2004 Pontiac Sunfire Sports Package from North America - Comments

Check the car mags and read the reviews. The Sunfire's 0-60 is around 9 seconds!

I am a member of j-body.org. The whole club is Sunfires, Cavaliers, Cobalts and Cimerons.

We rented Quaker City Raceway in Ohio for a day. We had a 1/4 mile track and a dyno set up.

Stock 2.4L stick shift J-bodies were running the 1/4 in 15.8 - 16.2, which equates to a 0-60 in the high 7s to low 8s.

The 2.4L autos were running mid 16s, which equates to 0-60 in the mid to high 8s.

My car ran 16.5 - 16.9 with 2.4L and auto trans. Empty with no AC I was running 16.5 - 16.6. With the AC on and my girlfriend, I was running 16.9. I did 3 0-60 runs empty and no AC hitting 60 in 8.6, 8.7 and 8.7. A 0-60 in 6.8 seconds puts you in the high 14s in the 1/4 mile, and the only 2.4Ls running in the 14s were highly modded. One had N2O, and the other a turbo who was running high 13s.

I work with a teenager at my part time job. Claims his 1.5L xB does 120mph. Toyota says the governor kicks in at 108mph. I know BS when I hear it.

I have owned, modded and raced 3 Caprice V8s, 1 Corvette V8, 1 Sunfire GT, 1 Escort GT, 1 Celica GTS and 1 Scion xA 1.5L. I am 33 and have been around the block a few time,s so get a stopwatch and stop BSing. Oh, and hit the drag strip and post some slips.

Jason.

Thanks Jason for pointing out and confirming the 0-60 times of the Sunfire. People should not write overexxagerated reviews here. The Sunfire is not a sports car or a performance car. The Sunfire GT with the 2.4 engine is the only Sunfire that ran legitimate 1/4 miles. The regular Sunfire doesn't even come close to matching those times. A Sunfire 2.2 0-60 mph is around 11 seconds.

I am the guy who ran a 6.8 in the Sunfire, I neglected to mention I had lowering springs, when I take off, the car doesn't squat, it basically hooks up instantly. If you know anything about the old Sunfire GT's, you will know that there first 2 gears are incredible for power, after that, its not that spectacular, so to the guy who was comparing quarter mile times to equal 0-60 times, you are way off. You can't compare the two.

Why do you think gear heads swap out gears? Look at the Corvette, it can get to 60 in under 4 seconds in first gear! Gearing plays a huge role in 0 to 60, think about it, in drag race you see 2 cars that take off and hook up at the same time, one car gets an astonishing lead and all of a sudden the other car starts to catch up and eventually wins. And I am talking about cars without Nitrous or turbos. It's because their gears are different. So the one car might have got to 60 faster than the other car, but the other car caught him and won. So I think I have made my point. GEARS!

Pontiac designed the car to be powerful in the first 2 gears, and space the other 3 gears fairly evenly, they wanted a quick starting car off the line, even I know if I race a Civic Si from a 30 mile and hour role I am going to get whooped! But from a dig, I would bet on the Sunfire GT, because I have been there.

I just got an 05 with a 2.2L ecotec and an auto. It's a great car.

I can vouch for the 0-60 being close. I ran dead on with my friends 08 Si all the way thru 2nd. He blew me off the road after that. Partly to the limiter... 108mph?!

Anyone got clues on pulling that off of it? I hit that ~5000RPM in 3rd!

I own a Sunfire as my daily driver, and can attest that it is neither fast nor furious. Come on people, stop driving these cars like they are sports cars. THEY ARE NOT. All you people who claim their Sunfire's 0-60 times are in the 7-9 second range are throwing off the integrity of this board. You are doing a disservice to the person wanting an accurate review.

Like one poster wrote, the Sunfire is not quick unless you consider a 11 second 0-60. The GT is a somewhat legitimate performer getting to 60 mph in 8.8 seconds. THAT IS THE GT, NOT REGULAR SUNFIRES.

I don't personally own a 2004 Pontiac Sunfire but my mom does. I drive it weekly, but not on a day to day basis.

Well that's because I'm only 16 yrs. old and I am on my permit. But the car is great. It's not a sports car. But it is sporty. I was in the car measuring her when she did a 8 second 0-60mph. This thing has some amazing power you can feel the torque and power. Just think the power to wight ratio. This car is really light, but has a lot of power. By the way, does anyone know the 45-65mph time for the car?

