Suspension difference in Sunfire and Cavalier? - Suspension and Brake Forum
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My friend has a 2003 Cavalier (Coupe) and he let me drive it and I noticed that the suspension has a completely different feel to it than my Sunfire, I've looked it up and researched it and I've never seen anything about there being suspension differences between them, so I was just wondering if anyone else had noticed this. His feels a lot more floaty and not nearly as accurate and stuck to the road as mine does. The only differences I can see are that I have the stock 15" wheels and he has stock 14" wheels, which might account for a little difference in ride, but I wouldn't think it would account for that much would it. The only other thing I can think of is that the person that owned my car before I did could have possibly put aftermarket suspension on it and I wouldn't know about it because I bought it from a dealership used, since my car also appears to sit lower in the rear, though I've never take a tape measure to it and it may be my eyes playing tricks on me. Thanks for any information you can give me, this is a great site by the way, very informational.
2000 Pontiac Sunfire SE Coupe
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Yes, its slow...but I love it
only main things are the 95-99 have different strut mounts than 2000+
and through the years they enlarged the swaybars up front...
the FAQ at the top of this forum posts, has most of the info in the sway bar section...
tires can make a difference depending on how large or small the sidewall is.
And the extra side wall makes a diff too.
Semper Fi SAINT. May you rest in peace.
in 99 the sunfire gt had a front strut brace and the 99 z did not
GHJorge564 wrote:in 99 the sunfire gt had a front strut brace and the 99 z did not
as far as I know only the verts ever came stock with a strut brace.
So you think a 1" difference in the wheel would make that much of a difference in ride? I know it would make a slight difference in road grip and being able to turn a little better, but I didn't think that the ride down the road would be that much different.
2000 Pontiac Sunfire SE Coupe
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Yes, its slow...but I love it
Not so much the difference in wheel diameter so much as the difference in the tires. Assuming both are about the same overall wheel-tire diameter, the tires on the 16" wheel need to be lower profile, which means shorter, stiffer sidewalls. You'll feel some difference there.
Also, do you guys have the same engine? I've driven both an Ecotec and 2200 powered models within minutes of each other and will attest they feel a bit different. Whether it's a diffrerence in spring rates, strut bound/rebound, or anti-sway bar sizes I don't know, but they definitely have different handling characteristics. The Ecotec models feel more solid, almost like a bigger car.
jasen wrote:Not so much the difference in wheel diameter so much as the difference in the tires. Assuming both are about the same overall wheel-tire diameter, the tires on the 16" wheel need to be lower profile, which means shorter, stiffer sidewalls. You'll feel some difference there.
Also, do you guys have the same engine? I've driven both an Ecotec and 2200 powered models within minutes of each other and will attest they feel a bit different. Whether it's a diffrerence in spring rates, strut bound/rebound, or anti-sway bar sizes I don't know, but they definitely have different handling characteristics. The Ecotec models feel more solid, almost like a bigger car.
springs, struts,are the same
ecotecs have bigger swaybars up front see my first post in this thread
Yeah, his is an Ecotec and mine is the 2200 (unfortunately, dang I'd love to steal his engine, and his 4-speed auto. rather than my 3-speed). I did just get back from driving his, and his tires do suck a lot, I mean I would barely push it into a corner and they started pushing bad where as my car would just be warming up, I don't know that his feels like a bigger car or even more solid, but that motor definately makes it a more pleasant driving experience when you hit the gas and it actually responds, its just a little upsetting because you can't take that great speed you just picked up, into the corner, and handling matters more to me than speed, although I'd love to have more motor since I am pretty satisfied with the handling on my car as it is, at least until I make it faster.
2000 Pontiac Sunfire SE Coupe
K&N Air Filter
Yes, its slow...but I love it
That would definitely do it. I know they made them bigger in the later years, but wasn't sure about different engines in the same year. I knew there was definitely a difference though.
Well mine is a 2000 and his is a 2003, thats why I wasnt sure because I couldnt find anything about any suspension tuning between those years, mine still definately handles better.
2000 Pontiac Sunfire SE Coupe
K&N Air Filter
Yes, its slow...but I love it
3 speed is stronger....
less things inside, the bigger they are usually... stronger gears able to handle more power....
stronger or not, first gear is to tall to take off with any kind of authority, second gear is great, but I can't leave it in second gear all the time. My car will barely spin the tires on a freshly paved wet road. That in my opinion, is sad... If I had the option I would find a manual transmission from the GT model and bolt that up because as much as I thought I wanted an automatic, I miss having a stick (I used to own a Dodge Dakota with a 5-speed manual in it). Or, to really dream, drop a 350 small-block with a corvette rear end and drivetrain, that would be the crap.
2000 Pontiac Sunfire SE Coupe
K&N Air Filter
Yes, its slow...but I love it
Yeah, but I still like having the idea of more gears that can be utilized, also, this thing runs 3,000 rpm's in third gear at 70 mph, and considering that I do occasionally make 3.5 hour trips to see me family and friends in my hometown, it doesn't get as good of gas mileage as I know its capable of due to no overdrive.
2000 Pontiac Sunfire SE Coupe
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Yes, its slow...but I love it
at 70 i am at 3000 rpm as well, and get well over 400 miles to the gallon...
in a nut shell i get more mpg than most manuals i know...
and i rock a 3 speed.
even last year, i drove out to keyser, wv from baltimore and back on 3/4 a tank of gas. through the mountains and hills.
all on your driving style, make the landscape work for you
I've got a GAM w/ 2.3 and 3T40, and a Sunfire w/ 2.4 and 4T40E.
I go to my Grandma's a few times a year. I do anywhere from 80 to 90 mph the whole 130 miles. My GAM gets ~32mpg on the trip, and my sunfire gets ~36mpg. The sunfire weighs 200lbs less, I just rebuilt the top end of the GrandAm, minor differences really.
Overdrive does improve you mileage, but not by that much. And it really depends on how fast you're going, weather, terrain.
Event: I can get 400mpg too if it's all downhill!
I usually get 29 mpg on the highway last I checked, and that was doing 80-85 the whole way, granted there was a time when I got on I-4 that it was stopped, and that probably didn't help it, but generally I have to gun it to pass someone, and that doesn't help either, so I'd probably get better gas mileage if I didn't have to gun it, but then again, that would require more power now wouldn't it
2000 Pontiac Sunfire SE Coupe
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Yes, its slow...but I love it
the sunfire is generally heavier as well this will have an effect
1989 Turbo Trans Am #82, 2007 Cobalt SS G85
Look at the RPO code for the suspension... it's on the sticker on the bottom of the spare tire cover.
FE0 = base model suspension... soft.
FE1 = stiffer.. than FE0.. but still soft.
FE2 = sporty
There was no FE3 on a J-car that I'm aware of.
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Thank you for that info, I never knew about the codes on it, but after checking both cars, it boggles my mind more because I have the FE0 and he has the FE1, so I guess it just the tires and wheel size difference working for my car, and maybe that my car is supposedly a little heavier.
2000 Pontiac Sunfire SE Coupe
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Yes, its slow...but I love it
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