Performance/interior questions

[k0ba1t]

So i spun a bearing in my '96 SC2 and had to rebuild my engine and put $1800 into that, so i figure, might as well turn the car into the DD/tuner ive wanted for a long time. Ive already started my bio-hazard theme with a bright green painted engine and tranny, with contrasted bolts and intake. (black/green or green/black).

Soon i will be picking up the factory headers from a 91-92 and getting them blasted and painted black and hooked to my 2 1/4" exhaust, and an AEM CAI soon after that. Are there any other performance mods that dont require pulling apart the engine again to complete?

Now on to my more pressing questions. Suspension. Struts i am looking at are KYB GR-2's or Sachs Super Touring. anyone have any info on the sachs? i want something more sporty and stiffer then stock, but not for much racing. (occasional street race here and there, something that will give me a bit more of an advantage off the line) Also should i stick with stock springs? or are there springs that give me good performance/comfort without dropping me 2"? the most i want to go is 1-1.5 at the max. Eibach will give me too much bounce i think but the sport springs that a lot of saturners run, (cant remember the name at the moment) i think will be a bit too stiff for a daily driver.

Next question is on the interior. i read somewhere that Celica GT seats are far more comfortable and swap into an SC2 no problem as far as spacing goes, but what about the rear bucket seats? I want black leather for my seats. right now i have the ugly tan cloth interior. Also how hard is the dash to remove?

Is a short shifter still made for our saturns?

I already have the windows tinted to 15%, and a nice sound system installed. I plan to sound deaden when i do my interior mods and rip out the carpet and headliner and such.

Thats all i can really think of at the moment. If there are any other performance/aesthetic mods that anyone could suggest, i welcome any input.

k0

[AlexofNazareth]

vms150 over on Sixthsphere.com still sells short shifters for $75+shipping and a $30 refundable core when you ship your old one back.

1800 on a rebuild? what cost so damn much?

Just go with the H&R sports and GR-2s. The ride is good enough, even with my summer tires on. Dont forget a wheely bar in the back to keep the front end down when you go street racing.

[k0ba1t]

Originally Posted by AlexofNazareth

vms150 over on Sixthsphere.com still sells short shifters for $75+shipping and a $30 refundable core when you ship your old one back.

1800 on a rebuild? what cost so damn much?

Just go with the H&R sports and GR-2s. The ride is good enough, even with my summer tires on. Dont forget a wheely bar in the back to keep the front end down when you go street racing.

that high because i had to replace the crank, and replaced a bunch of other stuff on the engine as well, like water pump, full gasket kit, ects, etc. all the little stuff just started to add up. with my busy schedule i just had my mechanic do it, and parts only added up to about 1300, but he charged me 400 labor, which if you think about it isnt that much.

Will the short shifter get rid of some of the sloppiness in the shifter? like the horizontal movement and such?

Also will the H&R springs kill my shocks? or are they more or less a good pair for longevity?

k0

[AlexofNazareth]

Yup. vms does good work with his short shifters. You wont be disappointed.

If you're talking about the Sports on your stock shocks, chances are that theyre already blown(all 4 of mine were crap when i took them off). If youre going through the hassle of putting springs on, may as well put them on new struts.

[Recycled Saturn]

You can also get a Storm DOHC or SOHC throttle body (the DOHC is larger). The gains will be minimal though.

[PurdueGuy]

It's a header, not headers (each assembly is a header, since we only have one assembly, we have one header).

Other performance parts without taking apart the engine... tuning. Read up on tuning. There's more power to be made in tuning than in bolt-on parts in these cars.

You could also put in a flux capacitor so you can go back to the early '90s when a biohazard theme would be cool. Though I guess radiation & biohazard themes have been played out for so long that it could be cool in a retro/ironic way...

*edit*

Forgot to address the seating question - nothing other than S-Series seats is going to bolt right in. Front seats from many other cars will fit in the space, but you'll have to do custom mounting. Rear seats from other cars aren't going to swap in either. If you want leather, you're going to need to find leather seats from an S-Series, or contact Katskinz or an upholsterer.

[k0ba1t]

Originally Posted by PurdueGuy

It's a header, not headers (each assembly is a header, since we only have one assembly, we have one header).

Other performance parts without taking apart the engine... tuning. Read up on tuning. There's more power to be made in tuning than in bolt-on parts in these cars.

You could also put in a flux capacitor so you can go back to the early '90s when a biohazard theme would be cool. Though I guess radiation & biohazard themes have been played out for so long that it could be cool in a retro/ironic way...

*edit*

Forgot to address the seating question - nothing other than S-Series seats is going to bolt right in. Front seats from many other cars will fit in the space, but you'll have to do custom mounting. Rear seats from other cars aren't going to swap in either. If you want leather, you're going to need to find leather seats from an S-Series, or contact Katskinz or an upholsterer.

