okay, all my life ive wanted a vette, finally i can afford one so I recently bought a 98 c5 with the 6 speed. Problem is, its just not as fast as I thought it would be. Currently I have magnaflow exhaust with x-pipe, kooks long tube headers, and a blackwing intake. I can afford to invest about 5000 into this car to make it faster. My friend has a 94 rx7 (basically stock except for aftermarket piping), and another has a 95 miata with a flyin miata turbo kit, both of these cars are faster than mine and I cant have that. What do you guys suggest? Im not really interested in destroying my motor with nitrous though. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

First off, there must be something wrong with your 98 if it can't outrun a stock 94 RX7. They weigh 2,800#'s, and have 275hp at the crank. His power:weight is worse than a stock C5.

$5k is more than enough to buy long tube headers, an LS6 intake manifold, a new intake, an underdrive pulley, a cam, a set of budget heads, and install it all yourself and have a tuner dyno tune it. Expect low 400's all the way up towards upper 400's at the wheel. I don't know what your buddies are running, but I am guessing they won't be able to hang with a 400+ rwhp car weighing in at 3,200#'s unless they have some serious, serious bucks in their 4 cylinder turbos... Not saying that isn't the case; God knows there are some fast 4 cylinders running around.

 

What are your goals for the car? Do you have a HP goal or a track time in mind? Your car should be able to run into the 12s now as it sits.

 

You already have a good start with your filter and headers (Kooks are excellent). Kilrb pretty much outlined what you need. I don't know how radical you are willing to go with your setup, but here is what I would do.

Dart 205 heads - $1600
Cam - $400
Hardened Pushrods - $70
Ported Oil Pump - $70
LS2 timing chain - $30
Clutch+01 hydraulics (Textralia would be my choice at present) - $1000
Gaskets - $100
Centerbolt valve covers+coil brackets - ~$150

I'm not sure if you are a DIY type so this would give you about $1500 to go towards installation. If you are a DIY type and can tackle this then you can spend some more on the combination. The heads I would upgrade to either AFR 205's or TFS 215's ($2200 and $2600 respectively). Keep in mind any of the heads I mention you should have milled to either 61cc or 59cc depending on how radical of a cam you decide on (the cam will be a factor in how much clearance you'll have and thus how much you can mill safely).

 

Car and driver ran a best time of 13.9@101 mph in 1994 on the RX-7. You shold be at least a full second faster if not more.. Bone stock your car runs 13.3@109.. Something is wrong with your car (tuning?) or maybe your shifting/launching techniques ( no offense). or else your buddies have some really serious mods on their cars that they are not disclosing to you. Take it to the track for some timeslips and to brush up on your skills

 

[QUOTE=David426;1561316784]Car and driver ran a best time of 13.9@101 mph in 1994 on the RX-7. You shold be at least a full second faster if not more.. Bone stock your car runs 13.3@109.. Something is wrong with your car (tuning?) or maybe your shifting/launching techniques ( no offense). or else your buddies have some really serious mods on their cars that they are not disclosing to you. Take it to the track for some timeslips and to brush up on your skills[/QUOTE

I think your driving/launching techniques could use a little practice. Have you tried racing from a 40mph roll on? If your car is still behind, you may want to bring it to a tuner, they will be able to make corrections if needed, and they will also extract any power that your stock tune may be leaving on the table.

Seeing that you already have a set of Kooks LT's on the car and an after market exhaust...getting the air out should be fine. Getting the air in is where you may be having a problem. Buy a Varraram intake for approximatley $300, get a bigger CAM for approximatley $400, buy an LS6 intake manifold approximately $300 used to $500 new, get a pair of cylinder heads or have yours milled for approximately $1600 to$2500 (depending on what brand/stage you go with), then get a good tune for approximately $500. You will be looking at approximately 420 RWHP and 390 RWTQ at a MINIMUM...if it's done right and you go with a healthy cam (nothing smaller than 228/228...you will be sorry of you go smaller) and decent heads. Then you can have a sour launch and still make up for the loss with mid range and high end power.

All done for around $5k.

 

Get some seat time in your Vette before you do anything else. With similar mods my Vette ran consistent 12.50’s @ 115 mph on the original runflats. You should be pounding that RX7 and Miata into the ground.

 

Where do you live? There will be someone close to you that will look at your car and see if theres something wrong with it. I was SHOCKED when you stated that those cars beat you!!! NO WAY!

Did you have Traction Control ON or OFF or in COMP Mode???

What RPM do you shift at (is it a 6 speed or Automatic??)

BC

 

Im in the navy and just got off an 8 month deployment,since i left I guess my friends rx7 now has a petit racing single turbo conversion, fuel upgrades and a few other odds and ends, he runs under 12 in the 1/4 mile. The miata barley beat me so maybe with better driving skills I could take down the miata. Thanks for all the help, here some answers to your questions: I had the traction control on, I think i hade the three way switch in sport, but I havent noticed changing that swithch really changing anything, i live in virginia beach, but my friends live in north carolina. I am going to order some heads and cam as soon as I figure out which ones to go with, is the ls6 intake worth the money or is there a better one out there? Do you guys think that 4.10 gears are a good idea? I know his rx7 has gears around there. We have been racing each other since high school (that was a while ago!!!by the way) so even if i cant beat him i would like it to at least be close. Also does anyone know a reputable shop to tune my car after I get all this installed? Like I said I live in virginia I know there is that corvette event in mannasas this weekend, maybe Ill go check it out!

 

ls6 intake is a good choice. There is also the FAST intake but that is a bit more money. You will see gains with the ls6 but more with the FAST. 4.10s are a great idea. IMO the best gear for your car. Many people love 4.10s in a 6-speed. Add H/C and your in the low 11s to high 10s range and looking back at your friends in your rear view mirror