gatoRS92

Just curious to hear your guys' thoughts on this.....

A kid that my friend works with saw my Camaro and started running his mouth. He drives an '03 Cavalier coupe, 5-speed, and his only mod is an annoying coffee can muffler. He claims his Cavalier will smoke my RS and I'm aware those new ecotec's are capable of high 15's with an M5 and a good driver. My mod list is in my sig.

The kid wanted to race me for $500. I laughed and told him he was an idiot. I'm aware that my car is slow, but I'm confident if we would have raced I would've had the edge. What do you guys think?

IROCThe5.7L

Hmm, you would stand a good chance from a stop. From a roll might be a different story. My cousin has a 5 speed ecotec, and it's no slouch.

First gear is REALLY strong on those cars imo. When my cousin has it in first around 10-20 mph and punches it, moves very well. We raced from a slow roll, and I didn't pull him as hard as I thought in first, but when I hit second, I pulled away really hard.

hihighost

If you were so sure about the outcome, you shoulda just taken his $500!

Do you know what your quarter mile time is?

89IrocZ350TPI

I think it would be a drivers race.

gatoRS92

I don't trust the kid.....even if we raced for 50 cents he probably wouldn't pay me.

There aren't any 1/4 mile tracks around here (I believe National Trail Raceway is the closest and thats a couple hours away) and honestly I don't see much of a point right now. When I get headers and an intake manifold I might run it to see if I can break into the 14's with my LO3, and then sometime after that (next winter most likely) I have an L98 waiting to go in and I'll definately have some better gears installed too, most likely a 3.42 posi. I severely dislike the stock 2.73 peg leg rear.

89IrocZ350TPI

With the L98 installed you would kill em.

ShiftyCapone

iTrader: (7)

Why go through all of that just to beat a cavalier?


From a dig you will beat him. From a roll he will walk away from you. They are limited at 106mph and have stout powerbands from 2500 to 5900 rpm. I drive a bare bones M5 '05 Cavy and I love it. I have beaten numerous LO3 and LG4 cars with it. The only complaint that I have is wheel hop (crap 14" wheels). A powershift into second really gets that wheel a 'hoppin' lol! There is a guy on www.j-body.org that runs 15.2's in his stock Ecotec. They are slightly underrated from the 140hp rating and are really close to 150. This car has more top end than my LO3 did when it was stock.

If you are in Columbus National Trail Raceway is like a half hour from you (unless you are on the far west side). Get on 70E and get off at exit 126 (st rt 37) turn left and then turn left onto 40 at the first right. It is so easy to get to and is never crowded. It is an awesome track and test and tune nights on wednesday's are great. Take your friend there. I used to go to that track all the time.

tpivette89

i know what you mean about the wheel hop thing. i get it in my 05' 5speed Sunfire when shifting hard from 1st to 2nd also. however, as far as power goes, mine seems to fall on its face in 3rd gear. 1st and 2nd feel peppy, but 3rd seems to take forever to climb to redline

ShiftyCapone

iTrader: (7)

I can see what you mean about 3rd gear but 4th is really strong again which is not typical of a NA four banger. I think 3rd gear is just a bad ratio.

tpivette89

hmmm, ive never really took it all the way through 4th. i go through the traps just after shifting into 4th gear

i figured it had to be either with the trans or diff gearing. either that, or maybe it was the cams being tuned more for torque than horsepower (the Ecotec does make more tq than hp... another thing not typical of a 4 banger) which would explain why the car felt stronger in 1st and 2nd and then lost steam in 3rd. i dont know... just random thoughts here. dont really know much tech on GMs newest 4cyl

Psycho_91Camaro

my g/f rented a 03 cavalier, and when I drove it to my surprise the rpms wen't way up real fast and that little P.O.S. car took off fast. ahahahah

ShiftyCapone

iTrader: (7)

You ran your j-bod? What was your trap and ET? I almost ran mine for fun last summer but wused out because I felt lame.

stu

Fast cars don't win drag races, consistent cars do.

PhAnToMs

iTrader: (2)

haha all the j body owners are comming out of the cracks

ya you will lose in the race from a roll and most likely from a stop, unless you launch the **** out of your car.

my sunfire GT (non eco) with just a warm air intake has done a 15.7 with a 2.4 60 ft in perfect conditions. and from everything i hear on j body.org the ecotec is on par with the 2.4 just race for fun no money and see what happens keep it safe.

i dont know about 14's with headers and intake for your l03 id just put the money into the l98

ShiftyCapone

iTrader: (7)

With chip work and a full exhaust 14's should be normal. The LO3 is slow in stock form but you can make it faster with less money than the j-bod.

You went 15.7 with the 2.2 TBI? Man. I have owned two cavy's with that motor and I could hardly beat a John Deer lawn queen.

gatoRS92

Everything I'm spending on my car will still be there for my L98, I'm not wasting any money. This is why I haven't bothered to get a chip yet. And yes, if I add headers and a good intake to my mod list, I think I have a decent shot at high 14's.

tpivette89

Shifty i think he was talking about the LD9 twin cam 2.4L, not the OHV 2.2L

and yeah, i ran my Sunfire. its a base coupe with zero options except for the manual trans. try not to laugh ok? i went 16.12 at 87.54mph with a 2.65 60ft. i guess im so used to RWD, i cant launch this car for ****. my best ever 60ft in it was a 2.5. my mph was decent though

ShiftyCapone

iTrader: (7)

[QUOTE]Originally posted by tpivette89
[B]Shifty i think he was talking about the LD9 twin cam 2.4L, not the OHV 2.2L

That I can believe. My bud had a '98 Z24 and he would beat my LO3.


