Fellas,

I am relatively new to the forum and have just posted a time or two, but love the C6 and strongly considering one. Would love a convertible Z06 but that obviously isn't in the offing, considered some aftermarket conversions (de-roofing) but the comments by some here about the inevitable weakening of the aluminum frame has dissuaded me from that approach. I then remembered some of the posts here about tuners and have spoken to Tim at LPE (Lingenfelter) about dropping a C5R based 427 into a stock convertible, possible also widening the wheel well to accomodate sticky tires. The cost of this wouldn't be much more than the price that Z06's are going at with the dealer mark-ups.

My question is one of naivety but is essentially this: would you guys be afraid to do something so drastic to a new C6 convertible. I've heard good things about LPE and imagine they would do as good a job as anyone in the industry, understand as well there's a 2 yr/24,000 mi warranty of the drive-train. I just wonder whether doing this would invite a lot of other problems, i.e., if the 427 motor would give me as good a service as leaving it stock or create a bunch of other issues that I would have to get worked on. I can't honestly claim to be much of a mechanic myself, live about an hour from Nashville, don't want to get stuck with something that requires a lot of maintenance and work. But I've got to tell you, I am enthralled with the idea of that engine in a C6 convertible and think it would be tremendous fun.

As an aside, I've actually considered the twin turbo option as well but frankly not sure I would be safe driving it. Bunch of the reviews of TT packages in LPE vehicles (linked to their web-site) described them in glowing terms but almost unfailingly described that it created so much wheel-spin that the incremental benefit of the extra torque was a bit ambiguous. I guess this could eventually be overcome if you got tires big enough although I'd still be afraid the back end would fly out from under me.

Anyway, I'd certainly appreciate the thoughts or advice of anyone who has been down this road before or considered these purchase options. I'd like any info about the longevity of those engines (used mostly as a daily driver). Again the sales guy at LPE was very helpful but I've come to respect the objectivity of the posters here on the forum.

Hope this isn't a dumb question, I've just never had any experience with "crate" engines before. I thank everyone in advance for your patience and replies.

Jeff

 

Now if caravaggio made the Z06's roof come off I would get one...
But them ugly wheels gotta go.

Another good thing about the Lingenfelter package is the 24k warranty

 

Well if I were going to put that much money into a mod I think I would go with LPE. With that said there are much less expensive ways to get 505 crank HP out of a LS2.

 

Thanks guys --

I think they quote about 530 hsp for the 427, say it should be a little faster than the Z06 although there would clearly be some difference in weight. They quote about 500 hsp for a 403 cc engine which they also offer.

Jeff

 

the warranty is nice, allthough u could do it a hell of a lot cheaper if u talked to one of our sponsors like a&a corvette, or cartek, and get a 427 or 402 whatever you want with more power from it and cheaper then lingenfelter, all your buying is a warranty and a name when it comes to them. a 402 could push 600 if it had nice heads and a cam for about 7-8k out the door.

 

Havent done it yet but the new z06 has plenty of power to surprise you and make the rear end swing around unsuspectingly, especially in the rain (you said to use it as a DD). Whats this have to do with you. You said you didnt want a TT cause you are worried about the power being a little bit too much, well if you get a 427 LPE C6 it will have more than enough power to surprise you, heck even a stock c6 can do that just not as fast or as easy.

That being said i looked into a TT C5 from LPE. If i was going to do that kind of a modification LPE would def. be at the top of my list just for piece of mind that my car and myself would be taken care of.

 

I have the same idea as you Jeff. I am having my vert dropped off next Monday at Lingenfelter for their 500hp package. I'm also having CCW make me a set of wheels so I can put wider rubber on back. Also going with the Caravaggio rear fenders to accomodate the wider wheels. Cost of the vert plus all of the above is about the same as the Z06. The resale won't be near as good as the Z06, but I didn't purchase the car for resale value. I figure I will have the best of both worlds, top off and extra power. Since I don't road race, the Z51 package will be more than enough for me as far as suspension goodies go, Z06 would be total overkill for my driving habits.

 

Jeff, yeah and I am waiting (anxiously) for Autobahn Transport to bring my '05 coupe back from LPE where I had the 403 upgrade performed. With the LG 32" Long Tube Headers, Hi-Flo Cats, and Corsa Sports exhaust my super toy has more power (553 HP vs 505) than a Z06 and I can still take the top off when the weather is nice and the mood strikes - for about $15K less than the best price I can negotiate on a '06 Z06.

 

Thanks for your interest in LPE's packages, I'm sure Tim has given you all of the information you need, but if there's anything I can answer, feel free to let me know.

