so here is my story...
I have owned my cavalier for about 2 going on 3 years now. I have always been a car enthusiast, that said it didn't take long for me to catch the modding bug and begin the transformation. Anyway I began to do my first searches on ebay for little things like new mirrors, air intake, steering wheel, ect. I bought my first ever mod for my 99 2.4 from ebay and installed it later that night. They happen to be tail lights. I was (and still am) very pleased at my first accomplishment, but like most i felt it wasn't enough. I wanted more. Again I returned to ebay and local yahoo searches for more mods. Which brings me to my point. While searching I happen to stumble across this forum, and though I am only a recent member I have been lurking in the shadows reading posts and always learning about my j-body many months before i joined. I have read that most people post without reading previous posts, or get scolded for not using the search engine. Well believe me, i know exactly where it is. I think this site has helped me and countless hundreds like myself to do things right, clear up questions, and over all fine tune just about every question asked, no matter how many times its been repeated. This is a great site and I wanted to let all those willing to extend not only knowledge but a helping hand know that they kick ass.
Now that all the warm and fuzzy stuff is said I will get to my point.
I am 20. A young buck as most would say. I know pretty much jack compared to most people on this forum. To the average joe, I know vast amounts of knowledge and can fix anything. I want to tell the truth. I KNOW @!#$ ABOUT CARS. Like I said before I am a car enthusiast. I want to learn. Now being young and naive I too have the thirst for power with a very fixed income. I am aspiring to be a Dental Hygienist while tinkering with my car on the side. I am attending school in the spring to start my career path. I do have a job that pays 11.00 and hour and keep 40 hours a week. I will still have this job with the same amount of hours while in school. I have a wine taste on a beer budget. Anyway, I have searched the newbie posts about turbocharge this or supercharge that. Ive read it many times. I have made up my mind that the j-body is my project car, and the first thing i would like to do to it (performance wise) would be to supercharge it. Now i know modding a car and have a project car takes time. I have plenty of ambition and patience and pretty much my whole life to do the things I want. I know this. I WANT TO LEARN. I don't want to make a career out of my passion for cars, because I know I would end up hating it. To make an incredibly long story short I have plans to start off with a supercharger, then eventually upgrade to a turbo set up. I have learned that you cant put a forced induction system on a stock set up. I know you can piece together a nice small turbo set up for cheep. Ive seen the set up thread, and I have no idea what any of that means. I know what a blow off valve does, and how a turbo and a supercharger works but that's about as far as it goes for me. I have no idea what a 3 angle valve job is, what it provides. I don't know inlet and outlet sizes. I have no idea what a 40 mm overbore is or does. like I said I'm completely helpless.
So basically I'm reaching out for help. This is my very first post, and indeed it is probably the lengthiest post in history. Feel free to flame. I can take criticism for being a noob, lay into me, give me all you got. But don't you dare shun me for wanting to learn. If you have to redirect me to previous posts and threads then please tell me the link. My questions to be answered are:
Where to start the supercharger set up...
internals and fuel/ignition set up or the kit itself?
what is the bare minimum to make a setup work?
reputable places to buy from
miscellaneous info about set ups or links
My set up so far is as follows.
99 ld9 motor close to 100k
b&m sport shifter
magnaflow dual exhaust
warm air intake (aem)
MISC
green neon and black tint thats pretty much it
I don't want this information to go street racing against my buddy's civic or any dumb childish stuff like that. I believe racing should be kept on the straight asphalt of the designated tracks. nothing else.
Any help and criticism is appreciated. Thank you.
p.s. I am located in Madison Wisconsin.
first, welcome. there is a huge wealth of knowledge and information here. there is also a huge wealth of misinformation and things that have been corrected or made easier over the years. best thing to do is research and ask if you dont know. your off to a good start.
as for your questions...
Where to start the supercharger set up...
well, easiest way is buy the kit. GM produced the kit for the 00-02 cavaliers, sunfires, Grand ams, olds, etc. the kit will pretty much work on anything with a 2.4L in it with the right modifications.
your cars a 99, so your off to a good start. you already have the starter and injector style required (at least you should). the kits can be purchased both new and used. crate engine depot is one place i remember you can get the kits. look around cause it was discussed recently. there is also stickies and how-tos at the top of the boost forum.
internals and fuel/ignition set up or the kit itself?
the kit comes with larger injectors. internals are not need to run the stock pulley size, but of course it wouldnt hurt. the kit also includes a new 2-bar MAP sensor and reflash as well. you could use the reflash but would need a 2000+ ECU. rewiring to the newer ECU will stop some things from functioning i think (gas gauge, RPM, things controlled through the BCM that you dont have). you could always get a tune from some onoe with HP Tuners or purchase it yourself and get a fake 2 bar flash done.
what is the bare minimum to make a setup work?
there are none really. it was meant to be a bolt on kit. put it on in your driveway with some basic handtools and get the flash done. thats it.
reputable places to buy from
already mentioned that above.
miscellaneous info about set ups or links
the boost forum is a fountain of knowledge.
1997 Cavalier Z24
Bomz Short Ram Intake
Vibrant Cat-Back
KYB GR2 Struts
Goldline 1.75" Springs
RK Sport Upper Insert
RK Sport Lower Dogbone
Custom Tune by Shane @
innovativetuning@rogers.com
15.647 @ 88.02 MPH
