UHHH....is this a BAD thing, or a ''good'' thing?

[madking411]

hm, i've noticed that so far, almost alll the parts that i've bought, and that i want to buy in the future can/do come out of your 'general' auto stores like pep boys, or AutoZone...Now, im beginnin to wonder if this is a good thing/different thing, or if this is sloooowly makin my car into crap....

I mean, so far the only things i've bought are a dynomax/thrush turbo muffler (from Autozone..), a modest tip to weld onto the muffler (from PepBoys..), and a K&N high-flow panel filter (from Autozone..)....Now, all of these mods have made me MUCH happier with the car, and its a lott easier to drive at high-speeds and gets to high speeds much quicker than before.... And the mods i was thinkin about installin soon were some small fog-lights (will come from AutoZone most likely...) on the bottom of my front bumper, and a tower strut bar (the ONLY mod not from general auto store so far...that'll be from nopi). Now, im not tryin to be ''JDM'' or anything like that, but i AM trying to build a nice, clean, fairly fast ride....I think im on the right track...

Oh yeah..i also wanted to do some H.I.Ds maybe a lil bit later down the road, but i read that they're illegal...correct?

[SampaGuy]

its your money, do whatever you like

[patrick4588]

HID's are illegal on any car they did not come factory on.

[gtikid]

Eh who cares if they're illegal, you won't be bothered for them

[xbn83]

Do it right, Hid retrofit! FTW!

[TonyRSX]

i can get u a good deal on some APC windshield stickers if u like...lemme know...reallllll cheap man...

[gtikid]

i can get u a good deal on some APC windshield stickers if u like...lemme know...reallllll cheap man...

This guy speaks the truth, he has them everywhere





JK

[madking411]

Hmmm.....But, im pretty sure that even if the car DOES look pretty clean, im sure that just cuz i will have most of my external parts from general autostores, im SURE that SOMEone is gonna call me wannabe JDM or rice....

[Sol-Badguy]

HID's are illegal on any car they did not come factory on.

Factory projectors FTW!!

I don't think it necessarily a bad thing, it just shows a sign of the times. A lot of people like to modify cars. Too bad apparently most people that buy these things at a regular parts store tends to make the car rice as hell.

Basically, it's another money maker at a retail store.

[madking411]

well, yeah.....thats why im tryin to be really careful about what i buy from the generalstores...ESPECIALLY because of the car i have too, it seems like when anybody talks about modding them THE FIRST thing they think of is puttin on one of those super-bulky, overdone body kits with the giant wing on the back, and then installin those 50 inch subs in the back, and then puttin strobes and neons allllllll over the car....Yep....its the Pontiac Sunfire/Chevy Cavalier. I'm tryin to stay as far away from THOSE kinds of mods as i can.

[GTScoob]

^^ Yet you are putting on tacky bolt on foglights and a universal muffler. The panel filter is the only intelligent thing you're putting on your car. The muffler is pretty useless without larger piping flowing through it.

I'm not to sure what you can do for performance on those cars but look into headers and chips, not a Pepboys muffler. Your car wont be that fast even after intake, header, exhaust, and a chip so you might want to focus on some handling or braking.

[WhiteAccord]

^^ Yet you are putting on tacky bolt on foglights and a universal muffler. The panel filter is the only intelligent thing you're putting on your car. The muffler is pretty useless without larger piping flowing through it.

I'm not to sure what you can do for performance on those cars but look into headers and chips, not a Pepboys muffler. Your car wont be that fast even after intake, header, exhaust, and a chip so you might want to focus on some handling or braking.

After many commments i finally see a good one.. .the rest are fucking ricer comments. +1 for you... and HIDs are illegal my ass..

[xbn83]

You miss the point WA, HIDs are not illegal to be used if they are used in HID equipped headlights, or properly use. But they are illegal to be used in headlights that are not designed to be used for HIDs, like halogen headlights. This topic has been covered so many times already in other forums like HIDPLANET.COM. Halogen headlight reflectors are designed to scatter a lot of light because halogen is weak. But when you put HID in halogen headlights and HIDs are much much stronger than standard halogen, guess what will happen? The result is a ton of glares with no cut off. That is why most HID equipped headlights come with either projectors or the HID reflectors with sharp cut off to limit where the light can go. The cut offs usually look like this ___/---- ___/----. It limits the light from going beyond the horizontal cut off line and left side for incoming traffic. Any how the hell my advice telling him to do retrofit is a fucking ricer comment? You are an ignorant! And why do you think so many people nowaday do retrofit even tho retrofit costs them 5 or 6 times more than just a regular HID kit into stock headlight (~$600 vs $150)?
http://www.intellexual.net/hid.html
People should learn more about HIDs so they could properly use them!

[iEvo]

the cheaper the parts, the cheaper ur car will turn out. just save ur money and get good quality parts, u and everyone else will deff notice the difference

[madking411]

^^ Yet you are putting on tacky bolt on foglights and a universal muffler. The panel filter is the only intelligent thing you're putting on your car. The muffler is pretty useless without larger piping flowing through it.

I'm not to sure what you can do for performance on those cars but look into headers and chips, not a Pepboys muffler. Your car wont be that fast even after intake, header, exhaust, and a chip so you might want to focus on some handling or braking.

well, im not gonna get the lights....i changed my mind...im gonna get the strut tower bar....And, plus, my car has an auto trans, so i can't pump TOO much power into it, or i'll blow it...Also, the shop that installed the muffler also told me that i have a small leak in the cast-iron headers where it meets the downpipe...I was thinkin about gettin em to weld me a set of custom headers, a set that matches the size of the larger muffler...(2.25")I was wonderin, about how much will that *cost? It should be less than the name-brand headers that cost hundreds of dollars right?

*If anyone knows the shop, MagicMufflers, thats the shop where im planning to have all the work done....just tryin to see if i could get a better estimate if anyone on here has had work done there before, and has a good idea of the possible price...

And, there's plenty of performance upgrades for the sunfire...just depends where you look online...

edit: Oh, and i installed the universal muffler because i knew it wasn't going to be TOO loud and because it looks stock....if i wanted some extra noise, and pay about 5 times more, i woulda just gotten a dragger-style muffler...
but whatever...i guess i'll hafta get one of THOSE later on, huh?

[xbn83]

Magic Muffler near Nopi on Buford Hwy? Me and my friends got things done a lot of times there. They did good job for fairly cheap. Whatever you need to be done, talk to the owner at the counter, he will take care everything.

[madking411]

Magic Muffler near Nopi on Buford Hwy? Me and my friends got things done a lot of times there. They did good job for fairly cheap. Whatever you need to be done, talk to the owner at the counter, he will take care everything.

yep, thats the place . The owner knows me WELL...i've been talkin to him for years, but before i always wanted him to weld up for me custom mini-motorbike frames, but he didn't want to...I figured I owe it to him, after buggin him for YEARS to build minibike frames, to give him some real business by gettin my CAR's exhaust system built there....

[Kyle]

Yeah I would def. go to magic muffler. I've been going there for years, even my former vw mechanic had them make him numerous exhaust setups.

As for making yourself a moderately fast car with boltons...good luck.

[madking411]

As for making yourself a moderately fast car with boltons...good luck.

Well, isn't that how you do it? install the bolt-ons, and then fine-tune or re-tune the computer for the the bolt-ons to maximize the power? Thats always been my understanding of how to make a car faster...

[Mooney1184]

sounds like your doing ok so far, and ive never seen anyone get pulled over for HID's, even if their car didnt come with them from the factory.

as far as the muffler goes, i would go to a muffler shop (i go to rainbow muffler cuz they always do a great job) and have them cut off your factory cat back and they can make you one really cheap. cat-back and muffler welded on my 240 was like 115 i think, and i was VERY pleased with the outcome. so thats a cheap exhaust trick for ya right there.

but like i said, it sounds like your doing ok so far.

[madking411]

Well, i guess i'll post up a pic of my car.....Just so y'all can SEE what its lookin like so far..
edit: heres the pix thankyou very much...

And, here's the muffler that I've been getting halfway flamed for by half the people that responded to this thread....It looks stock, which is what i was goin for, but still makes some good noise whenever i get on it hard, or rev it...but when it idles, its SILENT.



Bringin up the rearr....

Heres the front view right before I cleaned, polished and waxed it...

Under the HOOD lookin 100% STOCK!!!!!! ohhh yeahhhh....

