This is my 2006 Chevrolet Corvette Z06. Its home is the wonderful city of Bradenton, Florida. We have done several performance modifications on this fine machine and plan many more in the coming years.
The first modification done to this vehicle was the addition of a lightweight and more powerful Braille battery, model number B3121, weighing only 21 pounds. The only difficulty you will have is getting out the older and bigger GM battery. Braille's corporate headquarters are located just south of Bradenton in Sarasota, Florida, so I took a short trip for its purchase and installation.
The second group of modifications done to this vehicle were improving its. I like to use German Castrol 0W30 (available at Autozone and Pepboys). Runs more like a 40 with all the smoothness of a 30, but can be run for longer drain period. The engine runs noticeably quieter. In addition, I use an HP-1017 K&N oil filter. I also like to use one bottle of Royal Purple's Purple Ice Coolant additive. For the differential I go with Royal Purple 75W90 Maxgear oil. Finally, Amsoil ATF is my fluid of choice for my transmission. Vehicle handles and shifts better as a result. For the power steering I recommend Mobil 1 ATF and for the brakes ATE Super Blue. I also use nitrogen in the tires.
Another modification (not shown) was the addition of Pulstar Spark Plugs. While the jury is still out on these plugs, I can report no issues (no CELs) or other issue with these plugs, and week or so after installation I gained back about 2 mpg that I had lost since 10% ethanol was introduced in my area.
Shown below is the Vararam VR-SC1R Snake Charmer air intake. This was installed by my friends at Westside Auto here in Bradenton.
I chose this kit after a lot of consultation and evaluation. What decided it for me was the trueness of having the ram air intake face the oncoming air directly (as shown in the next 2 photos) rather than at angle like a vacuum cleaner inside the engine bay like a lot of other air intake systems for the Corvette.
One drawback of the kit is that the molding covering the top of the radiator shield kept falling off. We replaced this with some basic door molding that we bought at Pep Boys and it hold much better. This new molding is shown below.
The next modification was the addition of an MGW short shifter and knob. This was installed by Tracy Lewis at RevXtreme in Bradenton, Florida, which I have no doubt is the finest Corvette shop in the world. This shifter is the best by far that I have tested as I had tested out others in other Corvettes, a very short throw with no rattle at all.
We had previously added a Vararam Throttle Body Spacer just before installation of the MGW shifter, but we had another Throttle Body Spacer lying around. What we decided to do was added another one. This required us to shorten part of the coupling between the MAF sensor and the throttle body. The hardest part was actually locating 4 M6 1.0 screws that were long enough to do the job. These we found at Ace Hardware here in Bradenton (despite looking at Home Depot and Lowe's). Previously we had noted with a single space the throttle body was still hot to the touch. However, after the installation of the second spacer, where I am touching with my finger in one of the photos below was actually cool to the touch after a recent drive.
We later took a trip back to RevXtreme and had installed a 160F thermostat (not shown) along with lightweight alternator and tensioner pulley kit plus an oil catch can with breather filter kit. RevXtreme custom machines these pulleys and you will find them nowhere else.
Tensioner pulley
Alternator pulley
Oil catch can with breather filter
Cover on tubing housing MAF sensor where oil vapors would have entered.
I highly recommend the pulleys and catch can. The pull, even from these small pulleys was noticeable after installation. The oil catch can with breather filter will pay dividends by not having oil vapors thrown back into the combustion.
If you are ever in Bradenton do make sure to stop by RevXtreme As I mentioned earlier, this is by far the best Corvette shop in the world and it is truly a treasure we have Tracy Lewis and his fine staff so close.
You might be wondering what this wonderful sticker is on the back of my Corvette. This is in homage to the economy that has made purchase of this vehicle possible and the new center of global capitalism. :)
