The Geo Prizm is known more for its compact dimensions and frugal fuel efficiency than it is for performance and speed. Some owners though may find the Prizm woefully underpowered and downright slow and may want to find a solution. Fortunately, there are a few ways to make a Prizm faster that don’t involve driving it off the nearest cliff.
Install a cold air intake. The stock intake on a Prizm is relatively restrictive. Replacing the intake with a cold air intake that provides additional dense, cold air to the Prizm’s engine and increase horsepower.
Replace the stock exhaust with a larger diameter performance exhaust. Take your Prizm to a muffler shop and have them install a two-inch diameter exhaust, mated to a free-flowing turbo muffler. This will free up a few more horsepower from your Prizm’s engine and help the car sound better.
Upgrade the suspension with performance shocks and lowering springs. A faster car doesn’t just go faster in a straight line but faster around corners as well. Lowering your Prizm will lower the center of gravity and the performance shocks and springs will reduce body roll.
Upgrade the brakes. There aren’t a lot of brake options for a Prizm, but installing cross-drilled rotors will help the brakes stay cool while performance brake pads will increase your stopping power.
Install performance tires. Replacing the original economy tires with stickier performance tires will also make your Prizm faster in the corners.
Lighten it. One area that is sometimes overlooked in the quest to make a car faster is the technique of lightening it to increase the power to weight ratio, which is how much horsepower your car has in relation to its weight. Less weight and more power is obviously better. Start by replacing the stock, heavy seats with lighter one-piece bucket seats. After that you can get more extreme by removing the back seats if they aren’t needed, the door panels and even the carpeting. Keep in mind that your Prizm’s luxury and comfort will be diminished if this approach is used to a great extent.
