I posted this question in the Tech section too....


I just love this site, so much knowledge passes along with great personal stories about what worked and didn't work. So I just read and learn! So give me your opinions!!!

What I want/goal:
I'm not hung up on numbers but you still have to use them to describe what you are looking for so...found an 05 M6 Z51 garage queen for my first Vette in October and drove it for 28 days and then stored. So it sits for four months and is a weekend fun car to play with, take on golf trips and love the 28 mpg (shocking) and all stock.

I don't launch it ever, won't do a 1/4 mile ever...but will be doing a HPDE road course at Road America in July just once to see what that is all about and while I have fun pressing down to the floor...I pick my spots. It is in immaculate condition and I will not beat it but it is a sports car that needs exercise.

So I want a little more but don't want to have to beef up everything that is stock just because of some more HP. I love the drivability of it now and want that preserved too.

I have Borla S type II in the box ready for spring but that is for sound and not performance.

Lesson one: (from you guys!)
Find a shop that really know their stuff and is trustworthy....done. Hit the jackpot, they do a ton of work on Vettes. Spent hour and half talking, looking at their shop, 2 Mustang Dyno's and looking at a number of their projects on hand. Great people great work!

The shop also confirmed some assumption going in:

Tuning matters...factory settings leave about 30% room for more as is!

Component failure of stock parts happens...yes and 600 rwhp is the number that becomes that line in the sand.

More air more gas more power...either by NA or FI.

Many have said the chase for HP is addicting...I want to get to 550 and call it a day. Everyone smiles and says yeh, right...

The shop confirmed my assumption of like 350-ish rwhp stock so 200 hp additional should make me happiest...but maybe 70-100 hp keeps me entertained for a couple years and a smile on my face...hell I can break the wheels loose in second gear now so it seems fast to me already!

So this is where your opinions come in.

Financially speaking....
I have one quote for an E-force installed for $10k...top of my limit.

or


I can build NA wise a little bit at a time like $4k for Vararam Snakecharmer, 160 tstat, "Cam kit" with rods, springs, rocker, steal crank, pulley, plugs and wires yada yada....

FIC Injector kit...and have my Borla's installed...they think that's like 70-100 hp with a tune.

Another $2k for Dynatech long tube headers and mid pipe but then I'm up to $6K and at that point I'm thinking then spend the $10k...this is good for like 16 hp.

The $4k of NA mods won't be money wasted as it could be a foundation for a blower down the road.

Decision gate:
$4K gets me ahead of where I am and makes me smile I'm sure but not the 200 hp I would like. I have a few bucks extra then for new rubber and wheels which is always nice but not mandatory right now.

$10k gets me the 200 hp but it's still $10k for my first mod attempt if you know what I mean.

 

How about an A&A or ECS kit for about 6k installed? Some of the forum vendors here do deals for about 6-6.5k installed depending on the kit/vendor. Throw in a clutch with either a cam or headers (I'd do long tubes, no cats on a FI car). That would end up around 10k. I'd also go with ARH or Pdaft long tube headers. I have ARH and they are great quality with an awesome sound.

If you want more power later, do a cam kit, and either work your heads are maybe go LSA heads, methanol injection, pulley down, suspension work, more fuel, etc. There is always SOMETHING to be done unless you just have money falling out of your butt and can do everything at once.

 

Or just try the blower by itself first... No bigger bang for the buck.

I went through similar thought processes, and had similar aspirations. I didn't want to go large, just add some more fun to an already incredible car. I don't want to ruin the amazing mileage when driven conservatively, and I want as much reliability as possible. Oh, and since I live in Kalifornistan I also want it to pass smog.

Answer - have a SC installed and call it a day. Somewhere around $6k, should be well worth it and the best return for the outlay and my expectations.

 

ECS or A&A kit, headers then rest on stuff like clutch/tires/etc.

 

You can make 500-550rwhp with an ECS or A&A kit through the stock exhaust manifolds. If you live in state that does a visual, get Z06 manifolds and exhaust if you really feel the need for 15-25 more rwhp. I would add an Alky Control meth kit for safety, especially if you road course the car. I also prefer a centri over an Edelbrock for road course work. More linear power since boost builds with rpm. My buddy road races a C6 with an A&A Si trim kit. He's very fast around the track and his car is around 600rwhp with a cam and headers. He also runs the Alky Control meth kit.

I made over 700rwhp on my stock LS7 clutch and it looked perfect when I pulled it. Don't worry about a clutch until yours starts slipping. I got paranoid because everybody kept telling me to change it. I should have just put the money to the side and waited. I drive my car hard and do blasts to the top of 4th gear daily. I also run twisty roads on a regular basis.