Thanks to all the posters. I own a 2004 2.2L, 4spd auto. Stock. I do not understand the comments about 11s 0-60 mph. Maybe their Sunfires are out of tune. I have gotten around 8s. Yes, the car has a lot of power in the first two gears. The transmission is indeed very smooth. I love this car. I get ~28 mpg around town in L.A, ~32 on the highway. I got a set of Goodyear Triple Tread tires and made them about one step lower profile than stock (this is just a little more expensive than stock). Now the car really hugs the road and sits wonderfully into the curves. I highly recommend good tires for a light car like this!

I can see why people performance mod these cars. You really have something to work with. I did warp the rotors because I liked the car so much when I got it that I did a lot of hard stops for fun (I mean *full* braking power). I replaced the rotors (they were worn out at ~50k miles anyway) and it's fine now. If you are going to drive that hard, get performance rotors. Also, put good tranny fluid/oil in. This is a good car, worth taking car of.

I think the interior is OK. The materials are synthetic, but they seem to hold up. Get seat covers, if you want to preserve the fabric.

It's funny -- a lot of magazine reviewers give the car low scores, but I am glad in a way: They keep driving the price down, and if I want to buy another one in the future, it will be that much cheaper for me.

Cheers!

I'm the guy with the 2004, 2.2L, 4sp automatic in L.A.

P.S. I like the idea of modifying these cars, but I am going to side with the experts. Modify for safety. More power requires better brakes, better suspension, and better handling (I'm thinking better rear anti-sway in particular). The car is very well-balanced stock. If you upgrade, you need to keep the balance. Cheers!

I am the original poster with the Black 2004 Sunfire. I'm back. I've got 156,000 miles on the car now. The clutch went out at 154,000 miles - actually a leak in the slave cylinder so I just had them replace the clutch as well. Other than that, still getting amazing UOAs (used oil analysis') and 38+MPG highway. The top is faded and showing the metal and my plastic rims fell off about 3,000 miles ago. Dealer wants $40/plastic hub cap so no way. Engine runs very smooth (best part about the car).

Amazed there is still posts about this car. People seem to be very sensitive about the 0-60mph time. I think there needs to be some clarification. I run Synthetic oil in both the tranny and crank case. I have a K&N air filter but I'm sure that doesn't help much. I also have the 5 spd getrag tranny. My 0-60 times are 7 seconds without much effort. I've raced my friend's BMW 330ci and was within a second (within his rear bumper) from him when we hit 60. My sister with an 05 Sunfire (Auto) raced me and was over a full car length behind me when we hit 60. Says something about the auto vs manual tranny.

But seriously... this is an ECONOMY car not a race car. However, for an ECONOMY car - it has nice get up and go when you want it. Your MPG will suffer (as one poster mentioned) greatly when rpms are over 3,000 constantly. If you treat the gas like an egg you can easily expect 38+MPG. But since everyone drives like it's a NASCAR track...

To those looking for an accurate description of a 2003 Pontiac Sunfire with the 2.2l Ecotec motor, the 4 speed automatic transmission and 15" stock steel rims with caps, I have some valuable information.

This car is not a sports car. If you're buying it for that, be prepared to spend some money in aftermarket.

I lived in Idaho for 3 years with that car, where the air is thinner than many other places in the U.S.A. My stock 0-60 times launching with the brake applied then releasing was about 11.3 seconds consecutively. I also drove a 2004 Manual Transmission Sunfire that posted around 10.5 seconds 0-60 launching at 2,500 rpm and shifting at around 5,250 rpm, also with 15" steel rims. This is a good shift point for the stock Sunfire because its torque is higher than its horsepower.

With my 2003 Sunfire, after bolting on a cold air intake, fuel injectors from a 2005 Cobalt SS, a tubular header from Tsudo racing, an aerial atom catalytic convertor and using the stock muffler system, the car ran 0-60 in about 9.5 seconds. The quarter mile times were in the high 15's (15.685 was my best).

I moved to Arizona and the times changed dramatically. My 0-60 time was a smashing (:p) 7.9 seconds and my quarter mile times were around 14.9 seconds at about 100 mph. My point is it depends on where you live that can determine your car's performance. Air density is a BIG factor in a car's performance. Up north, fouled spark plugs are commonly black and covered in soot, indicative of a rich condition. In southern areas with low humidity, the spark plugs show little signs of wear except that the electrodes are worn down, indicating a proper stochiometric ratio is at work. What principle do you think turbochargers and superchargers work on? Air density. I don't doubt that most (if not all) of you are correct in your statements. And on top of all this, no two cars are created equally. Even at the manufacturing plant there will be some difference between two cars to where they can vary by up to one second in 0-60 time and 2 mpg fuel economy.

