improving 0-30mph

[JBCool]

Hi there everyone! I need some help. For a birthday present, my parents bought me my first car not so long ago. The car is a 1991 Pontiac LeMans. Now this car would not have been my first choice but I wasn't about to insult my parents generosity and complain! In fact, I like it a lot. Its in great condition and is fun to drive.


Now my biggest gripe about the car is its 0-30 acceleration. You see, it has a 1.6L 4 cylinder with 74 hp and 89 lbs/torque coupled to a three-speed automatic. Not very impressive. Once I'm up and going the car is actually quite fast maxing out at 104 mph. Also, acceleration is quite nice between 35-60 mph. But 0-30 takes me 6 seconds to achieve; these number become dangerous when trying to pull out on a busy street.


So, you now have the picture. I need to improve my 0-30 acceleration. I would like to know every single little way of doing this!

Thanks!

[ivymike1031]

use a wheel/tire combination with a smaller outside diameter.

[454Casull]

Right. That'll decrease your top speed but I don't think you care too much about that.

Other than that, you can do the standard things to increase HP, although gains will be pretty small if you don't do major work on the engine.

[JBCool]

It has 13" tires already.

[ivymike1031]

Originally Posted by JBCool

It has 13" tires already.

no it doesn't... I'm pretty sure you mean that it has 13" wheels. What size are the tires? 175/70-R13? (read the side of the tire)

[KC Ron Carter]

I seem to remember a way to make a 4 cylinder run with the big dogs.








http://www.ag.auburn.edu/users/gparmer/articles/neon/

Later,

[JBCool]

Yeah, it has 175/70-R13's

[MustangRoadRacer]

lower gearing is the easist way.
weight reduction is the second easiest.

[pod]

hell my aspire can get to 30 in 4 seconds and has less power. though it has a 5 speed. take out the rear seats and get an intake. too bad you have the three bolt and the three speed smaller tires can help and a less restricitve muffler can also help