corvette performance modifications, corvette


C4 Street Sweeper

Michael Popson has been an avid car enthusiast since he was a teenager. He bought his first sports car, a 1982 Camaro Z28, when he was 15 years old. Four years later after reaching the ripe old age of 19 Michael became the proud owner of a 68 427 Stingray. Over the years Mike has owned various fast cars. In 2008 Mike decided to get another Corvette. He always liked the styling of the C4, so began his quest for the perfect car to start his next project.

 
corvette performance modifications, corvette


After searching Michael found a 1996 C4 in pristine condition with only 13,000 miles on the odometer. Mike’s first track outing with his new toy was somewhat disappointing but expected for a stock C4. The car ran a best of 14.10 @ 98 MPH in the quarter. Mike was bitten by the performance bug and decided to boost the cars performance by installing a Magnaflow exhaust system, a set of 3.75 gears and a B&M 2400 stall converter. These modifications helped drop the cars ET’s to 13.8's @ 99 mph. At this point Mike realized that in order to significantly improve on the cars performance the stock LT1 was going to need some serious help.

corvette performance modifications, corvette



The next round of performance mods included a cam, long tube headers and a CSR electric water pump. Michael chose a set of Hooker Super Comp 1 3/4 inch tube headers and a Comp 503 cam with 224/230 duration @ .050" and .539/.544 lift . The package also included 1.6 ratio rockers. To compensate for the cams high lift Mike installed a set of Comp 26918 "Beehive" valve springs. A GM Performance Parts single roller timing chain designed for use in the ZZ3 crate motor was also installed.

corvette performance modifications, corvette



At this point a custom tune was required to pull the modifications together. Michael enlisted the help of pcmforless.com in Mooresville NC according to Mike they supplied him with a mail order tune that performed flawlessly. The new tune pushed the car to a respectable 12.62 @ 109.53 mph, the 60 foot times timed out at 1.89.


In an effort to improve traction and the cars 60’ time Michael decided to try a set of MT ET Drag Radials. To improve durability a Dana 44, with 3.73 gears and billet bearing blocks was installed. In the quest for more power, Mike purchased a set of Trick Flow185 GenX cylinder heads. The castings were exceptionally good as cast, but he decided to clean them up a bit with some porting and polishing. Comp springs and retainers were then installed at 1.785". Comp 7.290 hardened push rods, guide plates and ARP rocker arm studs finished off the valve train. The engine was then topped off by a Lloyd Elliot ported intake, 30 # SVO injectors and a Performance Products 58mm throttle body. A Racetronix 255 lph fuel pump was then installed to insure that the larger injectors were getting adequate fuel flow.

corvette performance modifications, corvette



The cars new power curve revealed a weak link in the C4 drive train. The 3-4 clutch pack in the stock 4l60E automatic transmission failed shortly after the head swap. Mike dropped the stock 4l60E and upgraded it with an 8 disc 3-4 pack, and a Transgo HD2 reprogramming kit.

Since the transmission was already out, he decided to install a Yank PT4000 converter that was better suited to the new engine combo. With the new heads and higher stall, the car showed a significant improvement by running a 12.09 @ 113.03.

The power mods to Michaels C4 have proved to be very street able. Mike extends his wholehearted thanks to all his good friends for helping him to build a very quick C4.

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