[no_talent]

dude, i have a 2003 cavalier and it's got an ecotech motor. my suggestion to you, man....is to go to a junkyard, find a ecotech motor and drop it in your car. not saying there is anything wrong with your car or motor, but there are so many more performance parts for the ecotech. i've had people who talked shit about my car and motor, but once they get in it and i take them for a ride their views are different. as far as the parts that you want...just take time and be careful with what you buy.

[no_talent]

here's a picture of my motor....

[madking411]

Well, as i said before, i have an automatic transmission, so i kinda hafta keep the power upgrades to a minimum....I mean, of COURSE i wanna install upgrades to give me more power, but i hafta be careful about the trans.

And, plus....Its not like im plannin on havin the Sunfire for the rest of my life or anything....I just wanna keep it until I can get a job, and save up some money so I can get a different car...*cough*NISSAN*cough*...which will probably be only for about a year or two..But, meanwhile i have the car, i wanna have as much fun with it as i can and build it as much as i can before i part ways with it.

[Kyle]

Well, isn't that how you do it? install the bolt-ons, and then fine-tune or re-tune the computer for the the bolt-ons to maximize the power? Thats always been my understanding of how to make a car faster...

Doing that will make your car a little faster, but you said you are going to make a moderately fast car with just boltons. I'm not trying to pick your statement apart, just saying.

[ryanh300]

Yeah I wouldn't worry about pushing your tranny too far, I don't think you're going to run into any tranny problems by doing minor bolt on's and also don't expect a noticeable difference in the HP/TQ gain unless you start doing more than bolt-on's which is when you run into a lot of $$$ being spent on your car. But, it looks good so far have fun with it is the major point.

[madking411]

ohh.....well, thats okay...i dont mind not having ''noticeable'' gains.....to me, just the filter and exhaust already had a noticeable gain. Because, the car is MUCH easier to drive, and goes at 55 - 65mph EASILY on any road....even the 2-lane ones that have a 35MPH limit... hahh, and now, i find that on the highway, i seem to be almost always cruising SOMEWHERE nearby a BMW at 80 - 85...So, basically, its already kinda fast...(to me, anyways...) I just want maybe another....10 - 25HP outta the car....cuz i can guesstimate that i've gotten ~5 - 6HP more out of it with the exhaust and K&N so far...Sooo, i guess to reach the goal, what mods should i buy and/or install? b/c right now, the only thing i can think of is a strutbar, and ECUchip...but im not sure where to get a GOOD, trustworthy ecu from...

It is a pretty good car...but it doesnt seem to get the credit it deserves...

[speedminded]

Don't do anything to it, seriously. The more stuff you add on it it the less reliable it will become. Any electrical components you add the more stress you put on the car's electrical system leading to issues down the road.

Clean it up and drive it, mayyybe if anything new shocks and springs (i'm sure it needs shocks anyways) and possibly lighter wheels with a good set of tires. With 60 or 70 series tires on there a strut bar isn't going to be all that much improvement, if any.

[madking411]

well, what about non-electrical components?

yeah, im gonna get some wheels too.....

[sirkus]

well, what about non-electrical components?

yeah, im gonna get some wheels too.....

Electrical issues with that car won't be fun..
All I would do to that car is put an cold air intake, full exhaust (w/ a cat), find some nice 15-17" wheels with sticky tires.. and maybe put some springs on it. (And tint the windows to 15%.) Any mods on this car won't help it (overall HP/speed wise). That auto tranny is a big pile of shit and that car will give you nothing but problems later if you try to do any 'large' upgrades. You're not doing bad so far though, find a better job and just keep your mind open for another car down the road.

[madking411]

That auto tranny is a big pile of shit

Yeah...THATS definately TRUE.....we had a problem with it in the past, where it wouldnt shift gears and would slip out of gear sometimes, and we had the tranny FULLY re-built, and it STILL has a little problem where it has a habit of makin a 'knock' sound at the moment when you accelerate it kinda hard or let off after acceleration...its really not a big deal, but still.....i know that even that shouldnt be happening...

[speedminded]

Yeah...THATS definately TRUE.....we had a problem with it in the past, where it wouldnt shift gears and would slip out of gear sometimes, and we had the tranny FULLY re-built, and it STILL has a little problem where it has a habit of makin a 'knock' sound at the moment when you accelerate it kinda hard or let off after acceleration...its really not a big deal, but still.....i know that even that shouldnt be happening...

