A few very small changes you can make to improve acceleration, handling, and economy

Hey guys,

I obtained a Laser Blue 2007 Equinox 2LT over a year ago, and, I've had to make several upgrades and changes to it because it was used, abused, and, even had a failed attempt at lowering done to it. Now first of all, the Equinox does not require much to be a high performance, well handling vehicle. You can even go with the cheap stuff and still come out amazing.

First thing we're going to talk about is suspension. Many people don't think about it, but, it is technically a safety issue if your vehicle is not handling well. The Equinox is definitely no exception to that rule. For the front, you can spend all that money on expensive struts, and, have to have them professionally put in, or, you can get the cheap quick struts from eBay, save yourself some dollars, and still have quality suspension. I went with a brand called Broscone part numbers A0587R and A0587L. These are over a year old and still amazing, but, you have to look for the lowest deal on them because they range on eBay anywhere from $130 to $250 for the pair. Just remove your old ones, pop those on, and you're good to go.

For the rear suspension, I replaced the springs with after market Moog springs. Nothing special there, they were $72 and perfect fit, however, the shocks, I went a little better on, but, still kept it under $130 for those.

The reason you want to do this is weight distribution. Air-shocks in this configuration not only increases the towing capacity, but, also stiffens the handling by adjusting the air pressure between each side between the shocks, and, even reduces wind drag (Big problem for the first gen Equinox) by keeping the nose pointed downward, or, at the same level, even at high speed. This will save you on fuel economy especially when driving in high winds.

That's about all I can say for suspension. Now, for a few small changes to the engine. These tiny changes can make a massive difference in how the Equinox performs, especially with the 3400.

First thing we're going to talk about is injectors. This is one of the most important fuel delivery components you can replace on your engine easily that can not only smooth out misfire issues, but also, increase fuel economy and acceleration. For this, I suggest going with performance injectors. An extremely common misconception about about performance injector is that they are larger, and will cause your vehicle to use more fuel, and, that is not the case. Technically, what makes a good performance injector us that it's still the same size as the originals, but, delivers the fuel to the engine better and faster. This can be done simply with there being 6 nozzles in the atomizer instead of only 4 like the originals.....

Again, I went cheap with eBay on these too. They are Daleen Injectors interchange with Bosch part number 0280156782. Always review the seller's policy on refunds and exchanges, because, unfortunately, you may get some bad ones out of the box. The seller I went with had them at the lowest price, however, the best policy. Because of the tools I have at hand (Simple misfire graphic of erroneous cylinders will do), I was able to show them that I got 3 bad injectors out of the box. They sent me an entire box of 6 more. Replaced 4 actually and haven't had a worry since. One thing of note: Performance injectors will make the engine more sensitive to misfires from things like bad spark plugs and/or cables.

With spark plug cables, I went OEM adjacent and got AC Delco professional spark plug cables. They cost more than the cheap ones, but, less than the extreme high end ones, but are worth it. $41 for the set and I love them.

As far as spark plugs, you don't need much. First of all, I do not believe in the 100,000 mile spark plug, and, in fact, change my plugs every 2 oil changes, even though, it is recommended at every third on older cars. You can do that with this configuration, but, you might not want to. I DO NOT recommend AC Delco RapidFires. These are horrible platinum plugs with an extremely delicate filament that breaks or disintegrates easily and a waste of money. Instead, go with the cheap Bosch single platinum that are $3.49 each from AutoZone, plus, if you get a bad one, they are cheap to replace.

With just these few little changes, you can turn your Gen 1 and 1.5 Equinox into a high speed performing and sports car handling machine without the hassle and for less than $500, and, still save on fuel getting up to 30 or more MPG on the 3400 V6.

No need for all that fancy stuff like a cold air filter, a boost controller, or anything like that. Just keep it simple and you'll do fine. Also, those fancy, thin, "performance" tires do absolutely nothing for the Equinox but make it handle even worse and confuse StabiliTrak.

I hope this helps a few,