Ok, i have a 96 cavalier standard 2.2l eng, just under 310000 km (mostly hwy km), i know that is brutal but the car itself is still in good condition and if i need to soon i plan on purchasing a new engine for it, but im looking for some upgrades or mods to make it run / look nice, my car has an aftermarket exhaust with no performance increase just sound, its got the starting of a crappy sound system right now im working on that, my windows are tinted, now the body is nice, it could use a touchup for paint (car is currently Black), now im wondering what are some cheap or easy things to upgrade either visual or performance wise for example spark plugs, wires etc, im new to this really, so any opinion would be helpful

find some cheap rims that look good...in other words look for a brand thats somewhat unknown that happened to have come out with some nice designs and scoop them up...myself i bought some ASA subaru style rims for my car for about 100 CAN and they look badass

You should check out the Little Black J-Body Book, you will find lots of mods in there. The 2.2 OHV is slow and thats basically that. You can do the header, exhaust, high flow cat, and air intake but that will maybe get your 115 hp car to like 125. I think Cavaliers look sweet and when done right they are very beautiful show cars, but they arent worth speed performance parts unless it is a z24 or a newer one with an ecotec.

^^ To ones own bro....

I personally am going to see what the hell i can get out of my OHV engine. I have a spare at the shop right now, and the tear down begins soon. Even if i have to run nitrous ontop of the turbo i will hit my 220 goal out of that little engine. Just so i can prove everyone here wrong about what you can do to them. Even if i have to bore the cylanders out to a 2.25L i will do it! Yes i know the LD9 has more potential to hit 250+hp, i don't really care. This is all fun for me and i enjoy working on my car. Ontop of it being an OHV, it will be a sedan owning asses at the track. Bring on the debt.!!!!

If you wanting some exterior mods, beings the car is black.....I think that euro tail lights would look badass. If you take a look at my car domain, the tail lights that I have look awesome on darker color cars. Am I saying you should get them because I have them....no, i'm just saying it will make it look quite a bit better than the stock ones.

Also, tinting the windows. Again my windows are fairly dark they're 20% all around.....that would be an interior thing I guess.

Don't go witha sound system, if you're at least 18, the older you get, the less you'll listen to it, like me for example. When I was 16 I had a sound system in my frist car, and have gone through 2 and am on my 3rd and im 19 years old....almost 20. I used to listen to all that hard hitting bass rap music, but i've gotten older and don't listen to it much.

Save the money from getting subs and that stuff, and go for like new exhaust header on back.

These are just my opinions and some other might share the same opinions....but wait around for what others say, we all have different tastes, and you'll hear a lot of it to.

Oh and do a search on anything, you'll surely find what you're looking for. Oh and read the sticky's about suspension, performance, and all that good stuff.....lots of information and links in there.

GOOD LUCK!

ive already got an ok sound system, but my deck is screwy, gonna get it sent out and im gonna purchase new car speakers when i get the money, but thats alittle while down, gotta get my deck straightened out either through future shop or jvc, and as for window tinting already done, um, how much are the euro lights, i like the look of them but how much do they cost? and also mod'd cav where would i look for cheap rims like that, i live in ontario, about 2 hours away from toronto any suggestions?

I got my euro tails on ebay for just about $100. It was an easy install and no condensation is inside of them and they fit 95% right. My rims I got off of wheel max.com (even though you didn't ask) but if you do a google search you can find many places that sell cheap wheel and tire packages many for under $1000 (US). That would probably be a key word in the AF's, just do a search if you would like to know anything, and if what you find don't answer a question or concern 100%, just ask.

^^ To ones own bro....

I personally am going to see what the hell i can get out of my OHV engine. I have a spare at the shop right now, and the tear down begins soon. Even if i have to run nitrous ontop of the turbo i will hit my 220 goal out of that little engine. Just so i can prove everyone here wrong about what you can do to them. Even if i have to bore the cylanders out to a 2.25L i will do it! Yes i know the LD9 has more potential to hit 250+hp, i don't really care. This is all fun for me and i enjoy working on my car. Ontop of it being an OHV, it will be a sedan owning asses at the track. Bring on the debt.!!!!

