Joined
·
59 Posts
Some of you may remember I posted an article about getting myself an Edelbrock E-Force supercharger for my 60th birthday (well, that and a tattoo in Vegas that is also holding up well!). It’s been 6 months of driving it so I thought I’d give everyone an update on how it’s running....
Cutting to the chase as they say, though I try to stay away from words like “perfect”, it’s been as perfect as anyone could realistically expect, zero problems. I still feel it’s easier to drive overall than the factory tune, probably because of the torque. None of the other drivetrain components seem to be worse for wear after 6 months, even though I drive it like a high school kid that stole it. Overheating (or just getting hot) is something I did have concerns about, but it never materialized, even after months of 100+ degree days here in Southern California.
The catch: Well there’s always a catch, isn’t there? The supercharger and motor are performing amazingly well, but another old adage is when you fix something or make it better, the next weak link in the chain becomes more obvious, or worse. And that next weak link in the chain is.....The Torque Monster.
1st, 2nd and 3rd gear need to be feathered very carefully to keep the car moving forward. Getting off the line quickly is almost impossible. I’ve experimented with the various drive modes, even using Weather mode, which helps off the line but is too slow overall. I’ve ended up using Track mode all the time, because to my calibrated rear end it appears to move the torque curve higher up RPM range. Touring seems to have way too much torque down low. And Remember I have the Edelbrock tune to keep it California smog legal, so that may have an impact on the various settings.
Here is where I need the forum’s help: The Z06 keeps that horsepower and torque on the pavement, and I’m assuming the ZR1 does for the most part as well. There has to be a way to modify my Vette to handle the low end torque better than it does. For the record I have a base car (non-Z51), with the smaller wheels and tires, and the 7 speed transmission. I’m relatively new to this world, and there are a lot of senior members on this site with years of Corvette experience, hopefully you can give me some helpful advice - I’m expecting to have to upgrade the suspension/wheels/etc. in some way.
In other news: I just installed the Z06 grill this morning, it took me about 2 hours based on Jeremy’s awesome video (thank you, thank you, thank you!). Yes it’s still a PITA, but I did it on the driveway with a blanket, without jacking the car up. It’s just a lot of screws to take out and put in for the most part.
Thanks in advance for any advice on the traction problem.
Cutting to the chase as they say, though I try to stay away from words like “perfect”, it’s been as perfect as anyone could realistically expect, zero problems. I still feel it’s easier to drive overall than the factory tune, probably because of the torque. None of the other drivetrain components seem to be worse for wear after 6 months, even though I drive it like a high school kid that stole it. Overheating (or just getting hot) is something I did have concerns about, but it never materialized, even after months of 100+ degree days here in Southern California.
The catch: Well there’s always a catch, isn’t there? The supercharger and motor are performing amazingly well, but another old adage is when you fix something or make it better, the next weak link in the chain becomes more obvious, or worse. And that next weak link in the chain is.....The Torque Monster.
1st, 2nd and 3rd gear need to be feathered very carefully to keep the car moving forward. Getting off the line quickly is almost impossible. I’ve experimented with the various drive modes, even using Weather mode, which helps off the line but is too slow overall. I’ve ended up using Track mode all the time, because to my calibrated rear end it appears to move the torque curve higher up RPM range. Touring seems to have way too much torque down low. And Remember I have the Edelbrock tune to keep it California smog legal, so that may have an impact on the various settings.
Here is where I need the forum’s help: The Z06 keeps that horsepower and torque on the pavement, and I’m assuming the ZR1 does for the most part as well. There has to be a way to modify my Vette to handle the low end torque better than it does. For the record I have a base car (non-Z51), with the smaller wheels and tires, and the 7 speed transmission. I’m relatively new to this world, and there are a lot of senior members on this site with years of Corvette experience, hopefully you can give me some helpful advice - I’m expecting to have to upgrade the suspension/wheels/etc. in some way.
In other news: I just installed the Z06 grill this morning, it took me about 2 hours based on Jeremy’s awesome video (thank you, thank you, thank you!). Yes it’s still a PITA, but I did it on the driveway with a blanket, without jacking the car up. It’s just a lot of screws to take out and put in for the most part.
Thanks in advance for any advice on the traction problem.
