Long tube Headers and Hi Flow CATS - I understand LT's are not legal in CA so that may not work for you.
You could jump right into a new gear set for your rear - this is a GREAT mod that gives INSTANT feel and acceleration results. After that the sky is the limit I have found!
Main thing is to have fun!
Melting Slicks
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 2,857
Likes: 2
From: pawleys island sc
Welcome aboard.
See if this makes sense:
Without going into the bottom end of the engine there are five seperate but related areas you can mod for incresed performance.
First, you've got to get more air into the engine.The best bang for the buck is a new air intake ( do a search to get 3 million opinions on what we think is best). But that only starts the air into your engine - now you've got to decide if you want to stay NA or put in a blower. A blower will get the air in , no prolem. But if you go NA you want to do everything you can to "open up " an airway into the engine - so, think about a new MAF, TB and intake manafold- that will provide a wide opening to allow air flow in.
The "new" tech isn't all that new, it's still true that the more air you put in the more air you have to get out. Once you open up the air intake you have to consider getting the air out of the engine.
So second, you've got to think about headers, hi-flo cats and cat backs as a PACKAGE. You don't have to buy everything all at once but you should plan what componets you'll put in based on what your research tells you is the best setup for your goals.If you're going to do the install yourself it dosen't matter what parts you put in when, but if you're having the install done, from a labor cost aspect, you'd like to do it all at once.
Third, no sense letting more air in and out if your engine can't take full advantage of all that air flow - you need to think about heads and a cam, again as a package, with all the peripherals - ported oil pump, dual timming chain etc.
Fourth. lets get all that power to the ground - you've got to loose your stock TC and get a new set of gears with a high stall Tc and trani cooler.
Fifth, find a real good tuner and turn him loose on your car.
Now what order you do 1 thru 5 is up to you - some will suggest #4 should be first and # 2 last - it's up to YOU to decide what makes sense to you and your pocket book.Again , from a labor point of view, each "chain" should, if possible, be done at the same time.
Good luck with your mods and don't be afraid to ask questions -there's alot of nice and very smart people on this forum that will give you a lot of help.
See if this makes sense:
Without going into the bottom end of the engine there are five seperate but related areas you can mod for incresed performance.
First, you've got to get more air into the engine.The best bang for the buck is a new air intake ( do a search to get 3 million opinions on what we think is best). But that only starts the air into your engine - now you've got to decide if you want to stay NA or put in a blower. A blower will get the air in , no prolem. But if you go NA you want to do everything you can to "open up " an airway into the engine - so, think about a new MAF, TB and intake manafold- that will provide a wide opening to allow air flow in.
The "new" tech isn't all that new, it's still true that the more air you put in the more air you have to get out. Once you open up the air intake you have to consider getting the air out of the engine.
So second, you've got to think about headers, hi-flo cats and cat backs as a PACKAGE. You don't have to buy everything all at once but you should plan what componets you'll put in based on what your research tells you is the best setup for your goals.If you're going to do the install yourself it dosen't matter what parts you put in when, but if you're having the install done, from a labor cost aspect, you'd like to do it all at once.
Third, no sense letting more air in and out if your engine can't take full advantage of all that air flow - you need to think about heads and a cam, again as a package, with all the peripherals - ported oil pump, dual timming chain etc.
Fourth. lets get all that power to the ground - you've got to loose your stock TC and get a new set of gears with a high stall Tc and trani cooler.
Fifth, find a real good tuner and turn him loose on your car.
Now what order you do 1 thru 5 is up to you - some will suggest #4 should be first and # 2 last - it's up to YOU to decide what makes sense to you and your pocket book.Again , from a labor point of view, each "chain" should, if possible, be done at the same time.
Good luck with your mods and don't be afraid to ask questions -there's alot of nice and very smart people on this forum that will give you a lot of help.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 3,439
Likes: 6
From: Newark, DE
St. Jude Donor '06
Originally Posted by SuiVette
I’m not looking to drag race the car, that’s what the roadrunner is for, but I do want quicker throttle response, I do plan on autocrossing.
1. Replace the restrictive air intake (everything forward of air bridge)
2. Ported throttle body (Shaner or Lingenfelter)
3. Upgraded anti-sway bars (Z06 or Hotchkis)
4. Wider tires/wheels
5. Tune (including adjusting shift points & firmness)
Everything else that has been mentioned would be "icing on the cake," but not strictly necessary for improving throttle response or auto-X performance. You can also go crazy with handling mods - lowering (free), shocks, springs, tunnel plate, or even a full coil-over system.
Enjoy!
