I wont be getting it till august, but I am planning out whats going to get done to my 1997 Cavalier Coupe (base) 2.2L, with 3 speed auto. Right now, I just want to get a little more power. It has 130,000 miles or so on it, (its my grandfathers, so I know whats happened to it, and thankfully, thats nothing, short of a brand new transmission at 120,000 miles). I was thinking some RESTORE Engine restore, which from my research seems to actually have a huge effect on power, oil consumption, and fuel economy. Along with that, I think a K&N air filter, and an air box elimination, along with some E3 spark plugs should suffce. I have a very limited budget. Anyone have any suggestions?
I hate to say the truth... nothing cheap will give you much power...the 3 speed tranny is a dog, a big bottleneck...we are talking 18 or 19 second quarter mile... the 2.2L is a reliable, stout engine, but 8 valve and needs lots of work to breathe better...Restore, if you're talking abotu this product
http://www.restoreusa.com/ is not going have a huge effect on power just like a k&n filter does not give you 10hp...E3 spark plugs? Limited budget, the best advice would really be to put your money into maintaining the engine properly, don't waste any on gimmicks... be a daily driver and save up for a cheap ecotec-based J which would be a better platform to mod.
Don't buy from MANTAPART!!
There is no easy ways to get HP, no magic box or gizmo... And if you get more hp, there's no way to make your car still behave and sound like a stock one. More hp usually makes your car louder, more vibrations and harder to drive...but still people hope or think maby there's some magic way to have it all, comfort, stock sound and drive.
E3, quad tip, and all those other funny shape sparkplugs are junk.
same with octane booster, injector cleaner, engine restore, etc etc its all JUNK.
its all marketing ploy. if your engine is running like ass its time for a rebuild.
nothing listed will do anything for power.. and the OHV and 3 speed combo is the most gutless you can get in a jbody.
I run E3 plugs in both of my LN2 (That's what RPO-code engine you have.) equipped S-trucks since they no-longer make Splitfires with the forked side electrode, and they made a small... but appreciable... gain in mileage over the factory-standard plugs (24.7mpg w/auto & stock exhaust, anyone?). I latter also installed MSD coils & self-fitted MSD Superconductor wires, to insure that I get good secondary voltage & delivery. Not to mention a drop-in K&N replacement filter, and going with a 22" x 2(1/4?)" Cherrybomb glass-pack muffler followed by a 2-1/4" Walker Dynomax Super-Turbo muffler & 2-1/8" pre-bent tailpipe for better flow (But not too-much, now!) & a quiet, deep note that's a pleasure to the ears... Instead of a pain!
Given that this is a LN2 with around 100,000mi on it, I'll give you the same advice I give to others with the same engine... app regardless:
Replace the timing-chain set with GM parts, before it's too-late! I speak from experience on how the factory chain can fail & turn into a total nightmare, possibly resulting in need to replace the entire short-block at worst. It may cost a bit to get the GM pieces, but it's well worth it for the piece of mind they guarantee versus many aftermarket replacement sets that don't meet GM standards. Some will fail in as little as 30,000mi. And suddenly, that money-saving move of using a cheaper one will be more costly than you thought... or could have imagined.
The only other advice I can give you that'll at-least insure your LN2 will be reliable & durable is to run the High-Mileage oil your preferred brand makes... albeit synthetic or organic... and maybe replace the oil-pump (If you feel need to drop the pan!) with Melling P/N M-98, so that the increased clearances of the bearings that are worn from so many miles are filled with a good cushion of pressurized oil (Like they're meant to be!). And use a good oil-filter... like Wix or one made by Wix sold under your local chain-style parts-store name... and not Fram, because Fram's tend to cause a 5-10psi drop in pressure versus actual with a Wix.
Good luck & enjoy many miles of worry-free driving.
Go beyond the "bolt-on".
DaFlyinSkwir(LS61) /PJ/ OEM+ wrote:E3, quad tip, and all those other funny shape sparkplugs are junk.
same with octane booster, injector cleaner, engine restore, etc etc its all JUNK.
its all marketing ploy. if your engine is running like ass its time for a rebuild.
nothing listed will do anything for power.. and the OHV and 3 speed combo is the most gutless you can get in a jbody.
Back in the day I tired the bosh +4's, splitfire, etc... car ran like CRAP, I always went back to ac delco's
Don't buy from MANTAPART!!
There is no easy ways to get HP, no magic box or gizmo... And if you get more hp, there's no way to make your car still behave and sound like a stock one. More hp usually makes your car louder, more vibrations and harder to drive...but still people hope or think maby there's some magic way to have it all, comfort, stock sound and drive.
I used restore in a b2200 pick up i had, engine leaked and burned oil everywhere, 2 quirts a day in that truck, restore knocked it down to about 1 everyday.. and it didnt smoke as bad bad when it started up.
- Your not-so-local, untrained, uncertified, backyard mechanic. But my @!#$ runs
hey mabey someone can help me with my l2n it clacks not a knocing sound i think its lifters but i could be worng uses no oil and the oil is still really clean after 3000 miles i can post a video of this prolbem if you would like
Restore might give you back some power lost... but it's a short-term band aid fix. It's not some magical horsepower booster that will give you power the car didn't have to begin with. It's not a bad product... but it won't
Quote:
have a huge effect on power, oil consumption, and fuel economy
. You might notice a small difference... but that's if you notice anything at all. "Huge" is a big overstatement.
