True, so true!
need an opinion on mods
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 1,634
Likes: 190
From: Austin TX
need an opinion on mods
Ok, so my warranty has officially expired and now I want to get in deep with my car. 05 z51, mn6. Right now i have borla touring axle back exhaust and k&n cai. I was toying around with 2 options after the new year. Hopfully someone can chime in and give me some info.....
Option 1:
Stroke the motor (402/404/etc)
Option 2:
Keep stock motor and add the following:
L92 Heads
L76 Ported Intake and TB
Mild cam
Option 3:
Just send it to Lingenfelter
I have a place to do all the work so I wont spend too much on labor. Some things that I will be doing regardless of which direction I go will be a tune, LT headers, x-pipe and 4.10s.
I thought about swapping a LS7 but would be too much of a hassle. I also figured that I would have to do an intake and heads if I stroke the motor. However, I would be spending the extra 1700-2k on the stroker kit.
Anyone got any ideas on what would be best to keep the car streetable for now?
Option 1:
Stroke the motor (402/404/etc)
Option 2:
Keep stock motor and add the following:
L92 Heads
L76 Ported Intake and TB
Mild cam
Option 3:
Just send it to Lingenfelter
I have a place to do all the work so I wont spend too much on labor. Some things that I will be doing regardless of which direction I go will be a tune, LT headers, x-pipe and 4.10s.
I thought about swapping a LS7 but would be too much of a hassle. I also figured that I would have to do an intake and heads if I stroke the motor. However, I would be spending the extra 1700-2k on the stroker kit.
Anyone got any ideas on what would be best to keep the car streetable for now?
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Racer
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 351
Likes: 0
From: Louisville Kentucky
What do you plan to do with your car, once it is modified? will it be your daily driver? Will you race it it? Do you have a back-up vehicle?
What kind of personality do you want the car to have? Stock with lot's of stealth power, big-cammed nasty brute or something else? This is a very important question, if your goal isn't some specific type of racing performance.
What kind of personality do you want the car to have? Stock with lot's of stealth power, big-cammed nasty brute or something else? This is a very important question, if your goal isn't some specific type of racing performance.
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 1,634
Likes: 190
From: Austin TX
Supercharging it is definately an option, but a little later down the road. i want to make sure i beef up the top end first as well as get some good traction.
It will be a daily for about another year, then I will just use it as a weekend cruiser and strip car. Im trying to get to about 500-500 rwp. And yes, I do have a backup vehicle so no worries there.
vettealot -- why hold off on the 4.10s? many say this is a mod worth the cost no matter what.
It will be a daily for about another year, then I will just use it as a weekend cruiser and strip car. Im trying to get to about 500-500 rwp. And yes, I do have a backup vehicle so no worries there.
vettealot -- why hold off on the 4.10s? many say this is a mod worth the cost no matter what.
CF Senior Member
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 23,313
Likes: 25
From: Tucson Arizona
Depending on how you ultimately intend to use the car, there may be much more to do than just the power plant. Formulate a comprehensive, long range plan before you start modding. There are many decent Corvette tuner shops but IMO there are only a handful that have earned the reputation as being the best (Lingenfelter, 21st Century Muscle Cars (an authorized Lingenfelter installer), Katech, Doug Rippie Motorsports, LG Motorsports and Callaway).
There are pros and cons no matter which way you go but I prefer a fully built, naturally aspirated motor as opposed to slapping a supercharger on a stock, cast-piston engine. IMO for engine mods you can't do better than Lingenfelter or Katech.
Their reputation for quality and performance is well deserved. I don't know the warranty situation with Katech but I believe LPE offers a 3 year/36,000 mile warranty on their built engines which is a testament to the quality of their product. Go with the best!
There are pros and cons no matter which way you go but I prefer a fully built, naturally aspirated motor as opposed to slapping a supercharger on a stock, cast-piston engine. IMO for engine mods you can't do better than Lingenfelter or Katech.
Their reputation for quality and performance is well deserved. I don't know the warranty situation with Katech but I believe LPE offers a 3 year/36,000 mile warranty on their built engines which is a testament to the quality of their product. Go with the best!
Race Director
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 14,555
Likes: 1,255
From: Saint Albans, WV
You may want to check with people that have had to try and use that warranty to find out how good it really is.
Safety Car
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 4,647
Likes: 1
From: Objects in your mirror are losing , Long Island, NY
St. Jude Donor '08
If you buy a stroker kit, all you need is a good set of ported heads and intake ( ETP's, trickflows or AFR 215's ) and you will be thousands of dollars lower than those tuners mentioned. They are excellent in their right, however you will end up spending big dollars for the name and warranties.
In terms of rear end and tranny, I am currently building my 05 Z-51. The tranny and rear are done, since my mishap at the track one and half months ago. I installed the 2008 rear and housing with 4.10 gears. A G-force shaft and both driver and passnager HD shafts were added followed by a complete new tranny. The 2008 rear and housing have much wider bolt pattern and are much stronger than the wimpy 05 bolt pattern, this is a significant improvement over the 05 set up.
In addition to the built rear and tranny a custom brace is going to be slapped on to hold the tranny and rear firmly in place. I learned the hard way..Good luck...
Last edited by welcome2try; Nov 17, 2008 at 07:16 PM.
Racer
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 351
Likes: 0
From: Louisville Kentucky
Supercharging it is definately an option, but a little later down the road. i want to make sure i beef up the top end first as well as get some good traction.
It will be a daily for about another year, then I will just use it as a weekend cruiser and strip car. Im trying to get to about 500-500 rwp. And yes, I do have a backup vehicle so no worries there.
vettealot -- why hold off on the 4.10s? many say this is a mod worth the cost no matter what.
It will be a daily for about another year, then I will just use it as a weekend cruiser and strip car. Im trying to get to about 500-500 rwp. And yes, I do have a backup vehicle so no worries there.
vettealot -- why hold off on the 4.10s? many say this is a mod worth the cost no matter what.
Also, since you plan to drag race your 500 RWHP '05, you need a stronger rear end to support launches with good traction. You might as well do you your 4.10 gear while you're at it.
Have fun with it!
