looking for some cheap whp
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: May 2012
Posts: 812
Likes: 1
looking for some cheap whp
picked up my 2010, base vette a few weeks ago after i traded in my 2009 gt500. well it only has 4900 miles and im looking for some more power. my plans are to keep it simple and nothing crazy just yet.
what are your thoughts on my current list so far?
vararam intake/throttle body spacer
ported throttle body or bigger depending on the price
ported intake manifold
TSP 1 7/8" long tubes/3" x pipe
factory back half
underdrive pulley
160* thermostat
new plugs
new wires
car will be tuned using a diablo predator to pull out a few more ponies. i wouldnt mind a small cam and head package but being new to chevy i wouldnt know who to go to. any thoughts on what other little things i could be missing and what these numbers might make over stock???
any help would be appreciated. BTW, im going to be installing the parts and hopefully i can have texas speed and performance do the tune since im in texas or some one by me in austin.
what are your thoughts on my current list so far?
vararam intake/throttle body spacer
ported throttle body or bigger depending on the price
ported intake manifold
TSP 1 7/8" long tubes/3" x pipe
factory back half
underdrive pulley
160* thermostat
new plugs
new wires
car will be tuned using a diablo predator to pull out a few more ponies. i wouldnt mind a small cam and head package but being new to chevy i wouldnt know who to go to. any thoughts on what other little things i could be missing and what these numbers might make over stock???
any help would be appreciated. BTW, im going to be installing the parts and hopefully i can have texas speed and performance do the tune since im in texas or some one by me in austin.
Drifting
Joined: Mar 2011
Posts: 1,519
Likes: 7
From: Indy
If you have E85 close to you, it's really simple to dump it in the fuel tank and tune. You will get a nice WHP bump. I have been on it with the same setup as you for about 7k miles with zero issues.
Zero fuel upgrades needed
Zero fuel upgrades needed
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: May 2012
Posts: 812
Likes: 1
i ran e85 in my last 2 subies for the past 5 years, one was at 400 whp the second was 475 ish whp. those were boosted cars though and the corn juice was a blessing from god.
im not sure what it would do on a NA v8, what type of power gains are you seeing?
im not sure what it would do on a NA v8, what type of power gains are you seeing?
Pro
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 748
Likes: 3
I wouldn't waste the $ on a TB spacer or porting the intake manifold. Just throw a cam in after the headers and intake and tune. Should be a nice power increase on the LS3.
Also unless the plugs and wires are causing problems why replace them. Unless the cam / tune calls for a different temp plug, the OEM should be fine.
Also unless the plugs and wires are causing problems why replace them. Unless the cam / tune calls for a different temp plug, the OEM should be fine.
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: May 2012
Posts: 812
Likes: 1
i figured with the power increase im looking to get on 93 octane, a 100 hp over stock would call for a colder plug.
easy 100 bucks.
the reason i have the throttle body spacer next to the intake it because vararams intake description list a throttle body spacer included with the intake.
easy 100 bucks.
the reason i have the throttle body spacer next to the intake it because vararams intake description list a throttle body spacer included with the intake.
Pro
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 748
Likes: 3
Ohh well I have no personal experience with the vararam but I read some negative reviews on it. I just went with a cheap used halltech. But honestly the LS3 OEM intake flows enough I wouldn't waste $ on a new intake. The LS2 one sucked, which is why I replaced mine.
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Racer
Joined: Apr 2012
Posts: 332
Likes: 0
From: Round Rock Texas
Justac6
picked up my 2010, base vette a few weeks ago after i traded in my 2009 gt500. well it only has 4900 miles and im looking for some more power. my plans are to keep it simple and nothing crazy just yet.
what are your thoughts on my current list so far?
vararam intake/throttle body spacer
ported throttle body or bigger depending on the price
ported intake manifold
TSP 1 7/8" long tubes/3" x pipe
factory back half
underdrive pulley
160* thermostat
new plugs
new wires
car will be tuned using a diablo predator to pull out a few more ponies. i wouldnt mind a small cam and head package but being new to chevy i wouldnt know who to go to. any thoughts on what other little things i could be missing and what these numbers might make over stock???
any help would be appreciated. BTW, im going to be installing the parts and hopefully i can have texas speed and performance do the tune since im in texas or some one by me in austin.
what are your thoughts on my current list so far?
vararam intake/throttle body spacer
ported throttle body or bigger depending on the price
ported intake manifold
TSP 1 7/8" long tubes/3" x pipe
factory back half
underdrive pulley
160* thermostat
new plugs
new wires
car will be tuned using a diablo predator to pull out a few more ponies. i wouldnt mind a small cam and head package but being new to chevy i wouldnt know who to go to. any thoughts on what other little things i could be missing and what these numbers might make over stock???
any help would be appreciated. BTW, im going to be installing the parts and hopefully i can have texas speed and performance do the tune since im in texas or some one by me in austin.
