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The run flats don’t hook up very well. Second gear WOT lol..Typical ? What’s a decent budget friendly tire that will keep the power to the pavement ?
To my surprise I’m not a big fan of the polished finish wheels with silver. Thinking about buying a set of powder coated black 2017 OEM Z06 rims for the flat black for the “murdered out” look I’m trying to eventually achieve. Pics anyone ??
After 1 month I’m already over it’s power and itching to get some stage 1 performance mods. Just headers and a decent air box. On a scale of 1-10 how much of a noticeable gain of performance should I expect?
I think your C5 will look nice with the black wheels.
For horsepower gains, headers and the full exhaust (X pipes and better flowing mufflers) along with a true CAI will net you approximately 40HP at the flywheel; about 34HP at the wheels (with a M6; slightly less with A4). You could possibly get a little higher results depending on the headers, pipes and exhaust you use. This is a good start because almost everything else you do to the engine (intake, throttle body, cam, head work, etc) will need the improved exhaust flow to make those additions beneficial.
Good luck with your mods.
quote'' After 1 month I’m already over it’s power and itching to get some stage 1 performance mods."
WHAT IS YOU BUDGET??
What is the target HP/Tq goal???
Cant get too deep into recommendations till you nail down those factors
Did you consider that you will (or should) include some PCM tuning into the UP-GRADE???
My ideal daily driver is a high 11 sec 20 mile to the gallon daily driver. No I have not considered PCM. I haven’t been able to spend a dime on myself since my son was born. That was 17 years ago lol. I’m excited to say the least but I could definetly use all the help I could get. Budget, maybe 1,000 every other month.
Last edited by C5 for life; Feb 26, 2018 at 04:10 PM.
Tires would be my first upgrade. If your going to have one set of rims get a factory gm set, or a quality brand. Repos are heavy. It looks like yours are repos of the magnesium wheels. Dropping weight on wheels and tires will give the car a much better feel. Your suspension will respond faster. Rember that the 2017 z06 rims will be larger than stock and the tires will cost you more.
I like nitto 555 for a dd. Not too pricey and you don't have to worry about getting caught in the rain. But tires are very subjective. What I like may not work for you, depending on where you live.
Long tubes and exhaust are a nice start. If you're paying a shop to install it, buy quality. They come up for sale on the forum, just keep a look out, and you can save some coin there. If you're installing yourself you can get a cheaper set and massage the fitment yourself. Do you have emissions to pass where you live? Keep that in mind.
Most "cold air intakes" for the c5 pull the same hot air from the engine compartment as the factory set up. They look good but I would not waste the money. Flip tie mod like said above.
What's the goal for the car, do you want it set up for straight line acceleration or for corners. Upgrading to c6z shocks and (depending on how you want the car to balance in corners) sway bars.
A set of 4.10 gears will really wake that car up, but if you can't hook on the 3.42s.........4.10s will only do make the wheel spin worse
Last edited by Proletariat designs; Feb 26, 2018 at 05:32 PM.
Reason: Typos
congrats on picking an already great car, put some new tires on and then push the button that takes traction control off and drive like the older days when we had no options for automatic traction and then gauge how much more power you would like to add...good luck all these other suggestions are great also.
Tires would be my first upgrade. If your going to have one set of rims get a factory gm set, or a quality brand. Repos are heavy. It looks like yours are repos of the magnesium wheels. Dropping weight on wheels and tires will give the car a much better feel. Your suspension will respond faster. Rember that the 2017 z06 rims will be larger than stock and the tires will cost you more.
I like nitto 555 for a dd. Not too pricey and you don't have to worry about getting caught in the rain. But tires are very subjective. What I like may not work for you, depending on where you live.
Long tubes and exhaust are a nice start. If you're paying a shop to install it, buy quality. They come up for sale on the forum, just keep a look out, and you can save some coin there. If you're installing yourself you can get a cheaper set and massage the fitment yourself. Do you have emissions to pass where you live? Keep that in mind.
Most "cold air intakes" for the c5 pull the same hot air from the engine compartment as the factory set up. They look good but I would not waste the money. Flip tie mod like said above.
What's the goal for the car, do you want it set up for straight line acceleration or for corners. Upgrading to c6z shocks and (depending on how you want the car to balance in corners) sway bars.
A set of 4.10 gears will really wake that car up, but if you can't hook on the 3.42s.........4.10s will only do make the wheel spin worse
Nitto 555 are what’s on the Z06 rims I’m considering. Just weighing the pros and cons of buying performance parts first or cosmetic. So if it can’t hook with current wheels, makes sense to get it to hook first.
On a scale of 1-10 how much of a noticeable gain of performance should I expect?
As a rule of thumb, you usually have to see a 10% increase in power or decrease in weight to definitively feel the difference. Intake, headers, and tune and you would definitely feel the difference (probably 30 to 40 hp).
