Any Members set up their Cav as more of a Grand Touring rather then a 1/4 miler?
Engine wise I think the biggest difference would be where I want the power to turn on at. For my application I`m thinking from just off idle to around 4\45k(?).
Suspension. Drop it using some of the recommended components talked about here. As well as front and rear sway bars and frame stiffeners(?).
Have no idea on the trans. Swapping in a 4 spd. auto or manual is a bit out of my price range given everything else I would like to do,
Wheels\tires. Currently running the OEM 15" alloys with all season radials. Will be swapping them out for 16`s and some TA radials.
Thought about going 17`s but the roads in my area eat aluminum wheels for a snack. Want to keep a little side wall for ride quality and wheel protection.

Since this covers just about all aspects. Engine, trans, suspension, thought I would post here and hopefully get pointed in the right direction\posts for more specific details\parts\sources.

I`m starting with a 97 RS. 2.2 liter\3 spd auto. Bone stock with the exception of a Spectre air filter in stock intake system. Of course it will be replaced with with a Ram air system.
Thanks

Based on your engine/trans configuration, suspension is probably the best place to put your money.

In addition to sway, springs/struts/coilovers, and chassis bracing, ushings are worth doing as well. (control arm and rear torsion beam bushings)

Id recommend checking out the suspension forum as a good starting point. also, id look for a stickier tire like a dunlop star spec or handbook rs3 to take advantage of your suspension. your car will only handle as well as your tires grip the road.

Check out Strat81's and my profiles. Both of or cavs are built for road courses, autocross, and twisty roads.

On the subject of wheels, i would get a lightweight quality 17" wheel. Enkei RPF1s or PF01s, 5Zigen FN01RCs.

Apologies first for having initially posted in the wrong spot. Thanks for the move.

Thanks Strat81 & Tinkles. Thought about 17`s. But have been warned about the pot holes around here eating large rim, low profile set ups. Will have to think about it for a bit.
Am in the process of moving.....the roads here do suck.

Any recommendations on brake upgrades? Plan on staying drum in the rear. Suggestions on over sized(?) discs, different calipers for the front.

The car initially came with TA`s that had about 70% tread. Even with everything stock it cornered like it was on rails. Snow made me have to switch to something with better tread for the time being.
Am a big fan of Dunlop . Have had several sets of their tires on cars in years gone by. Was never disappointed.

The star specs have just gone through a redesign but are a top tire choice for autox/track guys still running street tires.

Brake upgrades can be handled a few ways... Stainless lines and upgraded pads/rotors are a good start. if you are planning on multiple repeated high speed stops (track day/longer autox course) you'll want to upgrade to something bigger for better thermal capacity and less fade. the nwf swap (there is a sticky in the suspension forum) is probably the cheapest option but your bolt pattern will change. Wilwood/ssbc/baer all make bigger front brake upgrades as well. i have baers on all 4 corners currently as does tinkles. (well his rears are a pieced together equivalent)

I should mention too that the baers will need a minimum of 17" wheels to clear. also spoke design comes in to play as i had a set of 18's that would not clear the caliper. i believe the wilwoods will fit under certain 16" wheels. not sure on the ssbc kit.

Check my setup also if you wish. Im setup for autocross and nice days / weekends on the street. I will say with the 235/45/17s i rub strut when im all the way at one wheel stop or the other. Its an extremely massive tire for a j thats been dropped 2 inches but the most comfortable, most forgiving, widest, biggest sidewall. Most people dont go that big, personally i wont put any other tire on my car

I run 245/40/17s on my sedan... Nothing a little offset and some rolled Fenders can't fix. no rubbing here.

Thanks I just changed my name. All great info. Plenty to work with.

I see all 3 of you are running turbos. Plan on going far more mild. Rebuild of my stock motor. P&p the head. Header, upgraded exhaust system, ram air and hopefully a cam to take advantage of those three things.

You may be better off swapping to the 2.4... Should be a fairly straightforward swap and will net you 30hp in stock form over your existing engine. could always toss a manual in too while you're at it

Had toyed with the engine swap idea. But price wise and labor wise not real straight forward.
Love the idea of dropping in a 4 spd. auto. Again, from what I have read. not as simple as a one for one.

Am currently in the process of moving across town. Plus have my Harley and boxes of parts waiting for when I have the time to get it ready for riding season.

So many toys and ideas. So little time.

The motor should drop in mount wise. I don't think it will bolt to the 3 spd though... Some minor rewiring and a matching ecu should have the motor working. you'd have to research the difference between 3spd / 4spd mounts but again shouldn't be too bad.

Guess it all depends on how mechanically inclined you are... Id search these forums though to see what it entails before ruling it out though.

Actually Strat and I are running superchargers.

My brakes are the standard 13" Baer kit up front and on the back i have a 11.5" disc setup from a 4th gen f-body(basically a copy of Baer's rear kit).

For tires, i love my Hankooks.

I`m back. Things have been crazy with the new house renovation + moving and all. Finally slowing down enough to start letting my mind wander to the Cav and Harley.
Have decided on headers, exhaust, and ram air intake as my next mods for the Cav..
Did some searching and found that there can be problems with cracking at the head pipe or at least leaks at the collector to exhaust pipe flange.
Several fix`s are available. Some headers are offered with a spring type connector. Others offer some sort of flex pipe. Another option is changing motor mounts. Which is the way I want to go. A side benefit seems to be slightly better throttle to front wheel response due to decreased engine rock.
I can live with any increase in felt transferred vibration.

So, after all that, here is my question. If I have read right. There are 2 engine mounts. Top and bottom(?). Which, or both, need replaced.
Suggestions on mount manufacturer\type.

Thanks for all the feed back so far everyone. When the Green Goblin is done it won`t be the fastest or best in a slalom.....but it`ll be a fun little parts chaser\grocery getter.

I would upgrade both the upper and lower mounts. I think I even saw a set of them in the classifieds not too long ago, but I don't know if they are still there or not. TTR makes a real nice upper and lower mount. There is also just an insert that you can get to stiffen the upper mount if you don't want to get a full new mount.

Found lower mount on TTR for the 2.2. But only see listings for the 2.4 for uppers.

The upper mount should be the same between the 2.2/2.4