Ok Gents... I have researched until I am blue in the face and I think I have just confused the situation.

My wife found me standing alone in the pantry this morning mumbling something about Cold Air Induction and turbo. I also woke up the other morning screaming "no you idiot Long tube headers are illegal in California..."

I have a 2006 VY C6 A6 3LT... In California...

I think the Cali location is what is messing with me. We have those pesky smog rules and sometimes I read this or that is not allowed or sometimes it is. So I'd like to try this route with a question.

I am looking to spend around 10-12K more if I had to I guess up to 15 but... Can someone kindly list the mods they feel would get the most out of that fundage and still be legal here in Cali. total should consider labor costs approximately.

I am thinking a combination of HP and suspension mods. Going faster is worthless if the car is not handling to its potential. If the suspension is thrown in I guess I'd go higher than the 10-12 K. I am not looking for 1000 HP or anything nuts I just want hell I don't know what I want.

If the stock suspension is plenty capable of handling the small mods that this amount of money will get me forget the suspension and we'll go with HP alone.

So I know this is sort of over covered and probably bores you guys to tears but if you were to spend the same amount of money what would you experienced guys do?

And if you are feeling extra nice and live in Nor Cal area and have a shop to recommend I'd love to hear it. I have my hands full keeping my custom shovelheads rolling and totally unqualified to mess with a Vette.

Dependability, stability and lawful are my chief goals. Please help I am over my head on this one and the fate of the entire world hangs in the balance.

 

Take the car back and get a Z06. That is your best bet. You can also talk to Callaway performance because they make setups that are legal in Cali. Supercharger is another option you should be able to have it is Cali. If turbo is in your dreams then you might want to wait for STS to come out with there kit and see if it gets approved. You have plenty of options for the amount of money that you are talking. I would say head cam package would not be out of the question.

 

Since current pricing on a Z06 is 30k more I think we will have to find a different route.

I suggest you start with gears since they are one of the only true low rpm performance boosters and then get a reputable head and cam upgrade. Then get headers. Stop adding engine power at the point that you cant get that power to the ground. You will hear all the airt cleaner and exhaust non-sense and the fact is that for that 1500+ you gain no power at all. Most other mods including superchargers and heads/cam packages add power only up high in the rpm band while there is little gained down low. Headers do add some power down low but it pales in comparrison to gears. Also don't listen to the headers are required to get max performance from heads and cam mods. You will gain plenty without them if you choose that route. Most guys go the reverse route and add too much power by the time they get to the head and cam part that they have such silly traction issues.

S/C will add the most power for the money and is reversible to sell the car and get most of your money back on the mod which is more than you can say about most other paths.

Good luck and counseling may help with the talking to yourself and dreaming issues.

 

Thank you both for taking the time to provide the info. I appreciate it. I know for some of you long termers yet another pick my mods post can be painfully boring.

Yeah the Z06 is not going to happen. Z06 is obviously an awesome car but I personally prefer my C6 and the idea of making it a little more stout and "personalized via mods" is my goal.

Spin I was really thinking about the gears I am glad you mentioned that, I was reluctant to say anything in OP about it since I haven't read too terribly much about it yet but it makes a lot of sense so far. That mod is particularly attractive to me for a few reasons.

I was also thinking in reality the C6 stock has a ton of HP and torque already. It has far more HP than I'll probably ever use fully, so gearing and suspension mods in my mind help make the use of that more efficient. Superchargers or Turbos like STS or APs seem sexier though

Thanks again maybe other folks will pitch in.

 

With the budget you have, two choices come to mind, 402 NA, or a Supercharged stock block. BTW west of the mississippi only one name you can trust, and that's Andy Green of A&A corvette. He's done all my work. He's got cars lined up to have work done. He's worth the wait. All they do is C5 and C6's. Charlie his tunner is second to none. MY ,02 cents anyway.

Andreas G.

 

I disagree about no gains with Air intake and exhaust mods..they do make a difference and do make power above stock. Yes I am new to this forum, but not new to performance improvements. Changing gears down will improve the performance no doubt, but it will cost in other areas like milage, top end, and could cause some power train issues down the road.

 

I was going back and forth over what I should do also. So after debating the headers, cam and head package, gears, CAI, and so on, I decided on my original plan A which was the Procharger. It is 50 state legal, I am dropping my car off tomorrow at A&A and yes they are really busy and Andy said I probably won't have the car back for two weeks but it is worth the wait. I have a C6 a4 vert with 3.15's and Corsa. Currently, I have no traction issues but I fear that is going to end soon.

The gears you mention are an option I often consider, but they will affect the gas mileage and affect top end speed, not that I will ever see the 180's.

The headers should still allow you to pass the smog emissions portion I am told, but it would fail the visual if the tester knew what he was looking for, but you could always pay to take them off since you sound like you have some cash to throw out there. Or join a car club and find somebody who knows somebody who will pass your car. I don't think you need to get it smogged for 4 years anyway.

And I have a question for somebody, since I also couldn't make up my mind, I purchase a Vararam but am still awaiting delivery, will I still be able to squeeze that in with the supercharger and does it really matter?

Any way, take care, I'll let you know how the procharger works out.

 

Andreas thanks I will look into A&A a buddy of mine is a long time Ferrari mech and another is a collector of them they both recommended a tuner out of Campbell they claim he has a staff that does all sorts of "exotics" including Corvettes. I have deep respect for a Corvette always have but odd to hear it referred to as an "exotic" car I sorta like that

FWIW the Ferrari guy is one of those mechanics that is like a brain surgeon combined with an engineer a brilliant guy. He totally respects the Corvette it was really nice to hear the great things he had to say about the Corvettes of all years.

30YR W8T you make great points I hadn't considered the mileage issue that is almost a deal breaker this is my daily driver and with at least 114 miles RT I need all I can get.

lockshed I am glad I am not the only one I wish it were more like it was when I was a teen in the early 80s when performance mods were based on how shiney and how loud. Now I gotta think.. Please let me know how the supercharger works out.

I am also wondering if in the long run if it is economically better to buy an older Corvette and start from there since it wouldn't mess with the warranty, I am guessing mods may hurt resale/trade in value and smog control is not an issue. Plus I LOVE the old Corvettes nothing finer.

Looks like the wife is going to need to get a 2nd job. I'll be much too busy playing with my stuff to work more hours