I purchased my first Corvette, a slightly used (8500 miles) year 2000 Corvette Coupe Thursday night. The car has a six speed and all the other usual options (HUD, 12 disk CD changer, etc). I love this car to put it mildly. The car, at this time, is completely stock. I am considering adding the following and would like your input. ( Is this a decent set of first mods, are there other brands / products that are equally good for half the price, or other mods that are slightly more expensive but twice as good, etc .. ) It should be noted that this car is a daily driver and I would like to keep the car as close to stock as possible. Any mods I do I would like to be able to easily undo at a later date. I should also mention that my goal with this car, at least for the foreseeable future is a high twelve second / very low thirteen second quarter mile with a MPH of 108-112.

Mods that I am looking at: Prices are from the Corvette Mall.

C5 Blackwing Filter Assembly - $ 215.00
C5 Power Duct - $ 152.10
C5 Power Coupler - $ 62.99

I would greatly appreciate any input / suggestions.

Regards,

Mark




[Modified by mdhmi@yahoo.com, 3:56 AM 7/11/2003]

 

Personally I would do the Donaldson but skip other two. Save your money for a good exhaust system.

My $.02 :cheers:

 

I have a 2000' daily driver also and want the same results as you regarding 1/4 mi. times and ability to switch back to stock fairly easy. I just installed the Blackwing and am going to go with the Bassani X pipe and Corsa exhaust. After the exhaust upgrade I'm going to go to the Vette Doctors for the LS1 Edit. The car is already low 13 sec. and it should go mid to high 12 with this setup. I'm probably going to get the air coupler but don't waste money on the air bridge. I hear it doesn't do much. BTW, those prices seem kind of high. Check out Exit 28 Motorsports for better prices. I got my Blackwing for $200 no tax and no S&H. Also, get the hoodseal for $15 when you install the Blackwing to help keep water out. It can get in where the front bumper meets the hood. :thumbs: :seeya


[Modified by LS7, 3:11 AM 7/6/2003]


[Modified by LS7, 3:14 AM 7/6/2003]


[Modified by LS7, 3:15 AM 7/6/2003]

 

You guys have mid 12 second cars stock.. Look below. Save your money and go to the track and practice..

 

I have a 2000 coupe and purchased the following: Donaldson, LS6 intake, Hypertech Power Programmer III and Corsa Pace exhaust w/ Corsa X pipe. I haven't taken to the drag strip yet, but what a difference from stock ($2,000 in all). P.S. spend the $15.00 for the hood seal. :cool: :cheers:

 

Thank you PewterC5; LS7, YOULLUZ, and alamo1974 for your input. I am planning on ordering the Donaldson Blackwing ($199) and the Performance Hood Seal ($15) tomorrow morning from Exit28MotorSports. The hood seal suggestion was great: I hadn't even thought of that. Is the coupler and bridge worthwhile if you are not going to be upgrading the exhaust? The HP gains from these mods seem to vary greatly from site to site. How much of a HP gain should I expect with the Blackwing and how much should be expected if the Blackwing, couple, and bridge are installed? Please advise.


On a different topic entirely - can someone point me to a good article / post on racing your Vette for the first time? When you should shift (6 speed), tire pressure, how much gas you should have in the tank (1/2 tank is what I have read), etc, etc. That would be great. Thanks again everyone for helping a newbie.

Mark

 

It say's that the Blackwing will get you 14-18 HP but I'm a little skepticle about those #'s. I hope it does b/c I have one but I feel safe saying it got me a definite 5 HP. I'm probably going to go with the air coupler just to smooth out the air coming in through the accordian shaped factory piece. Maybe another 2 HP from doing this. Probably another 2-5 HP if you do the air bridge but I don't think it's worth the $200-$300.
I have an automatic so I just flat punch out of the hole with Traction control off. It really doesn't spin the tires that bad. I just let the car redline each gear after that.
I run 31 lbs. of pressure in the tires which goes up to 33 lbs. driving around.
I think going with the LS1 Edit for around $300 is worth it to tweak out the engine. :flag :seeya

Another thing to consider is getting rid of the factory GM battery.
They are known to leak acid and the computer and wiring harness are right under the battery. If it leaks , you usually don't find out until you start experiencing electrical problems. Then you really have a nightmare on your hands and a cleaning job to take care of.
Mine didn't leak, but I wasn't going to wait for it to start.
I bought the Optima Redtop for $130. It comes out to $135 but you get $5 back when you return your old one. You can get it at Auto Zone or Pep Boys. It's a Gel battery so it won't leak. :thumbs: :thumbs:


[Modified by LS7, 12:53 AM 7/7/2003]

 

LS6 intake !!

:hurray: :hurray: :hurray:

 

Thats about a 166 miles a month! :D

 

:skep: Your FRC is a bit lighter than a coupe and your HP, if stock, is quite a bit above factory normal, though it is not impossible that a rare one or two will be +10% over the factory rating. Driver ability can account for quite a bit of difference, but not THAT much, maybe .2-.3 tops. Your e/t numbers indicate more like 314-321rwhp, and thats with you/gear/fuel only weighing in at 150 total. The chance of doing this on EMTs even if they are lowered to 25psi with a brutal burnout, IMHO is incredibly low, much less duplicable on a coupe.

