I'm a 17 year old guy in high school and I love my sunfire. It's a 1997 sunfire GT automatic with a 2.4L in it. I want to get some more HP out of her but i'm just learning. I was wandering if you all could give me some advice. I really want to make the guys respect my sunfire and thought about a turbo but can't find out what type i need to look for. still open to any hints and advice to get more power. ..... i only put an intake on her so far.

ZCraig

as far as power goes pending on your skill the basic mods as far as the basics id recommend header and exhaust. and if your looking for an easy cheaper setup look into the gmpp supercharger

you have to start some where. intake is where most start.

next, move on to the exhaust. the LD9 has a @!#$ty flowing exhuats side of the motor compared to the intake side. a header, exhuast, and a set of cams will do you well. get a tune done to maximize the power, get it driving the way you want it to, and make run safely while making all your mods work together.

for instance, within a years time frame my car went from running a 16.3 to a 15.6 just from an exhuast, little weight loss, and a better tune. made alot of people i go to the track with take notice.


1997 Cavalier Z24
Bomz Short Ram Intake
Vibrant Cat-Back
KYB GR2 Struts
Goldline 1.75" Springs
RK Sport Upper Insert
RK Sport Lower Dogbone
Custom Tune by Shane @
innovativetuning@rogers.com

15.647 @ 88.02 MPH

Thanks i know a little about cars but more about V-8s not little four cylinders . i was going to replace the header but i wasn't sure if that actually was going to add any power or not. I was also looking at getting the Venom 400 piggyback system. but i had to change my oil and ran into metal flakes in the oil yippy well got that all fixed and cleaned up. what is the "port to polish" i notice that some people do that.? does it help at all?

ZCraig

You know about V8's and you'll still doubt a header will improve hp...AND...you are asking what port and polish is?


GMR has got nothing on this

hey i know a little give me a brake i help dad out with his Pontiac 400 when he ask but that's his toy. there's a lot to learn when your under the hood with your dad i try asking him and he says i need to find things out for myself. like he did when he was a kid. but i just thought i would see what i could find out about the things that i have been asking my friends and they all don't know they just take it to the garge and have things done. they only know that it makes their car go fast and cost a lot. so yeah i know some but not a lot.

but besides all of that is peace setter a a good brand to get header wise?

ZCraig

yes.

2000 Z24 A/T
-Option racing CAI, TTR MM's, 2 1/4" exhaust.

don't mess with a turbo unless you know EXACTLY what is going on/needs to be done. just my .02

Dam that sucks that your dad doesnt offer to teach you. Im sorry to hear that.

Yes a pace setter header is a good brand....if you have any more q's just ask and i'll help you.


GMR has got nothing on this

the header will help with exhaust scavenging, which is a good thing. like i said, the 2.4 flows great on the intake side, but in stock form the exhaust side is the problem. the ports seemed like they are sized correctly with the exhaust being a little smaller than the intake, but the cams that are in it dont help. the fact that the exhaust cam is gimped compared to the intake, plus the difference in the port size leads to a pretty bad flowing exhaust side of the head.

im working on something for my 97 with the same motor. if you want to see what ive done or dyno graphs of what my car is putting out as of last year, let me know. the cams im planning should hopefully help the head flow better on the exhaust side significantly (as well as the intake side) and make for some stout flat power curve.


1997 Cavalier Z24
Bomz Short Ram Intake
Vibrant Cat-Back
KYB GR2 Struts
Goldline 1.75" Springs
RK Sport Upper Insert
RK Sport Lower Dogbone
Custom Tune by Shane @
innovativetuning@rogers.com

15.647 @ 88.02 MPH

Okay thanks for the info on the header guys, I ordered one in off of andysautosport.com. Now the next question i have is i want to do something big this summer. Like either a major upgrade like a turbo or twin turbos. Now I'm not going to be doing this one by myself i got a friend that is a welder and got another friend who that works at a junk yard. I just want to ask what your thoughts are on turbos. He Says that i can use any turbo it's just that i got to have the "tubing welded" what ever that meant. but he said that i could get one or two of the turbos that are in the VW junk yard he works at. will they work and is he right with the statement that you can use any turbo off of any car?