Melting Slicks
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 2,322
Likes: 2
From: New York NY
Cruise-In VI Veteran
St. Jude Donor '05
Originally Posted by Cajundude
I'll make it short and sweet:
1. Gears
2. Intake
3. Exhaust
4. Heads/Cam
5. Blower
1. Gears
2. Intake
3. Exhaust
4. Heads/Cam
5. Blower
I have a 2000 A4 and I went with intake (blackwing), exhaust (magnaflow), and headers (dynatech). And a dyno tune. However, although I enjoy the sound of the new headers, they did not give me the power I was expecting. Unless you plan on cracking into the engine and doing a heads/cam package or a blower I would forego the headers. If better response is what you are looking for get yourself a higher stall torque converter (3400 or 3600) and some new gears. You have an auto so you either have the standard 2.73 option or performance 3.15 option. Go with some 3.42 or 3.73 gears combined with the torque converter and you will be very happy. If I was to do it all over again I would have purchased the gears and TC first rather than the headers. good luckby the way, you dont need a performance chip. But you may want to get a dyno tune after all of your mods are finished to optimize everything. it will defintely be necessary if you change gears.
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Melting Slicks
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 2,814
Likes: 1
From: FT Lewis WA
Originally Posted by 99 vett babycar
Welcome aboard.
See if this makes sense:
Without going into the bottom end of the engine there are five seperate but related areas you can mod for incresed performance.
First, you've got to get more air into the engine.The best bang for the buck is a new air intake ( do a search to get 3 million opinions on what we think is best). But that only starts the air into your engine - now you've got to decide if you want to stay NA or put in a blower. A blower will get the air in , no prolem. But if you go NA you want to do everything you can to "open up " an airway into the engine - so, think about a new MAF, TB and intake manafold- that will provide a wide opening to allow air flow in.
The "new" tech isn't all that new, it's still true that the more air you put in the more air you have to get out. Once you open up the air intake you have to consider getting the air out of the engine.
So second, you've got to think about headers, hi-flo cats and cat backs as a PACKAGE. You don't have to buy everything all at once but you should plan what componets you'll put in based on what your research tells you is the best setup for your goals.If you're going to do the install yourself it dosen't matter what parts you put in when, but if you're having the install done, from a labor cost aspect, you'd like to do it all at once.
Third, no sense letting more air in and out if your engine can't take full advantage of all that air flow - you need to think about heads and a cam, again as a package, with all the peripherals - ported oil pump, dual timming chain etc.
Fourth. lets get all that power to the ground - you've got to loose your stock TC and get a new set of gears with a high stall Tc and trani cooler.
Fifth, find a real good tuner and turn him loose on your car.
Now what order you do 1 thru 5 is up to you - some will suggest #4 should be first and # 2 last - it's up to YOU to decide what makes sense to you and your pocket book.Again , from a labor point of view, each "chain" should, if possible, be done at the same time.
Good luck with your mods and don't be afraid to ask questions -there's alot of nice and very smart people on this forum that will give you a lot of help.
See if this makes sense:
Without going into the bottom end of the engine there are five seperate but related areas you can mod for incresed performance.
First, you've got to get more air into the engine.The best bang for the buck is a new air intake ( do a search to get 3 million opinions on what we think is best). But that only starts the air into your engine - now you've got to decide if you want to stay NA or put in a blower. A blower will get the air in , no prolem. But if you go NA you want to do everything you can to "open up " an airway into the engine - so, think about a new MAF, TB and intake manafold- that will provide a wide opening to allow air flow in.
The "new" tech isn't all that new, it's still true that the more air you put in the more air you have to get out. Once you open up the air intake you have to consider getting the air out of the engine.
So second, you've got to think about headers, hi-flo cats and cat backs as a PACKAGE. You don't have to buy everything all at once but you should plan what componets you'll put in based on what your research tells you is the best setup for your goals.If you're going to do the install yourself it dosen't matter what parts you put in when, but if you're having the install done, from a labor cost aspect, you'd like to do it all at once.
Third, no sense letting more air in and out if your engine can't take full advantage of all that air flow - you need to think about heads and a cam, again as a package, with all the peripherals - ported oil pump, dual timming chain etc.
Fourth. lets get all that power to the ground - you've got to loose your stock TC and get a new set of gears with a high stall Tc and trani cooler.
Fifth, find a real good tuner and turn him loose on your car.
Now what order you do 1 thru 5 is up to you - some will suggest #4 should be first and # 2 last - it's up to YOU to decide what makes sense to you and your pocket book.Again , from a labor point of view, each "chain" should, if possible, be done at the same time.
Good luck with your mods and don't be afraid to ask questions -there's alot of nice and very smart people on this forum that will give you a lot of help.
An excellent post. BTW, click the Mods in my SIG for a complete list of mods done on my 2001 C5 Coupe, A4 [3.42]
Melting Slicks
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 2,631
Likes: 2
From: Clever, MO aka SOMO
Don't do a thing to it for 6 months. Drive your car and learn from it each time. The C5 is a different animal completely. Don't waste your money on alot of unnecessary stuff before you even know what you've got!! This is what I did and am glad I waited. I found I didn't need a bunch of overpriced mods. Unless you just want to blow some cash, read and learn first.
Now, go out and drive that car!!
Have fun!
Now, go out and drive that car!!
Have fun!