Hey guys, this is my first post on this forum. To introduce myself, I am 16, and have recently acquired a 2002 Sunfire, 4 door model. I'm sure that this gets asked a lot, but what are some good projects for the car? I'm thinking a cold air intake, but I just don't know if I can justify spending a few hundred dollars for only a few horsepower. I really want to wrench on my car, and make it my own, so if any of you who are more mechanically educated then myself can suggest some weekend projects, I would be very grateful! Thanks!

-Ben.

You can get a cold air intake cheaper than 100 just look around. If I could post pics I could show you how to do aram air for $30 using original air box.But start with more air,then go with a bigger exhaust and header. After that the only way to make more power is forced induction, nitrous, and rebuilding motor for power. Just with ram air header and 2.5 exhaust I could keep up with stock v6 mustangs.

Robert Reynolds wrote:You can get a cold air intake cheaper than 100 just look around. If I could post pics I could show you how to do aram air for $30 using original air box.But start with more air,then go with a bigger exhaust and header. After that the only way to make more power is forced induction, nitrous, and rebuilding motor for power. Just with ram air header and 2.5 exhaust I could keep up with stock v6 mustangs.

Thanks for the ideas! I'll have to shop around and find something. Haven't had much luck, because I live in canada, and @!#$s expensive in canada. And yeah, a short ram is really cheap, but I heard the power gains are a fraction of a cold air, because the air is hotter and therefore less dense so less fuel gets injected blah blah blah. I guess you really get what you pay for. I have a question though, I heard if you install a new cold air intake, you will get a nice induction noise. Is that true? Also, do you get noise with a short ram too? Thanks!

I had an AEM eBay knockoff cold air intake on my 2002 Sunfire SE Sedan with the 2200. It looked and fit great and best of all it was under $50.00 (this was back in 2008). All I did was put a quality AEM Brute Force Dryflow air filter on it (the filter that came with it was junk) and I had a great cold air intake setup for less than half the price of a real AEM setup. Here's the current equivalent of the intake I had.

I actually really enjoyed my 2002 Sunfire SE Sedan while I had it and still miss it sometimes. It didn't have a ton of power, but it was still pretty fun to drive and very unique since most people mod Coupes not Sedans.

You can find the info about all the mods I had and all in my registry and I have a ton of pictures in my Flickr Album. Let me know if you have any other questions.

I just looked at your profile and noticed that your Sunfire has an ECOTEC so the intake I posted the link for won't work. Unfortunately I'm not finding any knockoff intakes for the ECOTEC on eBay. I'm only seeing the K&N Typhoon short ram air intakes and the AEM cold air intakes. I had both on my 2002 Sunfire GT ECOTEC and they were both pretty good. The only issue I had with the K&N short ram was that the metal tube was right next to the battery terminal and it would spark big time if you were trying to jump the battery or anything. I'm sure you could rememdy this by getting a silicone coupler, cutting it in half and using some double sided tape to hold it on the intake tube by where the battery terminal is. It may look kind of goofy, but it would prevent the issues I had with sparking and all. Other than that, both intakes looked and fit great. It's been so long ago (I sold the Sunfire GT in 2008) that I really don't recall whether one was better than the other performance-wise and unfortunately I didn't keep track of gas mileage back than like I do now, so I couldn't tell you about that either, but I think either one would be fine. Intakes honestly won't add a ton of power, but they will give a slightly louder sound to the engine and can increase your gas mileage slightly if you take it easy on the gas pedal. Another thing to think about is the potential for hydro-lock with a cold air intake. Since the filter is way down near the bottom of the car, you have a much higher chance of sucking water into the intake which would hydro-lock the engine. And since you say in your profile that you want to do some suspension mods (I'm assuming lowering), this would put the filter even closer to any puddles, etc. you may drive through. Obviously, with a short ram intake you don't have to worry about hydro-lock because the filter is safely in the engine bay away from water. I guess, for a daily driver, I'd stick with a short ram air intake. Just my $0.02 though.

