Good info, thanks guys. I think I will start with the LG headers and stock exhaust. Added "base note" from the headers without a lot of increased volume would be great. Probably will end up getting it tuned too. There is a guy up here in Minneapolis who seems to be pretty reputable. I would never try the tuning myself.

 

nothing wrong to leave it alone

 

Thanks for all the help so far guys, I really appreciate it. As of right now I am planning on going a bit over my budgetm but who cares. Here's what I'm thinking.

-LG Long Tube Headers
-New Intake, what are some of the best?
-Get it tuned, Anyone know of a good tuner in the SF bay area?
-I really want a new exhaust because I definitely want the car to sound mean. I have heard a lot of good things about the Corsa and Bullets but which one is the best sounding and most practical, 4 tips or 2? Also, what is with the magnaflow exhaust? It sounds pretty nice on their website but is it really worth the 1600 price tag?

 

Call A&A corvette 805-278-4107, He's in oxnard. He's also the BEST in the western U.S. it's worth the trip. Get there at 8:00 AM, your on your way home by 4:00 in the afternoon. As for intakes he likes the Stinger by Halltech. He also has LG's in stock. Good luck

 

I have been modding up my 05 automatic (3:15) coupe for the last 12 months.
Started with the Kooks Long Tube Headers, Kooks High Flow Cats, and the Corsa Sport Exhaust. Really liked the sound I got from that combination and the "seat of the pants" increase felt very good but I did not dyno or tune the car. Added the Calloway Honker and ported throttle body and felt a little improvement. Sent the computers off to Ron at Z industries in California for a tune. No disrespect to Ron , but doing a bench tune as a one size fits all is a mistake in my opinion. I did not feel that there was any improvement although I will admit that I did not do a dyno. In May of this year I decided to take the plunge with cam (224/227/114), Vigilante 2800 torque converter ( I know, some of you may say that is too timid, but for what I wanted - it is perfect), ASP Harmonic Balancer Pulley, and a DTE Differential with 3:73 gears, and a transmission oil cooler.
Jeff Creech at Carolina Auto Master ( CAM) in Durham, NC put it all together for me. Got the Vette back without a dyno tune because we had to break in the gears and could not do WOT. Jeff estimated the settings for break in and I can tell you the car screams at WOT now. The cam really changed the note of the exhaust at idle and at WOT. I just took it back yesteray after the break in period so he can do the dyno tune and tweak the shift points.
Jeff knows his stuff and I can hardly wait to drive it after the final tune. I have no idea what the RWHP or Torque numbers will be but for what I wanted to achieve, it already feels great.