I just installed.....

[kenlperry]

I just installed fog light and air duct grills... Has anyone else installed these?? The fog light grill was pretty easy, but getting those air duct grills inserted properly was a pain in the you know what.... But here are a few pics of the finished product. I like it, I like it alot! Ha!!

This is what it looks like when the sun is shining on it(the sun was shining on the left side of my car).. Can you say bling bling! :L

 

[zagger]

Looks great, I always liked the look of the screans.

 

[Vettepirate]

Looks cool, im looking into some duct screens myself for my Z, not to mention the front plate cover, that stock black thing is ugly as hell.

 

[Johnnykretentiv]

Very sharp Ken! How much did that set you back ?

Do they just snap in there?

Spray those suckers with teflon so the bugs don't stick to them.

 

[bwing]

Looks like you're getting into the swing of modifying your Corvette. The screens look great! Hey, what's next?

 

[kenlperry]

Thanks guys.. I got the screens from ecklers, they weren't too bad, like $140. And yep, more mods are coming. I am waiting on chrome exhaust tips and the chrome exhaust enhancer plate right now. I ordered some wheels from wheelhq almost 2 weeks ago and haven't heard back on shipping yet. I'm getting a little concerned. Have any of you guys ordered from them before???

 

[bwing]

Thanks guys.. I got the screens from ecklers, they weren't too bad, like $140. And yep, more mods are coming. I am waiting on chrome exhaust tips and the chrome exhaust enhancer plate right now. I ordered some wheels from wheelhq almost 2 weeks ago and haven't heard back on shipping yet. I'm getting a little concerned. Have any of you guys ordered from them before???

Ken,

I believe wheelhq is located out of PA if I'm not mistaken. Since you're in MD you would have thought that they would have been shipped and received by now. I'd give them a call and see what their status is. I haven't ordered from them before so I have nothing to say about their shipping. Are the wheels you ordered "made to order" ? If so, that could be the delay in getting them to you. I ordered from CCW and it took about 2 1/2 weeks to receive.

What else are you planning on doing to personally modify your FRC?

 

[kenlperry]

Yeah, I was thinking the same thing(regarding PA being so close to MD).. I sent them 2 emails to which they haven't responded yet, so I do plan to call them tomorrow. The funny thing is on Monday I was gonna call and they had removed their phone number from their website.. Hmm! Strange, right. So I sent an email inquiring about the status of my order, and I mentioned how it was making me uncomfortable seeing the phone number removed from the site after I placed my order and had my card charged. I sent another one Tuesday. Now the phone number is back up on the website. So I will be giving them a call and possibly cancelling my order if it isn't shipped out this week.....

As for more modifications, I'm not sure. U got any ideas to give me?

 

[bwing]

Yeah, I was thinking the same thing(regarding PA being so close to MD).. I sent them 2 emails to which they haven't responded yet, so I do plan to call them tomorrow. The funny thing is on Monday I was gonna call and they had removed their phone number from their website.. Hmm! Strange, right. So I sent an email inquiring about the status of my order, and I mentioned how it was making me uncomfortable seeing the phone number removed from the site after I placed my order and had my card charged. I sent another one Tuesday. Now the phone number is back up on the website. So I will be giving them a call and possibly cancelling my order if it isn't shipped out this week.....

As for more modifications, I'm not sure. U got any ideas to give me?

IMO...I wouldn't do any modifications that would make your car look "overdone". I don't know what your budget is but maybe a cold air induction, smooth coupler and air bridge. If you're looking for HP and don't want to mess with your engine's internals maybe headers and exhaust.

The cold air induction will set you back anywhere from $250-$500 depending on make. Smooth coupler about $50. Air bridge...hang on...carbon fiber about $225. Headers...anywhere from $800 to $1200 depending on make again. Exhaust...Borla makes a good one but I'm not certain on pricing. Since you've already purchased from Eckler's, check their catalog for other exhaust systems or check magazine articles for reviews.

