We receive hundreds of posts on our message forum and several e-mails a day asking the same questions over and over again. PLEASE read through these frequent questions before posting on our board. Most of the FAQ here are relevant to the S-Series since they are by far the most common Saturns being modified.

Additionally if you don't find an answer here. User our boards search function:

First you have to ask yourself what your goal is. Is your Saturn going to be a show car or a street/strip performer? Most of all, is it a daily driver? Many of you will answer yes to that last question. With that in mind we will direct this answer at mods that will keep you car fully functional.

The first mod that hooked most of us on Saturn performance is some type of Intake. If you look under your hood you will notice a big black plastic box (Airbox) that holds the air filter. This box serves two main purposes. First it holds the filter in place and protects it from the elements. Second it helps to muffle the sounds coming out of your engine. The Airbox does both of these jobs really well. The Airbox also has a black plastic tube running back to the engine. This feeds air to your throttle body. It usually has several bends and isn't smooth at all.

Any of the currently offered Saturn Intakes replace the Airbox and tube with a free flowing reusable air filter, and smooth piping. There are basically two types of intake on the market today:

WAI - (Warm Air Intake) This is a smooth plastic or metal pipe with a cone filter that usually resides in the same spot in the engine bay as the original airbox and filter.

CAI - (Cold Air Intake) This is usually a longer plastic or metal pipe that places the cone filter in a location that is exposed to air from outside of the engine bay.

Most WAI's are created equal. No matter what the material, (plastic, aluminum, ceramic coated steel, etc.) they all perform much the same. This is due to a principal called "Residence Time". Unfortunately the details of this principal are outside the scope of this FAQ, so we will simply mention it for you to research if you wish.

Currently the most prevalent CAI is the AEM. It is highly recommended if you have a Manual transmission S-Series. Sorry autos are out of luck due to the placement of the transmission filter. AEM also has a CAI available for the ION. There are no CAI's available for the L-Series or VUE at the time of this writing.

Replacing the factory Airbox with an aftermarket intake will not only allow you to free up a couple of Hp, but it will add a wicked new sound you your engine. Most owners can't help but punch the throttle just to hear it growl.

This is a simple one. If you have an S or L Series, you can't. No one has ever made them, and probably never will since the S-Series is discontinued. Someone will probably make them for the ION and VUE, but no one we know to date has.

It all depends on the age and the mileage. It is reasonable for first gen Saturns (1992-1995) to use a quart between oil changes. If you are using more than that, have it checked out by your local Saturn Tech.

The following are acceptable +1 and +2 combinations:

S-Series and ION (15" wheels 195/60R15)
+1: 16" wheels 205/50 R16
+2: 17" wheels 205/45 R17

Wider tires can be installed, however care will be required to ensure that there are no clearance issues. 215/40R17's can be run with most 17" wheels with the proper offset.

We have installed 225/40ZR17's on Project SC2. DON'T DO IT! It requires way too much fine tuning.

More wheel and tire information can be found at http://www.tirerack.com

Simple. You can't. There is no replaceable "chip" in the Saturn PCM. JET did sell a reprogrammed PCM. However upon independent dyno testing it was determined that there were no gains in performance.

There are a few owners around who have reprogrammed the OBD I (pre 1996) PCM's to remove the limiters and lower fan engagement temps. Do a search on our message board for more info.

Currently no one has publicly cracked the OBD II (post 1996) PCM in and of the Saturn models. I suspect that soon the ION will have some options available, but that is pure speculation.

This is a truly subjective question.

What are you going to be doing with your car?

The stock disk and pressure plate will suffice for a 50Hp shot of nitrous or about 5psi of boost.

Currently ACT clutches are held as the best performance clutch available for the S-Series. They use a modified Nissan SR20 pressure plate with much higher clamping force than stock. Their disks come in three varieties. They have a full faced street disk, a four puck race disk, and a six puck race disk.

SPEC carries clutches for all models of Saturn. Their S-Series clutches are suspected to cause thrust bearing failures after extended mileage. This has not been thoroughly tested, but is worth of mention here. We are currently running a SPEC 4 puck disk with a stock pressure plate. It is not known if the thrust bearing issues exist in any of the other Saturn models.

Clutchmasters only produces stage 1-3 clutches for the S-Series. We don't have much data on these clutches yet.

If you are currently replacing a clutch in your S-Series, we highly suggest the ACT Clutches.

There is a very popular rumor floating around service departments these days that installing aftermarket parts in your car voids your warranty.

This is partially false. The law states that for the Retailer to void your warranty, they mush PROVE that the modification you made directly contributed to the failure. I.E. if you install an intake, and you blow your tranny they cannot void your warranty.

Conversely if you install a nitrous kit and nuke your motor they are going to laugh at you when they void your warranty and hand you the bill.

Naturally Aspirated - 2"

Naturally Aspirated + Nitrous - 2.25" to 2.5"

Forced Induction - 2.5" to 3"

Installing an exhaust system that is too large on a naturally aspirated motor will cause a loss of low end torque and an increase in high rpm power.