Some will try to pursuade you to go elsewhere to get the same thing for less. I would advise to be careful with ths approach, because just like anything else, you get what you pay for. If someone offers the same thing for half the money, you have to ask yourself, what are they leaving out?


Let me know if there's anything I can do to help,
Ed

 

The two most important thing about turbos are this:
1. The power is adjustable.
(You can turn down the boost if it's more than you wanted.)

2.The turbos are expandable for future mods.
(You can turn up the boost for more power and the turbos will work well with future mods. ie. build motor, new intake, etc)

If you build a naturally aspirated 427, you are stuck with the power you have and will have to completely "throw out" the parts you invested in
if you want to increase or remove horsepower.


Go with a Stage 1 twin turbo first.

Drive it till the Stage 1 warranty is up,
then you can turn up the boost for more power.

When the motor needs to be freshened up,
build a forged 427 so you can REALLY turn up the boost.

You just bought a new car, so you might as well get some use out of the motor while you have the Stage 1 turbo.
Not to mention, there is no substitute for the power of forced induction and how it is delivered by boost.
Turbos are the way to go,
no matter how much you might love natural aspiration or hate forced induction.

Good Luck!

 

^^not to mention in this situation the turbo kit is cheaper and on the c6 it makes a ton of power with stock cubes.

 

I HAVE AN 06 LINGENFELTER C6, NOT THE TT427 BUT THE ONE WITH THE SUPERCHARGER , I JUST GOT IT ON FRIDAY THE THIRD, I WOULD HAVE TO SAY THAT IT IS ONE HECK OF A VEHICLE. I HAD THE OPTION TO GET THE Z06 BUT.. COMMIG 0UT OF AN 04Z THAT WAS BUILT TO THE BRIM. WHAT I FOUND (my truth ) IS THAT THE Z06 FOR SOME REASON WASNT MY IDEA OF WHAT A CORVETTE SHOULD BE.. LET ME EXPLAIN. TO ME THE CORVETTE SHOULD BE FAST, SLEEK AND THE WIND IN YOUR HAIR(or my lack of), BUT THE SAME MISTAKE AS THE C5 Z IS THAT THE ROOF IS JUST FIXED, I HATED MTY 04 FOR THIS , I TRIED TO TELL MYSELF IT HAD TO DO WITH BODY FLEX, WRONG.. IT HAD TO DO WITH THE FACT THAT GM HAD A WHOLE LOT OF FRC BODIES THEY HAD TO DO SOMETHING WITH AND THEY ONLY WAY THEY COULD SELL THEM WAS TO PUT AN LS6 IN THEM.. LAST THOUGHT.. IF ONE CAN HAVE THE ABILITY TO HAVE A FAST *** VETTE , BUT GET EXACTLY WHAT THEY WANT FOR THE SAME MONEY, I' TAKE THE ONE I WANT.... ONE MORE THING THEN I'M DONE
IN THE YEAR AND A HALF I HAD MY Z06 IT DEPRECIATED $30K, I WILL NOT M,AKE THAT MISTAKE AGAIN.. I CAN GUARANTEE THAT THE NEW Z06 WILL DO THE SAME... NOT TO KNOCK ANYONE THE NEW Z IS ONE HECK OF A VETTE , BUT I THINK FOR NOW I'LL KEEP MY LIG AND HOPE THAT IT WILL NOT DEPRECIATE AS MUCH AS THE 04 DID... AND I WILL DARE A NEW Z TO RIDE UP NEXT TO ME AT A LIGHT.. I'LL SHOW HIM THAT HIS 20K OVER STICKER COST COULD HAVE BOUGHT HIM A VEH THAT WAS WORTH 100K...
THE WARRANTIES ARE STILL VALID .. SEE THE MAGNUSUN ACT AND LIG HAS THERE OWN THAT COVERS ANYTHING NOT COVERED BY GM..
SORRY TO COME ACCROSS HARSH BUT ITS MY TRUTH ....

THERES MY THRUTH
YOUR TRUTH AND
THE TRUTH

I RESPECT THEM ALL

 

Search the ZO6 forum and you'll find that almost all have already dynoed at 455-470, stock. Depending on the conversion you trust, that's 530-550 at the crank. This is just FYI as you compare HP #'s.(with LG's and no tune I think they saw 490 or so)

 

Do a comparison on a part-by-part basis for each component and I think you'll find the highlighted text above is factually inaccurate. As other vendors have learned, top-notch products come at a higher price, and Lingenfelter has simply been at the top for a long time.

 

Lose the caps my friend.


