As it does with all of its Corvette-specific packages, ProCharger designed the C6 kit around the realization that irreversible modifications to the factory hardware are anathema to most Vette owners and should therefore be kept to an absolute minimum. According to Engineer Dorian Comeau, the finished product cleaves to that design goal, requiring that only one easily replaced coolant line be cut to complete the installation.
So the kit installs cleanly and uses proven technology, but how does it perform? Equipped with a modest 6-psi pulley, our test car's output jumped from a preternaturally healthy 373 hp in stock form to a downright spooky 523. Allowing for a 15 percent loss through the Vette's six-speed manual drivetrain, we can estimate that the ProCharged C6 is spinning up just over 615 horses at the flywheel.
Although a compressed test schedule didn't allow for drag testing this time around, we did have a chance to sample the ProCharged C6 on the highways and shunpikes around the company's suburban Kansas City headquarters. Compared with the blown Z06 we tested a few months back, the new car feels nearly as fast and is several furlongs ahead in terms of ride comfort, exhaust noise, and overall cush factor.
Low-speed roll-ons in Second gear will still send the car's tail slewing for the guardrail, but the overall impression is of a vehicle whose charms won't wear thin in the multifarious driving environments these cars typically face. Indeed, it's not difficult to imagine squiring this stylish all-rounder on a 1,000-mile interstate jaunt, then ducking into the local dragstrip for an ego-burnishing evening of Mustang mauling and Viper vivisection.
Just try to stay off I-35.
Thanks to the relatively generous...
Thanks to the relatively generous dimensions of the C6 engine bay, project engineers were able to specify a card-table-sized, 27x3.5-inch front-mounted intercooler for the new kit--the largest such unit ever fitted to a regular- production ProCharger system. In addition to looking unbearably cool, the FMIC is slightly more efficient than the twin units used on the more tightly packaged C5 engines. Removing the front clip eases installation but isn't required.
The included anti-surge valve...
The included anti-surge valve uses a filter to reduce the high-pitched "pop-hiss" common to aftermarket blow-off valves.
Cleanly packaged and gleaming...
Cleanly packaged and gleaming in the midday sun, the finished installation looks as if it might have been performed on the line at Bowling Green. ProCharger also offers a "Tuner" version, minus injectors and tuning, for folks who prefer to concoct their own individualized setup.
Early packages will ship with...
Early packages will ship with a coupon good for application-specific Ed Wright tuning on an exchange basis. Later kits will include a DiabloSport handheld tuner loaded with a custom program.
Our C6 test subject proved...
Our C6 test subject proved exceptionally healthy, downloading 373 hp (and 360 lb-ft of torque) to the rear wheels in as-delivered form. That's around 10-15 hp stronger than we've seen from other six-speed '05s.
With the 6-psi blower kit...
With the 6-psi blower kit in place, horsepower shot to 523--an improvement of just over 40 percent. Torque, meanwhile, was up to 456 lb-ft. Plugging these numbers into the VETTE mainframe, we find that the ProCharger C6 should be good for mid-11s at between 120 and 125 mph.