[Mreichard06]

Has anyone tried putting a turbo or supercharger in their 1.8L? I downgraded from a gto for better gas mileage, and made an idiot move buying the non turbo cruze. Almost caused a couple wrecks because I'm used to the 500 horse power goat. I can have some hope of someone attempting a turbo and having success that's all I need. And what would be the best mods for this thing? I really like the car and want to get it up to about 350- 400 hpu eventually. Working in lowering,cai,full exhaust, and pulleys for now. Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks fellas!

 

[chevrasaki]

Welcome to the forum! This car will not return anything close to 300HP. It just won't. A few people have gotten into the 200HP range by throwing parts and tunes at it, but I think those folks have the 1.4L Turbo. You'll just have to learn to drive like an old lady. But at least you'll save a ton of gas money. Sorry to break the bad news, but this car is not, and will never be a performance car, which is too bad because it does look aggressive.

I've had to come to terms with that myself. My Cobalt was pretty quick by having a decent power to weight ratio, this car is heavy and has no power. It's special thing is it looks good and gets excellent gas mileage.

 

[Kalpazan]

Man, for that much power you need completely different car - RWD, stronger transmission, bigger brakes, HF injectors and gas pump... everything...

 

[Merc6]

Welcome to the forums, to get your 1.8 to that level you would be cheaper taking a hit on trade/private sale. There is like 1 or 2 turbo 1.8 but I don't even think they are in North America. Chevy made both engines the same HP on paper and sandbagged the **** out of the 1.4t for MPG and insurance purposes. Next generation they dropped the 1.8 and redesigned the 1.4 for all trims until diesel is available again.


As for full exhaust you may want to find videos or a local with full exhaust as it gets loud and raspy.

What year did you get? 11 has a different front strut design so springs for that car will be different from 12 to 16 limited.

 

[Mreichard06]

What about dropping the cobalt ss motor in this? I have the money to put down on it, now that I have a vagina of a car. I'm guessing it would be a research and development project. I definitely like the look of it. So do you guys think theirs anyway to keep the shell, and just use a different engine? The engine bay has a ton of room and I'm a welder for a living so I could fabricate any brackets/ mounts needed, but the computer difference is what scares me

 

[chevrasaki]

What about dropping the cobalt ss motor in this? I have the money to put down on it, now that I have a vagina of a car. I'm guessing it would be a research and development project. I definitely like the look of it. So do you guys think theirs anyway to keep the shell, and just use a different engine? The engine bay has a ton of room and I'm a welder for a living so I could fabricate any brackets/ mounts needed, but the computer difference is what scares me

You've already mentioned the issue. It's not getting the 2.0T engine to fit, the Verano is the basically the same car and it fits in there just fine. It's having to change out the entire ECU and wiring loom. Some folks on this forum have agreed that it would be easier to take a 2.0T Verano and change the body panels to make it look like a Cruze. You should have test drove it before buying it. It sounds like you bought the wrong car. Should have kept the GTO or bought a Camaro if you wanted 300+ HP.

 

[blk88verde]

Should have kept the GTO or bought a Camaro if you wanted 300+ HP.

- I kept my GTO when I purchased a 2011 ECO to save gas. I still have the GTO. The Cruze is gone, replaced with a BMW.

 

[NickD]

You may get by replacing a Briggs and Stratton engine with a Honda on your lawn mower without getting into trouble with the EPA or insurance company regulations, besides its an offroad vehicle. But the EPA is now getting involved with offroad stuff as well.

Each and every on road vehicle has to be certified by the EPA to meet their emission requirements, granted another engine may also meet those requirements, but not in the vehicle it was intended for. Not dealing with logic, but with the EPA.

If your insurance company or the other guys who is a fault, may find zero coverage if your vehicle was modified in anyway, even if this doesn't have anything to do with an accident. They hire not so honest "experts" to check over your vehicle, and even not so honest doctors to say in court, you weren't hurt so bad.

Most people are not even aware of this until it happens. If you do modify your vehicle in anyway, read your fine print, have to report these mods to your insurance company. Liability has really crossed the boundaries in this land of the free and the home of the brave.

No such thing as a bolt on supercharger or turbo, has be a ground up design. Those that have tried blew up their engines.

Ironically today with all these "green" people there are more over 500 HP vehicles available ever before in our history, it makes the 60's and early 70's look like kids stuff. They also have to meet all governmental regulations, but it only takes $$$$$ to buy one.

55 still means 55, never in our history did we have more cops on the road.

 

[AZ007]

You could go the other way and make the car lighter. Lose the spare tire (-15 lbs), nice rims (-15 lbs), lithium battery (-30 lbs)...