My point exactly. Is this your first car? I wouldn't worry about dumping much money into it, especially the condition the body is in. Keep it semi-stock and save up some $$$

[madking411]

especially the condition the body is in.

wait...does that mean its in really good condition?


nah, its my 2nd car....my FIRST was the 89 toyo corolla...(lol you can see a pic of it in the background of the pontiac front pic...). It died on me SOO many times, and it needs a new carburetor, but we all decided its finally time to let it go....so its up for sale now. But, i DO want something else, but im not sure what to get....cuz i thought i wanted a 300zx, but people say its really hard to find parts for them and theyre really expensive....I think what i REALLY need is some good advice on what to get....haha, im a fan of the 80's corollas/toyotas too....
mostly haichi's and levins...

[speedminded]

wait...does that mean its in really good condition?


nah, its my 2nd car....my FIRST was the 89 toyo corolla...(lol you can see a pic of it in the background of the pontiac front pic...). It died on me SOO many times, and it needs a new carburetor, but we all decided its finally time to let it go....so its up for sale now. But, i DO want something else, but im not sure what to get....cuz i thought i wanted a 300zx, but people say its really hard to find parts for them and theyre really expensive....I think what i REALLY need is some good advice on what to get....haha, im a fan of the 80's corollas/toyotas too....
mostly haichi's and levins...

nah, saying it looks to be in pretty rough condition to be putting money into modding & attempting to make faster, etc. Personally I'd leave it stock, just clean it up a bit and rock it for a while saving up money and looking for the other ride. Any car, it doesn't matter what model can look good if it appears to be taken care of.

I've posted this car a million times for people and i'll continue to, proves it doesn't take much to make one of the least expected cars to look good...

http://www.jtuned.com/content/templa...id=16&zoneid=1



As for the Z32, if you had problems with the toyota's 4af that you couldn't figure out or didn't want to then the VG30DE[TT] in the 300zx will lead you to suicide

[sullen]

i think those HID's might get you like another 10 mpg man.

[noridetoolow]

lots of good comments...I will restate what has been said, dont wory too much about trying to push that car for more power...you have 2 major things against you, 4cyl AND an auto tranny. Like someone else said, maybe an intake and a nice clean cat back...if your happy with the K&N and current muffler...leave it be and work on the cosmetics....something to consider, your already not planning on keeping the car but for a year maybe so.....either leave it stock...or if you wanna make it look good....DROP IT..Cavis and Sunfires have huge wheel wells and can easily fit a 17 with a low profile tire and still get good alignment....forget the power and go for looks right now....your next car....you can start from scratch and work on buying something that is better suited for tuning. Also....you mention custom built headers....I COULD be wrong....but unless you are real tight with the owner of the muffler shop....anything custom...especially something as intricate as headers would cost you a fortune...much more than buying some aftermarket headers...but again...on that car...it wont help...have them fix your exhaust leak and work on making the car look good for the rest of the time you own it. gl

[madking411]

lots of good comments...I will restate what has been said, dont wory too much about trying to push that car for more power...you have 2 major things against you, 4cyl AND an auto tranny. Like someone else said, maybe an intake and a nice clean cat back...if your happy with the K&N and current muffler...leave it be and work on the cosmetics....something to consider, your already not planning on keeping the car but for a year maybe so.....either leave it stock...or if you wanna make it look good....DROP IT..Cavis and Sunfires have huge wheel wells and can easily fit a 17 with a low profile tire and still get good alignment....forget the power and go for looks right now....your next car....you can start from scratch and work on buying something that is better suited for tuning. Also....you mention custom built headers....I COULD be wrong....but unless you are real tight with the owner of the muffler shop....anything custom...especially something as intricate as headers would cost you a fortune...much more than buying some aftermarket headers...but again...on that car...it wont help...have them fix your exhaust leak and work on making the car look good for the rest of the time you own it. gl

So, i guess that pretty much sums it up! I'll leave it alone, and do a drop on it! Thanx IA for helpin a kid along the right path away from turnin the car into rice/wheat!

Haha, another question though....When i drop it, should i just go springs, or coilovers? personally, i think coilovers will be a bit much to spend....
And, i was plannin on puttin 16's on there too...some from i think Motegi...

Hehh, and when you say ''make it look good''....I hope you don't mean, try to install a bodykit or anything like that.....cuz, the car already looks good....the pic i uploaded was back before i washed and waxed and polished the car...it looks a lot better now than it does in that picture...