1996 sunfire

this girl I know has a stocked 1996 sunfire, and says it's a "high performance" car and it's "oh so fast". I don't know much on cars, but I know that sunfires are economy cars. I'm really looking forward to proving this girl that she's an idiot, but I can't really do that unless I have some more info on a 1996 pontiac sunfire. can anyone give me something to work with?

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If it has the 2.2L SOHC engine, this is a low performing economy
motor. THe 2.4 L twin cam engine has much more HP and better
performance.

yeah I just bought a 97 sunfire GT with the 2.4 L duel overhead camshaft and it hauls compared to the 2.2 L

I hate to burst anyone's bubble, but it is definantly NOT a high performance sports car! The girl you speak of simply doesn't know that much about cars. I can relate because my first car was similar, a 1990 4 cylinder DOHC honda accord that I thought was fast as hell until I lost 98% of the races I was in with almost any car on the road. First of all, the sunfire is a 2.something liter 4 cylinder engine. This means it produces very little power. Secondly, going fast means higher power and less weight. Granted, the car is pretty light, but it does not have the hp. Dual overhead cams means that it has 2 camshafts, one for activating the intake valves on the engine and one for the exhaust valves, which makes it a more efficient engine then a single overhead cam engine. However, this isn't a dramatic difference that is going to increase the power tenfold. Simply put, the car is a 4 cylinder engine with no turbo or supercharger. My girlfriend has one, and it is fine for a daily driver. But if you want a fast car from pontiac, consider the transam ws6 or firehawk. which have at least 3 and 4 times the power respectively. If I were to guess, I would assume her car does the quarter mile in 16-17 seconds and reaches a top speed of something like 105-110 before the governor stops it. It's just not that fast.

No ill-will meant

the 2.4 is a pretty good engine and I have followed my girlfriends with my honda and she got up to about 120. So i know your thought of the governer is off, but not about any other specs. It will get wasted by just about anything on the road.

Raley

I would have assumed that it had a governor, but I was not sure. 120 is not bad. My last car, a 90 accord got up to 130, but took FAR FAR too long a straight highway road to do it. Thanks for the correction ~ Geoff

Basically it is opinion. Lets look at examples. The 2.4 liter DOHC engine in the sunfire can beat a lots of mainstream 4 cylinder cars, but like the person above mentioned it doesn't come close to a WS6 or fire hawk, but those don't even touch the 900 Horse powered torbo charged, NOS Supra, or skyline so who is right??? Basically the sunfire is a quick ride if you have the 2.4, but is basically does not fit into todays pro street racing class. However having said that, adding a supercharger with a smaller pully wheel can easily turn that car into a 215 horse powered machine which isn't too bad considering it is a fairly light sports car. Basically you could race in a stock v6 class. But to have a 4 cylinder and comptete with turbocharged inline 6's and torque from V8 engines is almost impossible.
But my question is why do you feel such a need to belittle the enjoyment that this girl finds in her car? If she feels that it is fast, why do you need to try to take that joy away from her?? Why can't she just enjoy it? If it is a matter of her thinking she can race anyone and never lose, she will discover for herself that it is not true. The sunfire was not build as a performance race car, but it can be fun to drive. A simple race with a 3.8 liter (240 HP) supercharged pontiac Grand Prix GTP or an Eagle Talon TSI (215 HP) All wheel drive will remind her that she is not driving the fastest car in the world. But even so, there is no need to be so worried about it. Being right doesn't prove you are a better person or that you are more intellegent. If people are cocky about what they drive, they will eventually get put in their place by a faster car. Just enjoy driving! It is an awesome kind of competitive sport, or it can just be a fun thing to do on your own! Hell, one time I raced my parents minivan against an eagle talon. I didn't have a prayer haha, but hey sometimes it is just for fun. No need to cheepen a fun experience just to prove you are right about something. I say enjoy the experience.

P.S - For info on the car, the 95 came with an avaliable v6, so an early 96 may have had the same.

There are a couple things you forgot.

1. Power to weight ratio
so you've got the 97 sf (150 hp, 2850 lbs. ) with a 19 w/p
and the 01 camar0 (200 hp, 3500 lbs.) with a 17.5 w/p

regardless of the 50 extra hp, the grand prix is barely faster than the sunfire. As you can see how much power your car has is irrelevent if you're driving a tank. A couple modes and you'll blow by it. Also besides that you have to think about the gearing also. It doesn't matter how much power the car has if it has really crappy gearing.

The sf gt may not be the fastest in the world, but it's not the slowest either.

Also is her car completely stock?

wow, did you read the date on this thread?!

i guess not, lol