 

I'm open to a centri SC and it certainly has it's pro's vs. a root blower and I'm glad you think I can get that for way less than $10K installed...that makes me smile!!!! Thanks man....

 

Wow...we are clones...and have much in common. My better half is in IT Security even. Don't worry I won't kiss you on the lips though.....

 

The centri I'm looking at is the Procharger kit. Is that the blower in the ECS and A&A kits or do they have their own blower design and mfg?

 

A&A uses vortech, ECS uses paxton/vortech. They are the same blower. Procharger are different and their kit isn't nearly as nice as the A&A or ECS plus it is more expensive. You can get a A&A with a procharger bracket if you really want a procharger head unit.

 

Thanks Jon...I think I'd be very happy with 550-550 hp gain and would smile often with that. Well...they say I'll get addicted and want more...we'll see...


Good to hear about the clutch there are those that think the 05 differential is going to snap like twig. I understand the 05 isn't as beefy as the 06 and later but if I'm not doing hole shots from a dead stop so I have to believe I'm going to get some time with it too.

Thanks for all the thoughts everyone...I love CF.

 

It's not just launching that can make a diff blow up. If you slam a gear and start getting wheel hop, you better let off the throttle quick. Other than that you should be okay. Just don't be surprised if you have to put a diff in it down the road. I put the Pfadt trans mounts in mine and it tightened things up. I hardly ever get wheel hop even when I break them loose on a shift.

 

Do a brace and you'll probably be fine if you don't plan on going to the drag strip.

I have a close friend who easily put 250+ passes on his 05 diff leaving HARD. The softest 60' was probably 1.7ish on street tires and a few 1.3s on drag radials. A TON of 1.4-1.5s.

I'd say around 80+ passes were 9 second passes and 100+ being 10 second passes. Now, is it the weakest diff of all the c6s? Yes. Will you be able to abuse the crap out of it and have the same luck he did? Probably not. The point is, don't worry about it, if you don't plan on going to the drag strip you will most likely not have any problems. It could happen, but I doubt it. He didn't have a brace in his either. His literally blew the case in half from the twisting forces... the car left hard for about 10 feet lol. It would have been a hell of a pass if it held up.

 

Great story Chance thanks. So your friend had the good 05 diff they made that week.... I know I'm not going to put the strain on mine that those passes put on the diff so I tend to be optimistic and hope I got a good one like your friend. But if my number is up and it goes well then I get to put in a better one.

Those are some quick times and with drag slicks I bet there was quite a bit of torque put on that transmission and some big HP coming from that motor....9 second passes gets my attention.....

 

He was under 700 rwhp. He did break his transmission, before the blower when he was on a cam + nitrous setup. So when he broke the diff, it was the weak link left. He has a level 7 rpm 4L80E and I think DSS half shafts? 3600 triple disk converter etc. The car moves out, I don't understand how it is still alive sometimes, but the little sumbish keeps on going strong and fast.

 

Gotta go with the supercharger!

 

I bought the Edelbrock 554 kit so in the spring my garage/tuner gets busy with installing the SC...the new rims...new rubber good bye run craps...and my Borla S TypeII. Too bad spring is so far away...I hate winter.

I went with the low psi boost high HP return idea....stock fuel pump stays...along with all my other stock parts. I liked the design and engineering behind it...no oil changing another piece of equipment...less plumbing and tubes to keep and eye on...complete kit including 52 lb. injectors and throttle body....and it is just elegant and sits in there like its suppose to.

Next year maybe some headers and mid pipes and help the breathing and on to the interior. OMG...I love those Caravaggio seats!!!!

Thanks for all your thoughts.....

 

I swung by my speed shop today and took a look at the E-force on a pallet and two boxes...man they pack that stuff up. All parts there...yeh!

I'll certainly come back and report in spring how it all turned out and numbers...yup...I already told my tuner I want to be there and make a video of the baseline pull and come back for the finished pull so I can join the Youtube crowd...

 

Congratulations on the purchase! You won't regret it, I can now guarantee you (unless the Edlebrock kit behaves differently than my A&A V3-Si does). I picked mine up yesterday after watching Andy work his magic on the Dyno, and had the pleasure of a 5 hour drive back home to get acquainted The smile still hasn't left my face, and the car exceeded my expectations even at my 'low' power values.

You may have seen it in the other thread, or not, but just in case here is my contribution to YouTube:

 

Personally, there is only one option for what you are looking for, an A&A or ECS kit. If you don't do burnouts or tons of hard launches your LS2 clutch will hang on for a while. I'm at 20K miles on my stock clutch and its still holding. $6 grand for the kit, then get yourself some headers.

 

Very cool Tunaman thanks for sharing...is that what happens to (us) FI guys now...I go to Youtube and watch dyno pulls with a big ol'grin...