After 2-1/2 years I'm tired of the drone on my Bullet exhaust.

 

The only regret is that I don't have more money to spend on my mods. I just bought a procharger D1SC, a nice blower cam and an RPS carbon light twin disk clutch that will be going in soon. I am truly addicted. My last vette was an 04 ZO6 with H/C/N2O and i loved the car but hated the N2O. That's why I went SC this time.

 

I appreciate the reference to my hard work.

That list is ever growing. Constantly growing. And is even larger than it was back then.

A 2008 Corvette, a practically new Corvette, with just 15,000 miles on it and reduced to a paperweight,.....an out of warranty paperweight, would be a lot for anyone to stomach.

I'd be sick right now knowing that my car would still be in warranty, and more importantly, would still be running, with just 15k on it, had I not tampered with it.

If its not paid for, and one is having to send in the monthly payment on it while its not running, and out of warranty, it has to be that much worse.

Good luck getting it fixed.

What?

 

The ones that may regret it the most are those that go into it, possibly without a plan. Maybe hear of great numbers, etc. accomplished by a certain mod without fully checking it out to see if it would be counter productive with what's already there. Next thing, you're in deep and it doesn't perform the way you thought it should. And it keeps going. Easy for me to say as I'll be investigating for a long time. But I know a couple of very knowledgable people to ask when I start. I try to do the expensive stuff once.

 

I had an 04 Mystic Cobra with this...

2004 Mystichrome Cobra 620rwhp on a Mustang Dyno
under 7000 miles


Mods
---------
Pro Turbo kit w/ T76-GTS turbo
Magnaflow c/b
MAC o/r H jethot coated
PFAB IC resivoir
DSS LvL 5 axles
IRS brace
E-boost 2 boost controller
KB boost-a-pump
60# injectors
SCT 2800 MAF
Modular Depot fuel lines and rails
SCT Xcal 2 (tuned by Hermann just over 1 week ago.)
Full length subframe connectors
3M clear bra
20% tint
Rear seat delete

It really irritated me that from a dead stop it was a torqueless wonder. But on the other end it would spin tires at 70mph just by flooring it. Would have need a stall, aftermarket clutch and when it sat in the garage for 2 weeks or so without running it would start ticking a little and that really scared me. On top of all that finding out that high end speed runs trash that pos motor really scared me also. I lost my **** on that car. All I could think is I should have just but a kennybell on it and call it a day.


Before that I had a 01 GT with a Vortech and thought the whole time I wish I would have turboed it. What do ya do live and learn I guess.

 

That's exactly what I did. My car was in the speed shop for such a long time that I went to the dealership and signed my name for a 07 convertible. I drove it home that day.
The money I spent on the mods

NEXT LEVEL PERFORMANCE is a GREAT SHOP and has fix all my screw-up from previous shops. It just takes a long time for it to be done. I am finally getting my car back after many months being away.
THANKS to Next Level Performance and Geoff

 

The only mod so far on my 08 coupe is the Corsa Sports and I couldn't be happier with it.
I always have big plans for modding, but end up selling the car before I do all the stuff that was on the list.
I'm planning on going all the way with my Vette this time.
Then I'd be able to tell whether I regret it or not.

Dan

 

I don't regret it one bit, although I have gone very mild compared to many on this forum. In mind I have a cam, intake, and a 3.42 rear with the accompanying tune; it's important to keep in mind that the mods many of us do are for personal enjoyment. I don't anticipate nor will I expect to get my money back when I decide to sell - they paid off through the enjoyment I get when driving.....

JR

 

My previous car was heavily modded. I counted up all the money I had spent on it, and EASILY passed the pay-off ammount on the loan. The exhaust droned, the short shifter rattled, the aftermarket gears whined (of course, I only noticed it when my amplifier let go on a LONG trip.) I could also hear the body kit scrape EVERY WHERE (it was lowered too.) I got fed up, and put it back to stock. I have to admit, I enjoyed driving the car MUCH more when it was back to stock (well, closer to stock. )

I have never left any car completely alone, and I don't think I ever will. However, I do know there are certian things I don't WANT to do again. For example: I don't want to lower the car, or do a body kit (not even the OEM widebody) on my car. I don't want a drone-y exahust. I don't want to do a sound system or a complete interior make-over again.

I also plan to run out the warranty a little longer before going for BIG power.

