Me and my friend are making me an exhaust system and I need to know the size of the stock exhaust before we go and buy parts. I got a 97 2.2L cavalier. Thanks.

The stock exhaust is less than 2", right around 1-7/8"OD, but most people use a 2" ID or 2.25" ID exhaust on the 2.2L OHV. Bear in mind that the OHV motors do not respond to modifications well. You have to do major work to get the power you are looking for. I would be thinking boost or juice along with a forged bottom end rebuild.

use 2.25" piping.


01' Z24 5 speed
422whp/400wtq
T4 Turbocharged
Built LD9
HP Tuners

stock size is 1 7/8" but yes use 2.25" piping.

Andrew Webb wrote: ...Bear in mind that the OHV motors do not respond to bolt-ons well. You have to do head and cam work to get the power you are looking for....

Corrected for you Andrew.

The 2.2L/2200 major restrictions come from the small valves, high swirl ports and rather mild cam profiles. It was designed for low end torque, economy and fuel efficiency, not high performance. As with any motor, more performance can be had with some knowledge and work.

Bolt on mods (header, exhaust, intake, etc...) will provide some small gains. The real gains come from head work (port & polish, bigger valves) and a cam (regrind). While you can improve the top end horse power significantly, the two valve head and long stroke/short rod design isn't conducive to high rpm horse power. It's strength is in the low to mid range torque capabilities (,as opposed to the 2.2L Eco's [& Quad-Four/2.4L Twin Cam] four valve head and with a long stroke is more mid to upper end performance. Honda's got the four valve head and short stroke, which is all top end power, sacrificing the low end torque.)

Build a motor to it design strengths and you get the best results. A properly built OHV will give you a goo off the line or corner (a short tight road course / lower speeds) or passing car. The Eco give decent balance of off the line torque with good top end horse power, good for passing or drag racing or road course with longer straights (higher speeds). [/rant]



To get the best performance out of the OHVs, you need to get at least the +1 mm valves with a port and polish of the head and get your cam reground. It'll respond best with little bit more intake duration than stock and about 8-10 degrees more exhaust duration than intake duration, being careful not to exceed the max lift capabilities of the valve springs. Of course these mods work best with the bolt-on mods.

what is a good place to have a stock cam reground? I would rather send it somewhere that has done it to these cars before, rather than having a local shop that doesn't know what they are doing try it.

Is the exhaust universal on all cavaliers 95 and up? I found a catback for a 97 and I dont know if the exhaust is the same on all cavaliers or not. Im assuming yes, but I still want a definite answer from someone who knows before cashing out.

Thanks for the correction...I forgot about head work, and cams, but was rather concerned with bolt ons alone. You will need to check to see if your 95 has OBD I or OBD II (yes, I recall a few 95s having OBD I and others with OBD II), and if the car is OBD II, you will not have a problem, however, with an OBD I car, you may need to find a way to plug the downstream O2 sensor hole in the piping, or just cut it off and seal the hole.

Comp Cams, Crane Cams, Isky Racing Cams, Jones Racing Cams, Bullet/UltraDyne Racing Cams or any other cam grinder. I've talked to all these companies and more and they can do a regrind on these cams. If you contact them be sure to stipulate that this is the older 2.2L OHV motor, not the newer 2.2L DOHC Ecotec.

A few things to remember: These cams have the same dimensions as the Small Block Chevy's hydraulic roller cams, so any lobe that will fit an SBC will fit the OHV's lobes. They can only move the lobe centerlines typically +/-1 degree, as long as the lift isn't too great (they'll need to measure the lobes beforehand) and if using stock valve springs, you are limited on how much you can lift the valve.

Also, a combination of total valve lift, ramp rates, spring pressure, oil pressure and RPM can cause a bleed down of the lifters. Using the '93 & older 2.2L OHV's (Melling P.N. M-98) oil pump will help, it has a slightly higher volume an more pressure. Some have used the springs out of LT & LS series motors, since the springs in them are heavier duty. (I'm also looking into some spring and their availability, also lock rings instead of retainer wires.)

To be on the safe side of lift with stock valve springs, keep the total lift (lobe lift X rocker arm ratio) under .475" and the rpms below 6000. If you haven't done a roller rocker conversion, don't do it till you've decided on a a cam profile, it'll give you more of a lobe selection to work with, while staying with-in your lift limits.

