I own a 1998 converibile. She is completely stock, except for the K&N Filter and Magna Flow Exhaust I had installed. I need more power. Stock, she puts out 345 hp. I was told the exhaust and filter should add another 3-7% in hp. I would like to get around 400 hp without spending thousands of dollars. In looking through the Corvette magazines and Mid America, the possibilities are endless. I need help in determining what low-cost modifcations I should do to increase the hp. Thanks, in advance, for your assistance.

 

header, tr224 cam, can anything at ZO6 heads or above will put you right there. the exhuast isnt much, I new air intake will help a ton.
expect to spend about 5 grand.

 

thanks for the quick response. You mention an air intake: are you referring to something similar to what mid america selss from K&N for around $349? What about a chip?

Thanks again!

 

Z06 intake manifold and TB, a good set of long tube headers, high flow cats, a good X pipe and last a proper tune by a good tuner, not a hack. Stay away from the MAM bolt on crud you will be taking it off and trying to sell it quicker than you can get in on the car. Go with things that work, not snake oil. The above will give you a start. Later you may want to try heads and cam swap, all of with I mention will follow you right along an not end up in the forsale bin. There is no free, cheap and easy way to reliable HP with the LS1 or LS6, both take work and a thought out approach. There was a tread by a wise chap that should have been a sticky here about all the cash he wasted trying to do the easy power adders, if you find it read it it is frightening. JMHO

 

Add an LS6 intake manifold, Blackwing or Stinger air intake, Long Tube headers, hi-flow cats, and X-Pipe, followed by some tuning and you'll have a much faster car. Note that 'low cost' and 'modifications' have nothing whatsoever to do with each other.

Good luck,

Mark

 

Before you get into serious modifications (cams, etc.), its best to decide where you want the HP. Find out where in the RPM band you are spending the most time during you chosen perf run. Most mods may look appealing because they give you great peak HP increases, but usually at the expense of low end performance - which can actually limit your off the line capabilities. You may still see better times at the strip, but you may be missing your max bang for the buck (not to mention a significant loss in the mpg area, if this is also a street car).

Sorry for the lecture, but just figured I'd pass on a bit of advice from one of Lingenfelter's books. I'm currently in the process of "blueprinting" my serious mods so I can max the potential of the LS1 for how I want to use it, too.

Good luck, bud.


[Modified by lively14, 12:57 AM 7/8/2004]

 

Just do a ProCharger...

 

Mark

 

It is an illusion to bolt on easy HP.

Forget HP. What is your objective. If you are going to the track to drag race that is one thing. Is it to beat some other bloke from the stop light, that is another. I recently saw a post where a chap had installed a supercharger. That is not a cheap upgrade either. That is going to start at $2,500 on up. So his complaint was that his Zero to 60 times got worse not better. He was spinning his wheels. So the additional 150 hp had to get to the track not just to the wheels. If you just want to beat a guy from the stop light dont waste your money on trying to gain hp. You can spend $1800 for LT headers and if you install that is one thing. If you have them installed then another $300. So for $2,000 you gain about 0.3 better time in the quarter mile. Is a fraction of a second after 1320 feet worth $2,000 of your money ? If so, go for it. Then you better spend another $800 + for a better exhaust system too. Then $350 for a better air intake mod . . maybe you can shave off a half a second in the quartr mile for $3,000. Add a cam and heads for another $2,000 (total $5,000) and you are flirting with shaving off a full second + . If that is what you want spend $5,000. Little gimicks (not mentioned in my post) gain you very little . . it is LT headers, cam, heads, exhausts, air intake and if you want to get a little quicker go with a 4.1 rear end for another grand.

 

For 400 Crank hp.

I agree with

Intake (halltech stinger) $199 Great intake system. Great Price
Kooks or LG headers. $1200-1700. Depending on Cats or no cats and which company you decide to go with. LG is more money than kooks.
Custom Dyno tuning. $300-350
Magnaflow exhaust which you have already

This should get you CLOSE.

With LS6 intake you will be thier

 

It helps a lot if you can do work yourself.

Ziptie mod = $5
Used ZO6 mufflers = $400
Used headers = $1k
Tuning if you find someone with hptuners = $100??? or whatever deal you strike
Used LS6 intake = $300

That is my plan, it should get me in the high/mid 12s for under 2k in mods.

You can go fast for cheap if you buy used parts.