ZCraig

Zackery Craig wrote:is he right with the statement that you can use any turbo off of any car?

No. Some turbos will be too small, others will be too big, and a good many of them will need to be rebuilt.

If your dead set on going with a turbo this summer, sit down and do some research. There are plenty of knowledgeable and turboed LD9 guys on here along with everything bit of info you'll need to turbo your LD9.


Vulcan(its a link click it) sells a long style turbo manifold for the 2.4.

Another thing to looking into is the "secret cam swap", which your junkyard buddy might be able to help you out on.

Trevor Mullins wrote:

kind of like a screwed up kids sing along

pete the anal monkey lived in my bum..............


best epiosode of barney ever lol

so the chances of finding the right turbo in the junk yard is going to be hard? Okay and the "secret cam swap" do you have any hint's or direction that you can point me in to find out what will bolt on? also has anybody swapped their Throttle body for another, if so which ones are compatible with the 2.4L thanks again guys.

ZCraig

theres alot of knowledge on here about throttle bodies. 2.3L and even LS1 TB's have been used. start reading.

as for turbo's if its a VW only yeard, try and find the biggest one. you will probably need to look for a K04. a K03 sport might work as well, but a regular K03 will probably be very undersized. i maped out my LD9 on a K03 sport compressor map before and it wasnt bad, but a little on the small side. if you go with too small of a turbo you will spool too early and the turbo wont be operating very efficiently. generally, you will run into more heat too.

theres a VERY LARGE sticky on the top of the performance section on the secret cam swap. as much as we would like to help you, you cant expect us to spoon feed you all the answers. your dad is right, you need to figure a lot of this out on your own. read up on everything you can, find the pros and cons to all the modifications.


1997 Cavalier Z24
Bomz Short Ram Intake
Vibrant Cat-Back
KYB GR2 Struts
Goldline 1.75" Springs
RK Sport Upper Insert
RK Sport Lower Dogbone
Custom Tune by Shane @
innovativetuning@rogers.com

15.647 @ 88.02 MPH

Zackery Craig wrote: Venom 400 piggyback system.

im surprised that nobody has said anything yet. the Venom 400 things are junk.
i suggest you do some research on what you want to do, how to do it, what parts are needed, and the companies that you order form



Im a Xbox 360 fanboy...and damn proud of it!!

should i go with the LGO or the W41 which would be easier to find in the junk yard?

ZCraig

when did this change to doing a motor swap?

anyways, W41 is hard to find, but if you can find it, grab it. the LG0 will be slightly easier to come by.


1997 Cavalier Z24
Bomz Short Ram Intake
Vibrant Cat-Back
KYB GR2 Struts
Goldline 1.75" Springs
RK Sport Upper Insert
RK Sport Lower Dogbone
Custom Tune by Shane @
innovativetuning@rogers.com

15.647 @ 88.02 MPH

its still not a engine swap i want the cams out of it. or would it be quicker to just swap the engine?

ZCraig

if your going to go for one of those,would be easier to swap the motor in my opinion. you will need everything out of it though. motor, tranny, ECU, wiring, etc.

theres lots of people that have done the swap to a W41 on here before.

other option is to yank the whole head. a 086 head will give you the cams your after and a better flowing head.

next option is just the cams. lots of info on here about the secret cam swap and the W41 cam swap.

my personal favourite option is to get LD9 cores machined. you can get them ground to just about any specs you want.

brad (zyaaa) was talking about doing w41 spec cams before, not sure whats going on with those lately.


1997 Cavalier Z24
Bomz Short Ram Intake
Vibrant Cat-Back
KYB GR2 Struts
Goldline 1.75" Springs
RK Sport Upper Insert
RK Sport Lower Dogbone
Custom Tune by Shane @
innovativetuning@rogers.com

15.647 @ 88.02 MPH