For the '93-'97 2.2L OHVs, look for an intake duration (@.050" lift) of about 200-208 degrees and an exhaust of about 6-10 degrees longer than the intake. On the '98+ 2200s look for an intake duration of about 196-204 degrees and an exhaust with about 4-8 degrees more duration.

I can do a cam profile if you want (be patient it may take a few days). Go to one of the major cam companies web site, they'll have a cam recommendation form, send me as much information from the form as possible. It'll be up to you to come up with a usable cam core and sending it out for regrinding.

Remember, a cam change will involve pulling the engine and disassembling most of it to do a proper swap.

wow madjack you are a wealth of info i will remember that when i finaly get around to doing my 99 2200

MadJack wrote:Comp Cams, Crane Cams, Isky Racing Cams, Jones Racing Cams, Bullet/UltraDyne Racing Cams or any other cam grinder. I've talked to all these companies and more and they can do a regrind on these cams. If you contact them be sure to stipulate that this is the older 2.2L OHV motor, not the newer 2.2L DOHC Ecotec.

A few things to remember: These cams have the same dimensions as the Small Block Chevy's hydraulic roller cams, so any lobe that will fit an SBC will fit the OHV's lobes. They can only move the lobe centerlines typically +/-1 degree, as long as the lift isn't too great (they'll need to measure the lobes beforehand) and if using stock valve springs, you are limited on how much you can lift the valve.

Also, a combination of total valve lift, ramp rates, spring pressure, oil pressure and RPM can cause a bleed down of the lifters. Using the '93 & older 2.2L OHV's (Melling P.N. M-98) oil pump will help, it has a slightly higher volume an more pressure. Some have used the springs out of LT & LS series motors, since the springs in them are heavier duty. (I'm also looking into some spring and their availability, also lock rings instead of retainer wires.)

To be on the safe side of lift with stock valve springs, keep the total lift (lobe lift X rocker arm ratio) under .475" and the rpms below 6000. If you haven't done a roller rocker conversion, don't do it till you've decided on a a cam profile, it'll give you more of a lobe selection to work with, while staying with-in your lift limits.

Thank you very much MadJack. That is very helpful and intrigues me to go ahead and mod the ohv 2.2 instead of doing an engine swap.

For the '93-'97 2.2L OHVs, look for an intake duration (@.050" lift) of about 200-208 degrees and an exhaust of about 6-10 degrees longer than the intake. On the '98+ 2200s look for an intake duration of about 196-204 degrees and an exhaust with about 4-8 degrees more duration.

I can do a cam profile if you want (be patient it may take a few days). Go to one of the major cam companies web site, they'll have a cam recommendation form, send me as much information from the form as possible. It'll be up to you to come up with a usable cam core and sending it out for regrinding.

Remember, a cam change will involve pulling the engine and disassembling most of it to do a proper swap.

Thank you for the help MadJack.

the last half of the cat back is about 2" before that its really small maybe 1.75 im guessing. why they didnt make the whole cat back 2" i dont know but its way too small. same goes for the downpipe. this is on my 2001 though.

Working on obtainting an M-Class license... ?? Hint: 2 wheels.

Toronto Cavalier wrote:the last half of the cat back is about 2" before that its really small maybe 1.75 im guessing. why they didnt make the whole cat back 2" i dont know but its way too small. same goes for the downpipe. this is on my 2001 though.

By god, SHUT UP.


The FULL exhaust 95-05 is ALL 1 7/8. had you of read the thread, you might have actually learned that. Not one pert of the exhaust is over the 1 7/8. only the tip side of it, and even then, it's not common. oh, and it's not "too small" for fuel economy and noise restrictions. it's actually the best size possible.


MadJack, don't be surprised if you get a PM from me in the new year. I'll prolly be going with Comp Cams and getting the 1.6 lifters as I noticed you had been talking about in your rocker lifter thread.

Don't get fixed on a set rocker ratio, till you decide on what cam profile you'll be going with. You may want to get a set of 1.5:1 rockers. It may sound like a step backwards, but it's not, if the cam has more lift with the 1.5 rockers than the stock spec 1.6 rockers have on the stock cam, let alone a faster ramp rate.

Edit: Make a plan for what you want and can do, then we can get a cam best suited for your application. All the other parts can match what you have. This will yield the best results.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edited Sunday, December 28, 2008 3:55 PM