i knew a guy who bought a 1.8 laser for his wife/girlfriend. he did all the freemods, put an exhaust, intake, and header on it, spark plug wires, and he said it ran pretty well, and he definitely felt a big difference.

i PERSONALLY would not keep the 1.8, unless you are just looking to have a car to go back and forth to work in. you could do some things like the guy i just mentioned did, and id assume it would be "descent".

or you could do what some other people have mentioned, and get a swap. i wouldnt waste time with a 7-bolt, unless you have a tight budget. if you just want a little more power than the 1.8 can provide, you could get a 4g63 2.0l N/A, or a 420a 2.4 N/A. If you want some serious power, you could get a 7-bolt 4g63 Turbo. everybody and their grandma has a 7-bolt. Or you could get a 6-bolt 4g63. You could find one for $300-$500, and it has the least amount of problems, and great power potential.

last, you could always just get rid of it and find a gst somewhere. you could probably sell the 1.8 for $1500 or so, and grab a nice 1g turbo for around $3,500.