Saturn wants you. You're young, educated and financially independent. You also have a consuming desire to buy a cheap car and dump loads of cash into it. To convince you Saturn produces a viable alternative to the more popular compact mounts, the company sent a few cars to some well-known tuners. One car landed in the very capable hands of The Progress Group. First, the car was a test-bed for lowering springs and a strut tower brace, which will be manufactured by Progress and sold and installed through Saturn dealers. Progress also used the car to prototype a full coil-over kit using its new MacPherson strut coil-overs. Until now, Progress only had coil-overs available for double-wishbone Hondas and Acuras. While it was in its hands, Progress also fabricated new anti-roll bars, a roll cage, and later added other modifications. As is evident by the choice of a Saturn, Progress plans to offer its new MacPherson strut coil-overs for many of the cars most often overlooked by the suspension aftermarket. When the car arrived at our tech center, it was fitted with everything but the go-fast goodies, which we spent the day installing and dyno testing. We tested everything but the nitrous system from Nitrous Express. The bottle of go-fast crack was conveniently and unfortunately empty. Watch out dyno, here we come. Baseline run: 105 hp. The Twistec intake system features an Advanced Flow Engineering filter and box, which insulates it from hot engine parts. The intake piping was 2.5 inches in diameter and the high-quality system was a straightforward bolt-in.The Twistec intake system features an Advanced Flow Engineering filter and box, which insu After experiencing difficulties with getting a tach signal to the dyno with the stock wires, we replaced them with high-quality MSD plug wires. The MSD wires are direct replacements for the stock units and did much to liven the engine compartment.After experiencing difficulties with getting a tach signal to the dyno with the stock wire The cat-back exhaust from Twistec is mandrel bent from 2.5-inch diameter, stainless-steel tubing. The muffler is a straight-through design and added some aural aggression to the package.The cat-back exhaust from Twistec is mandrel bent from 2.5-inch diameter, stainless-steel The great-looking, ceramic-coated four-into-one header from Hotshot Performance is comprised of 15-inch long 1 5/8-inch diameter primaries and a 2-inch diameter collector. We experienced some fitment issues, which have been addressed in a redesign.The great-looking, ceramic-coated four-into-one header from Hotshot Performance is compris Saturn Motorsports assisted the project with a 55mm bored throttle body. Swapping out the stock unit was as easy as changing four bolts. Unfortunately, we didn't see any measurable gains on the dyno, though throttle response was improved. This is typical of most bored throttle bodies.Saturn Motorsports assisted the project with a 55mm bored throttle body. Swapping out the SOURCEBOX The Progress Group Nitrous Express 5411 Seymour Hwy. Wichita Falls TX 76310 Axis Sport Tuning Saturn Motorsports Hotshot Performance Twistec MSD El Paso TX 79936 915-857-5200 www.msdignition.com Enjoyed this Post? Subscribe to our RSS Feed, or use your favorite social media to recommend us to friends and colleagues!