Who's that guy on the Org thats running like low 12's out of his 2.2?

Faroutguy-

You can do some cool stuff for pretty cheap, depending on how cheap you need it to be. You can jazz up the interior a little bit with some nice seat covers. Not the stupid ones that want to look like racing seats or have dragons crawling up the side, something like solid black, or black and dark grey two tone. You can grab a couple cans of Krylon and shoot all the vinyl, not my taste but some people like it. Cheap wheels are a good idea.

Above all, just use your imagination!

I got my euro tails on ebay for just about $100. It was an easy install and no condensation is inside of them and they fit 95% right. My rims I got off of wheel max.com (even though you didn't ask) but if you do a google search you can find many places that sell cheap wheel and tire packages many for under $1000 (US). That would probably be a key word in the AF's, just do a search if you would like to know anything, and if what you find don't answer a question or concern 100%, just ask.

I did the same thing, only I paid a little less for my euros.

ive already got an ok sound system, but my deck is screwy, gonna get it sent out and im gonna purchase new car speakers when i get the money, but thats alittle while down, gotta get my deck straightened out either through future shop or jvc, and as for window tinting already done, um, how much are the euro lights, i like the look of them but how much do they cost? and also mod'd cav where would i look for cheap rims like that, i live in ontario, about 2 hours away from toronto any suggestions?


no shit...ontario ?..if you live in canada , then for the ASA rims i would say go to your local canadiantire and ask about the rim and tire package deal they had with ASA and ultra HPR and there are 3 rim styles they used for the deal...those three range from 15-17 inches and the best style are the ones that i bought for my car..i think they are called ASA EM9

but ya...go to canadian tire for those rims....also they can hook you up with even more rims cuz they can get shit like primax which with some rims are around 100-130 bucks a rim aswell.

You can get some street glow for it. That would make it stand out a bit at night to. You can them cheap off ebay for around $40 and that includes shipping. http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQfgtpZ1QQfrppZ25QQsassZwholesaleledQQssPageNam eZSTRKQ3aMEFSQ3aMESOI is a cheap place to get it. And unless you break the tube by hitting a parking barrier (i did just that) they will hold up and are pretty bright as well.

http://stores.ebay.com/Sell2All_Car-Audio-Accessories_W0QQcolZ4QQdirZ1QQftidZ2QQtZkm THey also have underbody kits.

hey, i'm in the same situation man. im in ontario not far from toronto and have been doing work on my sunfire. first thing i did was my sound system now i dind't drop thousands of dollars into it. money saving tip is if ur handy get the parts and do it urself old cars are great to learn on and its fun. Now for performance i personally dont think i will be doing much with my engine maybe the k&n, headers and exhaust. but for a ohv 2.2l man its costly to get the extra horsepower. my personal opinion to you is just make it look and sound nice and just enjoy the ride while you can.

The first thing I did to yo my cavalier when I got it. Well first off it had jsut an am/fm radio....i didn't go out and buy a cd player. Actually the first thing I did was put on a louder muffler, then tinted the windows, then got aftermarket cd player. Which is a really super nice one. Then came my clear corner lenses, short ram intake same time as the euro tails, then my stereo system, now my rims.

