so I'm new to the site and I need a bit of advice, from peeps that know what they are talkin about...

so I am takin out my engine to tinker with it some, got a complete headgasket kit to put on it (lil maintenance), only thing I really have done is and AreoSpeed muffler, I kinda don't really wanna get into a turbo, so I was thinkin bout

a) High Compression Pistons, maybe bore the block a couple tenth over
b) intake and header
c) Under Drive pulley
d) adjustable cam gears
e) and buddy at machine shop might port and polish my head and intake
f) some kinda upgrade on the throttle body

if you guys have any advice about these things, a rough idea about what kinda horsepower I might see outta some of these things, aaaannnnnddddd if there are any good (cheap) sites I can look into about getting these things

There are no real "cheap" sites.

www.exileracing.com
www.howellautomotive.com
www.ptuning.com
www.modernperformance.com

You can look at those sites.

I don't know if you can go tenths over on the cylender bore, hundredths, yes (.020, .030). Maybe I'm wrong

Also, if you plan to turbo you would usually want to go with lower compression pistons to allow for easier tuning and the ability to run on pump gas. 8.8:1 is the standard.

I wouldnt waste money on the intake and header if you plan to go turbo anyway. Also, not going to get much from cam gears unless you already have enough mods to make it worth while.

agreed, cam gears aren't going to do that much on stock cams

Originally posted by onetrav
Also, if you plan to turbo you would usually want to go with lower compression pistons to allow for easier tuning and the ability to run on pump gas. 8.8:1 is the standard. I wouldnt waste money on the intake and header if you plan to go turbo anyway. Also, not going to get much from cam gears unless you already have enough mods to make it worth while.

I'm prolly not gonna go turbo on it ever, i'm not real concerned with pullin like 300HP out of it i just want a good solid running car, ya know, I got a cutlass that I'm thinkin bout droppin a 455 in so satisfy my horsepower needs, plus a crotch rocket that is plenty fast enough for me, i just really like my Avenger i just want it to have a bit more pep... keep the advice coming I need all of it I can get

Originally posted by 95venger

Originally posted by onetrav Also, if you plan to turbo you would usually want to go with lower compression pistons to allow for easier tuning and the ability to run on pump gas. 8.8:1 is the standard. I wouldnt waste money on the intake and header if you plan to go turbo anyway. Also, not going to get much from cam gears unless you already have enough mods to make it worth while.

I'm prolly not gonna go turbo on it ever, i'm not real concerned with pullin like 300HP out of it i just want a good solid running car, ya know, I got a cutlass that I'm thinkin bout droppin a 455 in so satisfy my horsepower needs, plus a crotch rocket that is plenty fast enough for me, i just really like my Avenger i just want it to have a bit more pep... keep the advice coming I need all of it I can get

Well then your list sounds good. Dont forget cams and some kinda of engine management. Check the performance mods list on the front page. And plan on being happy with 150 whp.

i felt the same as you at first and wasted alot of money on n/a parts, thousands and thousands of dollars and might have actually put an extra 10 hp down to the wheels and i done it all right. if your not lookinf for 400 wp thats fine but in my opinion a stage 1 or stage 2 kit is the way to go for a fraction of what you will spend on n/a mods and 20times the wp. my car is no mean machine but i can take most cars in my class. its pretty good when you can eat up a 5.0 mustang with a little 2.0 4 banger. throw a turbo on there and keep your boost low, that way your engine will stay happy and when you need the extra punch its waiting for you at about 3200 rpms. i guarantee you this is the cheapest route.No matter what you do to your car there are gonna be issues, once you leave the stock set up you open a bunch of doors that most of the time lead to trouble. once your able to tear into the motor and fix your problems modding becomes more fun. im just telling you not all people who turbo are looking for 400 wp they are just looking to make there car faster than it is now. or should i say "noticably faster" cause as you mod it for n/a application youll believe your getting quicker and quicker but believe me nothing compares to boost even 3 lbs of it is better than any n/a mod you will ever do to your 420a.

ditto /\ /\ /\

Hey man I am the same way you are this is just the nice cruisin' car. Check out my sig, I have been pretty happy with the results, as far as money goes, it aint cheap to be NA. I could of spent the same and made more power turbo, but why...I have just as much fun without it.

I was sorta running your setup for a while NA and turbo hehe minus the header I guess. you might want to invest in a sAFC and AF ratio gauge so you can tune your WOT.

The power was pretty good it was enough to do some long drifts at high speed but sometimes it wasn't enough power.

I never got it dyno'ed though almost did but the line was too long :(

for NA its good you can push it hard if you have a lotta miles you might wanna rebuild your head when you put the pistons in I swallowed an exhuast valve (piece broke off) on a freeway run one time I guess our valves aren't made to handle turbo.

turbo is the way to go, I had so much fun with turbo all that torque and power. Its cheaper than all motor that's for sure but the pistons may crap out eventually. if you don't run a lotta boost and intercool it thought it'll make a good daily driver engine.

so you fellas think that if I went say... high compression pistons, ported and polished head and intake, header and intake, big throttle body, and an underdrive pulley, that I would feel it much at the pedal, i'm looking for something I can drive for awhile with a lil pep, if I'm fighting a lost cause with out a turbo I may just look into getting something else, i don't want to I love my avenger but i'm lookin more practical... oh well let me know some guys

I would say, to make the car a bit more peppy without breaking the bank, try this:

-cam gears
-Crower 2 cams
-PTC lifters/followers
-bored TB
-gasket-matched/ported lower intake manifold
-4-2-1 header (Pacesetter or SSAutochrome)
-ebay short ram intake w/ K&N
-AFX UDP
-exhaust
-filled motor mounts

These mods would give you a bit mroe pep in the right foot department and get you a bit more power for a bit less money. You're still going to be well under 150whp with this set up, but the car will feel quicker and, with a nice suspension set up, you'll still enjoy driving the car. You'll get the cool idle, a rumblier exhaust note, a bit more pull in the top end, and you'll feel the engine when it's running.

You save money by not buying a worthless intake manifold, expensive pistons/rods, or any serious EMS.

Don't give up on it, man. It's always cheaper to keep what you have than invest in something else. If anything, just clean it up nice and drive it while the rocket goes together, eh? :thumbsup