Even today, performance-oriented car enthusiasts still look up to the Chevrolet Corvette C6 as the classiest and most ground-breaking generation of the Corvette that ever existed.
Released 16 years ago, it rocked the automotive world, especially in the United States. It received a massive makeover from the C5 Corvette, making it look like a proper sports car.
There’s a lot to love about this 6th generation Corvette. For starters, it’s the first one amongst all of the previous generations to receive a massive boost in horsepower. The base model of the Chevrolet Corvette C6 produces 400hp with its LS2 V8 engine.
It also has a shorter body and a longer wheelbase, mainly responsible for handling and ride quality.
Most of the attention the Chevrolet Corvette C6 gets is from the aftermarket community. The car responds exceptionally well to performance modifications; the reason why you see some C6 Corvettes speeding around the streets sounding like an exotic car.
Its slick, classy, and distinguished look is convincing enough for C6 Corvette owners not to exaggerate the aesthetics of their vehicle. Making such a classic car look like a ricer can ruin it, so you might as well focus on what’s under the hood instead.
Below is the selection of the best modification you must have for your Chevrolet Corvette C6 if you want to achieve peak performance.
#1 Exhaust System
If you want a car mod that’s easily noticeable whenever you drive, then you’ve got to get your hands on an aftermarket exhaust system.
They’re one of the most common upgrades most C6 Corvette owners obtain whenever they have the opportunity to because of how much it adds character to the already excellent vehicle.
On top of that, it’s also a crucial component that aids the engine’s airflow system, allowing it to breathe better, and in turn, function efficiently.
There’s an age-old argument about C6 Corvette exhaust systems, whether they provide horsepower or not.
The truth is, they do, but the gains you’ll get aren’t as high compared to the significant power steroids like turbos and superchargers. Horsepower is still horsepower, and it wouldn’t hurt anyone to get as much as you can.
Perhaps the most apparent reason why car enthusiasts opt for aftermarket exhaust systems is that the stock exhaust sounds too dull, to begin with.
If you share the same sentiment, then you’ll be glad to know that a lot of aftermarket exhaust systems offered for the C6 Corvette these days have the rich, deep, and aggressive tone that you’ve always wanted for your car.
Recommendations:
#2 Intake System
Another component you can introduce to your car to make breathing a bit easier are intake systems. This is perhaps the most cost-effective upgrade you can do to add a little bit of kick to your engine’s performance and power output.
An aftermarket intake system replaces the restrictive stock intake in favor of a more free-flowing one.
It’s not rocket science if you’re familiar with how intake systems work. The more free-flowing the tubing and the air filters are, the better the volume and quality of the air that gets into your engine.
Surely enough, intake systems provide some noticeable performance gains, but just like exhaust systems, the numbers aren’t astronomically high.
Aside from the performance gains, a nice-looking aftermarket intake system does many wonders when you start opening the hood of your car. Beauty is inside, right? Well, some intakes out there sport some wicked aesthetics that provide some flair under the hood.
So if you want a cheap yet highly effective mod that’ll pump your vehicle’s performance, then intake systems are for you.
Recommendations:
#3 Ported Throttle Body
There have been some conversations regarding throttle bodies in the C6 Corvette community, whether the aftermarket ones can actually help the car or not.
Whatever your opinion is, we can all agree that throttle bodies are underrated upgrades because they’re relatively inexpensive and can guarantee increased horsepower and torque.
Yet not so many people care about them. Throttle bodies act as a medium that controls the amount of air that enters the engine. It has a butterfly valve that opens and closes whenever you put your foot on or off the pedal.
Upgrading your stock throttle body would mean a guaranteed increase of 15hp to 25hp, depending on the size of the new aftermarket throttle body you’re going to get.
Recommendations:
#4 Supercharger Kits
Some adrenaline junkies aren’t satisfied with the amount of horsepower the Chevrolet Corvette C6 produces. While some car enthusiasts love speed, others are obsessed with it. These people often opt for superchargers to further amplify their C6 Corvette’s powerplants, and in turn, satisfy their need for speed.
