The plan is not to have it break down going down the road but i want to put performance parts on to make this a fun little car. It has a small muffler hole so i want to replace that and a cold air intake would be nice. Any ideas/Tips/or help would be amazing.

 

The first thing would be to go after safety and reliability issues. Also take care of deferred maintenence items.

You should be able to find some increased power by doing this. It will be the cheapest and most cost effectI've approach..

So..... replace all fluids. Check your brakes.
Do you have any check engine codes.

You need to he aware that the fuel injectors on this car tend to leak eventually. The clue will be difficult starting, white smoke, and perhaps a code. Once this occurs you will need to remove your upper intake manifold when you fix those. While the manifold is off, you will also want to clean out the egr system. It tends to clog. Might as well clean out the throttle body and intake air control valve, also known as the iacv. Also check the knock sensor for cracks while you are in there anyway.

Replace the spark plugs. Use only NGK plugs.

No point in installing go-fast bolt on stuff till all this had been taken care of. This is a fairly powerful 1990s family car. It is not a Mustang or Camero.
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Yeah so it didnt start at first just got a clicking noise so then i changed the starter for a new one then i put in a new battery and terminals i also seen the air filter is brand new maybe even not stock. Besides that after the starter it runs now exceptionally well.i checked transmission fliud and oil levels it looks clean and nice. Btw im 20 how do you access the check engine codes and thats sort off stuff sorry if thats a dumb question although im a fast learner

 

um, so like there's this little thing called the INTERWEBS that if you put the codes in it'll tell you. sheesh

 

Regarding the codes.

if you have a smart phone, you can buy a scanner made by BAFX. It' sold by Amazon for about 20 bucks. It' more than a code reader. It not only shows the codes, but also let' you know whats going on with the engine systems in real time.


Your initial question regarding how to add power is quite common among young new members.

I'm in my 60s. Ive been working on my own cars since high school.

Our cars are over 20 years old. It is very likely that your car has been neglected to some degree.
Adding performance stuff to a neglected car is like asking someone my age to run a marathon while overweight with heart problems. Something is more than likey to break, or die.

The first order of business should be to make the car ultra reliable. You might be content with the results. The car has 190 hp, it weighs 3000 pounds.
Today's cars might have more hp, but weigh more.
Factory spec when the car was new was 0-60 in about 7 seconds.

Some add cat back exhaust, others work on the intake system.



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