Installing a chip

[Emtmike]

I was talking to a friend about adding more horsepower to my Z06. He had mentioned I can install a chip instead of adding a cam, or different heads. Is there different chips for different horsepower?. I'd be very interested in this, and who sells them.

 

[Hib Halverson]

C5 and C6 Z06es do not have "chips".

You can reprogram their ECMs to change their calibrations, but they are not like the pre-'94 Corvettes where you unplugged the old "chip" and installed a different one.

It is exaggerating the issue to say that calibrations come in "steps" and that the potential performance increases range from a small amount to significant just by picking the calibration you want.

With a stock LS6 in a C5 Z, you might gain 5% more power by changing the calibration. With the LS7 in a C6 Z, the gain could be as much as 10%

The performance increase will be far greater from a cam and head change than from a calibration change alone but...if you do a cam/head package, you will have to reprogram the ECM as well such that the engine controls are matched to the new cam profile and cylinder head air flow.

 

[Emtmike]

Thanks for the information on this subject. I'll look at a kit for my LS6.

 

[Rowdy1]

Stock?

Mike, is it completely stock now as exhaust and bolt ons? If so, depending on how much more HP you want to add, consider a cold air intake, 160 stat, long tube headers with an X pipe, high flow cats if required by law and high flow cat backs. Then a tune by a reputable shop and you'll see a big difference in performance, sound and a little more MPG. If you ever go to heads, cam down the road, you'll need that stuff anyway. I did that to my Z16 which BTW, is all bolt on and can be put back to stock in a weekend and it made a big difference, IMHO. PM me for details if you like but be careful, this mod thing gets a hold of you like an addiction, "speed kills" (the wallet):L

 

[Emtmike]

I've already put a hurricane cold air Induction on with a B&B route 66 exhaust system. It sounds so nice now.

 

[Edmond]

With that catback, it's more of a sound change, you aren't really going to gain much, if any, power from an aftermarket exhaust from a Ti Z06 exhaust because the factory system flows pretty well.

Very good bang for the buck are long tube headers, gets you an audible difference as well as increased power throughout the powerband.

Another mod you may look into is a shifter change. Instead of the extremely long throw of the stock shifter, try a short throw. I have an MGW myself. It takes more effort to engage the shifter but the shifting is precise and the centering spring is really nice going from 2-3.

 

[Hib Halverson]

"Edmond" is right about the C5 Z06 exhaust. At the 400-500 hp range, there's little if any performance to be gained from an aftermarket system compared to the stock titanium system but, there will be a difference in the sound which some will find pleasing.

Interestingly, because all aftermarket systems weigh more (and in some cases significantly more) than the stock systems, in cases where there is not change in power output, vehicle performance actually suffers slightly because the aftermarket system increases weight.

As for shifters, my experience with aftermarket "short throw" shifters for C5s has been mixed. I went back to the stock Z06 shifter because with the increase in shift effort means it takes more time to shift and the extra time seems to defeat the purpose of changing shifters. I've found that, provided the clutch is operating properly, the clutch hydraulics are operating properly and you've got the right lube in the transmission, the stock shifter can be shifted very fast.

 

[Emtmike]

I've already have the short shifter that came with the car. I do find it harder to shift, but very preside going into gear. Do they sell high flow cats, or are the stock ones good enough?

 

[Emtmike]

Mike, is it completely stock now as exhaust and bolt ons? If so, depending on how much more HP you want to add, consider a cold air intake, 160 stat, long tube headers with an X pipe, high flow cats if required by law and high flow cat backs. Then a tune by a reputable shop and you'll see a big difference in performance, sound and a little more MPG. If you ever go to heads, cam down the road, you'll need that stuff anyway. I did that to my Z16 which BTW, is all bolt on and can be put back to stock in a weekend and it made a big difference, IMHO. PM me for details if you like but be careful, this mod thing gets a hold of you like an addiction, "speed kills" (the wallet):L

Is that your blue vette?....if so, could youdo me a favor and tell me how wide one stripe is at the top, anbottom at the nose?. Thanks!

 

[Hib Halverson]

I've already have the short shifter that came with the car. I do find it harder to shift, but very preside going into gear. Do they sell high flow cats, or are the stock ones good enough?

Hard to shift can be either the shifter, the transmission, the lube or the hydraulic clutch.

As for "high flow" cats many of them really aren't, but a few work well. In the end, however, if your engine is stock or near stock, going to different cats probably won't gain you much and most aftermarket "high flow" cats will not be as durable as the stock units. The cats used from 2002 to 2004 are pretty darn good at the 350-450-hp level.

Now, if you heavily modify the engine such that exhaust flow is vastly increased, then you may want to look at different cats.

 

[Z0_RICK]

Your best bet is to take it to a speed shop and have it dynotuned. This is better than any programmer

 

[Hib Halverson]

Your best bet is to take it to a speed shop and have it dynotuned. This is better than any programmer

Now I'm really confused. Dynotuning IS programming. How can programming be better than programming?

 

[Toms007]

I believe he is referring to a hand tuner (like HyperTech), compared to Dyno-tune, by a knowledgeable tuning professional.

 

[Z0_RICK]

Hand held or Hypertech tuners have canned tunes. A canned tune is a file that someone stored when they tuned a car. They were then loaded into a programmer and recalled as level 1 2 3 4 etc. These are very generic.

On a Dynotune, your vehicle is first run on the Dyno and baselined for the existing horsepower. The stock tuning file is saved in a program as a file. The programming software resides usually on a laptop (HP TUNERS) is one example of a tuning program.

The next step is to begin tweaking the parameters of the new tune to optimize the horsepower and torque on the dyno.

The dyno tune is better because not all stock cars are exactly the same and the tuner can compensate for climate,altitude,temperature etc.

Usually the more time spent equals more money paid.

My 03 Z06 has a Vararam and a Borla system agressive.

My tune was done by Fairway Chevrolet Speed shop in Las Vegas.

It all has made a great difference to an already fast car. My car is a daily driver. I hope this helps.

 

[Hib Halverson]

I believe he is referring to a hand tuner (like HyperTech), compared to Dyno-tune, by a knowledgeable tuning professional.

Ok. If he's talking about a handheld, on stock or near stock C5s in most cases they are of limited value. The Hypertech Prower Programmers are that way. I think their real value is not in changing fuel and spark but in altering auto trans shift points, compensating for different axle ratios and lowering fan-on temps. Crane Cams used to market a really good handheld which was capable of noticeable performance gains on engines with modest modifications but when Crane went BK then emerged from it a year or so ago, the "new" Crane did not continue that product line.