2008 aveo5 SV idea gathering

[daug1502]

Howdy folks, I have a 2008 aveo5 SV. I bought it used earlier this year with less than 19K miles on it and have put 10K on it so far. I enjoy the car, and love to mod my vehicles. My method is to find something I don't care for, and fix that first. One of the top on my list is the Air conditioning, or lack there of. I will eventually just find a rear end damaged aveo5 to fix that.

What I am posting in this subject for is this. These cars are slow. I live in a very hilly area and it's difficult to hold the speed limit on the highway. I want to drop in a larger motor to help alleviate this.

I have been trolling forums for a long time and I see all sorts of information, but it's never clear on what car they will work in.

What Motors will fit into my 2008 with the least amount of work and modding? I Don't have a lot of money or time so Drop-ins are my best friend.

Thanks in advance for the info.

[serega12]

Howdy folks, I have a 2008 aveo5 SV. I bought it used earlier this year with less than 19K miles on it and have put 10K on it so far. I enjoy the car, and love to mod my vehicles. My method is to find something I don't care for, and fix that first. One of the top on my list is the Air conditioning, or lack there of. I will eventually just find a rear end damaged aveo5 to fix that.

What I am posting in this subject for is this. These cars are slow. I live in a very hilly area and it's difficult to hold the speed limit on the highway. I want to drop in a larger motor to help alleviate this.

I have been trolling forums for a long time and I see all sorts of information, but it's never clear on what car they will work in.

What Motors will fit into my 2008 with the least amount of work and modding? I Don't have a lot of money or time so Drop-ins are my best friend.

Thanks in advance for the info.

The search button above to the right is your best friend on this one.

Here are a few threads you might want to check out:

viewtopic.php?f=4&t=27853&p=76515

viewtopic.php?f=4&t=27527&p=74518

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=27619&p=73001

That should be some good info for what you're trying to do. From what people say it will run you about $2000-$4000 in parts depending on what option you go (when you go with an engine to different car, it's not just the engine, it's also all the accessories and electrical wiring/ECU that you have to swap that can usually stay if you stick with the same motor.

Another thing you can do is modify your existing motor, might cost you less than an engine swap.

[daug1502]

I have been searching, and the first link you posted is among the first I found. That is for the 2004 hatchback. I do not know nor have I been able to find any information on what year ranges are compatible with those listed swaps.

I have been looking at mods for my car from day one, And this is one of the main forums that I look at. I just didn't decide to sign up until today.

And keeping the 1.6 is not out of the picture, But with my time and workspace, an engine swap will be much easier. I also like the thought of not having to worry about specialized parts when something does break. It's much easier to walk into the parts store and tell them I need a part for this motor for this car, than it is to start reading off dimensions and part numbers.

[thehunterooo]

for that money just turbo the 1.6 if you have a manual, and watch out, serega is the biggest troll on here :P

[serega12]

I have been searching, and the first link you posted is among the first I found. That is for the 2004 hatchback. I do not know nor have I been able to find any information on what year ranges are compatible with those listed swaps.

I have been looking at mods for my car from day one, And this is one of the main forums that I look at. I just didn't decide to sign up until today.

And keeping the 1.6 is not out of the picture, But with my time and workspace, an engine swap will be much easier. I also like the thought of not having to worry about specialized parts when something does break. It's much easier to walk into the parts store and tell them I need a part for this motor for this car, than it is to start reading off dimensions and part numbers.

Well, the guy in the first link I posted that you're talking about has an 04 hatchback... And if you do one of european motor swaps, it might not be as easy as walking into a parts store. Just something to consider. And hunter is just hating as always that I have more time to check on this forum... I much rather wish I was back at the lake I just came back from... the swim was awesome... but anyways, the guy in the first thread has an 04.

[daug1502]

I'm not planning on any euro swap lol. Anything I put in my car is most likely going to be found in a junkyard or on a side road somewhere. And as for turbo, maybe someday, but right now I just want something stronger to pull my car around, that won't take as much work. If the Suzuki Forenza 2.0L is a drop-in with a little bit of wiring, then that would be perfect for me.

As far as money, getting it won't be easy, but as I read in a forum on preludepower.com,

Cheap
Fast
Reliable

Pick two

I don't mind spending a little extra for something a little more reliable. Turbo is not something I'm familiar enough with to be trying to install with my limited skills and knowledge. And I don't really want to bother with tearing into and modifying an engine. This is my only car, so a turn key engine is the smartest way to go.

[petrified.rabbit]

I'm just going to give you a warning from my experience, and others with the same trouble (even on here).

You should plan on regasketing any engine you put it (to some extent) unless you have enough experience to make the judgement call on part conditions.

You will always need to make adjustments even with the same engine through different model years. Emissions equipment, sensors etc change.

Swapping an engine is always harder than replacing an engine, not trying to discourage you but you commented it your daily driver and you don't want it off the road, do you have any idea how long it takes to pull and replace an engine with the tools you have?


Learn about the reliabilty etc of what youvare putting in. You should know and verify the engine runs correctly and problem free before it us removed so once it is in your car and doesn't start the first tine you cam figure out if it was the engine, your car, or the swap that needs addressed.

I know this is a straight forward swap but you should still approach it like any other swap.

[daug1502]

All excellent points, some of that I did not think of. I have access to enough tools to do a straight forward(same mounts and transmission) swap in a day. If things went smooth I could have the car running again in 2 or 3.

I will definitely look into the reliability of the motor I plan to switch to, compared to what I have now. It would be pointless to swap out to a junk model of motor.

And lastly If I do decide to pull a swap, I will look hard for someone who has done the same swap, and get any tips and tricks I can locate from them, to make my swap go more smoothly.

I don't know a lot about cars, but enough to be dangerous. What I don't know, I look for someone who does, and I learn from them, and get their help whenever possible. This is the only way I kept my last car on the road for as long as I did.