Any Tips Are Appreciated.

Alright so here it is. I'm not very Car Savy, but I do want to learn as much as I can about upgrading things on my car. I have a 2005 Cavalier, and yes it's an automatic. And I know what everyone's going to say. Sell it and get a Manual. Well I drive way too much and have to drive long distances and it would just become a pain. Anyway, I am stuck, I've only done a few things to my car, being; Exhaust, Header, and Ram air intake. Those are the only performance mods that have been done. And i dont want to turbo the car, because of the tranny, and supercharging is kind of out of the question because that is pretty pricey. So long story kind of short. Does anyone know any not too too expensive mods that I can do to my car when I get back from Iraq in 2 months to give me as much hp as I can get out of this car. Thanks everyone for the help.

Supercharger is $~2,700 + 100 for tune from GM for bolt on and go.
Turbo Charger kit $ 2,600 + intercooler and charge pipe for the automatic.

Your transmission will hold up bud. The 4t40e is a strong automatic transmission. We've got one pushing 14psi only with a 2800 stall on it and everything else is stock.

You've pretty much got all the bolt on's covered. Only thing left is possibly nitrous but there is only so much fun you can have with that. A supercharger or turbo is where all the fun is at since the power is ALWAYS there. But if you don't want to go either route, you can tear into the motor and get some nice loping stage 3 cams, PNP your head with an upgraded valve train and go for N/a. You'll still end up spending as much N/A as you would boosting your car...

Thank you for the insite, if you don't mind me asking where did u find the turbo's or superchargers for that price. and in your opinion which is the best route to take?

GM Performance parts - P/N - 17800003

$2,879.80 (http://www.crateenginedepot.com/store/Ecotec-22L-CavalierSunfire-Supercharger-Kit-17800003-P1377C0.aspx)

$2,629.95 (http://paceperformance.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=184789) if you order through this site, order this one even tho it has an "02" in the part number and says for 02's only.

turbocharger's - www.hahnracecraft.com Disregard them saying for manual transmission only. You can use the kit, just need to fab your own charge piping.


I have the supercharger myself, and if your looking to stay under 300-250hp, the s/c is the best route. If you want a crazy build, go turbo.

Have you driven anything with a manual transmission regularly? I've had at least one vehicle at all times (3 at one point :))with a manual trans since I was 16, and 8 years later I don't even notice shifting... except once when I screwed up my left ankle. If you don't drive one very much, I'm sure you'd get used to it if you drove it all the time. Manuals are 8-15% more efficient than an auto, which means a bit more power gets to the wheels. At least something to think about before you put nearly $3,000 into a car.

And thank you for your service, and welcome home!

Also... if your stuck in traffic a lot. Consider the automatic.. I was stuck in stop n go traffic for 2 hours coming back from NJ 2 weeks ago and pissed my car was a manual that day.