Merry Christmas to you all...I need some help here. Bit of background:
C5 'Vert, some modest mods, CAI, headers, X-pipe, ZO6 Ti Exhaust, ZO6 brake upgrade, front & rear stabilizer upgrades, plus dyno bringing it from ~345hp to nearly 385hp, etc. Car has 94K+ miles.

Thinking of what may be next in my path:
A) Cam and NEW HEADS,or (not headers...already done, sorry a novice to the forum...thanks!)
B) Supercharger

Asked the question of my local performance shop which way to go:
A) would be $6500 parts and labor = ~10% HP improvement which would yield >400hp, or
B) For nearly the same amount go straight to the Supercharger, depending upon boost setting easily more than 100hp improvement...

Car is garaged in bad weather other than that it is driven as much as possible year round...

If I go "A" and then "B" as I was counseled I would be looking at >$12k, which is close to the value of the car.

The car is strong and I am assuming it could easily handle either or both paths...

Questions:
#1 Which is the better route, A or B or A+B?
#2 Does the market value of the car play any route in this equation in any case?

Your cumulative wisdom on the above would be very much appreciated.

Thank you all in advance and again Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

 

You should be able to get 100 hp or more out of a cam and heads upgrade, unless you are wanting to keep a stock-like idle.

I figure my cam, heads, intake, long tubes, no cats, corsa exhaust car is over 500 hp at the crank.

 

Two different animals, do more research to find out what you really want. You will get a lot more HP from the SC, but will cost more.

 

Brother,,,, I feel for ya.. Ive been down this road.

Before you even consider a BIG HP Increase, factor this into you budget.

Once you pass the 400-420 RWHP range, there are some SERIOUS drive train issue that will rear their UGLY heads that you will have to revisit the BANK to resolve..

Need a little more info: MN6 or A4 Auto????

Either way, some serious cash will need to be spent on the REST of the drive train to be able to handle the added HP.

You will also need to factor in reliability parts for the engine. If you CHEEP OUT, you will kick your self in the wallet fixing it the SECOND TIME AROUND for twice the amount.

The C5 Racers Creed

FAST, RELIABLE, CHEEP

PICK TWO CAUSE YOU CANT HAVE ALL THREE!!!!!

 

IF your car is an automatic---Everyone I know that installed a SC at some point had their trans fail---It is just to violent HP addition unless you have a stage 3 trans--
If you live in a smog state the heads and cam route WON'T pass smog but a SC will
A SC can add an easy 100 HP
Heads and cam maybe only 60-70 HP---Depending on what year car you have and IF it has the newer LS6 intake manifold---otherwise maybe 15 HP less
My opinion is that yes a SC can retain drivability around town but at WOT boost is always hard on your engine and clutch and trans
A cam and heads will make less total HP and drivability may suffer a little but it is far easier on the engine --trans and drivetrain----Just depends on your goals and how much you want to risk engine/clutch/trans failures with an added 100 HP-----
PS according to your mods you seem to be more interested in handling rather than top HP---So My opinion would be to go the hds/cam intake route rather than boosted--For about 1/2 the cost

 

I really never considered the impact to the drive train and the last thing I want to do is add another significant amount of investment in a car that is 15+ years old. It would seem that for that kind of total investment a more recent model C6 may be the better way to go...Parts availability, newer technology & electronics, overall reliability, etc.

Again...Thank you to all and Happy New Year!