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Interesting about the differential gear ratio upgrade suggestion.
I've got a couple of more things I will do that should put me in the 550ish RWHP zone, and that's when I'll stop with the HP upgrades. Hadn't thought about changing out gears though.
What will be noticeably different by changing up the gears?
2020 Corvette of the Year Finalist (performance mods)
C4 of Year Winner (performance mods) 2019
Originally Posted by BigMonkey73
Interesting about the differential gear ratio upgrade suggestion.
I've got a couple of more things I will do that should put me in the 550ish RWHP zone, and that's when I'll stop with the HP upgrades. Hadn't thought about changing out gears though.
What will be noticeably different by changing up the gears?
In my case, the manual GS gearing doesn't fit well with high HP. The base/Z06 and ZR1 tranny ratios are a much better fit for higher HP:
The more HP and TQ (especially low end TQ) you have, you're better off with a numerically lower gear ratio so you don't get more TQ multiplication from the gearing. Stock, my GS was great with the stock tranny gearing as it made the car accelerate quicker. Now, however, with 200 additional HP and noticeably more torque even at 2500rpm, all it does is make it harder to put power to the ground. I actually find it's easier to put the power down by starting in 2nd and not even using 1st.
In my case, the manual GS gearing doesn't fit well with high HP. The base/Z06 and ZR1 tranny ratios are a much better fit for higher HP:
The more HP and TQ (especially low end TQ) you have, you're better off with a numerically lower gear ratio so you don't get more TQ multiplication from the gearing. Stock, my GS was great with the stock tranny gearing as it made the car accelerate quicker. Now, however, with 200 additional HP and noticeably more torque even at 2500rpm, all it does is make it harder to put power to the ground. I actually find it's easier to put the power down by starting in 2nd and not even using 1st.
It's all in the combination of mods, I have less then 500rwhp yet can manage 132mph NA in the 1/4 and in a roll race it pulls really hard, and a little nitrous on top if I need it to pull harder
It's all in the combination of mods, I have less then 500rwhp yet can manage 132mph NA in the 1/4 and in a roll race it pulls really hard, and a little nitrous on top if I need it to pull harder
It's not about the HP number, but how you can put it to the pavement. There are only a small handful of power adder cars that are quicker than you and a big bunch that are slower with more HP.
Just my opinion here. With the exception of drag racing the magic number to not overpower the chassis with street tires seem to be not much more than 400 ft/lbs under 4000rpm. More power actually makes the car slower.
The torque characteristics of the ls motor produces excellent acceleration but requires much more finesse applying power coming out of corners or in transition.
I believe a destroked motor with a more progressive torque curve and 150 more horsepower along with an 8000+ redline would be much more fun to drive if you are a road racer.
Having said that, the average corvette owner will never push their car to the limit on the street and the extra power serves to be no more than an ego boost.
If you drag race, all this changes. Adding drag radials and a compliant suspension will yield significant improvements with more power.
My question is if you want to go faster than 9s, should it be in a $40,000 car.
Just my opinion here. With the exception of drag racing the magic number to not overpower the chassis with street tires seem to be not much more than 400 ft/lbs under 4000rpm. More power actually makes the car slower.
The torque characteristics of the ls motor produces excellent acceleration but requires much more finesse applying power coming out of corners or in transition.
I believe a destroked motor with a more progressive torque curve and 150 more horsepower along with an 8000+ redline would be much more fun to drive if you are a road racer.
Having said that, the average corvette owner will never push their car to the limit on the street and the extra power serves to be no more than an ego boost.
If you drag race, all this changes. Adding drag radials and a compliant suspension will yield significant improvements with more power.
My question is if you want to go faster than 9s, should it be in a $40,000 car.
yes nothing more comfortable then a 9s car with navigation and heated seats with air
Naturally aspirated 508 rwhp with drag radials. You can use allof the power! Think about it, most of the 10 sec cars at the track are 360 to 400 rwhp fox body mustangs...
It's all in the combination of mods, I have less then 500rwhp yet can manage 132mph NA in the 1/4 and in a roll race it pulls really hard, and a little nitrous on top if I need it to pull harder
Originally Posted by HOXXOH
It's not about the HP number, but how you can put it to the pavement. There are only a small handful of power adder cars that are quicker than you and a big bunch that are slower with more HP.
Originally Posted by dennis50nj
thanks Tom! if i am in the new house in maryland I will come cheer you on to a new best at MIR
Are you moving Dennis?
