What C5 mods should I consider first

Bullshark

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Mar 23, 2008
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St. Charles, Missouri
I know most of you guys know me as a C3 guy. I have been hard core C3 on those other forums and rarely ventured out of my comfort zone. It was a little over 3 years ago we surprised my wife with a 2000 C5 for Xmas when she made the mistake of saying wheres mine? She doesn't know how to drive a stick. Well it is bone stock right now, but what mods should I consider first?

Bullshark

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Wow! Nice gift for the wife!!!!!!

Did you check out the Dynatech thread by TT? That exhaust sounds great.
 
Get a cold air intake, long tube headers and then have it dyno tuned - that thing will SCREEEEEM.

Those C5's are really good cars, don't you think? Fast, comfortable, reliable, good gas mileage and you can get them pretty cheap.
 
Get a cold air intake, long tube headers and then have it dyno tuned - that thing will SCREEEEEM.

Those C5's are really good cars, don't you think? Fast, comfortable, reliable, good gas mileage and you can get them pretty cheap.

Just wondering.....won't you have to mess with the ECM settings to change things?
 
It does but you can open it up a lot more. There are a couple of different ways you can go. You can get a bolt on like a Halltech or some of the others like that that draw air from the engine compartment through a larger fillament, or you can get something like a Vararam which draws air through your front brake cooling vents, through a filter and then up to your throttle body. Then there is the Callaway that draws air from a slight modification you can make to your fan shroud. The Callaway is what I decided on after quite a bit of research - but they are expensive.

Anyway, if you start researching this topic more you will encounter more opinions than you want to hear, you know what they say about opinions.....
 
Just wondering.....won't you have to mess with the ECM settings to change things?


No, you drive the car 30-40 miles and the computer relearns following the change in air volume registered at the sensors in the MAF at the throttle body.
 
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It does but you can open it up a lot more. There are a couple of different ways you can go. You can get a bolt on like a Halltech or some of the others like that that draw air from the engine compartment through a larger fillament, or you can get something like a Vararam which draws air through your front brake cooling vents, through a filter and then up to your throttle body. Then there is the Callaway that draws air from a slight modification you can make to your fan shroud. The Callaway is what I decided on after quite a bit of research - but they are expensive.

Anyway, if you start researching this topic more you will encounter more opinions than you want to hear, you know what they say about opinions.....

Isn't there a paper someone wrote about modding the current C5 airbox for cold air? I'll try to find it.
 
A cam swap would really wake it up, replace the timing chain and valve springs at the same time... however it's a lot more work than doing it on the old SB...

First mods should be exhaust and a handheld programmer, I got the Predator and really like it. You already got nice rims, lower it a lil :thumbs:
 
I saw this on the net. Very nice write-up
 

Attachments

  • C5 DIY Airbox.pdf
    1.6 MB · Views: 10
Be different, BURN all the Ecklers and CC catalogs.

Lower it, cost nothing. Zip tie intake, cost .25 cents. Fat wheels and tires, $500, right dear :blush:

Set a goal, be realistic, check funds. You can blow a wade on small time upgrades that you will never feel in the seat of your pants as far as performace goes. Biggest bang for buck, higher rearend, higher stall on an A4.

$7500 can get you better than 500/500 at the rear wheels. There's no replacement for displacement except some boost!

Best to you on supporting the economy! (My wife swears I am trying to stablize the economy with purchasing more car parts)

tt

vette0602.jpg
 
are we married to the same woman ???
:lol::lol:

Possibly, does she have a shoe fetish? Hey, I have fewer car parts than shoes :p
My latest come back, "at least the bill to auto parts stores is less than that to Exxon!"

BTW, Love the wife, she supports 99% of my Corvette habit

:beer:
 
The mosty common upgrade I have seen is increase the air induction. The factory air inlet seems to have all kinds of problems. That "accordion" rubber hose is one. It screws up the air flow. They have replacement smooth hoses for it. Along with better intake hoses is an improved MAF sensor.

Check here:
http://www.rpidesigns.com/shop/item.asp?itemid=892

And here:
http://www.motorsporttech.com/c5_air_intake01.asp

Making a C5 engine go faster is relatively simple. Probably easier than a C3. But WORKING ON it can be a major PITA. And the cost is ASTRONOMICAL. Personally, I was more than happy with the power output of my stock 1998 Vette. And the one thing I did do was REMOVE the oil bath air cleaner that the previous owners had installed, and replace it with a factory Fram paper element. I just don't trust those gauze filters to trap ALL the dirt.

Dep
 
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