That time seems about right. I don't think anyone should laugh. That is faster than 90% of stock LO3's.

stu

I know your pain. My best ever 60' in my Integra (no traction control and the cheapest tires money could buy) was a high 2.3 60'. My 13.8 was on a 2.4 60', but my trap was still 106.86 mph.

Nitrous Al

JUST RACE HIM!!!

89IrocZ350TPI

Someone should have already said it.

gatoRS92

I called the kid earlier today and asked if he wanted to race with no money involved. I met him at Burger King and followed him out to a straight, non-busy road. The kid usually talks a lot of ****, but today he suprised me and was actually being cool.

First race, we went from a dig. I nailed my launch and he didn't. By the time I hit 2nd gear I had almost 3 cars on him. He kept up until 3rd gear and then I slowly pulled away. We only raced to about 75 (the road wasn't very long) and I had maybe 5-6 cars on him.

Second race was from about a 25 mph roll. Same result, but this time I beat him by about one full length.

Third race was from a 40 mph roll, and to my suprise, I kept right with him. He we raced to about 80 and he beat me by half a car length.

When we were done, he told me that he would race me again in the summer. He says he's putting $5,000 worth of parts under the hood, but he's pretty much broke so I think he's full of ****.

Psycho_91Camaro

Who the **** would want to invest any money on a cavalier???

Mod edit: Do not evade swear filters!

hihighost

Good show my man.

Sounds like you had a really fun night.

ShiftyCapone

iTrader: (7)

With that same mindset, Who would want to spend any money on a 3rd gen? I don't see a reason anymore to not put performance stuff on a 4 banger car. These motors are not what they used to be and with the lack of "decent" RWD V8 cars it is a viable choice. Especially since they are cheap to buy, insure, and maintenance. Not to mention they are reliable and many still have a warrenty.

freestylzz

What he said.

stu

People who are as dumb as you are.

89IrocZ350TPI

Well id rather put my money into an L98 third gen. They are going to have more potential beacuse of the larger displacement. Also an L98 is faster to begin with. Or I would rather put my money into an 89 TTA. You just have to find a third gen in good shape. Yes there are still some around lol.

gatoRS92

Due to the weight of the Cavalier, I can definately see why people would modify it. Same reason why people modify Civics and other lightweight 4-cylinders. With the right mods, they can be made very quick. I guess it just comes down to one's personal preferences and what type of car you like.

The kid called me today and told me he is getting a rare "high tech" $3,000 turbo kit for his Cavalier that he says isn't available yet in the United States. Apparently he is one of the first people to get one because he has "connections" with someone

I told him I'll race him again after I do my L98 swap. He told me instead of doing that, I should just put a turbo on my 305. He also told me that one of his friend's with a "super fast" Neon R/T wants to race me now. Apparently his friend's Neon is turbocharged and will "kill your Camaro" as he said, yet he also told me that he beat his friend's Neon with his Cavalier. The same exact Cavalier that I just raced and beat.

As you can tell, the kid is a complete moron.

stu

No turbokit for $3,000 can be considered "high tech" or "new" unless you bought it in 1938.

On a side note, I've got a buddy with a turbo Neon (not SRT-4, it's like a 1998) that ran a high 10 down in Texas. On the factory cork head gasket too!

89IrocZ350TPI

Sounds like someones jealous. I think he does not want you to get that L98 beacuse then you would really kick his A**. He goes on by talking about friends cars that will beat yours. Wow that kid is a loser. Someone is always going to have a faster car its common sense. Does he even have any specs for this "Turbocharged neon." Just beacuse it has a turbo does not mean its fast lol.

gatoRS92

Yeah, he is obviously BSing about this "high tech turbo" he is getting for his Cavalier, and who even knows what the deal is with his friend's Neon, I really don't give a crap. I barely even know this kid but it's pretty easy to tell he doesn't have a clue about anything.

PhAnToMs

iTrader: (2)

ya im with you with the options but i have power mirrors! lol 2.6 is horrible haha

montesa311

ok so this is embarising... i took my mom to the airport in her sat vue... and my friend followed in one of my old 305 auto camaro's... on the way back me driving my moms vue and my friend in my camaro... the vue would walk away ever time.. no matter if the camaro was at a roll, or stoped.... those little ecotecs are quick little motors.

89IrocZ350TPI

That sucks lol.

84TransAm305

just take his money... like they said its no slouch but you should have enough tq in your higher gears to pull from his, i raced my bros ecotech and i whipped it to the floor, granted his is a auto
but common i got a LG4 with headers, plugs, wires, and 2 1/4 straight pipes... so you should be able to take him.. and after your done with him tell him to take that fart can off, it doesnt do any good besides make it annoying

tpivette89

UPDATE: i went to Cecil County Dragway's opening night on Fri, got a new best E/T and mph... 15.83 at 88.59mph. 60ft was still lame at 2.45

the E/T can definately be improved to mid 15s or so if i can learn to launch FWD, but i think my mph is excellent for a bone stock 2.2L Ecotec

lilbowilson

iTrader: (2)

ok so this is embarising... i took my mom to the airport in her sat vue... and my friend followed in one of my old 305 auto camaro's... on the way back me driving my moms vue and my friend in my camaro... the vue would walk away ever time.. no matter if the camaro was at a roll, or stoped.... those little ecotecs are quick little motors.

LOL my wifes saturn VUE out ran my 95 eclipse RS.

ShiftyCapone

iTrader: (7)

Wow great times. Your times are consistant of the high 15's and mid 15's that people are seeing on j-body.org. I would like to get mine to the track to see if I can duplicate that.