Hi guys - My friend (02 vert) just got his first round of performance upgrades. He had a vararam intake installed w/ dyno tune. What is his next step ? Heads, cam & headers ? What do you think ? Can anyone make any recommendations ? I appreciate the help - Jay

 

Jay

Whats your HP/TQ goals and budget?

That makes a world of difference.

What kind of tune did you get and how much did you pay for it?

Your vararam, a set headers, ported TB and a tune will make a 30-40 hP difference. Heads and cam make even more. I would install ALL of the above at once and THEN do the tune! Makes a more effective / thrifty build up.

 

I forgot to mention my friend also had a Corsa cat back exhaust installed. I forgot the hp/tq dyno numbers, but I remember it being good (+/- 315 rwhp). He would probably be willing to spend around $4k for additional upgrades. What heads, cam & long tube headers are good ?

 

Can you use the vararam system with a supercharger ?

 

Not that I've seen. You could sell the Vararam though.

 

Check out this thread and contact Superman09 for a really great price on a set of headers for your car that look exactly like this. You will NOT be able to find a better price. These are C6 headers but he has a C5 system just like this for your car:

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c5-g...er-thread.html












I installed that set on my buddy's 04 Vert and he is happy as a clam. Performance, fit, finish and cost are all excellent.

BC

 

It all depends on what he is looking to do. Headers would be a natural next step. Do some research on them is the best way to go about it. There are differences between them all the top 3 are American Racing Headers, Kooks and LG Motorsports. (random order). I run American Racing Headers with 2" primaries and have run Kooks 1 7/8 stepped as well, no experience with the LG's. Both systems that I ran were great, no complaints.

After the headers if your still looking for more power a cam is next and then heads or both at the same time if you know yourself well enough to know you wont be happy after just a cam.

You have a bazillion choices for heads and cam combinations but it will come down to budget and application. A custom package designed for you car is the better way to go IMHO instead of trying to see whats on the shelf and if it will fit your application. Some things will but a lot of things wont and each person is different and drives different is why I push for custom over shelf. If the cost is the same why not have something tailored for you specifically.

If the head and cam isn't enough then you have a power adder or it's time to increase cubic inches. Power adders on stock engines are not my idea of a dependable combination but its done all the time. Some people have issues some don't. I do know that when we build an engine for a power adder we gap things different than n/a so take that for what its worth.


Budget, goals and application are the 3 things your friend should be thinking about. Fast(HP), cheap and dependable are 3 words that dont mix. Pick two... I like dependable to be one of them for my personal use and the other to be fast (HP)

 

I'd consider headers and a cam (cam should include at least oil pump, timing chain, pushrods and valve springs maybe lifters, rocker upgrade or retainers too) next. I just received my XSPower headers and they look really good but I'll know better when they are on the car. These 2 will put him a little over 2k into his budget if he does the work himself plus add $300 or so for a re-tune.

After that, if the car is a manual he should plan on pulling the drivetrain and replacing the clutch. Also, he should think about hardened diff output shafts and a diff to tranny brace (make by DTE for example). This will eat up another bunch of that budget.

I don't expect he can do a supercharger for around $4k. Even if he can pull-off the actual supercharger for around that he will need to upgrade some drivetrain parts putting him well over that budget. The budget is more like double that $4k figure to do the supercharger plus necessary drivetrain upgrades. If you want headers to go with it then that's another $1k or more itself.

Peter

 

Thanks for all of your help/comments ! I'm going to talk to my buddy today and relay the information. I guess we'll look online and read some older posts regarding specific brands of headers, cams & heads. I think we'll go in that direction over a supercharger. I think that will be enough power for him (for now, at least).

Thanks !! Jay

 

It is a hard call Jay. There are lots of people that will tell you to go supercharger and you'll get more power than with all the other bolt-ons. So, if he holds off and budgets a bit more he can get that supercharged power. However, he'll then have enough power that all the other drivetrain weak points will show up and there is always the chance the engine could suffer a failure too. So, the supercharger itself might not be that much more than $4k but the other required drivetrain parts add up.

Personally, I feel a supercharged engine should be built for it (mostly by being a forged piece) but then that is just my opinion and lots of others feel differently about this.

Of course, if the supercharger is just to have one and he will tend to drive it easy almost all the time he might get away with the stock drivetrain for a long time.

Something else to consider, if the car is an auto then pick up a used rear diff from a M6 car and that'll give a nice kick in the pants for street driving use. It doesn't increase the power but it'll feel like it did.

Peter