I've had a C5 for a number of years that I got rid of when my son was born. The only modification that I made on the car was getting rid of the 1 to 4 skip shift.
Like many of you I need a four door and I've been waiting for this car since I got rid of my vette.
I'm going to have this car for a while so I am thinking of what mods are available and which have great bang for the buck.
Please list what you would have done and explain them in layman's terms. Also, please no acronyms. I don't know these things so acronyms wouldn't tell me anything.
I would like this thing to be a sleeper and a daily driver. If something impacts ride or noise tremendously please point that out.

Thanks

felix

First up, no one has done anything to the GXP... they do not exist yet. However any mod (including the skip shift eliminator) that works for the vette will work on the GXP.

On their GTs most are adding exhausts, some have headers... either way picks up good HP. Many are adding intakes. Rotofab seems to be the favorite, though new era also has a large following. Vector motorsports seems to be the goto guys for a tune for your motor and transmission, though if you are in cali haddad probably cannot lead you astray. One of our vendors has an underdrie pulley... only 5 hp but better balancer so probably worth the money.

Suspension updates are relatively limied at the moment. Pedders are the leaders at the moment even though they have their detractors. Eibach is suposed to be putting out lowering springs shortly and JHP has what looks like a fairly sweet adjustable system. The GXP suspension may be diferent enough from the GT/base that some parts may not work. Vendors will i am sure chime up.

There is not much out for brakes yet but there apears to be a few in development.

Once the gxp comes out their will be short shifters from JHP. The big thing though is that as it has no AFM you can throw a massive cam at it and call it a day.

i have a post called 400 rwhp in which I describe my intended mods and my expected pickups... the experts have chimed in and seem to think I am not insane but that i am overly optomistic as to my budget.

I apologise to any vendors I have forgotten or misrepresented. No offense, misinformation or slight was ment. I just screwed up.

IMO

Corsa or SLP catback
American Racing Headers (or whatever company has the best price/hp at the time of GXP release)
GM 2.3 blower + ls9 cam

as far as other mods:

HIDs
tint
tein coilovers
some 19-20" rims (undecided if Volks, iforged, or something else)

GRRRR8 MODS

Eaton Super Charger!

Budget 1st wave of mods short list:

Cam, headers and tune. That's after the cold air intake and catback. Should be good for over 400rwhp!

2nd wave: Eaton blower & Pedderized the suspension. Hopefully 500 hp mark and over the top handling!

I've had a C5 for a number of years that I got rid of when my son was born. The only modification that I made on the car was getting rid of the 1 to 4 skip shift.
Like many of you I need a four door and I've been waiting for this car since I got rid of my vette.
I'm going to have this car for a while so I am thinking of what mods are available and which have great bang for the buck.
Please list what you would have done and explain them in layman's terms. Also, please no acronyms. I don't know these things so acronyms wouldn't tell me anything.
I would like this thing to be a sleeper and a daily driver. If something impacts ride or noise tremendously please point that out.

Thanks

felix
If I had a GXP........I'd drive it like I stole it! :p

an actual dynotune will pick up much more hp then a premade tune.

just follow what the gto guys do, itll work for you as well.

Can somebody tell me where can i find a Vector Motorsports shop or who can i PM to see where one is? I hear about it all the time but i dont stay near a major city (unless New Orleans counts as one). Thanks!

Can somebody tell me where can i find a Vector Motorsports shop or who can i PM to see where one is? I hear about it all the time but i dont stay near a major city (unless New Orleans counts as one). Thanks!
They are located north of Detroit, MI. To my knowledge, they don't have multiple locations.

And yes, I would say New Orleans counts as a major city...

http://www.vectormotorsports.com/

Does Vector do anything like other tuners do, where they sometimes fly into a shop outta state and have a tuning event at a local shop with a dyno?

Does Vector do anything like other tuners do, where they sometimes fly into a shop outta state and have a tuning event at a local shop with a dyno?

We can if requested, Kirk and I do travel frequently and we will typically post up on all the boards we sponsor when we will be in a particular area.

We can if requested, Kirk and I do travel frequently and we will typically post up on all the boards we sponsor when we will be in a particular area.

Great!!! Hope to see you fellas in mississippi real soon!

We can if requested, Kirk and I do travel frequently and we will typically post up on all the boards we sponsor when we will be in a particular area.


Any plans on coming to Houston?

Any plans on coming to Houston?

Possibly, if you get enough people together its no problem.

What is the minimum number of people needed?

I've had a C5 for a number of years that I got rid of when my son was born. The only modification that I made on the car was getting rid of the 1 to 4 skip shift.
Like many of you I need a four door and I've been waiting for this car since I got rid of my vette.
I'm going to have this car for a while so I am thinking of what mods are available and which have great bang for the buck.
Please list what you would have done and explain them in layman's terms. Also, please no acronyms. I don't know these things so acronyms wouldn't tell me anything.
I would like this thing to be a sleeper and a daily driver. If something impacts ride or noise tremendously please point that out.

Thanks

felix

Alright, so we're all 2-5 years into the future and we've all gotten our GXP's and now we're thinking about modding... here is my short list:

Lighter Wheels/Stickier Tires = Always helps, rarely hurts.

Cold Air Intake = Always helps with power and fuel economy, sometimes intake noise can be obtrusive but is rarely the case.

Headers/Cat-Back exhaust = Always helps with power and fuel economy, sometimes exhaust noise can be obtrusive, especially on the highway where the dreaded 'Exhaust Drone' sets in. This can be VERY annoying if you buy from an inexperienced exhaust house.

Engine Control Unit Remap (ECU REMAP) = By reprogramming the engine control computer you can usually 'tailor' YOUR computer to work with YOUR specific engine. Each engine is a little different, and the factory is generally VERY conservative, so you can usually pick up BOTH power and fuel economy with this new software. USUALLY HAS WARRANTY IMPLICATIONS AND INEXPERIENCED TUNERS CAN KILL YOUR CAR. YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR!

CAM Shaft Upgrade = Usually done before ECU remap to increase power. Often detrimental to fuel economy and can sometimes impact low/high end performance. I'd recommend sticking with GM Performance Parts on this one since they have a whole series of 'Hot' CAM's for the LS3. USUALLY HAS WARRANTY IMPLICATIONS AND POORLY DESIGNED CAM'S CAN KILL YOUR CAR. YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR!

These are the main upgrades I forsee 80% of folks getting... you'll easily break 500hp with just these upgrades alone, maybe more.

Beyond these you can start talking about Turbo's, Superchargers, etc. etc. but those are MAJOR upgrades that will run into the $5K-$10K range and will be the exception.

I think for most people the HUGE fuel economy impact of the more serious mods will keep them away.

I can say right now I'd be pretty happy with 500hp in this beast!

~LSx

I would be more that happy with bolt-ons. just taht alone with a tune will put the gxp in mid to low 12s easy. Thatd be fine with me.

They are located north of Detroit, MI. To my knowledge, they don't have multiple locations.

And yes, I would say New Orleans counts as a major city...

http://www.vectormotorsports.com/

At low tide.