Since your car has high miles, you might get rid of it instead of keeping it. So think hard about your decision before you start upgrading it because you never know.....one day you could come outside and your car just died. And you will have to think if you want to fix it, or just get a newer faster car than what you have.

true...a nice sound is the most important thing if you ask me...unless you plan on making it a track car theres really no point cuz every vehicle is fast on its own...just depends how heavy a foot you want to use..but your not going to need 300 horse out of your cavy cuz in a race every car is tuned differently...look at the celica..what is it , 120 - 125whp ? and those things are pretty quick...faster then my car..and the 2.2 comes with what..120 ?
anyways...you dont need a race bred car...your not racing it in le'mans or anything, just get a nice sound out of it..and a decent sound system and make it beautiful on the outside and inside and have fun with the car. aslong as it turns heads and as your driving away from the onlookers they say "man that sounds awesome" thats all the really counts

Yeah mine is going to be mainly for show when I mod mine. I'm of course going to have stuff under the hood for just alittle more push when I need it here and there. Around here NOBODY mods their Cavaliers. Just me and a friend are planning on doing it and then another friend with his Sunfire.

Mine will also just be for looks purposes. But that idea is up in ther air still. I really want to turbo mine.

if you have the 2.2 it would be better to supercharge it...your car wont really hit high enough RPM's to get the full potential power of the turbo cuz its not spooling up enough before the next gear..supercharger is better for the 2.2 cuz our cars dont rev past 5700 without hitting the red and you dont need high rpm to get max power out of a S\C since it works off a pully

but thats only my oppinion

if you have the 2.2 it would be better to supercharge it...your car wont really hit high enough RPM's to get the full potential power of the turbo cuz its not spooling up enough before the next gear..supercharger is better for the 2.2 cuz our cars dont rev past 5700 without hitting the red and you dont need high rpm to get max power out of a S\C since it works off a pully but thats only my oppinion

And a very good one. I'm going to be looking into these two options still for another 6 months or so to find out which I want. But i'll take that into consideration.

the high miles im ok with, i can just buy a new engine and get it put in for free by a mechanic friend, and as for the car its in great shape, so even if it dies ill fix it, cheaper to fix this car than buy a 5000$ new car

Who's that guy on the Org thats running like low 12's out of his 2.2?




Adler, he's got the 99 red sunfire.

Or there is...

Daflyinskwrl- he got mid 15's N/A..... shocked the shit out of me.

the high miles im ok with, i can just buy a new engine and get it put in for free by a mechanic friend, and as for the car its in great shape, so even if it dies ill fix it, cheaper to fix this car than buy a 5000$ new car

True. I forgot about that option. If you really are sure about that comment then go to town. It's kind of addicting though.

I havent even started and cant stop thinking of options. Once I get started I might be in some trouble. Oh well. Money well spent as I plan on having this car 5 to 10 years.

Yeah mine is going to be mainly for show when I mod mine. I'm of course going to have stuff under the hood for just alittle more push when I need it here and there. Around here NOBODY mods their Cavaliers. Just me and a friend are planning on doing it and then another friend with his Sunfire.

Our cars are addicting when it comes to modding. Seems like you always want something for your car. Whether it be as small as a different colored light bulb, to better performance tires, up to a supercharger....with everything inbetween.

thats true, ive already looked into so many options and yet i dont have to money yet to do anything lol, and i wont untill i switch jobs, but thats ok, its good to do the research :D, although i have started with sound, i got a 300$ sony deck and infinity speakers but my back speakers are still blown and the subs and amp arent the greatest, plan on buying infiinity back speakers and new 12 sub, coming to a total of 1100$ canadian for me on my sound system

I am for sure getting a body kit. Then for sure suspension. Then I will be done modifying my car until the engine goes or decide to get the CAI from RDFabs. As for my system I have the Eclipse 8443 deck, Alpine Type R 5¼ in the doors, Alpine Type R 6x9's in the rear, Diamond Audio amplifier, and two Alpine Type S 12" subs, 4 gauge amp kit. That is my whole system. I want to sell my amp and subs though so i can save up for a body kit. I don't listen to them at all really.

Yeah I'm not 100% sure what I will start with. I still have the factory warranty and so I can't do anything really until March. When I get the car I will immediately have to take it to a Chevy dealer because of a recall part. Something about a tail light that can fall out. Thats okay though. Free for me.

Ya. I can't wait to finish my car...well for now I know what I want and will have it all by middle spring next year. It's only a finished body kit and new suspension.