 

I feel the EXACT same way.

 

My regret is purchasing that stupid Granatelli MAF, now it sits in the garage gathering dust.....everything else is more than worth it.

 

Everyday I go back and forth on what direction to head in. I suppose that is why it is still stock. I want to lower it but I'm scared of roads, ride quality and premature tire wear.

I want a H/C package for the power and sound, but I fear driveability issues and low end loss.

I want a supercharger setup but most of my driving is around town where i don't need it. I'd also prefer a roots blower over centrifigal, but traction is always an issue, and what good is instant power if you can't use it?

 

I bought a 2008 Z51 convertible, I really wanted a Z06 but I couldn't resist the convertible so I added a ProCharger 6# boost intercooled supercharger, Kook's long-tube stainless (uncoated) headers and hi-flo cats and a Corsa stainless X-pipe and 'sport-pro" mufflers. I had it dyno tuned by one of the best guys in the industry and it pulled 600 rwhp which according to ProCharger's parasitic loss factor is just about 700hp at the crank. The car is wickedly fast, but the traction control won't handle the power and the supercharger ate its seals after only a few hundred miles. Then I found out that ProCharger doesn't send a replacement, they have to "analyze" the original which took a total of almost three weeks of downtime for the car. Then they sent back the unit (all scratched up) and it had to be sent back to be polished. When it came back this time it was a different serial number but they swore it was the same unit. The first time I had the unit's oil changed on this replacement it was filled with yuckey brown fluid. Every other change with the origianal unit the oil was clear so now I'm waiting to pass the 36k warranty and find the thing is toast. The supercharger pushes unburned gas into the exhaust when you let up on the gas and so it "pops". It sounds pretty neat actually, but I always watch for the cops because I doubt they would share my enthusiasm. I have already tried three times to get the exhaust to stop rattling, hopefully the fourth time will be the cure. I know, I should stop bitching, because the car is probably faster than a ZR-1 if I could get it to hook up and it will blow away just about anything if you're doing an interstate stomp on it at 70 kinda race. So, regrets? Kinda but what an awsome toy!!

 

I never went wild with mods but I did once put coilovers on my car. A lot of money and they were as harsh as hell... I remember reading how the coilovers were just a little bit harsher... yeah right! Had to have my daily driver up in the air several times and it cost me a pretty penny to get the car back to a point where it was fun to drive. I now have Z51 springs and Bilstein Sport shocks - pretty good handling and pretty good ride comfort. The coilovers now sit in my garage... Other than that, the Z06 sway bars, frame savers and other little stuff was money well spent and enjoyable... Just don't believe everything you read and make sure that you try your best to experience what you want to do on someone else's car before you do it on your car.

 

Oh yeah, lowering the car is another thing which looks great but requires you to have a lot more patience. I almost feel relieved when I drive my brother's old IS300... it's so much easier to drive - just put it in drive and forget it - don't worry about speed bumps, don't feel like you have to drive it manically...

 

Lastly, vendors who do mods aren't always perfect. Half the battle is hoping or seeing to it that the vendor does the work correctly. I have a pretty good idea that the vendor that did my suspension f'ed it up and that that's what caused a number of my problems...

 

I went over board with my C5 vert.... 408 stroker, LT's, no cats and borla singers.... car was insanely loud, stunk and it didn't like to go slow (bucking at 1,500 rpm)... I miss that car, but it was a little too much of an effort to take it out.... Eventually, I didn't drive it a whole lot and decided to sell it.

I went with a maggie this time around and the car drives like stock when I'm not in the gas, but when you put the hammer down - it likes to spin the tires a little....LOL!

 

Had a pretty close to stock C6 except for coilovers. I now have a fully modded C5 and I just smile when I hit the gas pedal you do have to have some patience to dial everything in.

 

I purchased my car in Dec 2005 and imediately began mods. If I'd had a crystal ball and could see into the future, I would have waited to purchase. The price I paid (new model, then) and the dollars I've spend on mods would, today, buy me a new Z06. But, back in late 2005, the Z's were bring big bucks over msrp. Of course, if you factor in the fun, satisfaction, and good times spent with my Corvette friends, I'm still ahead!

 

No regrets. I have had a lot of fun working on my vette. Looking forward to adding more mods. I find a great deal of enjoyment just planning. Plan your work, work your plan.