Probably a very dumb question but...
 

Would it be worth my money to put anytime sort of time/money into my 03 2.2 because it is an automatic? i know manual is preferred obviously but these days can autos do anything close? i both hate/love my car and i want to put some money into it but at the same time if its wiser to pay it off and get something different i guess i'll have to. some guys i've seen have really nice aleros but i mean, its not like they are throwin out 400hp so would the difference between auto and manual make that big of a difference?

sorry if its dumb but i'm no mechanic and i'd really love some input. thanks guys

Will your automatic ever match a manual for performance? No. Are you a professional racer? I'm guessing also no. The majority of people on here aren't trying to make the fastest car in the world, they do this because they enjoy it. If you will get enjoyment out of it, do it, even if it won't be the fastest car on the block.

ions automatic hauls ass. now if you build it and such, i heard autos hold more power than manuals. manuals are just more fun lol

And autos are super complicated. In any case, do what you want to do with the car, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise, although I strongly advise against park benches and fart-cans, if that's what you want to do, go for it.

Also not a dumb question cause my 3.4 is an automatic and I'd love to build it, although I don't have that kind of money now so most of what I'm doing pertains to lighting (LEDs at $0.44 a piece=pwnage).

And a third thing, 400 HP is huge unless you're talking about a rear-wheel drive, probably big block. 250HP with a front wheel drive is very significant, and would be fun to drive, but much more than that isn't practical except at the track.

a manuals mad fun, y not just hunt down a getrag and swap it in?

yeah i just noticed that Ion's alero is an auto lol, and i could only wish to have my alero anywhere near his in performance or beauty. so i guess i will just tinker with it as i wish and not worry about a manual, thanks guys :)

wouldnt going from auto to manual be a PITA? i mean obviously getting a trans wouldnt be to hard but to mod everything else? shifter, peddle, blah blah

You'd probably be better off just buying one with a manual.

Just do little things, start with easy mods (clearing corners, etc.) and move up to bigger projects (heads, cams, bottom end, so on so forth). I got my first car which was a 94 dakota, and at that time didn't even know how to check oil. Mostly by just messing with stuff myself I now can do pretty much any job with the right tools and enough time to dig around. Learn by doing, and don't get disappointed if you don't know everything yet, everyone starts out green.

yeah true, but i believe i owe roughly, 2k on my car still. so to pay that off + buy a new alero manual, which arnt super hard to find but also arnt very easy to come across, i could use it all towards my auto, i mean, i'm not looking for a street machine to try to blow away a camaro or something, i just wanna see what i can do myself. i always enjoy what i put my own time and money into, just never did it with a car soo, we'll see what happens, still browsing around on how hard/easy it is to find things for an alero

Oh, and welcome to the site, abuse the search button, and if you can't find what you need, don't be afraid to ask questions. Don't take anything too seriously, and you'll enjoy the site.

Also a couple good resources if you're going to do modifications:
http://www.aleromod.com/forums/showt...ed+ Questions
http://sites.google.com/site/aleromodupgrades/

What I meant was if you really wanted a manual buy a different one. As is, I'd stick with the auto. Also I wasn't into cars at all at first, but once I started modding I fell in love. Now my car is my favorite hobby, and I love it even when I have to fix it.

agreed! probably going to just stick with what i got, i mean, she aint in the best of shape but she is my baby! 2 fine years so far with only a few issues (fuel pump, coil spring) so i guess now its just where do i start!

Well you could clear your corners, that's a pretty easy one(although I haven't gotten around to it myself yet :banghead: ). If you want performance I'd do a WAI or CAI and an exhaust. For the 4 cylinders a chambered muffler (ie. flowmaster, edelbrock) usually sounds best, if you get a turbo or glasspack style it'll sound pretty ricey. Another fairly easy mod is lighting, and there's a number of things you can do there. I'm a fan of LEDs and am in the process of eliminated every single halogen bulb in my Alero in favor of LEDs

ahh yeah, prolly start with intake, which is normally done for the alero ecos? WAI or CAI? and how do the leds look in your alero? happen to have any pics?

I don't because I'm just starting, and actually all I have in is cold cathodes to light up my footwells so far, and an LED dome light from Oznium. As for which is done more on the L61 I don't know, but I prefer the WAI, because it may get very slightly less mileage and power bonuses compared to a CAI, you don't have to clean the filter as often, it's easier to get at the filter, and you don't have to worry about sucking up water or snow.

gotcha! well being here in chicago, doesnt look like i'll be going towards a CAI, to much rain and snow so WAI it is!

wtf? i done manual swaps on hondas before its not that hard. new trans shift linkage, clutch/flywheel, interior pieces, umm maybe axles... its not impossibru

you can buy mine if you like lol..

Just stay with the auto. I have a 3.4, so i may be way out there on this, but with ours you can reprogram the control module and change the shift points and everything. At that point, unless you can shift faster than the computer, which is timed with the motor and everything else, you should be faster. BUT, i have a 3.4, not the ecotec. Something to check though. Just have fun with it, and after its all modded out and you still like it, drop in a badass powerplant and tranny. Like a 455 toronado front end!

i have ran CAI's and i live in Iowa if its done right you'll be fine you won't get snow in the filter unless you decide that a 2ft. drift looks inviting. that's why i drive my womans suv my alero (when it ran) was just fine in the snow...