AU N EGL

Budget is always considered. If budget were truely no problem then a LS2 or LS3 402-416 dry sump create motor, darton sleeves, forged internals by a great builder. ~ 500-550 hp at $12-$14,000. Plus an additional $10K for other upgrades.

Camjamsdad

CAI, Long Tubes, X pipe, no cats or hi flow cats, and a tune. Save your money on the cat back. Won't gain much if anything. The factory exhaust isn't restrictive.

These mods will also compliment any future mods you do in the future. Like a FAST 90/92 intake, larger throttle body, heads, cam.

Speed costs money, how fast do you want to go?

JACKAL0PE

I agree. Be advised however, that with any sort of high-flow exhaust AND headers, car will be VERY loud. If that's not what you're looking for, keep your eyes out for a Z06 TI exhaust. Combined with headers it sounds good but won't rattle windows six blocks away.

Vega$Vette

Forgot earlier Switch to an LS6 intake. You can pick it up for about $300 and it's an easy job.

madmatt9471

"The factory exhaust isn't restrictive" - OMG are you kidding

What part of this factory exhaust muffler do you say is "NOT" Restrictive? :

1. the part that goes from 2 1/2" to 2 1/4" pinched pipe or
2. where it hits a WALL and then goes into a chamber
3. keep looking and you'll see more

The factory exhaust is restrictive and you will gain extra HP and TQ from a change

Thanks,Matt

Camjamsdad

After market cat back systems gain very little if anything. Sorry but that's the way it is. After Market make more noise than power. GM designed the system very well. Search is your friend.

SCM_Crash

^^^ I agree... Axle back does absolutely nothing without FI or internal mods. On the dyno you may see 1HP if you're lucky, but the butt-dyno won't see a change at all.

Heads/Cam the LG big 3 only saw 10hp. So the axle back is a waste of money without big mods.

RedRiderZR1

I had bolt-ons and had the car dynoed before and after cat-back exhaust change. Gained nothing from the cat-back. Didn't feel anything different. Just sounded MUCH better. Now on my ZR-1 that car needed the cat-back. I could feel the difference in that car. Cat-back was restrictive in the ZR-1.

So no need to change it unless you want better sound. All that was mentioned above will get you to 400hp crank as you want. Not a bad idea to change to the LS-6 intake if you have a 1997-2000 LS-1. But if I were you, I would spend another couple hundred and get a dyno tune if possible. If that's not possible, then maybe for $499.00 buy Hptuners or another tuning software and tune it yourself. With those minimal mods the tune wouldn't be that hard to do yourself. Just do some reading and learn how to use it. Great for future mods. Saves $$$$ if you are going to mod in the future. These tuning costs add up.

AU N EGL

Something else to think about. STOCK engines that have never been opened up will last longer.

any engine that is opened up, for heads, cam or what ever, will need to be opened up in the not to near future to be refreshed. That is a fact of engine life.

when one starts looking at $6,000 or more in engine mods, well LS6 and LS2 create motors can be had for that amount. Or an LS3 create with GM HOT cam for not much more. 480 hp 475tq



http://www.gmperformanceparts.com/En...1224&engCat=ls

SCM_Crash

I personally don't know anything about tuning. I understand what they're doing, but wouldn't know what I was doing if I saw it. I know some seriously talented guys that tune LSx motors so well, it boggles your mind. They eat, drink and sleep LSx tunes. As far as I'm concerned, as long as these guys are alive, I'll never tune my car myself!

As for what Au N Egl said, I have to agree. GM's build of the motor is pretty much perfect. If you can avoid going INTO the motor, do it. The second you open it up, random weirdness starts happening. Without pulling apart and LS1 or LS6, you can make 500 to the ground pretty safely (assuming you have a good tune). I know the internals are usually good for 550RWHP if you have a spot on tune. I've heard of people going WAY over that, but I'm not going to push my LS6. 490-500 to the ground is all I need.

D Baize

Would the Borla cat-back be less restrictive for the OP?

Rapid Fred

Interesting 'cause that thing sure does LOOK restrictive. I have a cat-back on my C5-- sounds great, runs great -- but it was there when I bought it. I added a high-quality expensive cat-back to my C4 LT1 (known to be a good-flowing stock exhaust) and felt no improvement...probably not all that relevant to a C5, though...

I have seen some tests which LOOKED legit where the cat-back helped the C5, but I've seen others where it did not. FWIW, the C6 benefits 6HP with the optional free-flowing exhaust http://www.vetteweb.com/features/vem...tte/index.html so I bet a good exhaust does that, and no more, for the C5 as well.

Vega$Vette

Your are not going to get anywhere close to 500 rwhp with bolt-ons unless you are bolting on a BLOWER. You would need heads and cam. Stock LS1 are right at 300 rwhp

Opening the motor will mean you are going to have problems. That's ridiculous. Why would that happen?

Drumbum675

So, I'll get in on this... What is the largest cam I could install with stock heads? And what kind of hp would I get out of that? Currently CAI, headers, Borla stingers and a tune. Is it even worth doing a cam without doing heads?

Vega$Vette

I would not go over .600 and I would definitely upgrade the springs. You can get up 50-60 or more rwhp and still have a drivable car.

And yes you can do a cam without heads

paullywalnuts

Don't be scurrred! N2O is the way to go.

02MillenniumVette

Havent had any problems with mine and Ive done a head/cam swap. How exactly do you expect to get 500+rwhp with out opening up the engine?

94-vette

Pound for pound N20 makes the most HP for the money.This should go without sayn.

SCM_Crash

OK, 500 can be made with a procharger or vortech supercharger. No need to open the motor up.

And the weird things that happen... Basically, as explained in other threads, GM built those motors perfectly. They could practically go forever if they were never opened. I have no idea why that is, but it's been my experience as well as many others.

But once you pull the intake manifold or heads off... It just seems something weird happens that really shouldn't have happened... Perhaps a gasket blows or something... I dunno. I'm not saying specific things happen, I'm saying weird random things happen.

I know there's plenty of people that haven't had a single issue with their modded motors. I'm not saying they will either, but if you're as supersticious as me, you'd put money on it happening. LOL

crosstheline

If I was going to do it all over again and I have spent A LOT of money modding this junk my order would be as follows (if I kept the LS1 stock bottom end):

1. CAI
2. Tune
3. New gears in rear end (3:73's if auto, 3:90's if manual)
4. Cat back's
5. L/T headers
6. Cam
7. Heads
8. Intake and throttle body work

Do all this and you will run in the mid 11's.

And I forgot the cheapest mod of all - HOOD SEAL (200 hp for $10)