I got a Question for all the j-body fans. I've gotta 97 chevy cavalier 2.2L with 154,000 miles got several engine mods,body mods,etc. but lately I'm losing interest just dont see it ever being fast like 11sec or better not to mention it's getting very expensive to get there. Should I sell it and get something better like a Sti or try a newer eco 2.2 just wanna know some ideas
It's up to you. What do you want from a car? an Eco is an upgrade, but it's still just a GM economy car. An STI is a huge huge HUGE deal better than a J, but you pay for it out the ass. If you want pure straight-line performance, get an LS1 F-Body. Or if you're in the price range to buy an STI, you're in the range for an LS2 GTO. If you want a pure handler with some decent get-up and go, get an RX8. Heck, be cool and get one imported from Japan with a V6. The possibilities really are endless. It depends on:
a) Your budget
and
b) Your goals
Give people some more insight into what you're looking for, and you'll get some better advice.
I don't car how fast my car is I'm turning it into a show car. I just don't see the point into putting mass amounts of h/p into a car let alone a cavy just to drive around thats how a good friend of mine died. like spcmnspff302 said "thats a huge price difference." you can find new cavy and sunfires for under $12000 and you can get a cobalt ss for under $25000 vs and sti which is usually around $35000. But hey your choice man.
and others will say why dump tons of money into a cav to make it a show car when all it will be is a cav. people have different taste. i say if you want an 11 second car then go dsm if your looking to stay into the compact world.
^^werd DSM's are are like the easiest 4banger to get into the 11's
If you want cheap power a V8 is the way to go. If you like the idea of making a four banger fast DSM is the way to go. If you dont really care, get a 3000GT VR-4
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Madjack wrote:Like I said before, building an engine like ours (2.2 or 2200) is a painstaking chore , since there is so few custom made parts. It's frustrating to me too, but that's what I like about doing this engine, it's the challenge.
dsm what's that? I'm just asking cuz I want a car thats fast and looks good but some what at a descent price I just dont see my cavy getting there dont get me wrong I like j-bodys (cavaliers) I 've had 3 of them all from different generations I just want a car thats gunna look good but still can smoke a SRT 4 if i felt like it . I do wanna stay with j-bodies but I get expensive
DSM = Talon, Laser, and Eclipse
I don't understand what you mean by your last statement. You want to stay with a J, but YOU get expensive? Sorry, I'm trying to put in other words and just don't understand. You're not going to get far with a J unless you really know what you're doing and have a lot of money to get there. Especially with a 2.2; it has been done, but it takes a lot of money.
And I'm one of those people Mike was identifying, I feel a Cav is still a Cav, sure you can do a lot to them, but their limits are definitely limited and when you want to go bigger you have to have a bigger wallet. Basically, the potential is out there, but getting there will cost a sh*t load of money.
If you want to beat an SRT-4, you could go with a Cobalt SS if you want to stay in the GM family.
Like I said if you want cheap power. V-8 is the way to go. Making a 4 cylinder fast is gonna cost alot of money no matter which one you get.
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Madjack wrote:Like I said before, building an engine like ours (2.2 or 2200) is a painstaking chore , since there is so few custom made parts. It's frustrating to me too, but that's what I like about doing this engine, it's the challenge.