suggestions for 01 non turbo 5 spd

[01ptjrod]

i have a 2001 pt cruiser (of course)5 spd ....and its non turbo and all i have done to it is a cold air intake......what can i do for a cheap performance upgrade....i was thinkn bout a oversized throttle-body and maybe a spacer....but i dont know if that would give the increase in performance that i want.......the cold air intake definitly added like 5-10 hp and i could definitly feel and hear it in second n third gear..... if u guys have any tips i would really appreciate some help with this.

thanx
jarrid

[Johns Steel Blue]

The concenus of most is that the Throttle Body Spacer is a waste of money.

[CREWZIN]

Welcome to the forum. Bad news for ya. First, the cold air intake MAYBE gave you about 3 hp and you won't feel it. It makes a lot more noise but your only imagining the jump in hp. It would take a dyno or a run down the track to see any difference. The Throttle body spacer (as John already said) is a waste of money. It worked or does work on a carburetor engine but not on the cruiser. The oversized TB won't help unless you do some head work to use the extra air. The only other thing to do for a little bit of performance is to free up the exhaust output. Cheapest way to do it is to put on a performance muffler like Dyno Max, Borla etc.

There is a procedure to increase the shifting of the 2001 cruiser but it was only for automatics thanks to MX-5.

The best thing to do is put good plugs and wires on and change to synthetic oil.

Unless your willing to put some money into your engine, there's not a lot you can do to the Non-turbo engine.

[Rey]

The auto tran throttle body moves more air, and it is a drop-in fit. My experience with this auto throttle body is mixed. It pulls in so much more air that the motor cannot add enough fuel and/or air velocity drops too much under certain conditions, like full throttle stomp at low rpm. That is "fixed" by simple throttle modulation.

[Mean Green]

I agree with CREWZIN.

[cleverklutz]

Or you can spend a bunch of money for every mod that adds power. On paper my car has at least another 20hp more and should have lost about 5 seconds 0-60. New my car did 0-60 in 12.5 seconds. After the mods, 0-60 in 12.5 seconds. It SOUNDS faster. I'm looking for a hit PT GT and am going to do an engine swap. I still like the 01 for the nicer interior with more colors and variety in the plastics.

Ben