Is there such thing?? I'd like to beef up my 04 (C5) Vette as much as possible for a (smaller budget) than most... What are some cheaper- without sacrificing quality/power, items I can do? A programmer? Different air intake? Intake manifold? I've got Borlaug exhaust that was installed previously... Thanks!!

 

05 c5?

 

Dyno Tune. about $400

 

Being an 05 you posted in the wrong section, should have posted over in C6. But sounds like you would be interested in a tune, performance shops around you can do this via hp tuners. For the $ vs hp this will be your best next step. You could go with a programmer but when you decide to go with headers on down the road, assuming you do, get something like the Diablosport where you can fix the LTFT's.

 

Sorry about that-typo. 04 C5

 

Gotcha, so a dyno-tune shop should be able to tune the vette probably better than a tuner? Now, if I do have them
Tune it, is it something that can be changed back, or is it an another 3-400 dollar charge? I've seen diablo sport, bulldog, hypertext programmers, as well as some other branded chips, are they at all recommended?

 

Personally I liked my Diablosport in the GTO for an Intake/Exhaust/Header car. But usually a higher gain can be produced by a good dyno tune. They can be removed usually via the person that tuned it or anyone else long as the tune isn't locked.

 

you already have one of the best intake manifolds on the market since you have an 04 so dont go changing that. the axle back exhaust doesnt do much for performance but long tubes headers can be had reasonable.

 

UNLESS,,, you do NOT intend to add bolt on mods to the car EVER,,,,, sure a tune will make a difference.

A BETTER plan would be add ALL the bolt on mods that you want to enhance power/TQ and then do a tune.

Here are the EASY things that flat WORK with proven gains:

VARARAM. Best cold air intake PERIOD! (MHO)
HEADERS Easy 30HP
TUNE "AFTER" all the MODS

NOTE! CAT BACK EXHAUST adds a small amount of HP approx 10-12 on a good day. Purchase mufflers for the sound quality that pleases your taste/ears and doesn’t drone more than for the additional power.


Remember; EASY FAST CHEAP or FAST RELIABLE CHEAP! Pick two cause you will NEVER have all three!!

Dyno tunes are fine for bragging rights but,, you also need to tune the car on the road for the best dynamic tune. Unless the tuner spends a lot of dyno time adjusting the VE Tables and MAF tables, your fuel efficiency will never be optimized! Those can easily be adjusted and optimized on the road by doing an AUTO VE and MAF table adjustment.

BC

 

HP gains are never cheap!

 

Spraying is the cheapest fastest initial bang for the buck Dollar to HP however when things go wrong it suddenly the most expensive which can be said with any HP mods.

 

Without knowing what "smaller" means in reference to your budget, it's hard to know what to tell you. There are some guys here that have over $20k invested in their drivetrains - so to them a $6,800 supercharger install and tune would be a "smaller" budget. The following will give you noticeable gains while driving and I've ordered them in terms of the lowest to highest cost (including labor for install):

- Dyno/Street Tune (This should come at the end of your modding unless you're looking to learn how to do it yourself and are willing to invest the $1,500 or so in an HP Tuners setup. Otherwise, you're looking at a few hundred bucks to have it re-done periodically.)
- Electronic Exhaust Cut-outs (Pretty cheap and you get a bit of power - and a lot of noise - on demand at the push of a button, I'm not sure how much power these are really good for and how noticeable that power is)
- Cold Air Intake (forum consensus seems to favor the vararam, others exist and you can pay more or less than the vararam)
- Headers (only worth the cost/hassle if they're long-tube (~30 hp) - short tubes won't give you more than 5-10hp, consider your local smog requirements, here in CA long-tube headers will not pass the visual smog inspection)
- Cat Back Exhaust & X-Pipe (only do this if you want a more aggressive exhaust note, the power gains are small at 5-15hp and you're not likely to notice it)
- Cam (again, this can give you some decent power, but here in CA you'll have a hard time passing smog on a cam that will give you any kind of real power)
- Heads (you can make some decent power with a well done head package but you're going to pay big bucks if you don't know how to do this yourself and it's best to do in concert with a new cam)
- Supercharger (biggest bang-for-the buck, many kits are CARB certified so you aren't likely to have smog concerns, many cars running 500rwhp with conservative tunes and not a lot of boost, plan on about $6,700 for install and tune)

There are tons of other parts you can buy and bolt on to your car that will gain you very little if any power despite how they're advertised.

Another big thing to be aware of is that as you add power (depending on how much), you push some of the components of the driveline to the limit of what they were engineered for. The LS1 bottom end isn't all that strong because it's aluminum rather than iron and the internals aren't forged. The A4 transmission is known to start giving problems after a while with added power (think heads/cam and/or supercharger).

Good luck!

 

One possibility would be to install LS7 exhaust manifolds/down pipes with cats and a 3" H pipe off an 07 or later Z06, then tune. Some folks are seeing a 15 to 25 Rwhp increase and you should be able to get this whole exhaust system used on the C6 Parts For Sale Forums. I have seen several in the $350 to $450 range in the last couple of weeks there. This is pretty cheap HP for the $

 

 

I see you are in calif--we have the strictest smog laws in the nation- Deff LT headers are NOT legal in calif--- so i woudn't go that route--
You didn't day if your car is an auto or 6 speed----If you have an automatic--the best mod you can do is a stall converter---It will make your car 3-5 tenths quicker in the 1/4 mile without touching a single part of your engine !!!--It will make it launch like a beast with stockish HP--
With still retaining all the driveability of the car--smog legal--warranty unaffected--I wouldn't go too wild with the stall speed--but something in the 2500-3000 range is very friendly-
Mileage not affected much at all
Other than that a cold air intake of some sort ( must be CARB legal in calif)
Some sort of cat-back exhaust---
Next on the list I'd go with maybe some shorty headers ( good for around 10-12 RWHP ) and CARB legal
Finally I like changing the rockers to a 1.8 ratio on a stock cam--They can gain about 15-20 RWHP and it's not a hard install--( you'll have to get better valve springs--some Z06 take-off are cheap and work very well) OR if your car has 243 heads already you won't even need new springs
I wouldn't go the NOS route--Its just a pain in the but worrying anbout a motor lean down and failure- Filling the bottle all the time--Pain !!-If its just a daily driver i'd skip it--
Of course a street driven tune of some sort or even a mail order tune would absolutely help performance ,shifting on a A4--I would NOT waste my time on any handheld tuner --Only exception would be a Diablo which address more table that reuire ajusting with some mods---

 

Thank you all for the very informative help, I just got this Vette a few weeks back, and absolutely love it! I was just throwing around some options to get a Lil more power/speed to possibly keep up with/out run my friends new 2011 Camaro SS... Wouldn't want him to take from my new-found lady following! Hahaha. But yes, I will definitely start with the Vararam air intake as a start, and maybe the Diablo predator programmer as mentioned for quick/reasonable on a 23 yr old-on his own salary... Thanks again everyone, and any more opinions/ideas are greatly appreciated