I have a 2002 coupe w/ auto transmission. Believe it or not, the car has only 4,500 miles on the clock (it was a proverbial "parked in a barn" car that the owners traded for a new BMW in June of this year).

I have the itch to get more performance. What I have in mind is a combination of headers, x-pipe, cat back exhaust and CAI (the "basic mods"). And then, if it makes sense, a cam and perhaps even headers.

I know that LG Motorsports (whose shop is about 20 miles east of me) offers various packages that would accomplish what I have outlined above. But I want a little assurance that I will (a) be happy with the mods, and (b) won't completely gut the resale value. Even though I plan to keep the car for years, I am concerned a next buyer would be gun-shy when he learned about the heads/cam change. The resale consequences could include both a reduced sales price upon sale/trade as well as an extended amount of time required to sell the car (if to a private owner).

So my questions are these:
1. Basic mods only? Is that enough?
or
2. Basic mods plus cam? Will the cam alone add significantly to performance gained through the basic mods?
or
3. Basic mods plus cam and heads? Will these three give enough extra umph to make me happy I did it?

Note: the cash cost of the above isn't really a concern. Rather, I want to know whether, after completing the mods, I will say to myself, "Mmmm...feels good. Butt dyno agrees. Glad I did all of these things."

4. What are the resale implications of doing the cam/heads mods?

Added notes: I am not interested in forced induction. In the Texas heat, I don't believe forced induction (even with an air/water intercooler) will add much during that six-month period every year when the ambient temperature in North Texas exceeds 95 degrees F from 11 AM through 6 PM. And I am not interested in changing r/e gear ratios.

Thanks for your thoughts and experiences.

 

You have not stated your goals....What is "enough" is up to you.

I suggest taking a drive down to LG, and having a discussion with them about your goals, concerns, etc. Not many guys have a performance shop that close to consult with. You'll get 50 different opinions on this forum, but LG can provide you with real test data, dyno info, ET's, etc. Worth it's weight in gold to talk to the experts in person.


While I may be in the minority, I would never by a modded car UNLESS, I had intimate knowledge of the car, work performed, and knew the owner. I just don't trust anyone. I dare say, most guys don't care.

 

Most mods you will take a bath on at resale, some people won't even want a car thats been heavily modded since they think it was beat on.

 

"I suggest taking a drive down to LG, and having a discussion with them about your goals, concerns, etc."

A good salesman will always be optimistic. While I don't doubt the competence of the LG folks, I wanted to hear first from car OWNERs the extent to which they were satisfied with these modifications.

 

And there in lies the advantage of going to a shop to discuss...it's not about optimism....it's about PROVEN data. This is not a new engine platform, and there is no guess work involved. If you want to rely on the internet experts....rock on.

Good luck with your project.

 

Most people who have modded cars beat the hell out of them, you don't have a 500+ hp animal to drive the speed limit everywhere you go period. Most people will take good care of their cars until they get tired and then they know they will sell it so maintenance starts to decline if not stop altogether. Very few people that I know have taken pristine care of their cars when they where close to selling it and starting on a new project.

Also like stated by lucky131969. Take your car to a proven place that has done proven work on this LS based Corvettes. I know people that will charge double to unscrew everything someone else has screwed up by using a "cheap" shop.

Good luck

 

How deep are your pockets?

State your budget and dont cross that line.

 

In 10 years the car will be at the bottom of the depreciation/value curve, (look at 1985-90 vettes today -- all over the place for $5K), so if you're going to keep it 10 years it's going to lose a lot of value anyway. Don't worry about it -- it's nothing you can change.

That said, if I were in the market for any vette, now or 10 years from now, I'm going to look at overall condition and take a good look at the owner, too -- does he seem like a responsible guy, or is he a punk? If all the sings look good I'm interested in the car.

Now, mods... Again, let's assume we're 10 years out and C5s are a dime a dozen. Do I want the one that's been hacked/modded by some DIY guy, or am I going to be interested in the one that was built by a professional shop, done right, all at once? The latter, of course. Keep the paperwork, keep the dyno sheets, and show me it was all done right. At that point your clean modded car is going to be worth more or less the same to me as an otherwise clean stocker. And I'm going to be walking away from every vette -- stock or modified -- that looks like it's been ridden hard and put away wet.

