Congratulations on your C5!! Enjoy the car and the Forums. 
new c5 owner
Thread Starter
Cruising
Joined: Jun 2011
Posts: 11
Likes: 0
new c5 owner
I just purchased a 1997 black coupe with 68,000 miles on it.It has zo6 chrome wheels with brand new michelin tires and stainless exhaust.Doesnt even have a stone chip.Kinda happy about that.I was just wondering about any LS1 performance modifications that doesnt involve going into the valvetrain and such.One of those ram air systems?Or the intake plenum upgrade?Computer reprogramming?The best bang for the buck.Any response from more experienced vette owners would be appreciated.Thank you!
Pro
Joined: Mar 2011
Posts: 720
Likes: 2
From: Walnut Creek CA
Welcome to the C5 club 
A black car with nearly 70k miles and no stone chips is a rare find!
As for performance mods (without getting into the motor) you have a few options but most people go in this order:
1) Cold Air Intake - Various ones available. The Vararam seems to be most popular on here, but there are others. I've got the Hurricaine on mine and I like it other than the fact that it's a PITA to service the filter.
2) LS6 Intake Upgrade - The older LS1 C5s got a more restrictive intake. A lot of guys swap from that to a ported LS6 intake and throttlebody.
3) Headers and X-Pipe - I'm not sure where you are geographically. As long as you're not here in CA, you could do a long-tube header that will gain you several extra ponies.
4) Tune - There are some handheld programmers on the market for these cars. The general consensus on the forum is that there's not a lot of power that you can get from these. So, you can do a mail-order tune if you're in a remote area and don't have many good corvette performance shops in the area or you can do a dyno/street tune at one of those shops (preferred route). Don't worry about this until after you've done a few other things.
Truly the "best bang for the buck" on an LS1 is a supercharger. You're looking at about $6,500 for the install and tune, but you'll be looking at 480-520 RWHP. Nothing else will give you the $/HP that this will. If you ever plan to do this, don't do a cold-air intake because you'll just have to scrap/sell it when you go to the supercharger.
Have fun and good luck!
A black car with nearly 70k miles and no stone chips is a rare find!
As for performance mods (without getting into the motor) you have a few options but most people go in this order:
1) Cold Air Intake - Various ones available. The Vararam seems to be most popular on here, but there are others. I've got the Hurricaine on mine and I like it other than the fact that it's a PITA to service the filter.
2) LS6 Intake Upgrade - The older LS1 C5s got a more restrictive intake. A lot of guys swap from that to a ported LS6 intake and throttlebody.
3) Headers and X-Pipe - I'm not sure where you are geographically. As long as you're not here in CA, you could do a long-tube header that will gain you several extra ponies.
4) Tune - There are some handheld programmers on the market for these cars. The general consensus on the forum is that there's not a lot of power that you can get from these. So, you can do a mail-order tune if you're in a remote area and don't have many good corvette performance shops in the area or you can do a dyno/street tune at one of those shops (preferred route). Don't worry about this until after you've done a few other things.
Truly the "best bang for the buck" on an LS1 is a supercharger. You're looking at about $6,500 for the install and tune, but you'll be looking at 480-520 RWHP. Nothing else will give you the $/HP that this will. If you ever plan to do this, don't do a cold-air intake because you'll just have to scrap/sell it when you go to the supercharger.
Have fun and good luck!
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Thread Starter
Cruising
Joined: Jun 2011
Posts: 11
Likes: 0
Thanks guys i appreciate it!I am curious about LS1 exhaust headers.I ran accross this article in carcraftagazine
Read more: http://www.carcraft.com/techarticles...PGGn8flm..they state that headers are good for very little power increase on a C5.I then read another article from chevy hp that stated they made as much as 25 hp and 20 fp at the real wheels!Any of you have any real world experience on this?I have a 1967 chevelle ss and a 69 pontiac gto and headers made quite a difference on these older engines.Car craft stated the C5 exhaust manifolds are extremely efficient from the factory.My c5 already has billy boat exhaust on it but no headers.Thanks!
Read more: http://www.carcraft.com/techarticles...PGGn8flm..they state that headers are good for very little power increase on a C5.I then read another article from chevy hp that stated they made as much as 25 hp and 20 fp at the real wheels!Any of you have any real world experience on this?I have a 1967 chevelle ss and a 69 pontiac gto and headers made quite a difference on these older engines.Car craft stated the C5 exhaust manifolds are extremely efficient from the factory.My c5 already has billy boat exhaust on it but no headers.Thanks!
Pro
Joined: Mar 2011
Posts: 720
Likes: 2
From: Walnut Creek CA
Thanks guys i appreciate it!I am curious about LS1 exhaust headers.I ran accross this article in carcraftagazine
Read more: http://www.carcraft.com/techarticles...PGGn8flm..they state that headers are good for very little power increase on a C5.I then read another article from chevy hp that stated they made as much as 25 hp and 20 fp at the real wheels!Any of you have any real world experience on this?I have a 1967 chevelle ss and a 69 pontiac gto and headers made quite a difference on these older engines.Car craft stated the C5 exhaust manifolds are extremely efficient from the factory.My c5 already has billy boat exhaust on it but no headers.Thanks!
Read more: http://www.carcraft.com/techarticles...PGGn8flm..they state that headers are good for very little power increase on a C5.I then read another article from chevy hp that stated they made as much as 25 hp and 20 fp at the real wheels!Any of you have any real world experience on this?I have a 1967 chevelle ss and a 69 pontiac gto and headers made quite a difference on these older engines.Car craft stated the C5 exhaust manifolds are extremely efficient from the factory.My c5 already has billy boat exhaust on it but no headers.Thanks!
Racer
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 309
Likes: 1
From: Mendota IL
Welcome to the forum and congrats on your '97. If you get headers, go with long tube headers. They are worth the money. Shorty headers will not give you much power gain. And like mentioned before, the supercharger route is the best bang-for-the-buck.