I didn't mess with my exhaust on the Z06 mainly because it sounds good already and is quite light weight being titanium. I went the cold air route with the other items then added the wheels and tires. I also installed the Hurst shifter. I want to mostly keep the car the way GM intended it but also wanted to personalize it my way. I think I'm done "messing" with it for the time being. Now if I win Lotto...haha

 

[04 Commemorative]

Screens look great have them on mine too. Was wondering....has anyone seen the stick on rear brake duct screens...ala ZO6? Was just wondering how the might look in person. Love to have them but sooooo scared to cut holes in my vette!hnoes

 

[jrose7004]

I had those screens on the front of my 98 and they looked pretty good until I lost one. As far as those stick on rear brake duct screens, I've seen them and they really look fake.

 

[bwing]

Screens look great have them on mine too. Was wondering....has anyone seen the stick on rear brake duct screens...ala ZO6? Was just wondering how the might look in person. Love to have them but sooooo scared to cut holes in my vette!hnoes

The stick on Z06 rear brake duct screens look fake. If you're going to do it buy the kit so it's functional. My neighbor did it to his and it looks great, just like stock.

 

[kenlperry]

I'm new to Corvettes and sports cars in general, and I'm not that technically inclinded when it comes to cars. So I am not familiar with what headers are, or the cold air induction, smooth coupler, air bridge, etc.. What exactly do these things do to improve performance??

 

[bwing]

Headers will replace your stock exhaust manifold. These come in "long tube" or "short tube". Almost all headers will increase HP anywhere from 15-35 HP. Cold air induction replaces your stock air filter and housing. Your radiator shroud will have to be cut unless you decide on installing a dual or single cone intake system. Reports of 10-25 HP has been reported on the cold air induction. Approx 15 HP boost for the dual/single cone intake system. The stock air bridge, or power duct, can be replaced with an aftermarket carbon fiber model which they advertise as giving you a 4-6 HP boost. It increases air flow. The smooth coupler will replace your stock throttle body air duct and is advertised boosting HP by 4-5 HP. The stock accordian coupler (duct) is said to creat turbulent air as it enters the throttle body. Vararam also sells a velocity stack which they advertise as boosting HP by 6-13. It supposedly directs air into the throttle body without the turbulence. Hope this helps you out. You can read more about these and other items from catalogs from Eckler's, Mid-America, Corvette America etc. Good luck.

 

[ScottNoxid]

Headers will replace your stock exhaust manifold. These come in "long tube" or "short tube". Almost all headers will increase HP anywhere from 15-35 HP. Cold air induction replaces your stock air filter and housing. Your radiator shroud will have to be cut unless you decide on installing a dual or single cone intake system. Reports of 10-25 HP has been reported on the cold air induction. Approx 15 HP boost for the dual/single cone intake system. The stock air bridge, or power duct, can be replaced with an aftermarket carbon fiber model which they advertise as giving you a 4-6 HP boost. It increases air flow. The smooth coupler will replace your stock throttle body air duct and is advertised boosting HP by 4-5 HP. The stock accordian coupler (duct) is said to creat turbulent air as it enters the throttle body. Vararam also sells a velocity stack which they advertise as boosting HP by 6-13. It supposedly directs air into the throttle body without the turbulence. Hope this helps you out. You can read more about these and other items from catalogs from Eckler's, Mid-America, Corvette America etc. Good luck.

Hey Guys can I chime in with my 2 cents worth, you could add The Corvette Garage to your list also, I have purchased a few things from them and they are always less than the competition in price and their delivery is about the same. I saw an ad on Vararam that said you could get up to 40 hp with their dual duct system. Question?;help Do you have to replace the turn signal regulator when you change to LED Brake and Tailights? I have installed new LED's and they work beautifuly, but the turn signals are much faster than the old set. Scott

 

[zagger]