I am super jealous that you have an ECO powered Sedan! If mine would have had an ECO, I may still have it.

Be sure to check out the info for my 2002 Sunfire GT and the Flickr album for it as well.

Throw a 00-02 gt bumper on it. Evil eye hoods look mint too. Lower it. I'd say slam it but maybe you don't want it slammed. I dunno. Tint. If your mirrors and door handles aren't body colour yet, paint them.

Also where in Canada are you?

vibenvy wrote:I just looked at your profile and noticed that your Sunfire has an ECOTEC so the intake I posted the link for won't work. Unfortunately I'm not finding any knockoff intakes for the ECOTEC on eBay. I'm only seeing the K&N Typhoon short ram air intakes and the AEM cold air intakes. I had both on my 2002 Sunfire GT ECOTEC and they were both pretty good. The only issue I had with the K&N short ram was that the metal tube was right next to the battery terminal and it would spark big time if you were trying to jump the battery or anything. I'm sure you could rememdy this by getting a silicone coupler, cutting it in half and using some double sided tape to hold it on the intake tube by where the battery terminal is. It may look kind of goofy, but it would prevent the issues I had with sparking and all. Other than that, both intakes looked and fit great. It's been so long ago (I sold the Sunfire GT in 2008) that I really don't recall whether one was better than the other performance-wise and unfortunately I didn't keep track of gas mileage back than like I do now, so I couldn't tell you about that either, but I think either one would be fine. Intakes honestly won't add a ton of power, but they will give a slightly louder sound to the engine and can increase your gas mileage slightly if you take it easy on the gas pedal. Another thing to think about is the potential for hydro-lock with a cold air intake. Since the filter is way down near the bottom of the car, you have a much higher chance of sucking water into the intake which would hydro-lock the engine. And since you say in your profile that you want to do some suspension mods (I'm assuming lowering), this would put the filter even closer to any puddles, etc. you may drive through. Obviously, with a short ram intake you don't have to worry about hydro-lock because the filter is safely in the engine bay away from water. I guess, for a daily driver, I'd stick with a short ram air intake. Just my $0.02 though.

I am super jealous that you have an ECO powered Sedan! If mine would have had an ECO, I may still have it.

Be sure to check out the info for my 2002 Sunfire GT and the Flickr album for it as well.

Thanks so much for the super detailed write up! I never thought about the possibility of water getting in the cold air intake, but once you think about it it makes perfect sense. I will probably just hunt and try and find a good price for a ram air.I'm not so sure about lowering the car anymore, as this is going to be my daily, and I don't think the crushed vertebrae will be worth it. And yeah, having the EcoTec in a sedan is pretty nice, you don't see it too often. Oh and I love the pictures on your Flickr page, car looks nice! Whew, I think I covered everything now. Thanks!

Jake Wingett wrote:Throw a 00-02 gt bumper on it. Evil eye hoods look mint too. Lower it. I'd say slam it but maybe you don't want it slammed. I dunno. Tint. If your mirrors and door handles aren't body colour yet, paint them.

The bumper is definitely something that could be done. I think that would great! A new hood could also make itd way on. I'm not a huge fan of tint, but you never know, I could give it a shot. I don't know how good it would look painting plastic bits body color, but hey, I am open to anything! Oh and to answer your other question, I live in Alberta.

The bumper is definitely something that could be done. I think that would great! A new hood could also make itd way on. I'm not a huge fan of tint, but you never know, I could give it a shot. I don't know how good it would look painting plastic bits body color, but hey, I am open to anything! Oh and to answer your other question, I live in Alberta.


