Mods on a 95 se?

[Allanon1313]

Ok i bought my car, its my first, with the intent on using it for just driving. But recently have become "car crazy" and want a moded car. I looked into it, and found theres not really a damn thing to mod on a grand am, that i found. Are there cheap ways to increase my hp, and make the exterior look better, without dishing out thousands for a new car? I thought of a wing on the back, might look cool? Any suggestions what i can do? what kinda parts to add, and so forth?

[fluffybunny]

basic mod on any car would be to upgrade your suspension: new springs/coilover, new shocks, strut bars, sway bars.... to add hp, try easy mods like a cold air intake or short ram, exhaust manifold, billet pulleys, adjustable cam gears, NOS, wider throttle body, high flow cats, the list goes on and on. As far as external appearance, there are projector head lights, carbon fiber hoods, body kits that would have bumpers and side skirts, clear tail lights, black out kits, different corner lights, you can find just about and body part thats been modified: fenders, wheels, paint, neons, air shocks, what ever you wish. however id suggest that the trend is to looks and sound stock with massive hp under the hood. have fun with it.piece

[CarSuperfreak]

if you really like the wing on the back, go for it, just stay away from the erector set ones.....however, you drive a FWD car, and will never get to any speeds at which a rear wing will do anything to help you. like fluffbunny said, suspension is something you will notice from day to day, and HP increase can be found in simple tune-up things...but using performance parts. ignition (wires/plugs), air (air filter, cold air), etc

[fluffybunny]

ya know though ive never noticed any gains off of performance plugs..... i run the old acdelco plugs that are put in the car and thats all my car likes. kinda odd but i save a little in the bank

[CarSuperfreak]

I can't recount any whiplash-causing differences in my plugs either

but there are those who swear by them....

[fluffybunny]

ya know i usually start missing a little with upgraded plugs. and honestly id think a higher output ignition would do better than plugs

[macbunch]

I agree with you guys about the plugs. I put bosch platnums in my 97 3.1 and 6 months later I developed a skip, come to find out the electrode fell out of one of the bosch plugs! so now I just run ac delco with no noticable differance - well accept the electrodes don't fall out.

[CarSuperfreak]

but wait?! isnt newer always better?


how in the world did you get the electrode out of the combustion chamber?

[macbunch]

If you've ever seen the bosch plugs the electrode is a very small piece of wire encased in porcelin, I guess that it just came out through the exhaust valve the car has been running fine now for a year scince it happened

[Allanon1313]

I thought about adding alot of what fluffybunny suggested. But honestly will it make a really noticable difference in a grand am? I mean its not the most powerful car to start with, and i want to be able to race a few of my friends cars, celicas, civics, and such.

Second, will these parts fit in my car? There doesn't seem to be much room under there. I don't know much about cars, as far as installation and what brand is best stuff. I looked like crazy to find a body kit for my grand am, but with no avail. any suggestions what to look for or where to look? second, what brands would fit my car, or rather what brands would work best, with the least amount of alterations to the parts to fit them. bear with my ignorance here, but the cold air intake takes place of my air filter? or is it a whole separate part?

Carsuperfreak, what do you mean by erector set ones? like the metal ones that are on like steel girders? I was looking for a raceish looking one, not to pronounced, but i don't want one as low as say the grand prix ones that just basicly hugs the trunk. I'm not looking for a wing to add performance, just looks. my grand am looks rather plain as is.

[Allanon1313]

Ok i looked into body kits and heres what i found

http://www.andysautosport.com/pontiac/92-95grandam.html

what do you think? i like it if i had the 700 to spend on it. least i know there are body kits out there, now to work on saving the cash.

[fluffybunny]

as far as racing goes, a body kit is not going to make you go faster..... ive raced plenty of civics and accords, and beat them on a stock ld9. i also own an accord and i dont think there is a comparison between the two as far as speed goes, the honda has more top end, but my grand am gets there twice as fast..... id have to say spend your money on engine and tranny upgrades before body work........

[Allanon1313]

as far as performance, where do i start? what should i look into first?

[GRANDAMLD9]

what motor do you have. check out www.aedcentral.com and www.fxdesigns.com for bodykits.

[Allanon1313]

its the 4-cyl 2.3 L 5 spd manual