I'm getting married in December and my car will be paid off next spring. I'm going to finally put some time and money into it. I don't want to just throw something together, I want to really have something nice when I'm done. I have a base 04 Cavalier 5 speed; current mods are: Wheels and Tires, Intake, and some other minor things. Money has been going into college and saving for getting married, but I'll be ready to start spending soon.. I've been on the ORG for a while and I've really learned a lot from everybody on here, but now I'm looking for suggestions for what I should save up to buy first? I'm thinking coilovers first, but I'm not sure. Suggestions?
I would definitely go for suspension upgrades. Stock kinda feels like driving a boat in my opinion. lol. I would replace the control arm bushings, sway bars front and back, gm convertible strut bar, and maybe a k-brace. I will not push any brands in particular, but turbo tech racing has some decent products. If anyone wants to add to this, because I might be missing something...
Thanks for the ideas man. I live in southern West Virginia and we are constantly getting blasted with snow, so I'm thinking coilovers; but I see that you are running D Specs and Eibachs. Is there a specific reason for that?
And we have a boat so I completely agree with that
not to put down j bodies or anything because i love mine but honstley if your a college grad and getting married i would just save the money and buy a nicer car i understand wanting to mod your car but i know once i graduate college and get a real job the first thing on my list is a new car but thats just my opinion do whatever you want.
I understand man, and that was my plan. But it will be paid off and I'm getting her something new this December and plus she asked me to keep it because she wants to help me work on it, so I can't beat that! Eventually I'll have a new truck and the cavy will be a toy in the garage that's parked in the winter.
http://i1142.photobucket.com/albums/n609/choelle10/mycar.jpg
yea i mean having no car payments is nice well since your keeping it i would deffintley do the supension work before anything else
Then I'm pretty sure that's what I'll do
i would start with sway bars front and rear a k brace and depending on how much you wanna spend either coilovers or lowering springs and struts
I'm thinking coilovers because of all the snow in the winter. What exactly does a K-brace do?
to be honest im not exactley sure and i dont want to give you the wrong info. im pretty sure it stiffens up the frame and makes it more rigid but i could be complety wrong lol. check out the supension and brake forum theres a lot of info in there and people that know a lot more and could be a bigger help then me
Chadwick wrote:Thanks for the ideas man. I live in southern West Virginia and we are constantly getting blasted with snow, so I'm thinking coilovers; but I see that you are running D Specs and Eibachs. Is there a specific reason for that?
Well I got the D specs at half the price from someone in town. They were never used. I am running with the pro springs because I didnt want to go TOO low and bottom my car out... Lots of steep areas where I live... Kinda hard to avoid it sometimes. I also got the springs for very cheap as well. They were used, but not bad. Good coilovers were kinda out of my budget at the time as well. I will go with some when I get the extra cash.
Chadwick wrote:I'm thinking coilovers because of all the snow in the winter. What exactly does a K-brace do?
It ties the front subframe into the body of the car if I remember correctly.
I bought D-Specs and Sportlines because I didnt need the adjustment of the coilovers. You have to think. Everytime you run the coils up or down youll be looking at an alignment unless your camber doesnt change that much. Personally, I would rather fight through winter in my DD than have to pay $150 and dealing with the hassle to get it realigned every 6 months or so.
im lowered on Koni's and sportlines and i never had an issue with snow and i live in central pa. keep in mind it all starts with the tires you have
Im a Xbox 360 fanboy...and damn proud of it!!
Control arm bushings, coil overs, Eibach sway bar kit (I've use Eibach and addco rear bars, the addco is bigger and made the rear way to loose when used with the higher spring rates of coilovers. If you go with springs you the addco bars, coilovers go with Eibach bars..... That's speaking from personall experience swapping stuff around and testing it autocrossing) a good set of coilovers, and some cheap strut bars. After that some light weight forged wheels with some wide meaty tires and some Wilwood front brakes.
The K brace is meant to stiffen the subframe, nothing else. The subframe is tied to the body with the 6 bolts that hold it in.
Keep the car, but save your money and save up for something nicer. Use the Cavi as a winter beater. Nobody is going to take you seriously if you show up for a job interview in a riced out Cavalier with a fart can muffler that rattles the window as you pull in. If you do, your resume will be filed right away...in the trash can.
2000 Ford F-250 7.3 Powerstroke 4x4 - Not stock
1973 16' Tahiti Speedboat
1983 200 HP Mercury BlackMax
1997 Chevy Cavalier with 275K miles
He's right most businesses watch the parking lot to check what kind of car potential employees drive.
Darkstars wrote:Control arm bushings, coil overs, Eibach sway bar kit (I've use Eibach and addco rear bars, the addco is bigger and made the rear way to loose when used with the higher spring rates of coilovers. If you go with springs you the addco bars, coilovers go with Eibach bars..... That's speaking from personall experience swapping stuff around and testing it autocrossing) a good set of coilovers, and some cheap strut bars. After that some light weight forged wheels with some wide meaty tires and some Wilwood front brakes.
The K brace is meant to stiffen the subframe, nothing else. The subframe is tied to the body with the 6 bolts that hold it in.
Additonal clarification here:
Eibach = Front 25.4mm and Rear 22mm.
Addco = Front & Rear are both 1 inch (25.4mm).
Edited 2 time(s). Last edited Monday, January 31, 2011 11:59 AM
Darkstars wrote:He's right most businesses watch the parking lot to check what kind of car potential employees drive.
Those secretaries sitting up front notice everything.... Which is why I was sure to drive my truck to the interview. Then, I brought the Cavi around...
2000 Ford F-250 7.3 Powerstroke 4x4 - Not stock
1973 16' Tahiti Speedboat
1983 200 HP Mercury BlackMax
1997 Chevy Cavalier with 275K miles
Your right, they put post it notes saying what people drive on their resumes so the boss knows to throw it away if you have a fart can
Zaairman wrote:Keep the car, but save your money and save up for something nicer. Use the Cavi as a winter beater. Nobody is going to take you seriously if you show up for a job interview in a riced out Cavalier with a fart can muffler that rattles the window as you pull in. If you do, your resume will be filed right away...in the trash can.
it all depends on the job your applying for like a mechanic it shows you know what to do to an engine a body man it show you know what your doin just about anything else its not that helpful to be drivin around a riced up car
I love my Tein SS coilovers, car feels so much more alive. I recommend those.