Just my $.02, I'm sure someone will give me the change on this one but here it goes.
Don't get fooled by all the claimed hp. gains by the aftermarket bolt on stuff. The figures advertised are mostly best scenario gains. The stock headers and exhaust system is very efficient at what it does. The main thing aftermarket system will do is change the sound and loudness. Not that it is a wrong thing, just pricey! Be sure that is what you wont and expect. In order to gain full advantage of the money you will spend on the upgrades you must think of the whole system as a package. When changing one thing it must be supported by other things in order for it to work efficiently. If you change the exhaust you also should improve the intake. Then it all must be fallowed by a good tune, preferably a dyno, in order for all the components to provide you with the advertised gains. An LS motor is a very high performance power system and there are no quick simple miracle ways to improve on that. Simply put horsepower=$$$. Just changing the air filter will make little to no difference on performance. A good dyno tune on a stock motor will make a noticeable difference over just bolting on a single upgrade. Your stock headers will perform just as good as about any aftermarket short headers. Again to see any improvements you should go with long tubes (which are illegal in most states) and again must be fallowed with a tune to take the advantage of the dollars you just spend. I know I'll get flack for saying this but it took me a long time and many dollars to learn this. If you are satisfied with the way the car performs now spend the money on appearance mods, you will get a bigger wow affect and for much less $$$. In any case do some real research before making power mods, most are worthless by themselves. Enjoy the car, it's a great one. Regards, Zig.

 

[04 Commemorative]

Just my $.02, I'm sure someone will give me the change on this one but here it goes.
Don't get fooled by all the claimed hp. gains by the aftermarket bolt on stuff. The figures advertised are mostly best scenario gains. The stock headers and exhaust system is very efficient at what it does. The main thing aftermarket system will do is change the sound and loudness. Not that it is a wrong thing, just pricey! Be sure that is what you wont and expect. In order to gain full advantage of the money you will spend on the upgrades you must think of the whole system as a package. When changing one thing it must be supported by other things in order for it to work efficiently. If you change the exhaust you also should improve the intake. Then it all must be fallowed by a good tune, preferably a dyno, in order for all the components to provide you with the advertised gains. An LS motor is a very high performance power system and there are no quick simple miracle ways to improve on that. Simply put horsepower=$$$. Just changing the air filter will make little to no difference on performance. A good dyno tune on a stock motor will make a noticeable difference over just bolting on a single upgrade. Your stock headers will perform just as good as about any aftermarket short headers. Again to see any improvements you should go with long tubes (which are illegal in most states) and again must be fallowed with a tune to take the advantage of the dollars you just spend. I know I'll get flack for saying this but it took me a long time and many dollars to learn this. If you are satisfied with the way the car performs now spend the money on appearance mods, you will get a bigger wow affect and for much less $$$. In any case do some real research before making power mods, most are worthless by themselves. Enjoy the car, it's a great one. Regards, Zig.

Amen

 

[corvetteman39]

Your screens look really good!! I just did mine on Sunday, not tryin to jack your thread just wanted to show mine to ya to, I think it's a nice lookin cheap mod, especially in the front!!

 

[edram454]

added same mods plus some...

I added all the screens front/rear and brake duct along with stainless cowl screens and it looks great. my car is black on black also. I just added a SLP cat back power flow system and it sounds great. also added a diablo predator and loaded the tune program and fine tuned it. also installed a vararam b2 with smooth coupler/air bridge velocity stack etcc... I have seen big performance gains. I can lay rubber 150 feet plus no problem. I have had cars up to 1200 hp and have a nhra 7 second license so big speed is not new for me. I am impressed with these simple mods and quite happy. you car looks great! edram454

[/quote]

 

[corvetteman39]

I added all the screens front/rear and brake duct along with stainless cowl screens and it looks great. my car is black on black also. I just added a SLP cat back power flow system and it sounds great. also added a diablo predator and loaded the tune program and fine tuned it. also installed a vararam b2 with smooth coupler/air bridge velocity stack etcc... I have seen big performance gains. I can lay rubber 150 feet plus no problem. I have had cars up to 1200 hp and have a nhra 7 second license so big speed is not new for me. I am impressed with these simple mods and quite happy. you car looks great! edram454

[/quote]

WOW sounds really good, I have a Jet stage one computer module, K&N ram air intake system, carbon fiber power duct, Weiland/ Lingenfelter ported and polished intake and mufferless cat backs, gettin ready to put long tube headers on and remove catalytic converters go straight pipe all the way back. You have any pics of your car?