C6 & C5 Modifications Primer

[EG@EnglandGreen]

Corvette Modifications Primer : A few things to consider if you wish to modify your Corvette for High Performance


So you want to modify your C6 or C5 Corvette for high performance. Here are some things that you should consider first.

What is your driving style? Are you a drag racer? Autocross? Road racer? Weekend warrior? Show car? Stoplight to stoplight? Or simply highway fun? Or a combination of all or some of these choices?

How you drive and enjoy your Corvette will directly determine what modification you should make to your Corvette.

Nothing is free. Every modification you make to your stock Corvette will involve some kind of compromise. You are not going to make 800 rear wheel horsepower and get 30 miles per gallon with a whisper quiet exhaust as well as drive and idle like stock. That is not going to happen.

The trick is to be totally honest with yourself and decide what compromises you can live with and which ones you cannot. For example, if you want to achieve 500rwhp naturally aspirated, expect a big cam with a loping idle. Expect to lose some fuel efficiency. Expect your Corvette to not drive like stock. Expect to void (at least in part) your GMPP warranty.

You can start with simple bolt-ons like an aftermarket air filter, long tube headers and cat-back exhaust system. The next logical step is a camshaft only upgrade or heads and camshaft. Along with the bolt-ons, you can be comfortably at the 425-450rwhp range, all naturally aspirated. Or you could bypass the bolt-ons and simply have a supercharger or twin turbocharger system installed. An alternative to bolt-on might be rear gears (along with a stall converter for the automatics). Gears can also compliment your other modifications.

It all depends on what you wish to achieve.

As you increase the stock Corvette from it's 300-340rwhp (C5-C6) or 435rwhp (C6 Z06) to circa 550rwhp on the stock bottom end, expect to have to upgrade other aspects of your drivetrain, cooling and suspension. Remember, nothing is free.

Beyond 550rwhp, we strongly recommend a forged engine as you will be on borrowed time. At this point, your clutch/stall converter will have to be upgraded along with torque tube connectors, transmission and differential. Cooling must be addressed as well as the always overlooked and often forgotten bulletproof fuel system. At this point, methanol injection for boosted applications is almost mandatory. Suspension, brakes, wheels and tyres should also be seriously addressed, along with additional safety systems like a 6 point or better rollcage and so on. A Corvette that is very fast is no fun if it also does not handle and stop.

High performance is not a cheap hobby and it is best to be very aware of this fact going in so you do not encounter any surprises.

But no matter what your budget, we can tailor a system to suit your current and future needs. So please drop us a line or give us a call to discuss your Generation 5 & 6 Corvette high performance needs.

Phone: 281 464 2800
Email: sales@englandgreen.com
AIM: englandgreeninc

Stephen

[IdRatherBGolfing]

Then what do you suggest for me?

2008 Coupe

Stoplight to stoplight and highway fun.

[~Maverick]

Hey Stephen,..Welcome to Texas!! I'd heard you were going to be heading this way soon.. I enjoyed meeting you AND Jason at Cruise-In IX..

I'm thinking about putting one of your Whiplash cams into the 2000Coupe..it's an Automatic, so what Stall would you recommend for the convertor? It has all the 'typical' bolt ons, just curious as to how you think that Cam will work if I went 'Cam only' and left the heads and everything else alone for now...well, other than the convertor..I DO need to be able to drive it, hahaha.. Basically I want to not be surprised and be prepared for all the little 'needs' the cam would have up front like fuel, etc...Will I be ok with a convertor and a good tune, any idea of numbers I can expect??

~Maverick

[EG@EnglandGreen]

Originally Posted by IdRatherBGolfing

Then what do you suggest for me?

2008 Coupe

Stoplight to stoplight and highway fun.

It depends on what modifications you have on your 2008 right now.

For example, on a stock 2008 automatic, our Ninja cam alone with no supporting modifications will only give you a minimal increase in horsepower - possibly 20-25rwhp.

Why so low? Because you need the supporting modifications to let your engine breathe. Your engine is just a big air pump; the more air you can pump through it, the more power it makes. This is a simplified explanation, but true nonetheless.

You need to open up your intake and exhaust to let your engine breathe. That means a new intake air filter and long tube headers, high flow catalytic converters and an x-pipe. Then you want to invest in a new bigger camshaft, to get the best out of the cam.

With intake, headers and our Ninja cam, you can gain 70+ horsepower - 3 times as much as just the cam alone!!!

With intake, headers and our Havoc cam, you would be comfortably gain 80-90rwhp, your car will drive close to stock and your increase in torque would be in the 60+rwtq. Our Monster cam will give you even greater gains.

As you go to bigger cams, you trade low end torque for higher rpm power, the power is no longer as linear and you do get some big cam anomalies like slight surging in a very narrow rpm range (usually a fixed 100-200rpm range).

None of this is a big deal - unless - you want your car to drive like stock. And if that is the case, it is better to leave it stock than modify it at all - because all power gains comes with some compromises somewhere.

Originally Posted by ~Maverick

Hey Stephen,..Welcome to Texas!! I'd heard you were going to be heading this way soon.. I enjoyed meeting you AND Jason at Cruise-In IX..

I'm thinking about putting one of your Whiplash cams into the 2000Coupe..it's an Automatic, so what Stall would you recommend for the convertor? It has all the 'typical' bolt ons, just curious as to how you think that Cam will work if I went 'Cam only' and left the heads and everything else alone for now...well, other than the convertor..I DO need to be able to drive it, hahaha.. Basically I want to not be surprised and be prepared for all the little 'needs' the cam would have up front like fuel, etc...Will I be ok with a convertor and a good tune, any idea of numbers I can expect??

~Maverick

We have done a couple dozen Whiplash cams with stock heads with great results. Power is usually in the 400+rwhp range - more if you have a strong engine to begin with.

Driveability is ALL in the tune. Bucking, surging, idle, hot & cold start issues can all be addressed in the tune. There will be some small anomalies (see answer above) but nothing that will cause distress or concern.

Fuel system : we recommend bigger 42lb injectors and a supplement to your stock fuel pump like a Racetronix hotwire kit or our recommendation of a outright Racetronix high flow fuel pump.

Stall converter : we recommend nothing bigger than a 2400 stall converter. It feels almost like stock. You will need to change your stock torque converter (TC) if you install a bigger cam than stock. This is because with a bigger cam, your idle speed increases which brings it up an RPM close to where your stock TC engages - so your car feels like it's on cruise control all the time with your stock TC. This swap will require a PCM retune.

As part of our PCM programming or "tune", we remove Torque Management, firm up your shifts, change your shift points and reduce your engine temperatures.

Your 2000 automatic would be a totally different animal!!!

Give us a call to discuss further details.

Stephen
281 464 2800

[EG@EnglandGreen]

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