Go for the exhaust and xpipe (you will love the car even more), and then with an LS6 intake manifold (looks same as stock, just a bigger plenum). Between that and letting Carmen and Dennis tweak it with LS1-Edit, you should be low in the 13's, get rid of the EMTs and with some practice you will be working your way down to 13 flat, with a very streetable coupe, but with a much better sound. :thumbs: FYI: If you plan on running it at the track regularly, save up for a new clutch, the LS6 clutch is not a bad way to go when you have to. $600ish DYI, $1000-$1300 installed.

 

My FRC is 3080#s with 1/4 tank in it and you can add 180#s for myself. I would guess its only 125#s less than a coupe.. Not a big difference there. If you looked at my Sig you would see that my stock RWHP numbers are low(304rwhp Corrected) if anything. I think is has to do with my car being one of the few 4-cat 2000's. As for the EMT's. I keep them at 26PSI and do a decent 8-9 second burnout. I don't think that's brutal.
To many people just want to throw money and parts at their cars and then just expect low ET's out of them only to come back from the track wondering why they are still in the 13's. PRACTICE is where you will find the most gain's.

 

IFLUBYU: I just took a look at your SIG and see with 375RWHP you trapping 114.7. Well, my car with the mods listed below and gutted cats and my own design cat back(fake stinger set up) trapped 114.75 this weekend. Now IM probably at 335RWHP on a good day yet can trap exactly the same as your car with 375RWHP. What does that tell you about practice? :cheers:

 

1. I did not disagree that practice helps, and I probably have alot more than you. 30-50 runs a season since you were a baby, no insult intended.

2. Your mods are going to add up to more than 20-25 rwhp, and have ceased your "street legal" status, especially in CA, which moves this completely off
the original thread.

3. If you don't think 125lbs is much of a diffference, you haven't been draggin' long. Any dragger would do anything short of turning tricks to get rid of 125#s. Try doing your runs with someone in the passenger seat and see what the difference is.

4. I was right on the money on your weight (I figured 3117+150~same), tire pressure and burnout, and yes, 8-9 seconds is brutal for high-performance street tires, but agreeably good drag strip practice and the right thing to do for quick 60' times, but only if you were born rich and can afford new EMTs every year.

5. If you practice as regularly as you say, I seriously doubt you are still working on the original clutch, or are close to kissing it goodbye.

6. Your last two posts contributed nothing to the original thread. Let's not hi-jack this thread. If you want to carry this on, IM me or e-mail me, please.

7. On the weekend of august 8.9.10 I will meet you at any track within 300 miles of whatever the midpoint between Wash, DC and Sacramento is. After 2 runs for orientation, I will bracket race you for three runs, best two out of three wins, loser coughs up 500 yards to the winner and washes the rubber off his quarterpanels. No BS- that is a straight up offer, we can work out the details.

As to the original thread, please forgive the sidetrack!

I should also mention that changing the tires from EMTs will also lighten the vehicle by 3-4 #s per tire. (- the can of fix-a-flat you will want to throw in)

 

I haven't put mine on a track like you'll but I shut mine down on the highway at 130 three weeks ago and will go beyond that next week when I go to New Mexico. Between Ft. Stockton and Pecos (hwy 285) there's nothing but jack rabbits and oi wells. What's your top end with mods. I am told 160 is nothing and should hit 170. I know I am a little crazy but that's OK.
PS - I have new runflat with less than 1000 miles. :crazy: :yesnod:

 

I ordered the Blackwing and hood seal this afternoon from http://www.exit28motorsports.com/ . The Blackwing was shipped this afternoon and should arrive by this Friday. I'll probably submit a review next week. As for the earlier suggestion on the LS1 Edit - that sounds worthwhile and I have made a new post in the Scan and Tune section requesting information on a local (Michigan) tuner.

Thanks again everyone,

Mark

 

Now that's what I'm talking about! :) A little smack talking with some throw-down. I'm in Nebraska, about 1/2 way for each of you. I'll be referee and tape it for bragging rights. What do you say guys? :lol:

On the purchase decision, good pick on the Donaldson. You can't go wrong. I would suggest the cold air cover instead of the hood seal. But that's just me, and all the other guys who run them ;)

I'm not a dragger/bragger :) only done it at the Cruise In II. After a few runs I was running high 12s @ 112-113 mph. Never dynoed but I know my 99 FRC when matched up with other guys with similar mods (Donaldson and PRT's) is near top of the class in HP #'s

I've been to 170 a few times and the speed comes slow after that. Don't know where it'd stall out.


[Modified by gpflepsen, 9:05 PM 7/7/2003]

 

:lurk:

 

I should have the Donaldson Blackwing and new Optima Redtop battery installed tomorrow on my 2000 coupe. I have been hearing conflicting information on the LS6 intake. My question, is the LS6 intake on a 2000 coupe (6 speed) in concert with the Blackwing be a good combination? With both the Blackwing and LS6 intake what MPH should I expect in the 1/4?

Thanks again everyone for being patient with a newbie,

Mark

 

Mark,

Check out the Drag Racing forum, you should find lots of goodies in there.

Have a good one,
Mike

 

I installed the Blackwing, Optima Redtop, and performance hood seal this evening. Everything went well. I observed a definite performance gain, however, I can't tell exactly how much yet as I had one of my buddies (the guy you actually did the above installs) riding shotgun. The Blackwing was a great mod all the way around.
Regards,

Mark