So what a supercharger does is use a pair of rotors to force air into the combustion chamber. More quantity of air means more fuel, and obviously, more fuel will create an enormous explosion in the cylinders, therefore producing greater horsepower.
Superchargers are great for cars like the C6 Corvette because they provide more power than turbos and are much easier to install.
Superchargers, however, are very expensive. On top of that, installing one on a C6 Corvette is labor-intensive, so prepare wads of cash if you want to transform your car into something monstrously powerful.
Car enthusiasts often consider superchargers as a serious investment, so if you are dedicated to installing one on your C6 Corvette, expect to spend big money.
Recommendation:
- ProCharger H.O. Intercooler Supercharger
- Vortech Z-Trim CCW Rotation Black Supercharger
#5 ECU Tune
The power mods mentioned above are enough to give a significant horsepower boost to your car (especially the supercharger!). However, you can’t fully utilize all of them without getting your car’s ECU tuned first.
The ECU is basically the car’s brain, and if you don’t tell it that you’ve installed some augmentations to its body, it won’t function as you intended it to be.
In a nutshell, an ECU tune will attune your car to all of the power mods you’ve recently installed. It involves modifying the engine’s fuel and spark maps.
Tuners will use a computer chip loaded with data and physically install these into your ‘Vette’s ECU through the OBD2, which can be found at the dead center of the steering column underneath.
Once you’ve tuned your ECU, you can expect your C6 Corvette to produce more horsepower and torque. The engine’s efficiency will also significantly improve. Not only that, you’ll feel as if the driving comfort has changed for the better too.
Although some owners would argue that the ECU tune on a Chevrolet Corvette C6, even the heavily power-modded ones, are unnecessary, we still think otherwise. Better to be safe than sorry!
Recommendations:
- Power Tune Performance High-Performance Tuner Chip and Power Tuning Programmer
- VR Tuned ECU Flash Tune
#6 Lowering Kits
All right, settle down because we’re done with the power mods. It’s about time we talk about lowering kits because, honestly, the Chevrolet Corvette C6 could use some lowering. There are still noticeable wheel gaps that aren’t really a sight for sore eyes and must be dealt with immediately.
After all, you’re spending on power mods; why not spare some of your hard-earned money on your car’s stance too?
Usually, you can lower a car by using lowering springs, coilovers, or even air suspension. In the case of the C6 Corvette, however, things are a little bit different. If you’d notice, the car runs on transverse leaf springs, not coil springs.
These transverse leaf springs are made from fiberglass and are used to suspend the lower and upper A-arms.
And because of this, achieving a lowered stance would require different methods. Lowering bolts are used instead of springs. By simply adjusting these bolts, you can subtly bring down your car, hence the common Corvette phrase: “lowered on stock bolts.”
It is by far the most straightforward method you can execute to lower a C6 Corvette to the ground. And also, you won’t have to spend anything! If you know what you’re doing, that is.
The problem with stock bolts is that it will only lower your car by around 0.9”. It might not be enough for some demanding C6 Corvette owners, though. To deal with that dilemma, you can use aftermarket lowering bolts to drop your car by around 1.25”.
A drop in ride height at this magnitude will significantly improve the look and stance of your Corvette.
Aside from that, you can also use coilovers, but you’d have to do a coilover conversion first (a topic for another day).
Recommendations:
- SR1 Performance Lowering Bolts
- aFe Power PFADT Series Lowering Kit
- KW Coilover Kit V3
- Fortune Auto 500 Series Coilovers
There are a lot of mods you can get for a Chevrolet Corvette C6. Since it’s a pretty popular car, the aftermarket support for it is pretty decent even to this date. The modifications mentioned on this list are the best ones to get because it focuses more on the power and performance aspect of the car.