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I just got a really good deal on a corvette, my first and I have some questions. First off is it’s a 2006 base model corvette with auto trans, well equipped but does not have the magnetic ride control. I want to increase power and also give it a nice sounding exhaust.
So now my question. Is it better to get long headers with an axel back exhaust and short ram intake or a cat back exhaust system and short ram intake??
I waslooking at:
-LG motorsports street headers long with the cat
-Bora ATAK exhaust axel back
-Vararam intake
Any and all help would be appreciated, I am brand new with Corvettes and know nothing about them besides being fast and good looking.
LS2 heads and intake manifold don't breath all that well compared to the better LS3 heads and intake manifold. .... I would get a set of good used LS3 heads and matching LS3 intake manifold for your LS2 engine.
The intake ports are very much different between the LS2 and LS3, so the LS2 head intake ports don't match up with the LS3 intake manifold ports.
So your suggestion is to replace the heads and intake manifold with ones from an ls3??? That shouldn’t be hard to get, I work for a gm dealer. Then I would do the headers, and axel back exhaust for the sounds??
So your suggestion is to replace the heads and intake manifold with ones from an ls3??? That shouldn’t be hard to get, I work for a gm dealer. Then I would do the headers, and axel back exhaust for the sounds??
You work for a GM dealer and you know nothing about corvettes!!.......Go with what you posted and you must get a good tune and you will love it.
I have an LS3, but I recently installed LG 1-3/4" longtubes with high-flow cats & Corsa Xtreme axle-back exhaust, and I am very happy with the results & power increases (the car was also dyno tuned after install). I've read a lot on here regarding the air intakes of these cars flowing pretty well & aftermarket air intakes not adding a whole lot with regards to power increases, but that they do help moderate temp of the air coming in thus leading to the engine's ability to not lose power. I do feel they're too expensive for what you get & for the C6 being 6-14 years old already ("Corvette tax" on aftermarket parts).
I see most people going with 1-7/8" longtubes so I contacted LG directly and asked which would be better for what I'm doing with the car right now & they told me 1-3/4" would be more than sufficient unless I were going with forced induction right now. I took that as truth considering their 1-3/4" street series were significantly less $ than their 1-7/8" pro series, and I told them cost wasn't an issue for me. When looking for your set up, contact CCA (Custom Corvette Accessories) a forum vendor. They gave me the best price on the longtubes & exhaust shipped to my door & great communication and service.
What kind of gains could I see from doing the adds I was talking about??? Will it drastically change the way the car drives?? Other then from a power standpoint.
I have an LS3, but I recently installed LG 1-3/4" longtubes with high-flow cats & Corsa Xtreme axle-back exhaust, and I am very happy with the results & power increases (the car was also dyno tuned after install). I've read a lot on here regarding the air intakes of these cars flowing pretty well & aftermarket air intakes not adding a whole lot with regards to power increases, but that they do help moderate temp of the air coming in thus leading to the engine's ability to not lose power. I do feel they're too expensive for what you get & for the C6 being 6-14 years old already ("Corvette tax" on aftermarket parts).
I see most people going with 1-7/8" longtubes so I contacted LG directly and asked which would be better for what I'm doing with the car right now & they told me 1-3/4" would be more than sufficient unless I were going with forced induction right now. I took that as truth considering their 1-3/4" street series were significantly less $ than their 1-7/8" pro series, and I told them cost wasn't an issue for me. When looking for your set up, contact CCA (Custom Corvette Accessories) a forum vendor. They gave me the best price on the longtubes & exhaust shipped to my door & great communication and service.
CCA (Chip) was great to deal with and gave me the best deal I could find on my headers and exhaust. As we speak my LS3 is at the shop and within the next week will have the LG Street Series headers, catted x-pipe and Corsa Xtreme exhaust installed and then tuned. Although I can't speak to how the car will drive I did a lot of research before I bought and am confident this setup will perform and sound great. Size of headers will depend on your future plans with the car. If you aren't doing anything crazy 1-3/4 seems to be the way to go but 1-7/8 isn't a bad choice either. Brand, however, is up for debate. I chose to spend a bit more money and get parts I knew would fit, perform and be of high quality (LG and Corsa) bc I don't plan to do this over and I wanted to do it right the first time and not cut any corners.
As for exhaust, from what I know, it won't add any noticeable hp gains, although I'm sure you will see 3-10hp gains. The sound, however, will be night and day. DO YOUR RESEARCH before buying though. Some exhausts have far different tone, different amounts of drone, etc. I had an SLP on my 06 and although it sounded good it had a ton of drone and it bothered me. From everything I have heard and seen, Corsa exhaust makes very little drone and personally I love the sound. Make sure you buy an exhaust that will be suitable to your sound level. Tons of options out there but they all have different tones and loudness.
And lastly, for the intake. Before any mod I put a Vararam intake on (no tune) and I could slightly notice a difference, but nothing huge. If you can afford to do intake, headers, x-pipe and exhaust I would do it all and I think you will be very happy with both the sound and performance. Lastly, I highly recommend getting a tune after, There are people that will tell you that you don't have to have the car tuned. That is probably correct, you don't HAVE to. But why spend all that money, get it installed (more $ if you have someone do it) and then risk something becoming an issue on your car and not maximizing the performance!? A good tune does wonders for a car, especially with these modifications. That being said, also research the tuner, bc that can also be a big waste of money or the best money you will ever spend. Good luck and let us know how it all goes. I will be posting about my setup after I get it back!
12-01-2018, 08:24 PM
Headers/Exhaust/Intake
CCA (Chip) was great to deal with and gave me the best deal I could find on my headers and exhaust. As we speak my LS3 is at the shop and within the next week will have the LG Street Series headers, catted x-pipe and Corsa Xtreme exhaust installed and then tuned. Although I can't speak to how the car will drive I did a lot of research before I bought and am confident this setup will perform and sound great. Size of headers will depend on your future plans with the car. If you aren't doing anything crazy 1-3/4 seems to be the way to go but 1-7/8 isn't a bad choice either. Brand, however, is up for debate. I chose to spend a bit more money and get parts I knew would fit, perform and be of high quality (LG and Corsa) bc I don't plan to do this over and I wanted to do it right the first time and not cut any corners.