2000 chevy cavalier cheap upgrades

Question

I am a high schooler that was lucky enough to get a 2000 chevy cavalier 2.2l automatic 4 door sedan for $100 for my 16th birthday. One of the parents owns a drag strip/race track that we can use, so we are NOT doing this stuff on the road. Sometimes after school we like to race for fun. I already know that a cavalier is not the ideal car. We are careful about it, so we don't need a safety warning. The car is completely unmodded and I was wondering what I could do for fairly cheap to make it more show off (from a high schooler's perspective such as faster acceleration, louder engine, higher top speed, etc.) Sadly there is hardly any room under the hood for extra stuff. I am fairly good with electronics and I have a way to interface my arduino to the obd2 port so if I can do anything there please suggest it (I don't have access to a reprogrammer, but I can send commands over the obd2 port, but I am not very familiar with obd2.) So in conclusion what can I do for fairly cheap to make it more show off (from a high schooler's perspective such as faster acceleration, louder engine, higher top speed, etc.) If this is the wrong place to ask this question, can you please suggest where to ask it. Any ideas are welcome. This does still have to work as an every day car.

P.S. The engine doesn't have any problems and it is at ~168,000 mi.

Answer 1

If the question emphasis is on cheap, weight reduction is your friend

For many reasons:

• A lighter car accelerates more quickly

  Because physics. Since you're planning to drag race, top speed should be less of a concern here.

• It costs nothing except time and effort

  Plus it'll help you get familiar with how the car is bolted together

• There's a chance you can earn something from selling the parts you remove

  Think breakers' yards, eBay, dedicated car forums... The proceeds could then be used towards purchasing a performance mod later.

• You'd be following the Colin Chapman philosophy: "Simplify, and add lightness"

  It's the low-hanging fruit of racing.

• There are lots of components that could be removed without affecting the car's essential functionalities

  A few examples (you can pick and choose what you want to keep):

  • air conditioning components (compressor, condenser, evaporator)
  • all seats except the driver's seat
  • interior trim
  • spare wheel
  • engine bonnet

Answer 2

For most vehicles, the cheap but effective upgrades are:

• Advance your timing: 2 degrees of timing advance can give you a bit more umph, you may need to start using intermediate fuel instead of regular though
• Exhaust header: on most vehicles, this is the best bang for your budget buck. Replace your stock exhaust manifold by an exhaust header, let the engine breathe more easily, free up some power. Generic ones can be just as good for less money. You're looking at $100 for the part.
• Performance air filter: replace your paper air filter with a reusable cartridge, good for a few more HP. Stay away from short ram intakes, all they do is look cool, but now your engine is breathing warm air. You're looking at $60 for the part.
• Exhaust: Most vehicles either don't have much gains to be had from an exhaust upgrade, or the upgrade is expensive. We are talking about replacing the exhaust pipe from the catalytic converter to the muffler. A larger diameter usually allows better flow, but go too big and you kill your performance. Some vehicles don't have the space to accomodate a larger pipe, and some vehicles already have a pretty optimal-sized pipe. Muffler upgrades only give you minimal gains in performance, people mostly do this for obnoxious sound or to have shiny things sticking out from under your bumper. There are shiny muffler tips that will do that last part for cheap.
• Nitrous oxide: This will give you a boost at the press of a button. Ideal for the drag-strip, not terribly expensive for the bang you get.