When vehicles roll into Kentucky Speed, they’re there to do one thing: take what’s great about a high-performance ride, and make it better. The business, based out of Pikeville, recently had a black C6 coupe park in the shop to do some swell mods underneath the hood. It came to the right place, as we learned from talking with Kentucky Speed’s owner, Bobby Akres.
“Kentucky Speed has been in operation since 2008,” he explained. “I got the passion for car mods when I had a C5 with a LS1. I put a ProCharger supercharger on it and some new headers. I wanted to do upgrades on other people’s cars, and that’s what got me motivated to start KS.”
The majority of KS’s work goes toward the LS platform, and it’s where Akres feels most comfortable. He got to know the owner of the black C6 recently when it showed up for some improvements. “[The owner] sees the C6 as his street car,” said Akres. “It’s not his daily driver. It’s just a nice street car that he keeps in top shape for the weekend and car shows.”
Two weeks ago, Akres and his team fitted a set of Kooks 1 7/8-inch headers and X-pipe to the Corvette. “The quality and fit with Kooks is just top-notch,” said Akres. “I’ve always used Kooks on my cars.”
This was followed by a litany of upgrades that took place on Tuesday the 28th: an East Coast Novi 1500 supercharger, FAST 102 LSXR intake, Nick Williams 102mm throttle body, Holley billet fuel rails and valve covers, Brian Tooley Racing springs and pushrods, and more were installed under the hood.
Capping it off was a run on Kentucky Speed’s in-house dyno, where it made 593 rear-wheel horsepower on eight pounds of boost. The owner wants to up the performance curve even more, however. According to Akres, a methanol injection kit and pulley swap are planned for the near future, as well as raising the level of boost pressure.
We tip our hats to Akres, his team, and the C6’s owner as they take this coupe to the next level. And to find out what Kooks can do for your ride, head on over to the company’s website.