I have an '01 z06 and I havent touched it yet as far as trying to get more horse out of the motor. Right now I don't want to do much. . but I would love to hear what some of you guys have done. Every website i go to or magazine i looke at claims to have the best stuff but I want to har from guys who have actualyl done things. I have pulled up next to some cars with exhaust that sound good when they get on the gas but sound terrible just at idle. So thats the kind of thing i want to steer clear of. I only want to spend a max of about $1500 this first time around. Maybe intake, programmer, and exhaust or something. but I've also heard that the z06 exhaust is hard to beat for overall performace and sound so i just wanna hear what you guys all think or if you've done anything else I havent mentioned. Not only what to do but what brands of parts you guys like. Thanks for any help you can give.

 

The ZO6 is a great car. I have a 2002 ZO6, and a 98 Camaro (same basic engine as the standard C5) and a lot of experience. Here goes. Everything I've done, I dynoed, and took to the dragstrip, so there is no BS.

airboxes: generally not worth the trouble or the expense. The Blackhawk and the MTI (and look alikes, I think many are out of the same molds) add only a few HP -- maybe up to 5 at best, but that's it. I tried a ram air set up but it did not fit well and got in the way of other stuff I wanted to install (bigger readiator) so it didn't stay long enough to really test.

Best single modification I made (to the vette or anything else): a set of long-tube stainless steel headers. I recommend getting good quality (the fit can be tight, some cheap ones give you very low ground clearance, and going with 1 7/8 inch tubes only if you have a highly modified engine. I bought mine first set from Lingenfelter, 1 3/4 inch stainless long-tube headers made exclusively for them by B&B: you can buy short tube B&B headers for you car elsewhere but only the B&B longtubes through Ling. These added tremendous mid and low end torque and transformed the car -- it had a real attitude afterward. Added about 22-25 HP after retuning the PCM.

Cat-back exhausts do not add much power: when I had my car tested, stock except for the headers, we dynoed it with the headers on and cats, but nothing from the cats back, and it gained only 4-5 HP at all. Stock engines seem to like the backpressure.
But the sound is much better: I have a GHL flow through expensive but good.

FAST (Fuel-Air-Spark Technology) manifold will add only about 7 HP to a 'stock" block: not worth the money, and the bigger 90 mm one will do nothing but kill low end torque on a stock block (and with the new throttle body would blow your budget right there)

You probably know that with the ZO6 you cannot go to 1.8:1 ratio rocker arms to get more lift - nince trick on the standard C5 but on the ZO6 you will float the values or much worse.

Cam -- if you do the work yourself, with 1500$ you could just change out the cam and put on headers and a suitable cat-back. Crowler cams do very well. Just call them and take their advice - and change the springs as they direct. Would be good to go to shaft mounted rocker arms too, but that would blow your budget.

Other ideas. Magnusen SC kit for the C5 will add gobs of torque and HP and does nothing to reduce dialy driveability. I put on one, after the headers and so forth, and it worked great. Added 80 RWHP. Drove it for two years like that. Vortec and Procharger make more HP but less low end torque and in my opinion are not quiet as daily driveable.

------------------------Current Cars

2002 ZO6: GMPP C5R block (427 cubic inches), Patriot III heads with 2.1 inch intake valves and cuystom porting, 10:1 compression ratio, Crowler stage III cam, Jesel roller lifters and rockers, Kocks 1 7/8 inch long tube headers, super super size (monsters), 3" H pipe, GHL exhaust, double row radiator with oil cooler, FAST intake manifold, 90mm throttle body, ported oil pump, Procharger D1SC supercharger, twin air to air intercoolers, tubbed rear wheel wells, 18x10F and 18x12R Fiske rims, 285x18 and 345x18 BFG G-force tires, tigershark rear end. 485 RWHP naturally aspirated and with SC::594 RWHP @ 6250 RPM and 545 ft lb torque at 4500 RPM.

1998 Camaro: 408 cubic inch cast iron LS6 block from HP Engineering, AFR big port heads, ZO6 manifold, stock but ported throttle body, Kochs 1 7/8 headers, 3 inch H pipe, borla exhaust, QTP elctric dumps, "T-Rex" cam, ram air hood and K&N, Nitrous Express +100, roll cage, subframe connectors, Strange rear end w. 3.73 gears.
475 RWHP natural and 590 RWHP with nitrous.
this car made 385 RWHP with the stock block and heads and only a Crowler stage III cam and headers and ram air hood (stock intake manifold even) and 445 HP with nitrous, but tore up three transmissions running in the mid 11s.

 

what did the vette run??

 

I haven't run the current set up on a drag strip and probably never will. The problem is that with the "old" set up (stock block, headers, Magnusen SC, etc.) it once did an 11.4 and NHRA tracks keep records and won't let it run now unless it has a roll cage: they track the VIN# or something. Anyway, having once done sub 11.5, I can't run without a rol cage. The vette is a "daily" driver -- well, weekend cruiser -- and I'm just not going to put one in. The one in the Camaro is really intrusive even though its the type with the removeable side bar so you can get into the seat normally.

A calibrated G-tech says the car does 0-6 in 3.6 seconds (just can't get traction off the line, even with the 345 drag radials) and the 1/4 mile at 10.65 at 137. This same unit is always within 1/10 second on the track times when we leave it in the Camaro, so I think that is about right.

 

wow..i understand your point about the cage completely...it sounds like a hell of a beast!