So, you're going to keep the car 10 years. Mod it RIGHT today, enjoy it for a decade, and don't worry about the plus or minus bucks you'll get at resale -- it's not going to matter to much anyway.

 

1. Keep it stock
2. if you go mod enjoy it because you will never get as much for
your car as stock
3. go down to your local mod shop and get some advise.
4. go to other mod shops and ask for their advise.
5.I live in Florida and I know it's as hot as Texas in the summer.
Superchargers work very well in this heat you just need to
find the total kit(try A&A Corvette Performance for advise)
6.Good luck.

 

I just bought a used Z06 with only 7400mi on it. It had the Lingenfelter non forced induction package on it. That includes a cam reworked heads, valve springs, titanium retainers, long tube headers, black Wing intake, DTE stage 2 diff,built-in radar detector and laser jammers, sticky rear tires all total about $20k worth of goodies...........for free! I got it for $26,000. Just remember what you put into it you won't get it back out, book price is the rule unless you are very lucky. There are very few bone stock vettes out there, most people mod them somewhat. Soup it up and enjoy it, that's half the fun!

 

That is in most cases the only pay back...the fun and enjoyment of driving it.

Sounds like you made a good deal, where are the photos? Update...I found the photos!!

 

It's a false assumption to say that modded cars are beat on. My car has been modded almost from the day I bought it, and it's never seen a track, or even a street race. I do way more than routine maintenence on my beloved car. I do not know why I feel it's neccesary to have too much HP, but I don't think I'll ever really stop modding for more. There's lots of guy that're just like me. However, back to your question; the above posters are correct when they say you won't get your money back from any mods, so just do it for the enjoyment. Remember, the resale of these cars is terrible either way. World's greatest automotive bargain, IMO is a used Corvette.

 

My 2002 'vert is mostly stock; I use it as fun daily driver. When I lived in the DFW area I used the following shop:

Mid-Cities Classics
10728-A S. Pipeline Rd.
Hurst, TX 76053
(817) 685-9433


Hope I did not violate any rules posting the shop info, but the owner there is a great resource. They work on stock to extreme modded vettes, and did a great job when my car was rear-ended.

 

I say go for it! The only thing holding me back from modifications is cost. Im not really concerned about resale, as I didnt by the car as an "investment" so I dont treat it like one, not to say I dont take great care of the car, I do, because I enjoy the car, the key word being ENJOY. You mentioned that cost was not an issue, my suggestion is cam, heads, headers, and intake. Make the motor breath better, enjoy the proformance, if you dont go radical with your cam choice, you will retain drivability, but increase the "fun factor".
I realize this opnion may conflict with other vette owner philosophies, but thats why there are different colors and flavors!

 

Your not that far from me....I live in McKinney.



Stop by sometime I have no problem talking about the different packages. Heck we could meet up in McKinney one weekend if you want.

As for picking up power, there are tons of different ways to get there and different modifications are going to do different things as far as how they make power on the car.

As you stated blowers are not in your future, I don't know if I would rule them out completely but you are very correct in that they change radically more in power output vs. outside air compared to a NA car. The new ZR1's will vary almost 50 HP cold to hot.

As far as modifications and re-sale goes. You know as much as I everyone wants a no mileage right off the showroom floor car. Depending on the modifcations go some might take away from it and some my add. Depends on the buyer. Then again unless you are buying an orginal 1969 COPO ZL1 Camaro....most of us are not buying these cars for future value.

Couple things I would suggest and you are doing one of them now by asking what others have done...

Ask yourself these questoins.

1. How do I drive the car and how is it used?
2. What RPM range do I typically drive the car in? Road racers are going to be 3500-6800 RPM all the time, most street cars are not.
3. What do I want to improve on?
4. What am I not willing to give up?

Be honest with yourself and don't just go for the highest PEAK number you see. You want to have power across the board improvements as much as you can.

Once you figure that out you can narrow down what you want to do, and if you want to do it in stages or not. Some things are cheaper to do when you do them at once.


Hit me up if you want to go over anything. Always happy to help.