i've got a 2000 coupe. i'm thinking about getting it tuned using one of the kits. does anyone know anything about the diablo. there's a shop in town that will do the tune with a diablo. are they any good? what kind og horsepower gain could i expect? are there better ones out there? any input buy you experienced heads would be appreciated. also do the bolt on gizmos like a throttle body air duct, 1000 cfm mass air flow housings, vara ram velocity stacks,etc really add any noticeable hp?

 

Have it tuned by a professional - an amatuer or first time do it yourselfer can reall screw things up.

I prefer a tune down with LS1-Edit to anything else. A real pro working with that can find a few HP in a stock car and really wake up a modified car.

As to the HP increase you get. Do not expect a lot from a stock car: GM is not run by idiots in spite of what you hear -- they don't leave a lot of Hp just sitting in there for nothing. Generally, the factory does set all cars so that the average one runs just a tad rich this assures that even if one is a bit off spec it will not run lean, which would be bad (for warranty repair costs).

So there is often up to 12 HP waiting to be untapped to run just a bit leaner than the factory tune (but usually less). Then on top of that, if you are running a really good grade of gasoline rather than average premium grade, the tuner might be able to find a few more ponies (but now you have to run good gas all the time). And they can often improve throttle response, so the car feels more alert and quicker to respond to the throttle. But don't expect a lot. Usually you cannot feel the difference in power although you might feel the better throttle response.

And, with it tuned like this, if the "check engine" light comes on, see to it immediately: the car no longer has that 'run rich" safety factor in it which means you can go a few weeks before having it lookied at.

 

thanks Lee for your input. do you have any thoughts on the bolt on stuff. hardluck

 

Hey Harluck,

My experince was pretty good with a few changes. I am not a tech, but did some reading and am lucky enough to have a good speed shop here close to my home. Guys who love engines and have the tools and flow benches etc. I bolted on a Blackwing air intake myself then bought a higher flow throttle body on ebay. I never put it on because I started talking to the guys at Race Prep here and they ported my stock throttle body and came up with more flow than the one I bought, they also ported the MAF sensor and took out the screen, put colder plugs and thermostat, and ran it on there dyno, hooked it to the computer and did the remaping and shift changes so it would be more responsive. I was very happy from what it had been, when it shifts from 1st to second it wants goes sideways (its an auto). I don't think the hp is alot greater, maybe 15 to 20 but it is very responsive. I think it was a good first step.

 

Yo Bobalou

Thanks for your input. I'm still doing some research on the diablo hand held tuners. Lee said he liked the Ls1 edit but i couldn"t find a link to them. Lee if your looking at this do you have a site for the Ls1? I'm looking at Eckler<s catolog that shows their 1000 CFM MAS housing and the VaraRam Velocity Stack plus a high performance thottle body air duct. I just wonder if these bolt on's really add horsepower as advertised.

 

Try all the sponsors of this forum, then Go to Fingelfelters or MTIs or SLPs sites.

The mods to add usually are, in order:
cat back - does not add as much as many people claim but the sound is always nicer.
headers - long tube, buy a good set -- performance is about the same with any set of long tube headers but those with good reputations fit well.
cold air intake
larger throttle and maf
1.8:1 rockers (if this is as far as you are going - you can't do them and the rest below).
A high performance cam
Ported high flow heads (if you are going to do thse, do these and the cam at the same time.

 

Your welcome Hardluck, just sharing my personal experience. My car is way better and noticalbly quicker with what My shop did for me. Your talking to the right guy in Lee, I have been reading his posts and he is very sharp on all aspects of these cars, you will do well with his advice.

 

Hey all,

I'm new here to the 'vette' forums as I'm in the process of looking for a C5 to play around with. But after browsing the forums I've noticed that alot of people do CAI's, Exhaust, and 'Out of the Box' Tunes...

I typically frequent CZ28.com as that's what I had (until I sold her), but anyhow - seems to be the norm for Camaro owners as some of the first mods to jump right in and do a head/cam swap. Usually a nice 230/236 from TR or equiv cam supplier, and a set of LS6 or if they have the $$$ some AFR's, etc...

I've noticed that alot spend big money on CAI's, Tune, even exhaust as first mods (granted exhaust is good) - but with a set of ported LS6 heads and a 'decent' cam you can be upwards in the neighborhood of 400hp with an LS1 for not much more then some of these "Tunes", "Expensive CAI's", "SS Exhaust" etc...

Just wondering if there is a reason it seems like hardley anyone goes for the Cam/Heads as a typical /first/ mod. That's what I did on my Camaro - along with exhaust of course, but the Corvette factory exhaust is miles ahead of the Camaro's so I wouldn't even think you'd HAVE to mess with that.

Although, I do see Blowers are popular...

 

Hello all, I am new to the forum (just joined yesterday). I am currently in Baghdad, Iraq with the 1st Cavarly Division, but I am a native Texan and stationed at Fort Hood. I am on my second Corvette, a Machine Silver 2004 Coupe. I have been reading some of the threads on here and I am very impressed with the depth of useful knowledge on this particular forum. Anyway, this subject looked like a good one to jump in on and I have one question somewhat related to the subject but with a little twist. I have a GM warranty on my Vette and I am not really looking for radical upgrades, I plan to leave the car pretty much stock to include keeping the run-flats that everyone seems to hate. The only performance change I had in mind was a tune. I am only looking at either LS1 Edit (professional dyno tune) or Superchips (hand-held). I was looking very hard at the latter of the two options since its supposed to download and store your stock tune (for later upload before taking to a dealer for service, since I think custom tunes void warranties, a feature I like) and upload a custom tune. Any thoughts. Thanks in advance for anyone who replies.

 

I would advise against anything but a good tune by a professional shop with lots of experience. An amateur just can't get it right, and even a pro can't do it well unless the car is on the dyno when being scanned and tuned and tested.

Any good shop will have a computer re-programming system that will store and retain your original code if you ever want to go back to stock: you simply go back, pay a little money, and have the original programming re-loaded.