I got mine all painted. If you look in my thread 'my cav' my handles and mirrors are painted. Came out great. Although I had them done professionally. But still. Plastic. Give it a shot. Just make sure you clear coat them. Damn I was hoping you'd say ontario hahaha

Jake Wingett wrote:


I got mine all painted. If you look in my thread 'my cav' my handles and mirrors are painted. Came out great. Although I had them done professionally. But still. Plastic. Give it a shot. Just make sure you clear coat them. Damn I was hoping you'd say ontario hahaha

I saw your thread, and I absolutely love your cav. The sedan looks great! I might have to try painting it. Where did you get your shaved trunk?

Ben Yuschushyn wrote:

Jake Wingett wrote:


I got mine all painted. If you look in my thread 'my cav' my handles and mirrors are painted. Came out great. Although I had them done professionally. But still. Plastic. Give it a shot. Just make sure you clear coat them. Damn I was hoping you'd say ontario hahaha

I saw your thread, and I absolutely love your cav. The sedan looks great! I might have to try painting it. Where did you get your shaved trunk?

Thanks man. I bought the trunk off wayders. He's on here. He shaved it and painted it for me. He's in my area so a bit far from you. Lol. But if you know any body guys they can do that work for you

Ben Yuschushyn wrote:Thanks so much for the super detailed write up! I never thought about the possibility of water getting in the cold air intake, but once you think about it it makes perfect sense. I will probably just hunt and try and find a good price for a ram air.I'm not so sure about lowering the car anymore, as this is going to be my daily, and I don't think the crushed vertebrae will be worth it. And yeah, having the EcoTec in a sedan is pretty nice, you don't see it too often. Oh and I love the pictures on your Flickr page, car looks nice! Whew, I think I covered everything now. Thanks!

You're very welcome! Always glad to help out whenever I can . Thanks for the kind words on my pictures! I definitely miss my Sunfires from time to time.

As far as lowering goes, I had KYB AGX shocks and struts and Eibach Pro Kit 1.4" lowering springs on both my Sunfires. IMO, this is an ideal setup for a daily driver. Heck, I even drove the Sedan with this setup in two Chicagoland winters and it did just fine! This setup is low enough to look good and make the car handle better, but not so low that you scrape on cracks in the road. Don't get me wrong, you still need to be careful on speed bumps, railroad tracks, etc. but it's not crazy low or "slammed". Another plus is this is a quality setup that is pretty cheap. You can get the AGXs and Pro Kits on eBay for a decent price.

Jake Wingett wrote:Throw a 00-02 gt bumper on it. Evil eye hoods look mint too. Lower it. I'd say slam it but maybe you don't want it slammed. I dunno. Tint. If your mirrors and door handles aren't body colour yet, paint them.

I couldn't agree more! The 2000-2002 Sunfire GT front bumper has always been my favorite, although after having the Sedan, the 2000-2002 SE front bumper really grew on me. Evil eyes welded to the stock hood look amazing. I already told you about the lowered setup I had. I was never a fan of tint either. I had 35% on the front doors of my GT and 15% on the rear windows. I had plans to get 35% all around on the Sedan, but got rid of it before that happened. I have 35% all around on my Vibe and it's perfect. It's dark enough to look good and serve its purpose, but not so dark that you have trouble seeing or are going to attract unwanted attention from cops. I would definitely consider painting the door handles and the outer part of the side mirrors body color. It will give the exterior a little fancier look without costing a ton of money.