Tires would be my first upgrade. If your going to have one set of rims get a factory gm set, or a quality brand. Repos are heavy. It looks like yours are repos of the magnesium wheels. Dropping weight on wheels and tires will give the car a much better feel. Your suspension will respond faster. Rember that the 2017 z06 rims will be larger than stock and the tires will cost you more.
I like nitto 555 for a dd. Not too pricey and you don't have to worry about getting caught in the rain. But tires are very subjective. What I like may not work for you, depending on where you live.
Long tubes and exhaust are a nice start. If you're paying a shop to install it, buy quality. They come up for sale on the forum, just keep a look out, and you can save some coin there. If you're installing yourself you can get a cheaper set and massage the fitment yourself. Do you have emissions to pass where you live? Keep that in mind.
Most "cold air intakes" for the c5 pull the same hot air from the engine compartment as the factory set up. They look good but I would not waste the money. Flip tie mod like said above.
What's the goal for the car, do you want it set up for straight line acceleration or for corners. Upgrading to c6z shocks and (depending on how you want the car to balance in corners) sway bars.
A set of 4.10 gears will really wake that car up, but if you can't hook on the 3.42s.........4.10s will only do make the wheel spin worse
Z06 rims I’m considering are
front -17x9.5
rear 18x10.5
current wheels same size. Let’s say the difference in weight per wheel is 6lbs. Would 24lbs make that much of a difference in suspension response ?
Best bang for the $$$ is a blower. Keep your foot out of it and the mileage you have will remain. Keep your foot in it and watch the gas gauge fall in front of you eyes and tire life will be very limited. We have a blower on my brothers 99, no other mods, and honestly it doesn't need any more! I went 11.0 @ 135 with it once leaving the line easier than easy, 2.20 60ft. No headers, no cam, no intake, nuttin! Stock engine tuned by East Coast Supercharging. No, it isn't cheap, but done right, never worry again. This was done about 15 years ago........
6 lbs per wheel adds up. I picked up a set of knockoff magnesiums and a intake for less than 300 dollars with ~70% life on the 555s. That wheel and tire combo weights about 8 pounds heavier than my stock wagon wheels and bald tires. I could tell a drastic difference in the suspension. Granted I drove the car. Replaces the wheels then drove it again. It makes a difference most noticeable with bumps in corners.
First thing I did last year when I bought mine was to replace the run flats with NON run flat Michelin AS/2.
Incredible difference in handling and noise reduction.
Good luck!
Mark, what tires are currently on the car, their wear rating and what are the dates on them. This information could go a long way toward explaining the lack of traction and noise you're observing.
First thing I did last year when I bought mine was to replace the run flats with NON run flat Michelin AS/2.
Incredible difference in handling and noise reduction.
Good luck!
Mark, what tires are currently on the car, their wear rating and what are the dates on them. This information could go a long way toward explaining the lack of traction and noise you're observing.
Noise is definetly coming from the clutch. I don’t believe I’ve made an issue out of any other.
Good luck... GUSTO
Never drove a vette before. Let alone 3k lbs with this kind of power and so light in the ***. I imagine if this thing could hook up it would increase drivability and performance exponentially.
Last edited by C5 for life; Mar 1, 2018 at 12:49 AM.
In the interest of exercising restraint on my impulses to begin the goodie buying binge, I’m gonna get all the miles out of these I can. However, spring and summer are almost here ��
I don't know how to do pictures but my C5 is silver with dark gray with C6 wheels and it looks good....and as gringo says, if u wanna go fast, get a blower, cause everything else is well, second place 😎
I don't know how to do pictures but my C5 is silver with dark gray with C6 wheels and it looks good....and as gringo says, if u wanna go fast, get a blower, cause everything else is well, second place 😎
It’s the 10th selection to the right to upload pics from your device. I gotta be frugal with mods. I’m blessed this thing fell in my lap the way it did. Thankful for that. Mods will come! Get them pics up
Mark, the tires were manufactured in the 9th week of 2012 (at least the one you posted the date of 0912). This makes them 6 years old and should be on your short list for replacement. More for their lack of traction than age, although many consider 6 years about the limit for safe and reliable tire life.
The more heat cycles you put on a set of tires the harder the rubber gets. The softer the tire is initially (a 220 treadwear rating as opposed to a 500), the sooner you will see and feel the effects of heat cycles. A 220 treadwear rating would normally be considered a Max Performance Summer tire. Great tire for warm weather mostly dry conditions, but in cold weather it will want to get warmed up to provide its best performance.
I would recommend waiting until you put new tires on the car before deciding how aggressive you go on modifications. I have a 2000 hardtop and the few times I took it to the drag strip, the biggest challenge was getting traction. This was with new Goodyear Eagle F1 Supercar tires (Z06 size) on it. In my opinion, to take full advantage of the power of even the stock LS1 (at least on the drag strip) you will need super soft, drag radials.
Good luck, the C5 with just a stock LS1 is still an amazing vehicle... GUSTO
Things I’ve noticed on my first C5. Help
