Hello from small town Wolf Lake Indiana
 

Hello all I'm new to this forum I have a 1999 Saturn SL1 it's awesome I just want to put some mods in to increase performance yet keep my gas mileage I want to put a ram air in and a new body kit on any other mods you guys recommend?

Welcome to the site Jshaw1992.

If you're looking for better fuel economy, a ram air intake isn't going to do squat for you. A warm air intake will, and actually Saturns seem to be one of the few cars that like them.

A body kit is questionable. Most are not made for better aerodynamics, just flash. However, depending on the kit, it may help.


If you're looking to get better mileage. I'd first suggest getting some instrumentation. That means buying a scangauge or ultragauge or any other variant that'll show you what your car is doing and give you feedback.

After that, I'd suggest increasing your tire pressure and a grill block. Those are real simple mods and they show good results. After that, check out our list of mods. There are plenty to choose from. If you have any questions about specific mods, ask away.

65+ Vehicle modifications for better fuel economy - EcoModder.com

I want more horsepower and top speed along with decent gas mileage

http://i536.photobucket.com/albums/f...psec698cda.jpg

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Aerodynamic improvements will get you more top speed and better gas mileage. Just not at the same time. So will increased tire pressure. And if you are truly ambitious, look into reducing driveline friction.

There are only 2 ways to increase power: more fuel (easy) or less wasted energy(hard).

Which is why its a rare thing to have your cake and eat it too.

I have read stickers and racing stipes do both!

What is the top speed of the car now?

Fixed it for you... ;)


Lol...

:)


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For higher top speed and more gas mileage, definitely make your car more aerodynamic. Less drag = Less energy wasted to get and maintain the speed you want. Increased tire pressure helps a ton as well (I went from 26PSI to ~40PSI and my 0-60 time was much better and that was just shifting at 3K rpms like a normal person)

Welcome aboard!

The closest thing Ive done to this is power steering delete.
On sohc engines you can disable the p/s by replacing the smooth idler pulley with a grooved one, and getting a non p/s belt. The resistance from pushing/ circulating the fluid on our cars is almost nothing, I drove mine like that for 9months or so before I ended up putting in a manual gear for the higher reduction ratio

Speed or economy. Choose.

The vast majority of the time you will simply be motoring around town. 95% of the time you won't need speed, and the greater economy will be money in your pocket.

That other 5% of the time when you want higher top speed, you will be driving a Saturn. And then you will be back to enjoying your greater economy.

DOHC swap. 24 more HP and minimal (depending on driving habits) MPG loss. Otherwise there is really nothing that can be done with a SOHC.

Honestly, if you wanted power and speed you got the wrong car.

Also, check your oil frequently.

I beg to differ with the nay-sayers, and say you CAN have it all!
I designed so many cylinder head/intake manifold/cam combos that made Lots More HP and better MPG (at part throttle) that prove it is possible. However, the newer engines have reduced some of the sloppy parameters that reduced efficiency, so these days ECM tuning is almost always needed if you start doing things to increase BSFC. The goals you seek are possible, but would require internal engine rework, which is not cheap. You could get a small HP increase with external things, but your platform would need substantial trial and error to achieve this. The ScanGaugeII is a great starting point!