I also recommend getting some clear front marker lights (the round orange lights on the front bumper). They came clear from the factory on 1995-1999 Sunfire GTs so you may be able to find some in decent shape at a junkyard or you may be able to get aftermarket ones on eBay. I'm 99% sure GM discontinued them, so getting a brand new pair is probably out of the question. I also recommend clear front side marker lights. These can be found on eBay for pretty cheap. I highly recommend getting some chrome amber bulbs from Stealth Auto to put in the clear lights. Search for them on eBay. They're a bit pricey ($25 - $30 a pair), but come with a lifetime warranty. If they burn out, they'll replace them for free. When unlit, the bulbs are chrome, but they still light up and flash amber so you stay legal. Some nice 17" wheels and 225/45/17 tires would make a big difference. I personally love Enkei Performance Falcon wheels. A classic five spoke wheel that would look great on any vehicle. Shorten your antenna to around 7" or 8" and than get a black rubber cap meant for shelving from a hardware store to put on the end in place of the little ball. Remove the badges from the front doors and remove the side moldings. This is a major PITA, but it will make the exterior look so much cleaner. I've heard a rubber eraser wheel on a drill will make short work of any leftover adhesive residue and you won't kill your fingertips. I could go on and on. Basically, I would suggest everything I had done to my Sunfires . So, just check out my registries and let me know if you have any more questions.

This is a must for Sedan owners. Best of all... it's free!

Thank you soooo much vibenvy, for taking the time to write up such a long detailed list of mods!! It definitely means a lot to know that there are people out there that care this much. It must have taken a huge amount of time to make such a long and detailed list, and I honestly wholeheartedly appreciate it. As far as the mods go, I am going to have to try all of those in time. I will for sure have to do the rear window mod! Admittedly, I pretty much never roll down the rear windows, but it is nice to have. It's also great to know that the Eibach pro 1.4" springs are good. That's the beauty of forums like this I guess! We get to capitalize on the knowledge of others, without wasting too much time and money on trial and error stuff. The antenna mod is a great idea, and I may end up removing it completely of I get a new head unit with a new antenna. New wheels would be lovely, but I'm not 100% financially ready for that yet I don't think. Eventually though. Debadging the car can for sure go down, as that is cheap and easy. The drivers side on my car has some rust, which I am going to maybe need to paint over. Actually, the whole car is in not the greatest shape as far as body, its got rust and dents aplenty, but hey, I got the car for $500 with two sets of tires. Cant really beat that. My main goals for the car are to pretty up the outside as much as possible (which is a tall order) and try and make it sound good, by adding a ram air intake for that wooshy induction sound, and a new exhaust of some shape or form. I want it to sound good though, not too high pitched like most four cylinder cars. I'm looking forward to doing some wrenching on it, and what it will become in the future. Thanks again! (Oh and p.s. if I take a few days to respond, its because I'm on vacation, and I have no WiFi here, and I'm kind of running out of data lol).

You're very welcome! It's truly my pleasure to help out here whenever I can even though I no longer own a J-Body, especially since I know some of the members here can be rather harsh to newbies sometimes.

It's nice to see that you're only 16, but are very respectful in your posts and that you are just happy to have a car even though it might be the newest fanciest, fastet, etc. car. A lot of kids come on here thinking they know everything and act like aholes which in turn gets the natives riled up and causes them to be even more harsh. It's also nice to see that you know proper spelling and grammar ! There's nothing worse than trying to read a post that makes no sense or has a bunch of misspellings and / or grammatical errors.

When I got my driver's license back in the summer of 2000, my parents passed down our 1994 Pontiac Sunbird LE Sedan to me. I was just like you, I was just so happy to have a car! I didn't care that it had quite a bit of rust on it, had around 200,000 miles on it, the AC didn't work, it had manual windows, a cassette player and no cruise control. I loved that car so much because it was mine. I used to carry a huge Rubbermaid container full of cleaning products around in the trunk and I was always washing it and cleaning the interior. We had had this car since it was brand new. In January of 2013, we ended up deciding it was time to let it go. It was rusted really bad and it needed some work. We didn't think it could even stand to be on a lift or jackstands because the rust was so bad. We sold it to a local junkyard for $275.00. That was a very sad day for my parents and I. There's truly nothing like your first car. This is why it warms my heart to hear your passion for your Sunfire. I will most definitely be keeping an eye out for updates from you and your Sunfire. And as always, don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions and I will do my best to point you in the right direction.

Take care and enjoy your vacation! Out of curiousity, where are you vacationing?