, Brian Reckert (Reckert Performance Tuning) is here in Austin (Cedar Park) and has some of the best pricing on the things you listed
. He is considered to be a master corvette tuner as well
. He is a supporting vendor here and can be reached through the forum.
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: May 2012
Posts: 812
Likes: 1
sorry, i forgot to mention it is a 6 speed.
well from what im reading the thermostat is a pretty standard thing to do and and now going into texas summer i regularly run mostly water and amsoil additive to help keep the temps a little cooler.
and im seeing some decent results from the ported intake manifold thats the reason why i mentioned doing that as a mod.
and a few hundred bucks for 20-30 chp is pretty cheap in already decently fast car imo
edit: i sent brian a PM with the mod list im looking at doing and a head/cam combo depending on the price.... budget right now is 3k.... i wouldnt mind waiting 6 months or so and just having him do the A&A procharger install and calling it a day... i dont really think ill be trying to shoot for over 550 whp.
well from what im reading the thermostat is a pretty standard thing to do and and now going into texas summer i regularly run mostly water and amsoil additive to help keep the temps a little cooler.
and im seeing some decent results from the ported intake manifold thats the reason why i mentioned doing that as a mod.
and a few hundred bucks for 20-30 chp is pretty cheap in already decently fast car imo
edit: i sent brian a PM with the mod list im looking at doing and a head/cam combo depending on the price.... budget right now is 3k.... i wouldnt mind waiting 6 months or so and just having him do the A&A procharger install and calling it a day... i dont really think ill be trying to shoot for over 550 whp.
Last edited by JUSTAC6; May 10, 2012 at 10:39 PM.
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: May 2012
Posts: 812
Likes: 1
^^^ sounds good lol.... im only 50% there right now 
im pretty sure for the same amount, maybe less 525-550 whp can be reached on their dyno and 93 octane???
looking at their PRC cylinder heads and a daily driver friendly cam, header+X-pipe, intake and a retune.... any thoughts? im not real sure what type of gains are seen on that head and cam decent cam package?
im pretty sure for the same amount, maybe less 525-550 whp can be reached on their dyno and 93 octane???
looking at their PRC cylinder heads and a daily driver friendly cam, header+X-pipe, intake and a retune.... any thoughts? im not real sure what type of gains are seen on that head and cam decent cam package?
Race Director
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 16,557
Likes: 2,104
From: Peoria/Phoenix AZ
C6 of Year Finalist (performance mods) 2019
Really not sure why the water/additive thing. The Texas summer is still cooler than the Phoenix summer and no one here goes that direction.
What's the BP on that H2O with additive?
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: May 2012
Posts: 812
Likes: 1
its the manual 6 speed....
and texas heat is pretty bad, not sure how it compares to pheonix but heat is heat. but from my understanding water disipates heater better, amsoil additive keeps it even cooler and well the thermostat is going to keep it at that lower temp easier. the cooler you can keep the coolant temps down the better, even on those days where im on a 500 mile cruise.
im coming from boosted cars... 2009 gt500, 2009 and 2011 subarus that both ran in the 11s on e85 with ease. so thermostat, coolant additive have always been a no brainer.
and texas heat is pretty bad, not sure how it compares to pheonix but heat is heat. but from my understanding water disipates heater better, amsoil additive keeps it even cooler and well the thermostat is going to keep it at that lower temp easier. the cooler you can keep the coolant temps down the better, even on those days where im on a 500 mile cruise.
im coming from boosted cars... 2009 gt500, 2009 and 2011 subarus that both ran in the 11s on e85 with ease. so thermostat, coolant additive have always been a no brainer.
Drifting
Joined: Mar 2011
Posts: 1,519
Likes: 7
From: Indy
When my LS3 was BONE STOCK, I dumped in some E85, tuned it, and got the following results. I now have headers and a few other toys and I'm well into the 450+whp area with just bolt-ons. E85 is some pretty tuff stuff even on a N/A application - Indy cars use E85 and they all NA. 105 octane race gas for the fraction of the price. (Please keep political ******** out of this thread)
Last edited by LT1_E85_Corvette; May 11, 2012 at 09:31 AM.
Race Director
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 11,331
Likes: 18
From: Missouri City Texas
FWIW, if I was doing it all over again I'd just go straight to a supercharger. Per dollar it's about the cheapest horsepower available with heads/cam likely being the most expensive.
6k for 225rwhp? yes please.
That's only $~27 per horsepower. It doesn't get much cheaper than that.
6k for 225rwhp? yes please.
That's only $~27 per horsepower. It doesn't get much cheaper than that.
Le Mans Master
Joined: May 2011
Posts: 5,022
Likes: 18
From: Tampa FL (formerly Justinjor)
Tech Contributor
St. Jude Donor '11-'12-'13-'14
^ truth. A small part of me wishes I just saved up for the blower, but I do love my car and the attitude it brings. I can always add a blower later on and challenge Mark for the top spot 