I think we better just stick to this is your truth, not the truth. Because quite frankly your reasoning is flawed. Trust me the reason the Z06 has a fixed roof is to stiffen up the body. It is still a vette, as a matter of fact it is the fastest vette ever made. Now for your depreciation on your 04 Z06, if your 04 depreciated 55% off sticker in 1.5 years you did something very wrong when you sold or traded it in. That is not depreciation, that is called fu@#ing up on a deal. Now if you are counting mod money in depreciation, then of course, your car will sell for much less than you have in it. So will your moded C6. Here is the best formula to use for resale on mod money. mod money resale = 0. And it makes little difference who did the modding.

A C5 Z06 bought new did not depreciate 30K in a year. Even if you traded it in, paid sticker you would still only depreciated at the most around 20K, 30K depreciation on an 04 Z would be 55%. Sorry, my friend this did not happen, (you better edit the "my truth" ledger), unless you just gave your car away, which is not the cars fault. I see you have an 04 Z06, well my brother paid 41.7 for his 04 new off the lot and he could sell it for at least 36K. That is only 5.7K depreciation. Maybe you bought earlier in the year and paid sticker for it, nothing wrong with that by the way. But still 30K depreciation, what did you get for your 04 Z, 24K. I wish you would have sold it to me. I hope you did not pay over sticker on an 04 Z06, if you did, you were the only one on the planet to do this. Now if you are counting your mod money in the depreciation I agree, mod money = 0 on resale.

Logically building the C5 Z06 because GM had FRC bodies in surplus does not make any sense. I highly doubt if all the 01-04 Z06 bodies were built in the same year, then stockpiled. Or in 00 they thought they were going to sell 4 times as many FRC's and built too many. They build the bodies as they need them. Do you have a source for this claim or is it just listed in your book of "my truth".

The 20K over sticker for the new Z06 is going to be very short lived, so I would not use that as an excuse not to buy one, unless of course you are in a hurry then I understand.

Just some thoughts for you.

One thing I do agree with you on is you should buy what you want. If you want a verte or targa top then that is what you should get. I like automatic transmissions because I bracket drag race so I have never bought a Z, but I love them. I really like the C5 FRC body style. But believe me, a 06 Z06 will sell for considerably more than a LPE moded 06 coupe in the used car market in the future.

 

Actually I agree with some of the highlighted text. You do pay extra for a warranty, and probably do pay higher labor at LPE than most of the other tuners. The higher price is not just better parts.

Hey they are a business, they can not give things away. Warranty's cost companies money, they need to recoup that in the sales price. It is probably well worth it to many to have a warranty and peace of mind.

 

I can assure you that the lingenfelter 427 is in every way superior to the stock bottom end of the 427 that comes in the Z06. The weakest link cast pistons being the flaw and it can't be made up for with exotic connecting rods. Even with the conservative cams that Lingenfelter uses it will have far more power to the wheels than the very conservative power ratings suggest. 500 to the wheels is a given plus it has the ability to have no limitations later with boost where GMs 427 has already shown that the cast pistons will not.

Heads and intake are available if you so choose to use them just as in the Z06.

If I had the Z06 with a removable roof, I would still rebuild the bottom end to fix what GM has once again dropped the ball with. As soon as I can buy the 7 liter block I will also have a 427 sans the bad parts.

Mark my words....as soon as that block is available there will be 427's for the same price we now see 402's for....less than 4k. ET performace heads and then you have a 600rwhp 427.....still capable of boost.

 

I wasn't referring to the warranty, but I agree, you SHOULD pay more for a warranted item. I was referring to the parts. Labor I'm not sure of, but even if labor is higher, it comes with the experience and the reputation. In all events, IMHO it's not "just a name," it's what is represented by the name.

 

Well the post you quoted was talking about the name and a warranty.

That was sort of the point of my post, you basically said you disagree with him that is what you are paying for. I myself did not.

I personally would want to use LPE also, if I did a major mod like a 427. Primarily because of the warranty. I think some of the other tuners are probably just as competent. But most do not offer 24 month warranties on their work.

Is LPE warranty void if you break it racing?

 

no lpe does not void the warranty as far as i know if your racing,, but im sure they cannot prove either way ,

and as for the resale you were speaking of ealier, maybe its because in ohio many people cannot afford a vette, here in atl they are not a premium and there are alot of buyers, check kelly blue book and see for yourself, we can drive our vettes all year round, and they are not cheaper in the winter so dealers dont have to deal especialy when the next buyer is right behind you waiting to buy..... as for the truth thing .. it sounds like your a little bitter.. sorry about that.
the point is that either way the lingenfelter is not just a name they did not make themselves known and get inducted into the corvette hall of fame for no reason.. they are known for there quality and there performance. and some of us work for a living THE CAPS WERE BECAUSE I WAS ON A PLANE TYPING FROM MY PHONE..sorry if reading in caps is difficult for you.. i hear hooked on phonics works really good ..