How To Add a Callaway Honker to Your Z06 - Sucking Wind

The new Z06 is an amazing value for the dollar. The new SuperVette packs 505 hp and offers a relatively quiet ride until you stomp the throttle. After experiencing this new car's jolting performance, it's not hard to come to the conclusion that this car cannot be improved. Well, leave it to the tuners to take the best to an even higher level.

Bob Bell's stout '06 Z06 hot... 

   

  read full caption

Bob Bell's stout '06 Z06 hot lapping at Road Atlanta.

MTI Racing located in Marietta, Georgia, has recently been working on improving customer Bob Bell's new black Z06. Bob bought this car to use primarily as a track car. It probably will spend very little time on the street, so he commissioned MTI Racing with the task of "improving the breed." This has included installing a custom roll bar, 13x18-inch rear wheels, 11x18-inch front wheels, a high-performance cam, headers, and a non-muffled exhaust. MTI Racing has also removed the factory "torque management" software, which greatly reduces power in the LS-7 engine. To check their performance improvements, MTI Racing bolted the black Z06 to their Dynojet dyno. The results were impressive: 558.0 hp and 488.2 lb-ft of torque.

MTI Racing and Bob Bell were pretty pleased with the Z06's performance and thought they were finished tinkering with the LS-7 until MTI Racing's owner Reese Cox got a phone call from Mike Zoner of Callaway Cars. MTI Racing is an authorized distributor of Callaway products. Mike offered MTI Racing the opportunity to test their new Z06 Honker Induction package. MTI has installed many Honkers on C6 and C5 customer cars with great results. However, they were a little skeptical about getting much gain on this Z06 project car. Nonetheless, they decided to give it a try. The Honker (PN 203.67.2500) retails for $510. The package included the Honker, templates, and detailed instructions.

The longest part of the installation was removing the factory radiator shroud. Fortunately, MTI Racing's technicians have installed a lot of these units on regular C6s, so the job went quickly.

This MTI Racing Z06 dyno chart... 

   

  read full caption

This MTI Racing Z06 dyno chart tells the story. Notice the big jump in power and torque above 5,000 rpm.

The finished project looked like it was installed at the factory. All the parts fit without any modifications, and the car started the first time. The real test was finding out how well the LS-7 responded to the Honker on the dyno. The best pull was 582.6 hp and 507 lb-ft of torque. This netted 23.8 hp and 18.8 lb-ft of torque.

Shortly after the Honker was installed, Bob drove his Z06 with 1,300 miles on the clock at Road Atlanta. Bob says, "The biggest thing I noticed is how strong the car has become above 5,000 rpm. It really jumps above 5,000 rpm with this Honker."

So, if you want to unleash your new Z06's power, give some serious thought to installing the new Callaway Honker induction system. Just remember to hang on! for non-Z06 owners, you can get similar power gains by installing a Honker on your C6 or C5. For C6 owners, order PN 203.60.2500, which retails for $390; C5 owners, order PN203.51.2500, which retails for $490. Trust me, this Honker sucks wind-big-time!

Part List
* Z06 Honker
PN 203.67.2500
Retail Price: $510

This Callaway engineering...        read full caption This Callaway engineering worksheet shows the airflow differences between the stock Z06 air intake and the Callaway Honker. The increase from 931 CFM to 1317 CFM is a 43-percent improvement over the stock system.

The Honker is delivered in...        read full caption The Honker is delivered in a well-packaged box that includes all the necessary parts for installation. MTI Racing technician, Chris Iverster, unpacks the new Z06 Honker.

The Honker includes the filter,...        read full caption The Honker includes the filter, filter housing, and one-piece intake box. A template and complete set of instructions are also included.