been modifying my 04 coupe a-4 for past. in this order gears 3.42 and stall 3200 with cat back,then headers shortly therafter. 12.666 shift points not set correctly and keep bouncing off limiter both shifts. next phase tsp ls-6 2.5 heads and a 224/230 cam and ported t/b now running 11.524. next 90/90 ported both 11.311 next 3.73 gears and 3600 stall`10.974 dec 2008. 11's and 10's done on ccw drag pack. present setup trick flow heads custom grind cam to be run on bogart drag pack soon. just and idea of where you can go with diff mods. also get a linelock

 

Man, I do sooo much reading!! Other website says its wrong or a mech sayes another one is wrong, some think I shouldn't even mess with a vettes engine, since its already a beast... And I like the Nitrus now.. I did my homework.. lol So what do I have to have if I'm going to add NOS later on? Im still think LS6 intake is the first thing I need..

And if i'd wait to have 4.5k Id save up and buy a Twin turbo..

 

If you don't mind dropping about $350 for 5 horsepower, then the LS6 intake is a good idea as a starting point. Understand that this intake is better than the LS1, but your actual gains with a stock engine won't be very much compared to a modified engine. Later down the road however... it will be worth it.

If it were me, I would spend the $300 or so on a Vararam before buying the LS6 intake. The 'instant gratification' will be worth it. Take the $200 you saved from this month and stick it in the bank. Buy a Predator tuner the next month, and stick the rest in savings.

By month three or four, you should have enough for the LG longtube headers. (About $1000 or so, plus installation.) This will wake your car up quite a bit. Now install the LS6, because here comes the fun...

Start thinking about a cam, and choose a stall converter based on that cam selection. Someone already mentioned England Green, and while I have not personally dealt with them, they have a great reputation. A lot of the supporting vendors here can help guide you in the right direction in that regard.

I'm not sure if you mentioned it, so I'll ask: What gears do you have? If you have 2.73's then I would consider getting a new rear end. You can find a Z06 rear for about $500 or so used, or go for a new one... with maybe a deeper gear ratio.

So what part of the country are you in? I'm sure that someone can recommend a good shop close to you that can help install the go-fast goodies.

Good luck.

Mark

 

Sweet, Thank you!
Also, I live in Ozark MO.. Right betwen Sprinfield and Branson. I dont know how the tell what gears I have, and I confess Idk what it even means.. I know what gears are but not what the numbers mean


Isnt a Vararam an intake? Why add that, then later on down the road buy a diffrent one?

I cant wait to get headers
Thank you!

 

There are essentially three different rear differential gear sets available for the C5: 2.73:1, 3.15:1, and 3.73:1. The numbers are a ratio between the speed of the driveshaft vs. the speed of the wheel shaft. 2.73:1 means that the engine will spin 2.73 times for every revolution of the wheel shaft. 3:42:1 means that the engine will spin 3.42 times for every rotation of the wheel shaft. The 'higher' the number, the 'lower' the gears... and the faster your vehicle will accelerate.

Automatic cars normally came with the 2.73:1 ratio, but could have the 3.15 'performance' gear ratio as an option. The Z06 and 6-speed cars had 3.73:1 ratio, with the Z06 having shot-peened gears. (There was also a different 6-speed in the Z06 vs. regular C5 6-speed.)

If you want to figure out what gears you have, try this handy little chart:



Got that from this post:

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/1569180383-post22.html

No. When people talk about an intake, they are referring to the intake manifold. It is bolted directly to the top of the engine, between the valve covers. It looks like this:



A vararam is a cold air intake system. It replaces the air filter assembly under the hood with a setup that draws cool air from the front of the car. It looks like this:



See that red boot at the end of the pipe? That part connects to the Mass Air Flow Sensor, which connects to the air bridge that goes over the radiator and connects to the throttle body... which is bolted to the front of the intake manifold.

I realize that it can be confusing, as they both sound alike... but the purpose is different.

Here is a comparison... this is stock:



The stock air filter housing sits above the radiator, and the air bridge passes over the radiator. It attaches to the 'accordion boot' which connects to the throttle body, which is bolted to the intake manifold.

This is the stock air filter assembly, air bridge, and accordion boot removed from the car:



The stock air filter assembly is removed and replaced with the Vararam 'horns' and filter assembly. Here is a great write-up on how to do it:

http://www.zbramotors.com/vararam/VaraRam.html

There are a lot out there... take your time and read about the differences between them all. I ended up with the LG Streets because they have a good reputation, look like they were decent quality (they are) and they were on sale for less than $1K shipped.

You're welcome.

Mark

 

God man you are awesome lol, you have helped me out alot.. I've been doing my research and I think I like Kook long tubes with high flow cats.. they a pretty pennie though lol..

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c5-t...-standard.html

People on this thread tell me not to get the tune you told me about.. buit I dont know what they're talking about either... huh lol.

Thanks again!!

 

Here's the thing... until you start making cam changes, you probably won't need a tune. That being said, headers and a Vararam will lean out your cars air/fuel ratio. Hopefully, your PCM will correct for that... but if that correction goes beyond a certain value you can throw a code.

The biggest thing about getting a pro-tune with minimal mods is that they can make changes to the transmission. You can adjust shift points, shift firmness, and reduce (or remove) torque management. Torque management is the computers way of preventing you from unleashing 100% of your LS1's power from a dead stop. It's designed to protect the transmission, because 100% power from a dead stop is a huge torque load on the drivetrain.

Kooks are great headers, no doubt. As you said, they are a bit spendy... but if you have the cash and want good stuff, it's hard to go wrong with Kooks.

Mark