So often when I read about a mechanical issue with our cars I also read that the owner has modified one or more components of the car. It seems to me that unless an owner has a dyno and access to all the research data that GM had when they built these cars, we are making modifications "blind."
The aftermarket folks who know these cars best such as Doug Rippie Motorsports can get pretty good performance increases through careful use of tuning and dyno testing. But owners who add aftermarket parts as if they were at a smorgasbord, without any real knowledge of how the parts will interact or affect other systems in their cars are, in my opinion, setting themselves up for an almost endless series of mechanical headaches. If thgis is way off base, I'm open to hearing other opinions.
Glen

 

There's a popular saying out there that best sums up what you said.


Cheap
Reliable
Fast


Pick any two you want...but you can't have all three!

 

There are plenty of performance proven parts and combinations available today to allow good choices with a little research. And then there are forums like this to check with both vendors and enthusiasts to see what has worked for them. I'd say we are living at a time when it is more possible to successfully modify a vehicle than ever before. I remember the "old days" when it was literally a crap shoot. Even the manufactures didn't dyno test their products and there were very few packages available like today. I say have at it !!!!!!!!!!!

 

I've been thinking about giving this a try to test mods before hand. I'm leery because I haven't found very many reviews on software such as this. None on this forum. Maybe worth a try.

dynosim5 ls1tech

 

When you modify any vehicle in any way, you are more or less inviting problems. It's part of the experience of hot rodding

Dope

 

If you cannot leave it the way GM designed and built it, then you cannot complain when it breaks.

 

I see this alot too here in the forum. Someone adds this or that, turbos, superchargers, headers and etc... changes tuning and so on..then they raise you know what stating these cars are worthless and so on with all the problems that were induced. I'm an Engineer on Spacecraft and believe me, things have to be tested together, the whole package working together and carefully. We can't just throw on this or that and expect things to work the first time regardless of the claims of the manufacturer.
If you are going to mod, Ok and hope for the best, but don't complain if things don't work the way you expected.

 

In response to the original post theme....well, DUH! Modifying ANY car by changing mechanical or electrical components will have some risk, but so does leaving the car bone stock, and being clueless as to how it works.

 

I believe that changing one’s own car is an American heritage since the first production car rolled off the line. It will never change. Olefam, I in part agree with your post, mostly the part that most people don’t have a clue what went into the design of their car. That said, if they put the money down for their car I feel they have every right to change it as they see fit. Again, part of our basic freedom here in the states.

There is an old saying that fits many functions that people perform, “Know your limits!” If you never turned a wrench before, starting on your new Corvette might be pushing the limits.

Hey, just my 2¢

 

So right!! Steering column lock comes to mind!!

 

does any else seem to notice that they guys with STOCK corvette AND extended warranties are the guys with car problems?

vs guys who mod the heck out of thier corvettes, have no problems?

am I the only one ??

 

atleast having issues with our cars is cheap most of the time. Luckily you dont have a benz, better yet an amg.

 

Stock or modified it's all about trade off's certain parts/things gm does to the corvette are done to satisfy a broad spectrum of people GM could certainly pick up some free hp by doing what is probablly the very first mod everybody does to their c5,change the air filter but GM has inlet noise issues along with packaging constraints.so the trade off is keep it quiet and make it fit. In this day and age,I'm sure you could makea more informed decision having on hand all the data and acess to a dyno,want more power,wether its 1909 or 2009 the internal combustion engine is still an air pump if you increase those capabilities,ported heads bigger cam or increase its ability to rev (Torque X time=HP) you get more HP how much depends on how well those mods/parts compliment each other.But for every mod if you get here, you lose there, more hp on top lose low end torque. Tighter crisper handling then NVH (noise vibration harshness)mods can be done IMO quite sucessfully in this day and age even though cars are more complex than they have ever been and the reason is the sharing of information, the world has gotten smaller and we have just touched on its pontential got a problem w/your vette get on the forum you got a thousand minds working on your problem.Mods ? I say go for it you don't have to rely on that one guy you knew growing up that "knew about cars"or asking the guy that works in the auto parts store.Just remember for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.

 

If you read any of the popular books out there about the development of the LSX motor you will see that GM made power robbing compromises all along the way to keep costs down through commonality of parts (cam shafts for example), meet noise requirements (restrictive air filters and cast exhaust manifolds as well as mufflers), emissions and fuel mileage standards (catalytic converters and calibration); as well as to have a unit that could go 100,000 miles. These same texts emphasize that there is a lot of reliable HP to be made with these engines through some modification from stock.

The problem comes when mods are made without consideration for the whole package. Put in a higher lift cam and don't change the valve springs and push rods from stock - yes you are asking for problems. Build up the RWHP and RWTQ without beefing up the drive train components - yes you are asking for problems. Raise the rev limiter without components to handle the higher rpms - yes you are looking for problems.

I think if you do it right there shouldn't be too many issues. There are a lot of cars out there that run much better than stock without any problems.

 

Some of us have been around cars a long time. We did'nt start
modding vettes we started out 40-50 years ago modding old
junkers. We developed our talent sometimes hit-or-miss but we
continued to learn. Folks that worship stock automobiles
are fine with me. But folks that berate people like me just
because I am able to and enjoy modding seem to have a very
narrow understanding of the industry and history of the automobile.
There are more Vette owners who bought the car for status
and end up complaining about their stock vette mechanics than
those of us that are in the MOD WORLD that you seem to disdain.
Stock is OK but I am going to put my fingerprint on my Vette
and I will improve what came from the factory. 500rwhp/500torq

 

I also think that the guys who mod are more "car guys" types and tend to take better care of the cars themselves overall.

 

Most people who have problems don't know what they're doing and/or don't understand their cars. Some just get sold a bag of parts by a vendor and others pick fly by night "tuners" who don't know much.

Yes these cars have common problems... but go on any car forum for any type of car and it's the same. Every single issue I've encounterd over the 6+ years I've had my Z06 has been solved/answered with the help of this forum etc.

 

I agree with you 100%

The biggest issue I see is folks buying marketing claims hook line and sinker. Most bolt ons such as CAI's and descreened MAF's do absolutely nothing to a stock car. The intake systems of the C5's are very well engineered and properly sized.

When you do properly planned mods that compliment each other, such as Long Tube headers, CAI (mostly for noise IMO) , and a good tune (the most important part BTW) is where you really start to see results.

Just slapping on bolts ons without thought can actually decrease performance.

 

I don't agree with the intake part of what you've said. A new intake on a stock car does work. GM's intake had to be designed with many constraints to make it quiet and as idiot-proof as possible.

 

While agree with your statement that there were constraints that dictated the design of the C5 intake, I just don't think they hurt the performance of the "as designed" car. If you look at the later C5 or Z06 boxes you will be hard pressed to find a HP gain when switching to a CAI kit when a generally stock car is in question. CAI's are the most over hyped, over priced accessory on the planet, for any car.

Now if you want that cool intake noise when you jump on it, the CAI will deliver that for sure.