Originally Posted by dennis50nj
your right I meant to say NA and 8s with spray
8s N/A would be nice too; however, that is a lofty goal and probably very difficult to achieve.
I mean just go find you some curvy roads to beat on - that NEVER gets old.
Do what you must to enhance the experience of the car to drive it, but otherwise, save the thousands of dollars on horsepower mods and join a track club.
Enhancing mods - anything that improves steering, reduces body roll, improves braking and increases the volume of the engine sounds (to a point). In addition, anything that increases feedback to the driver, i.e. seats, steering wheel & shifter mods.
Like I said, curves will never get old. Coming in hot into a turn at 110mph and exiting at similar speeds in 4th is exhilarating to say the least!
For me personally, I'm after that 520-550rwhp mark, and really only because I have the LS7 and I need to pull those heads and rebuild them to better suit reliability. Might as well add a cam while I'm at it
Last edited by fueledpassion; 09-01-2015 at 03:13 PM.
I am picking up my first Vette tomorrow. It's a C6 Z51 with a cam and a few light mods with 451 rwhp/ 430 tq. Almost identical to the stock power curve of a stock C6 Z06. But, mine is going to have notably lower trans gears than a Z06 and I for one am glad of that! I've driven a stock Z06 and I wouldn't want to be any slower than that.
Mine has a mini tub with 345 rear tire so it should do a bit better than most with the power it has. I will likely speak to the people at vararam about a light package with catted headers, maybe their snake charmer airbox, and one of their fancy intakes. I just want the low hanging fruit. I figure that might bump me to 480-500ish and that's more than enough imo.
I think it really depends on how the car FEELS and every car is different. honestly my 450whp c5 was super fun because the cam was pretty grouchy and it was extremely loud so when you wound the motor out it sounded just amazing and "felt" insanely fast with all the noise and wind etc while 450whp hooked up easily with just 18" nt555r tires
that being said, my 865whp setup now is unreal and i've never driven anything like it before. it's a top shelf 427ci with max'd out D1SC and the torque is crazy. it flattens your eye ***** at anything >3k rpm in just about any gear in any situation and will spin 19" nt05r tires at >100mph without even trying through 4th gear. it demands respect like a sport bike does when you drive it. but it's surprisingly tame and stable and 120mph in it doesn't FEEL that fast to me at least in the way I expected. I love my C6 but it took A LOT of work to get it where it is and still working bugs out of it with more time and money than I would have expected. we will see how reliable it is.
I also used to have a ~200whp all motor honda (don't make fun of me...hahah) that weighed ~1800lbs and that car was an absolute blast to drive. obviously one of the slowest cars ive owned but it rev'd to 9k rpm and was loud when you romped on it and was just a ton of fun while you never really hit the type of speeds that are super dangerous. at 70mph the honda felt like my c6 at 160mph. no joke. sometimes i feel like the c6 is so capable it feels a lot slower than it really is and maybe makes it feel less fun?
maybe i just like n/a setups
i guess what i'm saying is it all depends on the car and what you're looking for. I think >550whp and it starts getting tough to make the car hookup on the street even on drag radials and >750whp if you go supercharged or turbo and the C6 platform gets exponentially more expensive and less reliable.
I've been driving my mini-tubbed 2008 Z51 (lower trans gears) with 451 rwhp for a few days now. That is perfect for me and even 345 mm wide rear tires it has some notable traction issues.
See that's no fun to me. I've driven some ridiculously powered cars and when you start sliding sideways in 6th gear from the power it just gets down right scary. I like something that I can grab traction if not in 1st then at least in 2nd. Then I can enjoy the pull and feeling from all the power actually making it to the ground. When I was younger I used to want a 700+ monster. Then I realized that driving on ice and always having to be on your absolute best game and thinking on how to apply the pedal isn't that much fun. So really where I'm at power wise is quite nice. 400 at the wheels and it's nice and simple to drive.
With that being said, a cam and long tubes are in my future because let's face it, we are men and there is never such a thing as to much.
Making 1001whp/929wtq and its still not enough. I think given enough time behind the wheel you'll want more eventually. For me to "feel" fast again, I'd have to make at least 1300whp+ but then again money is always a factor and my pockets are only so deep.
MY 08 with a Maggie made 540 rwhp thur an auto and was real fun, this time I'm shooting for 700+ with my 10 GS auto. I'll let ya know how that feels when I get there lol!!!
07-16-2015, 11:09 AM
It's not about the HP number, but how you can put it to the pavement. There are only a small handful of power adder cars that are quicker than you and a big bunch that are slower with more HP.