Well my biohazard theme is a bit different. My symbol is a biohazard symbol fused with a yin Yang symbol.

On seating thats what I meant. What seats would be a good fit and add good comfort? Mounting isn't that hard for seats. Angle iron and a drill does wonders lol.

Any good websites for tuning? Or threads on this site?

K0

[madpogue]

Originally Posted by k0ba1t

Well my biohazard theme is a bit different. My symbol is a biohazard symbol fused with a yin Yang symbol.

Challenge: integrate the two intersecting arcs of the Saturn symbol into this.

[Sidneyaks]

You could always do niamhblack13's world famous srt-4 swap. So easy it may as well be a bolt on.

[k0ba1t]

Originally Posted by Sidneyaks

You could always do niamhblack13's world famous srt-4 swap. So easy it may as well be a bolt on.

ohhhhh now those look nice and comfy :3. may have to look into those! if i can find a pair for under $200 at least. Ordered my AEM CAI yesterday, and an exhaust header will be pretty soon.

[kwayne4588]

There are seats on ebay from JDM. Has anyone tried them? I am wondering if this is a case of you get what you paid for. They come in different colors and materials.

[PurdueGuy]

Originally Posted by kwayne4588

There are seats on ebay from JDM. Has anyone tried them? I am wondering if this is a case of you get what you paid for. They come in different colors and materials.

"from JDM"... you could post a link, but I would bet they're cheap junk.

JDM generally doesn't refer to a brand, it refers to the "Japanese Domestic Market", a.k.a. stuff sold in Japan. People with cars from Japanese brands often like to find out about interesting parts that are offered on models sold in Japan but not in the US, and then try to aquire those parts for performance, looks, or just bragging rights. It's something that can be kind of cool, but quickly became a giant joke as ignorant fanboys started latching onto the term & applying it to any & all aftermarket parts. That said, most inexpensive aftermarket "JDM" stuff is cheap crap marketed to suckers who don't know what they're looking for, they're just looking for something cool & different (and generally end up with something tacky & played out).

Another huge consideration in seats - they play a HUGE role in your safety in a crash. They have to handle large forces, and a broken seat in a crash will likely result in a broken person. Same goes for seat mounts. Whether you're looking at putting in aftermarket seats, or OEM seats from another car, make sure it's quality work from the seat itself to the bracketry holding it down, for your own safety.

/rant.

[k0ba1t]

thats for sure. ive looked into getting those "grand turino style" seats or whatever they were called for my old car off of ebay for leik 250 a pair. they looked nice enough, but upon further research they were pretty much crap and i decided against them. If i got seats they would be OEM from another car. those SRT-4 seats look pretty damn nice, and im pretty sure i could match or exceed OEM bracketry specs.

the rails and brackets are just made out of steel correct? and its pretty thin too? So making a bracket adapter out of 3/8" or so mild steel should be plenty strong eh?

[kwayne4588]

Originally Posted by PurdueGuy

"from JDM"... you could post a link, but I would bet they're cheap junk.

I would post a link but it seems that you have to have 15 posts before you can post a link

[k0ba1t]

is there any good info on tuning? i guess its time i start looking into that. would i have to desolder and get the chip reprogrammed? or can you do that externally?

k0

[AlexofNazareth]

the only tuning options are using a piggyback(SAFCII) or going full standalone(Megasquirt is one of the more popular methods).

theres no chipping or tuning the stock pcm

[k0ba1t]

Originally Posted by AlexofNazareth

the only tuning options are using a piggyback(SAFCII) or going full standalone(Megasquirt is one of the more popular methods).

theres no chipping or tuning the stock pcm

oic. ill have to look more into a SAFCII.

Anyone know any comfortable seats that come in black leather that would be a good swap? im looking into some srt4 ones atm, but they are vinyl/cloth, and i would really like leather if i could find it.

let me know!

[cloud819]

Originally Posted by k0ba1t

oic. ill have to look more into a SAFCII.

Anyone know any comfortable seats that come in black leather that would be a good swap? im looking into some srt4 ones atm, but they are vinyl/cloth, and i would really like leather if i could find it.

let me know!

Consider cloth for a performance car. Leather is great and my favorite seat material, but performance cars are about turning and leather (except suede) is not so great for that.

[k0ba1t]

Originally Posted by cloud819

Consider cloth for a performance car. Leather is great and my favorite seat material, but performance cars are about turning and leather (except suede) is not so great for that.

XD valid point, and something to consider. i need to hit up a local junkyard. they pull seats from higher end cars when they get them instead of leaving them in the car to rot. and their prices are pretty good if i remember right.

My 92 factory header is getting sandblasted right now, and my AEM CAI gets here tomorrow and i will paint it to match the rest of my engine bay when i have time. i already have the paint, just need an hour or two to do it right. Anodized green chrome thing color :o. its gonna be niccceeeee.

k0