She's seen some miles and now she has some crow's feet, gravity has done its damage, and she simply isn't the hottest thing around anymore. C5 ZO6s and C6s are strutting around with 50 or more horsepower under the hood. Thankfully, once again, the aftermarket is here to help.
Halltech's C5 Venom cold-air intake is the first step in the direction of easy, simple mods that will wake up your LS1 in a hurry. An ultra-low restriction filter, combined with a built-in velocity stack at the entrance of the filter flange, is an easy 20% gain in airflow, according to Halltech. Corvette owners give this intake excellent street cred for its performance, fit and finish, and its ease of install with no cutting or hacking to the factory shroud. Second on the list was a 304 stainless catback from Stainless Works, we chose the Turbo Muffler Axle-Back system for a tamer exhaust note. Last but certainly not least are Comp Cams' new Ultra-Gold 1.82 ratio roller rocker arms. These lightweight stud-mount aluminum rockers are extremely strong, and should provide adequate valve cover clearance while also granting our stock cam additional lift.
For the install, we would be returning to South Jersey shop East Coast Supercharging. The C5 and C6 Corvette experts are right near my old backwoods stomping grounds, in the piney region of the state that I have grown so fond. Therefore, I never miss a chance to stop by and enjoy a very painless and easy install, thanks to its meticulous and top-notch technicians. They helped us locate a test car, in the form of Bob Moran's '03 Vette, which until now was stock as a rock. We would be bolting it down to ECS's new Dynapack dyno for thorough evaluation of its new parts, and letting expert tuner Doug Ring tickle the keys on his laptop to produce a custom tune.
Like any aging beauty, an...
Like any aging beauty, an LS1 can use some help to freshen up call it automotive botox, a facelift, or breast augmentation.
Bob Moran's bone stock 2003...
Bob Moran's bone stock 2003 Corvette registered 274.5 hp and 306.6 lb-ft of torque on East Coast Supercharging's new Dynapack 4000 model chassis dyno. This load-bearing dyno is rated up to approximately 1,100 hp, which co-owner Doug Ring says has been invaluable for tuning and much more effective in getting accurate numbers from the lightweight Corvettes, otherwise prone to tire spin.
The Halltech C5 Venom cold-air...
The Halltech C5 Venom cold-air intake is a redesign of the famous Stinger intake, which now places the MAF to the rear of the intake bridge for more precise readings. A low-restriction ISO 5011 certified filter uses a velocity stack at the entrance to the filter flange. The install should take about 10 minutes, and requires no cutting or hacking. It even has the hookup for the A.I.R. hose. Halltech says this intake is good for 12 hp and 11 lb-ft of torque at the wheels, but we'd have to see for ourselves. At the time of printing, the Venom intake was available for $350 online.
The stock intake and air filter...
The stock intake and air filter are removed with a flathead,...
...the MAF is transferred...
...the MAF is transferred over to the Halltech intake and filter,...
...which is secured by band...
...which is secured by band clamps.