i didnt know where to post this so i figured the general fourm would be best (if i am wrong feel free to correct me)

anyways, i am thinking about the future of my little cavalier. i want more out of this car power wise and well, i cant decide what i want to do......

currently i have a 2001 2.2l 5 spd cavalier, that is pretty much stock. i see myself having two choices for the future of this little car. option one is to rebuild and turbo the ln2, and option two is to swap in a 2.2 eco, and go with some bolt ons, possible a higer cr. but the eco would prob. stay N/A

im not sure which would cost more in the end, and/or which would be eaier of the two to do. so could you guys give me any insight/regrets/pros/cons/limitations...ect on these two options. also if you have done a turbo ln2 or a N/A eco build, pearls of wisdom acrued through personal experince would be great.

thanx.

my opinon is to save the money. if you want something faster, buy a better car

[quote=ßãggéÐÇåv98 (Ûñqùðtäߣè Øñé)]my opinon is to save the money. if you want something faster, buy a better car

I was going to resort my comment, but you said it.

the thing is tho, i like my cavy. its MY car and i want it to stay that way. ortherwise thats just what i would do, but the sentimental value kinda kills that

do what im doing. swap the eco in ~$1500, then get a saab 9-3 turbo setup ~$1000 and get 200-225whp. Cheaper than building the ln2 and turbo and decent numbers.

Dont listen to these morons saying buy another car. they can suck my dick. what kind of moron goes to a j-body site to just tell people to buy another car?

By the time you buy a faster car your spending a whole lot more money with the car itself and insurance. Its not worth it.

aside form the blatant vulgarities i agree with miles 100%, if cavaliers were in no way shape or form worth modifying (for speed) why would this site even have a "performance section" or for that matter "boost" are those things for civics only or what?. i knew their were people in this world who thought cavaliers had no potential but i never would have thought they would be found on a cavalier/sunfire site.

and im thinking i might just be better off doing the eco swap and a mild turbo setup down the road. i doubt ill be able to do the eco swap for less than 2 grand but i think in the end it will be worth it.......unless of course anyone can offer me a convincing argument to stick with the OHV and just turbo that.

id swap in the eco and go from there....just the difference from the eco to the 2.2 will keep you satisfied for a while til you can save for more mods, wether it be turbo/super or whatever.

just my $0.02

I have most of the parts needed for the ecotec swap now. And from my calculations you could do the swap with $1400CAD ($1200US?).

In the end its up to you. I was going to turbo the ln2, but I decided with the ecotec swap I can get 225whp on a stock motor. And theres tons of parts for the ecotecs. Hard to find them for the ln2. If you do decide to do the swap I got a parts list a member PJ gave me. I can't say its a 100% checklist yet because I haven't done the swap yet. i got the engine, trans in my garage waiting for spring.

Whatever you decide to do you won't be disappointed. Theres no wrong answer.

These guys ALWAYS say buy another car, in every post they post in. if it was once and a while i wouldnt care, but its all the time, those guys need to grow up and realize these are our cars and we will do what we want with them.


I want to share something with you - the three sentences that will get you through life. Number one, 'cover for me', Number two, 'oh, good idea, boss', Number three, 'it was like that when I got here.'

actually, that part list would be quite helpful in pricing out the project. and i think i will go eco, even if it means i have to wait more till i can start modding again. and hey are thoes little pearls of wisdom at the bottom of ur last post your sig? thats great man

btw how much did you pay for the engine and trans?

I just want to justify myself, and possibly Bagged's, point of view.

We do not 'hate' our cars. We, especially Bagged, have a lot more to offer than someone who has been here for a year. We have seen the vulnerabilities of our cars. We understand some people love there J's, and they have more of a 'sentimental' value for them than others. But this is the internet, opinions get swapped, rejected, the whole bit. We just voiced our opinion's and then you have others telling us to suck a dick. That was rude and uncalled for, but I don't care, it's the internet. I was in your position 4 years ago when I finally received my license. All I wanted to do was mod the damn thing. Then I started, with the essentials; intake, header, exhaust. Month later I received, as a gift, my Pro-Streets, sway bars, strut bar, front valence and grille. All of which I wanted. Then the troubles started, nothing major, just annoying; creaks and rattles, weird noises from my suspension.

Just think about what you want to do with the car and how long you want to keep it.

If you hold such a value on your car, swap in the Eco, it's a definite upgrade from the 2.2l. Then go from there.

I hate having to explain myself as others get pissy about it, deal with it.

troubles will always happen when you go aftermarket on ANY vehicle. made for speed or not.

the comment that is not justified is if you want a fast car buy one. doesnt make any sense. not only is a fast car expensive, but the insurance rapes you.


I want to share something with you - the three sentences that will get you through life. Number one, 'cover for me', Number two, 'oh, good idea, boss', Number three, 'it was like that when I got here.'

Myles wrote:troubles will always happen when you go aftermarket on ANY vehicle. made for speed or not.

the comment that is not justified is if you want a fast car buy one. doesnt make any sense. not only is a fast car expensive, but the insurance rapes you.

Dad has a Corvette, little bit of aftermarket on it. No problems at all, and his insurance is less on the Vette than mine on my Cav, and I have a clean record to boot as well.

honestly jason, im sorry if i offended you. and no, as i stated above i did not agree with myles saying what he said, and yes is most certainly was uncalled for. but i do agree, if this is a site for modifying cavaliers i dont understand why it is such a habit among many members of this site to just tell someone to get a different car.

you must understand, as im sure it happened to you when you first started working on your car, dont you hate it when peopel tell you to give up on what you are doing? and i dont know if you meant it that way but someone telling me to just buy a different car sounds like they are telling me to do just that - give up on a cavalier.

and to tell you the truth i do value other peoples opinions, when thier worded in a even, unbiased way. and to just blatantly tell someone 'if you want a fast car buy a fast car' that is hardly unbiased.

perhaps you dont realise it when you say it, perhaps you say it because your helping people to think before they dump a whole bunch of money into a car without knowing whats going to happen, and thats a valid point. alot of people would get mad if they dumped money into a car that even after the build still isnt what they want. but honestly its not the greatest feeling in the world when you come around looking for help and then someone with a different perspective shoots you down without shareing that perspective with you. jason like i said im sorry if i offended you, but your not the only one who got offended.

anyways, back on topic. i think that the eco swap will be a good start for my cavy, and barring any complications i find when i reasearch the swap, i think thats the route im gonna go.

thank you for all of the opinions guys, even if you felt it wasnt well recived.

To get you started

And back when I joined, not too long ago, this site was a lot different. Times change. Live and learn.

thanx man, no hard feelings, right?

Nope. It's the internet, always remember that