Hi all,
I recently got a stock 2006 C6, with roughly 87k miles.
I've been thinking about making some performance upgrades in the coming months, but unsure as to what I should do since I live in CA.
I want a bit more performance out of the car, but also want it to remain street legal & not broken.
Let me know if you have any recs!

 

Depends upon what you're trying to accomplish & what you want to spend. Simple engine mods would be headers & exhaust; simple handling mods would be tires (& perhaps wheels) & shocks.....then comes brake pads & rotors; new suspension bushings; end links.....the list goes on & on!

 

I think I'd just like to add a bit of power & sound to it without breaking it.
I'd probably be willing to spend about $8k-$12k in upgrades since I plan on keeping it.
Anything over that, I feel like I might be better off selling it & just using my funds as a down payment on a newer model.

 

What I did is got long tube headers and offroad midpipe (since long tube wont pass smog anyway). I have a family member who lives in nevada so I just drove and picked them up there.
installed with slp loudmouth muffler delete exhaust (I'm basically running true straight pipes but full exhaust) and the car sounds amazing. I also have a dyno tune so I have no code. You get a code because the rear 02 sensors are no longer connected.

With my dyno tune my car can pass smog here in CA but a smogger should "look the other way" for the visual part of this. (If a smogger wont pass you, just put the stock headers back on without the mid pipe and mufflers and you should pass. A 2 hour job and 2 hours again to reinstall. It gets faster the more you practice.)

I have z06 big brakes which I highly recommend and aftermarket wheels. Zr1 aero. I make about 420whp and about 425 torque. I walk everything and anything I have ever raced unless it's a faster vette lol.

Total spent fot above lists is about 4500 (not including wheels snd tires that's up too you). With my personal wheels and tires it is 7500. I have rotary forged wheels with max performance summer tires. 255 front 305 rear.
goodluck

 

Smog is a pain. I would recommend an a&a supercharger and z06 exhaust.

 

Yup. A full Z06 exhaust will pass the visual inspection as well as give you a nice bump in power. Add your choice of CARB legal blower and you have a good recipe for a fun street Vette. And you don't have to worry come inspection time. In addition to A&A, you also have the Magnuson Heartbeat and Edelbrock EForce as options if you'd rather have a positive displacement type blower. The Heartbeat would be my choice. Had one and loved it.

 

Just move out of CA. While the initial financial hit is a bit, the long term benefits will quickly compensate.

OK, if that won't fit for you, then the blower would be the big power gain choice or you could do several small and incremental changes to add a bit at a time. The full Z06 exhaust seems to be one of the CA options for starters. Then the invisible mods, like ported intakes, ported TB, and tunes can add power. If you have the A6, a high stall converter will amaze you and if you later swap the rear gear for a 3.42 from a Z06, it'd be more fun all over again.

 

Start with the basics,

Make sure that the brake pads and rotors are good, and do a power flush on the brake fluid since God only knows when it was flushed the last time, and how much water moisture the fluid is has it now to make the brake perform badly. Worse case and you do want better brakes, then upgrade just the pads to something that will bite a lot better than the ceramic pads is might be wearing.

Same goes the tire, and take a good look at the manufacture date on the sides of them. If the tires are more than 5 years old, rubber has gone hard, and time for new summer performance tires.

You don't list what year, but stock LS2 can have 450hp with just a better intake manifold, port/polished heads and re-tune. Also, when tune is being done, the TM settings that are hobbling the motor in instant torque values, can be changed so the motor is no longer being hobbled to protect the drive line. To add to this, the throttle mapping has been soccer mom'd as well, so between the above, and re-throttle mapping,will be able to break the tires in any gear, without having to get deep into the motor.

Now if you need more over-all power to get you cleanly through the 200mph mark or to try to make up time on the back end of a 1/4 track, then this is where HP needs to be added instead. U
under 100mph, stock motor with light mods pointed out will have more than enough power for the car to try to kill you at will instead.

 

Thanks for the recs everyone!
I'm looking into a Z06 exhaust first, and then gonna look into wheels & likely a blower at some point within the next year.

 

Unfortunatly, the Heartbeat supercharger won't fit the OP's LS2 engine (he states he has a 2006 base car)

However, they sell an EForce supercharger that fits the head ports of the LS2 ... and it's CARB legal in California

 

I'm in CA as well and this is realistically the only way to go for good power and appeasing the smog police. I was in this boat for a while. I wanted more power mods but you can't really do anything here legally. The Z06 exhaust is the only full exhaust you can use, plus side is it's usually cheap and it sounds great compared to the wimpy factory system. Otherwise you can do a FAST 102, porting for the throttle body & intake, and some clever minimal cams. I started going down this route, then realized it's going to cost only a little less than an A&A kit and you'll end up with less power. I regret waiting as long as I did to buy one! It was worth every cent. Installed it myself without any trouble. A 3.42 (Z06) diff is a fantastic swap as well. Gives a much better acceleration feel.

 

Long tube headers is a pain in CA to get and smog.

So exhaust is usually the best thing to do. We can do a Corsa or a Borla exhaust. Billy Boat has been popular too.

Wheels Titan7!

-Josh

 

Be advised ... Your not going to get any HP gains by just changing to aftermarket mufflers .... It's just a sound thing for you if you don't like the sound of your OEM mufflers.

 

With $8K-$12K to spend the biggest bang for your buck would be to swap out the LS2 and replace it with an LS7. You can build one from scratch using a brand new block, used heads and rotating assembly along with new rings, bearings and bolts for well under $8000:

• $3300 - new block from GM
• $1000 - used pair of heads
• $1000 - used rotating assembly
• $500 - to have the valve guides done
• $500 - machine shop assembly
• $100 - new head gaskets
• $100 - new head bolts
• $200 - new main and rod bolts
• $250 - new rod and main bearings
• $250 - new piston rings
• $150 - used LS7 injectors
• $200 - used LS7 intake manifold and fuel rail

When you factor in being able to sell your LS2 for at least $2000 it becomes even more affordable. Having done this swap several times I can personally attest to how much fun the car is afterwards.

Ideally it'd be even more fun with a bigger cam but if you don't have access to a smog shop that will overlook the visual part of the test that may not be an option. Even with a stock LS7 the car will be crazy fast as I ran a 10.644 at the track with nothing more than the stock LS7 and smaller LS2 headers.

 

I agree with this advice.