Saturn sc1 - the work car

[2000mc]

Thinking of accessories and weight, manual steering gear was a direct replacement for me. The manual rack is really just a "luxury" with its greater gear reduction. I don't think the hydraulic gear unpowered caused additional effort aside from the different ratio. Iirc the weight difference between the gears was like 1lb, while the rest of the system was 8lbs plus fluid

[spacemanspif]

The single cam engine should be good for close to 40mpg without trying. Head over to Saturnfans.com for info on basic maintenance and keeping the powertrain in top shape if you haven't already. On my 1995 SL2 I found an OEM air dam in a JY and installed it since the car didn't come with one and then completely blocked off the whole front end. GM used air dam cooling on Corvette and Camaros for years and it works well as long as the dam is in place. Air dam plus front wheel spats would serve double purpose and supposedly the turbulence through the engine compartment is less severe with dam cooling vs. "ram air" grill cooling. Just food for thought...

If you do a lot of highway driving check the transmission ratio charts and see what ratio 5th you have vs. the other years. 5th is easy to swap on those trans and if you can get a big change might be worth trying to find a gear set off the forums.