In short, if you're looking for a car that can handle its own against imports in its class, the 2003 Sunfire is a good choice. In fact, it held better 0-60 times than the same year Honda Civic, and Ford Focus and its stopping distance was shorter. It had second best highway fuel economy (37 for the Civic, 35 for the Sunfire), and its looks weren't too bad inside. The outside is funky, as there are noticeable gaps between every panel. However, aftermarket accessories are widely available and reasonably priced. If you look at it one way, I spent $1,500 in parts and labor (estimated labor as I did all of these modifications myself) to gain almost 4 seconds in 0-60 and 27 horsepower and 25 ft-lbs in torque, and the car takes on base model Mustangs, Chargers, Civics, Accord V6's, Maxima's, Sentra SE R's, and neck and neck's some 350Z's. If you're willing to put some work into the car, this could be your FWD car of choice. It's not hard to squeeze 1,200 horsepower from this motor.

FOR STOCK INTENTS AND PURPOSES: this is not a sports car. It's an economy car.

Other Jason

The 2.2 Ecotec was the lightest fully dressed engine GM ever made at the time, might still be, not sure. It has great torque over a wide range.

The Ecotec Sunfire is faster than the Sunfire GT because it is a MUCH lighter engine! Over 150 pounds, the automatic transmission adds 100 pounds over the manual! A 2.4 auto is a good 250 pounds heavier than an Ecotec with a standard. The 2.4 is a BIG iron block, as opposed to the smaller all aluminum Ecotec. Sunfires with Ecotecs can do 0-60 in the low 7 second range, they are the lightest Sunfires made.

Are they cheaply built, YES! The interior is terrible, full of squeaks and rattles, out dated by about 10 years, uncomfortable seats. They don't have real high hp, because their power is in the lower rpm ranges, and they don't rev to 8k rpm. That's why they pull so hard down low. Also why they are good on gas, low end torque means you don't need to down shift to go up hills, or force it to 4000 rpms to get power. 2500 rpm is plenty! A Cobalt with the same Ecotec engine gets well over 40mpg, and Cobalts are heavier!

Now the 2200, that's a different thing altogether. An iron block OHV engine with 115-120 hp, and 130-135 ft lbs of torque depending on age (95-97 120/130; 98+ 115/135). Was quite slow. About 10 seconds 0-60, but it served as a base engine, in a cheap car. What did you expect?

Bottom line, a 2004 Sunfire is a cheap car with a cheaply made interior that would feel at home in a early/mid 90s econobox. It is quite cheap, it is quite nice looking, and it is a lot faster than you thought.

My wife has a 2001 Sunfire GT with the automatic transmission. I believe it is 140'ish horsepower or so. I would not say that it does 0-100 kmh in 7.2 seconds at all. I would say about 8.2 seconds is realistic for sure. Mind you I had the traction control on at the time and I was just letting the transmission shift automatically when it wanted to. Maybe I could squeak out another 0.2 seconds, but that would be tops. If the author had said 8.0 second 0-100 kmh I would believe it. But 7.2 second 0-100 kmh yeah right... with a 100 kmh wind behind you :)

Pontiac Sunfire owner here year 2004. Definitely NOT a sports car. The older Honda Accords and even Civic CRX will beat this thing in acceleration. Very powerful 1st and 2nd gears, but it's too weighty, and can be caught by less powerful cars. Good starter car for any gearheads though. In the end, a trainer car for the drag races.

I love the power in the gears, but the ratio between all 4 in the transmission is kind of sluggish. I run my Pontiac Sunfire in the mid 9s lower 10s. Modified exhaust, cold air intake. Mine's not a GT. My older 1988 Accord ran 0-60's just a little above 8 seconds... but it's a much lighter car (mod H22A engine).

Very interesting comments. I don't race and I don't know a lot about cars... but I do own a 2003 Pontiac Sunfire 2 door coupe (automatic) and I can guarantee you that I can reach 60mph in under 8 seconds. Every time I'm first in line at a light, I seem to always leave my neighbors in my dust with out even trying. I love it! (-: