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My mom just bought a 97 SSEi to replace her 96 SE. It has 245,000 kms on it. I took it for a drive today and it didnt seem to have any more power than the 96. The boost guage reads about 20% over 0 kpa, yes its in kpa not psi. Where should the boost needle be at WOT? I didnt hear much of a whine either. I was in an impala taxi that was S/C and the way the guy drove I could hear the whine everytime he touched the pedal. Also, I drove a GTP and I could spin the wheels in 2nd gear. Just seems lackluster. Any thoughts?

The father in me wants to tell you to stop beating on mom's old car before it needs a tranny but I won't.

You should probably start with a tune up.
Plugs
Wires
Fuel & air filters.
Oh yeah, she should start running premium gas. Especially if she's gonna let you drive it. Ooops

A stock S2 L67 won't produce much whine unless it has an aftermarket intake.

The performance of the SSEi will be similar to a Grand Prix carrying 4 people. The whine will only be heard with an open intake system.ie.cone filter.

Don't tell me it was this one with cloth and no AL7's - http://hamilton.kijiji.ca/c-cars-vehicl ... Z182977443 - Had my eye on it for a while but am in no state to buy right now.

With an opened up intake, you will start to hear the whine as you approach the 0 kPa mark.

If the kPa gauge has the same range as the PSI gauge (-10 to +10), 20% over 0 would only be 2 PSI. It should make 5-7, IIRC.

You can't go by the stock gauge, they are so inaccurate. Mine reads about 5 psi high all the time.

Ive only driven the car once, and for about 3 minutes. I was more curious than anything. I just expected a bigger differance from her SE. Its light grey and has leather AL7s. I think shes going to have to get an intake then. and a pulley. What good is an s/c if you cant hear it

There may be a quick and easy way to tell. What part of Hamilton are you in again?

There should be a remarkable and very obvious difference between the L36 and L67 in terms of performance, especially off the line.

It's probably time to start digging into the obvious.