Hello I'm new to this forum and I have recently purchased a 2000 coupe MN6 with 30k miles. I have been looking at what are the most cost effective mods. So far the car has a hurricane CAI, power duct, and MAF smooth ends. Plans for the next week inclued Eibach swaybars, and XS power cat back. I will order the XS power headers when they are back in stock. After that I am thinking cam, ls6 or fast intake, underdrive pully, and ZO6 shocks. Am I missing any other cost effective mods to wake this thing up while maintaining driveability?

 

Realistically, for the sake of being cost effective this is the best way to approach your Vette.

1. Air Intake System
2. Longtubes/X-pipe/Cat-back

Then the next steps rely on which path you want to take with your Vette whether it's F/I or N/A. Judging from your OP, it sounds like you're leaning towards N/A. In that case I would do it in this order:

1. Cam
2. Intake Manifold w/ TB
3. Heads

It would be wise to just have everything installed at the same time to save work. Kooks, LG, and American Racing make amazing headers. Cat-back would really just be your choice in sound. I myself have Borla Stinger's and could not be happier; Corsa, B&B bullets, and GHL Bullets are also some popular choices. For the cam, you need to do some research on. It all depends on how big you want to go. I saw that you noted you want to keep driveability, so I would recommended a medium-large cam for most power and a nice lope but with a good tune easy DD ability, some popular choices are the G5X3, and MS3 cams. Those are decently large cams and need to have a good tune to have good driveability but put down great numbers; you really need to do research to find what best fits your needs. The intake manifold is an important mod as are heads when doing a cam. The Fast 90mm intake manifold I believe has been discontinued but they are still out there being sold from many vendors. The new FAST 102mm will fit but you will have to do some shaving to clear the stock cowl. The LS6 is of course another option that will always be around. Do not forget to pick up a TB when picking up an intake manifold; a popular option is the LS2 TB with a harness adapter for the LS1. For Heads, it all depends on what you wish to spend. AFR, and Trickflow are popular but are also a bit expensive (you do get what you pay for). Many like going with PRC or Patriot Heads because they flow very well and have proven themselves for results plus they will save you some money if you are on a budget. One mod that I would recommend are gears. You will get a decent bump in performance and big SOTP improvement if you make a swap. Since you are going H/C/I, I would recommend 3.73's but 3.90's would be a great option too if you wish to gear it more aggressive. DTE offers built differentials that are direct bolt in's but cost a little bit of money. Suspension mods are always great. For what it is worth, the C5 Z06 suspension is really an amazing setup and can be cheap if you do some looking around in the FS section of the forum.

The main key for building these Vette's is combination. You have to know you what your goals are realistically and you have to plan accordingly. H/C/I builds can be very driveable if you piece together a great combination and have a great tuner. Research is very important and reading on this forum can do nothing but help you gain knowledge. My advice: be patient, take your time, do research, listen, learn, set realistic goals, and be open minded. In the end, if you do this, you will be more than happy with your Vette. Good luck and Happy Holidays!

 

Cost effective? Bottom line, tell us how much can you spend, and we'll tell you what you get for that amount.

 

Well I'm not spending it all at once so that is a question with no answer. I do all the labor myself so it's not that important to have it done all at once. As far as gears my car has 3.42 so would it really be worth going to 3.73?

 

For a manual tranny street car, the 3.90 diff seems to be the most popular. It's ratios in the first 3 gears pretty closely match the Z06 final ratios, which has gotta be a pretty good thing.
There are some interesting gear charts here in the forum, comparing all the gear ratios of the trannys and the diffs, do a quick search.

DG

 

Just curious....I thought the final gear ratio in the Z06 and the MN6 were both 3.42. So other than possibly a stronger diff case in the Z06, swapping the diff should not bring you any changes. Now swapping the transmission would given the different gears in the Z06 tranny. Am I mistaken?

 

Z06 Springs and Sways that have been removed recently will only cost you about $400 total. I dont think you can get more bang for your buck.

 

Well I already purchased Eibach sway bars for the same price as used ZO6 bars and they are bigger. As far as shocks and springs I'm waiting till a good used set comes around.

 

you will find springs on this forum in the for sale section for $200 max.

 

You are correct sir. The MN6 does come with 3.42 as well. My finger must have hit the 3 instead of 2 when I was typing. I was getting my thoughts down and failed to pay attention to small details and must have been thinking of an A4 with 2.73's to cover all bases (in my mind) lol. Thanks for pointing that out. I went ahead and edited the post. (I actually wrote this nearing the very end of my work day; 11:30pm to 10:30 am so I was pretty tired) Thanks for looking out!

 

Both choices are great, and really depends on your goals and how much power you wish to obtain. As the wrench pointed out, 3.90's are a popular choice. 4.10's might prove too aggressive if you are putting down a LOT of power with a H/C/I setup, but 3.90's would be aggressive yet manageable. Some guys go with 3.73's because it is still a noticeable difference but you pretty much maintain your driveability completely, and give yourself room if you ever go to F/I in the future.

 

How would 3.73 or 3.90's do to the highway MPG I plan on driving this car alot and I am averaging 23 mpg right now and would like to keep it around there.

 

Any gear change will have an effect on your mpg. It also depends on your driving habits. If you don't want it changed drastically but you wish to have it more aggressive, then go 3.73's (a loss of estimated 3-4 mpg). The 3.90's would have a larger effect naturally but a bigger step up in performance. There are plenty of reviews for both ratios on here and you can read experiences from different guys with similar setups.