I'm the new guy.

[backpacker3]

Hey just joined ecomodder I'm a new driver with a 2002 pontiac sunfire that has the 2.2 liter Ecotec engine and a 4 speed AT. I've found some pretty cool stuff already and I am almost to empty so I'll have my first fill up pretty soon here too.

Anyway I haven't done much to the car yet except a tune up since it was at 105k when I got it so I did oil, oil filter, spark plugs, and an air filter but then it got cold here in MI so I haven't spent much time working on it in the -20 weather we've had here .

My plans for spring are new serpentine belt, brake job, new tires and maybe some air dams for the front bumper and fog lights if you look at the picture I would block the lower opening and the gaps from the fogs.

So I was searching around for some other ideas on here but didn't see anything really if anyone can point me to threads on sunfires (or cavaliers since there pretty much the same except I think the sunfire has a bit better aero on the front) I'd really appreciate it and if there are any good threads or mods for newbies that's cool too

[mcrews]

welcome!

Increase the psi in your tires to 40+ (see threads)
purchase a mileage device (see link in signature)
Think about upsizing tires. (see threads)

[backpacker3]

I'll definitely increase the tire pressure but I'll wait until it warms up I have a feeling that 40psi @ -5 degrees will expand quite a bit when it warms up and I don't want to come out to 4 exploded tires one morning if I forget to let some air out lol.

Btw I like the underbelly pan I'd love to make one of those myself

[Daox]

Welcome to the site.

I'd definitely air up the tires (at least check them to see what they're at). They won't gain that much pressure in warm weather and tires can handle MUCH higher psi ratings than what they're recommended to run at (200 psi is a tire's standard burst pressure).

http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars...unked-10031440

I'd also highly suggest some form of instrumentation.

[UltArc]

Other than what everyone else has added,

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

Some easy ones coming to mind are;
roof rack/antenna/spoiler delete
side mirror delete (check legality, use inside mirrors/video)
smoother wheels
tire spats
rear wheel skirts
adjust ride height when changing springs
power steering delete
start using synthetic fluids on next oil change, change transmission fluid to synthetic

[backpacker3]

I have synthetic oil but I don't know about the trans fluid yet. No roof rack so that's done. I might shorten the antenna but we'll see on that does it affect the radio quality at all? Side mirror delete probably won't happen anytime soon since I just put a new passenger side mirror sine it was broken when I got it. I can't bring myself to take off the mirror I just bought and put on lol. What are tire spats? I've looked through the link in your post but didn't see those in there.

What are your thoughts on swapping in a manual trans I can get one for $40 from a place near me but I would have to convince my parents that pulling out a perfectly good transmission to swap in one from a junkyard is not a bad idea. I know I would need other stuff too like the manual pedals and clutch cylinder and all that but I can get it all for about $100 trans included. Is that a good mod for the money if. I install it myself.

[UltArc]

Originally Posted by backpacker3

I have synthetic oil but I don't know about the trans fluid yet. No roof rack so that's done. I might shorten the antenna but we'll see on that does it affect the radio quality at all? Side mirror delete probably won't happen anytime soon since I just put a new passenger side mirror sine it was broken when I got it. I can't bring myself to take off the mirror I just bought and put on lol. What are tire spats? I've looked through the link in your post but didn't see those in there.

What are your thoughts on swapping in a manual trans I can get one for $40 from a place near me but I would have to convince my parents that pulling out a perfectly good transmission to swap in one from a junkyard is not a bad idea. I know I would need other stuff too like the manual pedals and clutch cylinder and all that but I can get it all for about $100 trans included. Is that a good mod for the money if. I install it myself.

Use control f, or command f, and type spats to find it- sorry, they're not numbered.

That sounds like a wicked deal, definitely worth that money. If it costs more, it may not be worth it, but if it only costs $100, and you can do the work yourself, definitely.

[backpacker3]

So I've been looking around at the different (insert prefix here)'guino projects and I'm wondering which is the best for my car. I thought at first they were for the obdI but then I've seen some that can work with obdII but I'm not sure which is the right one can someone point me in the right direction I've tried reading through but most are so long that it'll take me a long time to get through all of them. Any suggestions? Also if more than one will work which is cheapest and or easiest to make and buy I've never tried something like that so I'd like to start with something simple.

[Daox]

Most of the guinio projects are very DIY based and it really helps to know some electronics and/or programming. If you want to dive into that, awesome. If you're looking for something simple, I'd suggest a scangauge or ultragauge. They're plug and play and will pay for themselves pretty quickly.

[backpacker3]

What kind of programming I can do html and asp and CSS and some .cs stuff I can usually learn new stuff pretty quick too. I wouldn't mind trying to make a guinio project first just for fun.

Which would be the right one to look into though?