FastFireTwoTwo wrote:DaFlyinSkwir(LS61) /PJ/ OEM+ wrote:E3, quad tip, and all those other funny shape sparkplugs are junk.
same with octane booster, injector cleaner, engine restore, etc etc its all JUNK.
its all marketing ploy. if your engine is running like ass its time for a rebuild.
nothing listed will do anything for power.. and the OHV and 3 speed combo is the most gutless you can get in a jbody.
Back in the day I tired the bosh +4's, splitfire, etc... car ran like CRAP, I always went back to ac delco's
Haha i tried these also in my old Honda Civic Ex and it made the car stall at red lights once in a while. The idle was just crap, like it was skipping. Garbage plugs! Stick with what works Ac Delco, NGK, Denso are great plugs..
Ian: Restore does nothing for lifters.
Goofy thing about the LN2... It's designed so the lifters get oil first, but they still tend to tick for a bit after start-up. Before I go further, tell me this: Did the timing-chain set ever fail & see replacement? And if it did, were all the old pieces of it recovered before the engine was buttoned-up?
Go beyond the "bolt-on".
i never changed it as far as i know it still has the factory one in there
we often dump a little seafoam in the oil and it quiets the lifters down
restore could be a band aid fix for you but not long term.
we run ngk v-power or iridium plugs in our cars
That engine restore stuff can help seal your rings a little sometimes if your burning oil.... thats about it...
Every time I've tried any other spark plug other than AC Delco platinum's im my car..... I ended up just yanking them back out...
Sometimes if a lifter is ticking a little on startup.... some marvels or amsoil detergent can help a little..... but not always.
Not related to any current comments on this thread but is related to the subject.
I have had several people say that this product made their engine die and it makes me laugh each time.
I ask them what prompted them to use it in the first place and then they get all choked up.
The truth is, their engine was close to kicking the bucket anyways and thought that this stuff would fix the motor.
If there is damage from uneven compression, the damage is done.
Putting this stuff in will fill in all the nooks with this gunk and bake it in.
In turn the compression will go up a bit.
But if the rest of the motor has damage, this is not a miracle cure.
In fact I worry about this stuff going through the oil pump and also plugging up any pathways the oil needs to go through.
Honestly, my brother used this on his car once and there was a better feel to the motor.
Less vibration and the car accelerated a little better.
But, his car got into a wreck 2 months later so I will never know the long term affects of this stuff.
I just used Seafoam and I think it is just as good as what people have been telling me it is.
My wife's 110k mile Sunfire with Ecotec loved the stuff.
i wouldn't use it every 3k miles like it wants you to though. Maybe every 30K miles.
My wife's 2003 Ecotec 2.2 liter Sunfire:
* 2 1/4 inch turbo muffler
* 2 1/4 piping to a 2 1/2 inch resonator
* 2 1/4 inch catalytic converter
* 2 1/2 inch down-pipe
* a match ported 4:2:1 RK Sports 'clone' header
* an AEM true cold air intake NOPI edition
* 8 gauge ground wire kit
* Toyz front strut brace
* Vibrant rear strut brace
* and Russell stainless steel brake lines all around.
Has anyone ever noticed that engine restore looks allot like 2-stroke oil? Just saying....
Go beyond the "bolt-on".
^^^^^ You never know.... it could be the same thing...... hell you'd be surprised how many things are labled under different names...... octane booster is just kerosene for the most part....... and charcoal lighter and paint thinner are the exact same thing... just sold in different bottles..
Weebel wrote:^^^^^ You never know.... it could be the same thing...... hell you'd be surprised how many things are labled under different names...... octane booster is just kerosene for the most part....... and charcoal lighter and paint thinner are the exact same thing... just sold in different bottles..
(Heh, heh, heh.) Yeah, I hear that. Such as this Engine Oil Pre-change Cleaner I've seen for years on the shelf (With new cans in regular rotation) at my local independent auto-parts store... You add it's 1qt contewnts to your engine oil & operate the engine for 5min before draining it for a change. It's supposed to remove sludge built-up in your engine, and all it says about it's contents is it contains "petroleum distillates". Now, I've heard of guys doing the unrecommended thing of draining the oil & refilling the crankcase with kerosene. Then running it for a few minutes & draining that before changing the oil & filter, all of which leads me to think the petroleum distillate is just fresh kerosene repackaged & sold for more than it's worth.
Even if it were just cheaper to buy fresh kerosene & add it to the oil before a change, I still would recommend bothering with it. Religious oil changes & use of a quality oil will prevent that. Speaking of which... Has anyone heard about the 300,000mi guarantee Valvoline is offering? Basically, if you follow their rules & use their full-synthetic oil, they will guarantee the working life of your engine up to 300,000mi. If it ever needs a oil-related repair within that time, they'll eat the cost. I imagine this is only effective on brand-new assemblies, but still worth having... Right?
Go beyond the "bolt-on".
