New guy from Canada

Hi there, I'm from Chatham, Ontario in Canada. Nice little town, no real street racing but full of ricers. Chatham, is actually considered the Classic car capital of Canada, or something like that. But we are home to RM Classic car restoration, on of the biggest car resoration companies.

Anyway, I bought my 2002 Olds Alero GX back in March of this year. Kind of a rare find actually as its a 5 speed. It has the Ecotec 2.2L 4 cyl. It seems to have a lot of options, like A/C, power windows, power locks, traction control, ABS among other things. So far I really love the car. It had 62K KM on it when I bought it, now has 77K. Its in good condition, some visual flaws, but nothing major. The right side of the car was at some time painted but someone that was not very good, but not much I can do about that. The colour match is excellent though.

So far, I have done a few mods to it. I started with switching out the muffler for an E-Bay N1 knockoff. Actually looks pretty nice IMO, and sounds nice too. After that, I switched out the stock air box for a cone air filter with a 90* bend adapter and replaced the resonator on top of the throttle body with a 90* bend. I fabed up a bracket to hold the filter up. I'm still using the stock rubber part of the tube. I see no need to replace it untill I really get into making things visually apealing. I've also fabbed up a torque brace for the engine, which you can see in my pics.

For the exterior, I have Intrax lowering springs and American Racing Casino wheels with General tires. The wheels are 18x8 with a 40mm offset. The tires are General Exclaim UHP in 235/40R18. The wheels couldn't fit much better and they look amazing IMO. So far I haven't done anything to the interior, besides upgrade the stereo. I've got a Clarion DXZ545MP headunit, Clarion pro audio 6x9's, Pyle tweeters and stock 4x6's in the front, and a 12" pioneer sub in a 2.5cuft ported custom box with a cheap 300 watt amp. I believe that you don't need real expensive equipment to make a nice sounding system, and so far I have managed to exceed my expectations.

I don't think I'll be doing too much more than this to my car. It is my DD after all, my project/summer car is my 82 RX-7 and I don't plan to make this car a project. So, here are the pics I have.









Here is my cardomain page: http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2442688/1

[battistoni21]

nice looking engine bay...... welcome and enjoy

[Mischief007]

Nice car. Might see me around if you go to London. I go down to London quite a bit of time. Mind you mine looks stock. I really should lower the car.

[Cliff8928]

Looks nice, I wish i could've got mine in that color instead of bright red. And it's a GL by the way. All GXs have manual windows and mirrors.

[Daytona]

Welcome aboard!

Originally Posted by Cliff8928

Looks nice, I wish i could've got mine in that color instead of bright red. And it's a GL by the way. All GXs have manual windows and mirrors.

Nope, VIN code says its a GX. At least thats what it says on my insurance card, with the VIN right next to it.

Thanks for the nice comments.

Actually, I have a friend that recently moved up to London, so I'm there once in a while. Last time I was near london though was for Chatham Kent fun day at St. Thomas dragway. It was my first time at the track. Out of 16 or so runs, I managed a best of 16.403@83.66mph. Not bad considering my first run was a 17.4 or something like that. My RT really needs attention though. I think I managed a best of .77 RT or something. I was as slow as 1.5 RT or something. Would have had a slightly faster time if I could get rid of that damned wheel hop on launch.

[Satsuriku]

Welcome!

happy modding ^_^

[steve-o]

just what i like to see, another canadian member! welcome!

[jackal2000]

welcome

[Mischief007]

Originally Posted by an02oldsalero

Nope, VIN code says its a GX. At least thats what it says on my insurance card, with the VIN right next to it.

Thanks for the nice comments.

Actually, I have a friend that recently moved up to London, so I'm there once in a while. Last time I was near london though was for Chatham Kent fun day at St. Thomas dragway. It was my first time at the track. Out of 16 or so runs, I managed a best of 16.403@83.66mph. Not bad considering my first run was a 17.4 or something like that. My RT really needs attention though. I think I managed a best of .77 RT or something. I was as slow as 1.5 RT or something. Would have had a slightly faster time if I could get rid of that damned wheel hop on launch.

I ran a 16.8 but mine is stock. By the way, my Alero is insured as a GX as well but in reality it is a GL2. .

[Silentalero]

i think my gx ran 20+ so dont feel bad lol

[ptrudel]

lol marc thats cuz yours weighed a ton

thats a good starting point for sure, maybe we'll get to meet up sometime

Originally Posted by Silentalero

i think my gx ran 20+ so dont feel bad lol

OMG! thats a horrible time. I was actually quite impressed with the time. I was expecting a high 16 or low 17 as a best run. Anyway, untill I find out otherwise, I consider my car a GX.

Oh ya, just so you all know, I'm no newbie to online forums and whatnot. This is the fourth I've registered to. On the main forum that I reside on, I have over 2000 posts, which happens to be www.rx7club.com. My project car is an 82 RX-7 that I've been working on for over 3 years. I know a thing or two about cars.

[ptrudel]

wish i had an ecotec....so much more selection for aftermarket parts compared to the twin cam

Yay!!! Another Canadian!!
Welcome to the site!!
Nice car btw!

[Silentalero]

no i actually ran mid 17's but thats because my car also had alot of weight...i go by the theory that you might get there faster, but i'll look better when i do get there lol

Originally Posted by Silentalero

no i actually ran mid 17's but thats because my car also had alot of weight...i go by the theory that you might get there faster, but i'll look better when i do get there lol

Nice one, I'll have to remember that one for when someone says my car is slow, lol.

Originally Posted by 2000_olds_alero

wish i had an ecotec....so much more selection for aftermarket parts compared to the twin cam

The twin cam can't be that bad. After all, it did come with 155 stock instead of 140 for the ecotec. The ecotec is a very nice engine though. Smooth running, smoother than a lot of 4's I've driven. The only car that I've driven that had a smoother running engine was my RX-7. I could cruise at 5500rpm in 2nd without a problem and it felt perfectly at home doing it. My only gripe is that the ecotec likes to hold rpm's when you let out the gas for a shift. Complicates shifting a little.

[Mischief007]

Originally Posted by an02oldsalero

The twin cam can't be that bad. After all, it did come with 155 stock instead of 140 for the ecotec. The ecotec is a very nice engine though. Smooth running, smoother than a lot of 4's I've driven. The only car that I've driven that had a smoother running engine was my RX-7. I could cruise at 5500rpm in 2nd without a problem and it felt perfectly at home doing it. My only gripe is that the ecotec likes to hold rpm's when you let out the gas for a shift. Complicates shifting a little.

The shifting is the hard part. Talked to a Saturn dealer and he said all of them do that with that combination of engine and transmission. At low speed it really complicates. I find that between 3 and 4000 it shifts nicely but it really likes red line shifts for some odd reason. That's my car anyways.

welcome aboard