GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

I'm looking for various performance modifications that I can make to my Vibe from $0.00 - $50.00, $50.00 - $100.00 and others that are more expensive. But, I would like to get some ideas that are relatively cheap, with no exterior modifications.

Get a K&N airfilter. Costs less than $50 and improves airflow in the standard air box.Use a synthetic oil (ex. Mobil 1, 5W-30). Worth the premium over regular oil (I purchase 5 qt. bottles).

There really aren't many cheap and effective performance mods. A few members would probably recommend the Power Tower (under $100) from what I understand it actually works, I'm keeping my eye on one as a spring mod. Other than that, you could go with a K&N filter for around $50 but a full intake would give better performance but the price is higher. Don't buy into cheap mods that promise inflated HP numbers. Always do a search on GenVibe to find out the poopscoop on mods before you get suckered into some POS.

I just got a short ram for $33 including filter. check out E-bay. cvheck under the matrix also.

Ok, with that said, what modification yields the best performance for the buck? I'm not looking for a cheap scam like you mentioned. I just don't have a ton of money to put toward modifications, but I would like the performance of my car to increase. I got owed by an older buick regal I believe mid 90's. I think he had the 3.8 V6, and he toasted me. . Heck, I think that my wife's 2.2L Ion is faster than my Vibe, (Standard Vibe automatic).

CAI and Exhaust. You can get both for under $500. You may want to speak with the heavily modded members, they will know more about this than little old me, but being long in the tooth around here, I've picked up a few kernels of wisdom. I would avoid the $33 intakes from ebay, from what I understand the quality is lacking a bit. I have no complaints with my injen.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought that CAI's didn't give much horsepower, nor noticiable performance. Now, I know these are expensive, and I have not really looked into it, but does anyone know the average price on a Supercharger? And is it worth it? I know with a Supercharger, CAI, and Exhaust, I would have a pretty nice set up. Also, do they make a smaller supercharger pulley for the Vibe's Supercharger? A smaller pulley helps with more HP.

The CAI does give you a little more giddy up and go, and you do notice it. A supercharger is going to run somewhere around $2000 at least. And one of our fine members has used the different pully setup to pull extra boost from the SC.

I received my intake from E-bay today and the quality is top notch. I guess I am not impressed with brand names. I like to pay for the product not the product name.

What year and model is your Vibe?This will determine what is available for your car.

Quote, originally posted by Digger »I received my intake from E-bay today and the quality is top notch. I guess I am not impressed with brand names. I like to pay for the product not the product name. I was just going by other member's experiences with the ebay intakes. Is it a full CAI or a Short Ram?

Quote, originally posted by Digger »I received my intake from E-bay today and the quality is top notch. I guess I am not impressed with brand names. I like to pay for the product not the product name. i completely agree. i wouldn't pay over 100$ for a CAI short or full. i bought a CAI (full) for under 50$. quality is good for 50$-. ebay is posibly one of the best places for mods. S/C's run around 1.5K on ebay. from what i've seen.as far as exhaust goes. you can have a local shop do a custom job for 100$. plus muffler. pep boys, auto zone. mufflers go around 100$. instead of the traditional systems that fallow the stock routing. you can have them hang the muffler on the right side instead of the left.this is what i plan on doing.

It is a Short Ram. I will agree with ya though, You have to be carefully of who and what you get on E-bay. As with everything there is good and bad there. I also got a TB spacer to hook up to the Short ram. I am looking for some better midrange power in the hopes it will also improve MPG.

you guys might notice that on my pictures i have a short intake. well, it was full system modified for short usage.

Quote, originally posted by BlueCrush »What year and model is your Vibe?This will determine what is available for your car.I have a 2005 Standard Vibe, everything is stock. It's the two toned Maroon, and gray. I wanted a full colored Vibe, but I got a good deal on it. Also, I think that the 03' and 04' models look a lot more sportier than the 05's. Does anyone else agree?

Hell yes! But you can see which way I lean.

I agree with you, the 05's just look to slow....

the only difference is the front end. I think it looks more stock car like and more aerodynamic. I go against the grain I guess I like the 05 look better than the Eagle beak front end of the pre 05's.I just finished installing my short ram and throttle spacer and it runs great and sounds great.

the original vibes look more pontiac to me. the newer ones look as though they had to meet some sort of regulation in a rush.

Quote, originally posted by Digger »the only difference is the front end. I think it looks more stock car like and more aerodynamic. I go against the grain I guess I like the 05 look better than the Eagle beak front end of the pre 05's.Nice to see someone out there likes this view.

Unfortunately, I have the TRD cold air intake, and the Borla exhaust, and my friends stock ION sedan out ran me Our cars just aren't really built for performance!! I also have every mod done to the suspension and do believe I would bet him in any cornering!! The only way to really get power from our cars is to bolt on the SC or to get a turbo set up done, and I would recommend checking out http://WWW.MONKEYWRENCHRACING.COM for many other engine upgrades to make our little engine even bigger. I'd like to get one of the stroker kits to boost our car to just under a 2.0L instead of 1.8L.