So I'm a new Corvette owner and new to the forum. I'm a rookie so bear w/ me. lol. I have a 2008 base model. The car looks and runs brand new. I'd like to add a little more power to the car w/out messing with the engine. I have a shop near my house that works just on Corvettes. Can some of you vets give me a few ideas? It's 6 speed manual. I have about 3-4 k to spend. Thanks.

 

The motor has plenty of power already,

The glitch is that GM hobbled the hell out of the motor with Soccer mom throttle response tuning, and Torque management holding back a lot of Instant power to try to save the drive line instead.

So the Base LS-3 is producing 430HP, and an after market tune should be able to bump that up to around 450HP. But better yet, de-hobble the TM from holding back instant horsepower instead. Also, if you have a automatic trans, it's night and day between the factory mapping of the trans, and the after market tuning of the trans.

So most local shops will charge you around $400 to $500 to Dyno tune the car, as well as remap the auto trans tuning.

So this leaves dealing with the soccer mom Throttle response mapping, and unless you have a local tuner that can remap it for less than a few hundred in the end, then there are ways around it like this,
http://www.vitesse-motorsports.com/t...orvette-c6.htm

Now if you want the throttle/motor even more responsive, then we need to know if its a manual or automatic isntead. With a manual, you want to reduce the amount of reciprocation weight in the drive line, and this can be done first by changing out the clutch and flywheel to a lighter unit, as well as going lighter wheel and tire weight as well.

Bottom line, when done correctly with the OEM motor, you should be able to break the rear end loose at any speed via the throttle.

If and when you are able to deal with such raw power, then its time to think about modding the motor instead (read becomes a game of chasing your own tail, since the more raw power you have, the more you are trying to get it to stick so you can use it, and once you get it to stick too much, then you are trying to bump the HP again so you can get the car loose when needed instead).

And a FYI, but the T1 vets are only making around 500HP, so it a mater of handling and HP going hand and hand; with one not over powering the other. On a base car, the untamed 450HP you going to end up with the above, will be more than enough to have a balanced car that is only trying to kill you once it a while instead.

P.S, Unless you can up the road course racing ranks (staring with Kart. FF/FM, and moving into HP cars), spend the extra money you have learning how to drive the car via HP driving lessons!!!!!

 

Save for a little while and get an A&A blower.

 

Supercharger

 

Lets do the math on this one.

Your going to be 600hp+, which means that you have to start bullet proofing/beefing up the drive line now as well to not start breaking parts (starting with the clutch, and by the time your down, your $15K into the car).

Now that you have unleashed all the power of the motor to start with as I pointed out above, you have to start hobbling it again to get the raw 600HP to stick (and not just spin the tires every time you get into the throttle instead).


Yes, you can put strip drag tires on the car to get it semi stick at launch for straight running, but your not going to be running these on the street, much less a road course track.

So again, start with unleashing all the stock power that the motor has to offer to start with, and if and when you learn throttle control so your not breaking the tires every other second instead, then it's time to think about piling on more HP instead.


And it a vet, so stop worrying about what is will do in a quarter mile or street rolling race, but what blistering lap times you can do on a high speed road coarse track isntead (where the vet is truly at home).

 

You're making a lot of assumptions with that assessment.

Regardless, more info is needed on what the OP wants out of the car, uses it for, long term goals, etc. before anyone can make a real recommendation.

 

Blower. LS3s love boost, and a manual 08 already has the TR6060 transmission and LS7 clutch, so you probably won't need any drive line upgrades with any of the "base" blower kits available (A&A, ECS, E-Force, Heartbeat). Personally I'd go with the A&A, but then I'm biased. A&A with standard pulley size should give you right at 175HP over stock, which will really wake the car up, but still be streetable. The only thing to avoid is running drag radials/slicks and doing hard launches at the drag strip, and the stock clutch will handle the power just fine.

As for a tune by itself, don't bother. Just a tune might get you 20HP, but could also only get you 10HP. Either way, it's a lot of money for not a lot of return. If you're going to do a tune, do headers and a tune. That will get you probably 30-40HP, of course it's also gonna cost you probably $2K for a shop to install and tune, which puts you a 1/4 of the way to a blower installed.

 

Add a $200 Vitesse Throttle Controller and report back. Most feel it change the personality of the car.

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums/c6-tech-performance/3682786-vitesse-throttle-controller-wow.html

http://www.vitesse-motorsports.com/throttle-controllers.htm

 

I would talk to the shop down the street first and see what they recommend. Get your heads ported, new cam, headers and see how much you have left. If $$$$ left get a new (used diff) 3.42 gears and a tune!

 

Keep it simple and light do heads, cam, exhaust, tune and add some good traction tires.

I will also recommend porting the intake and throttle body.

 

Headers and tune first. That will net you 30-40 hp easy without opening your engine. Follow up with a cam if you want more, but dont mess with the heads unless you are going for every hp you can squeeze out of it. They are an expensive mod that wont get you that much more than headers and cam.

You wont be anywhere near the limits of what the car can take and you will have a blast driving it.

 

Well the only info in your profile is you're a US male. If you live in CA, it'd be different than most other places, so let's assume you live someplace else.

If you don't have the knowledge or tools, take some of the cash and buy stuff to do oil changes, brake jobs, the header install, etc. Enlist a friend (preferably with experience) to help with the shopping, education, and installations.

Here's the list. Easy and under $2K if you can do most of the labor yourself. You'll need the Corvette shop down the street for the tune part and either a muffler shop or a welder for the mufflers.
Hinson headers, Vararam, used Z06 mufflers, and a dyno tune will give a good HP bump without going internal.

Doing your own work, not only saves a few $ for other things, but brings a sense of accomplishment and pride. These are relatively easy things to do, especially with a friend's assistance.

Welcome to the forum and remember to have fun.