Alex S

Just wondering if anyone has any insight in how long a typical Lnf is going to last. Given it is taken care of well. i have heard from a few people that they would give an 09 SS another 7 years tops until they are pretty much shot ? Does that seem about right ? I just feel like there are plenty of cars out there that are much older (2000's) that are still going strong after 16 years. Or do these cars just not have the capability of surviving that long due to it being turbo'd.

Also. Taking city and highway driving into play. How many miles have people put on these ? Has anyone gotten there Tc to like 150k on here ? Or higher ?

Thanks guys. just wondering on all of this.

Snail_SS

iTrader: (3)

Some guy was selling a sedan tc with 250k miles, also yes having a turbo will shorten the life but they seems to go strong. I'm getting close to 100k myself

Alex S

Woah. Haha. That's a lot. Whats usually the first thing to go that people just say screw it and get a new car ? The tranny. Engine ?

exninja

iTrader: (1)

Having a turbo doesn't necessarily shorten the life of the engine. Some of the longest-lasting engines are turboed (VW TDI and Saab's come to mind). Scarcity of parts and unwillingness to work on the car will be my guess about what does these cars in.

tomj77

iTrader: (2)

depends on the power ur producing I guess. Engines are strong, unless they are one of the porus block group. They can take 450whp so in stock form I'm sure they will last the life of the car. trans on stock tune will most likely last the life of the car as well. If u start adding power, trans will go before engine.

CudaJoe

iTrader: (1)

Id expect to get about 200k miles out of it with proper maintenance. If I babied the car for the rest of my life, id expect it to last forever with proper maintenance.

Alex S

That's good to hear. I was hoping to hear that. I mean minor fixes are given as a car gets older. And hell. I wouldn't even be opposed of dropping 3k for a new motor at some point for one of these cars down the road if I really needed to. I feel like these cars have the cheapest/best setup for a great little commuter that can smoke a lot of cars on the road much more expensive.

Staged07SS

iTrader: (25)

No one can really tell u this....

It's all in how well u maintain the car throughout the time you own it.

CudaJoe

iTrader: (1)

^^^^ My post just means, I daily my car, I dont race it, and my commute is short distance

Alex S

I know lol. I was just trying to get an idea of basically the build quality of the car as a whole. I didn't know if these cars really just like fall apart at a certain point.

CudaJoe

iTrader: (1)

no, compared to my last car, a 2000 hyundai tiburon. This cars build quality is solid even with the sunroof rattle.

My last car always felt like one day it would just fall apart. It was 8 years old before I traded it in and had ~88k miles.

my current car is 7 years old now and just hit 90k miles. Car still looks new to me. I did a better job with this one. Might be because Im not a stupid kid anymore

Staged07SS

iTrader: (25)

I've had my car since new.

It just turned 9 years old this month.

Still feels like the day I purchased it (just a lot more power).

I meticulously maintain all of my cars, and it has always proven to keep them reliable.

Snail_SS

iTrader: (3)

Yeah I think it all depends how well you maintain the car, how you drive it and what power level you have it at imo but car should last a while. And of course it comes down if you want to work on the car or not

califcarm

I bought mine with 131,000 miles on it. GMS1 tune. It was a commuter car with more highway miles than not on it. Seems quite tight almost without rattle and runs absolutely perfect (except those stupid tire pressure monitors!). All maintenance records came with the car and it did not have much that needed to be done to it aside from the recalls. So it has been reliable up to 131K.

I have only put about 3K on the car and now tuned it with HPT. I go through a few gears for fun each day, but don't expect to race it or beat on it (track days are quite hard on cars, which I have done on/off for 20 years with other cars and don't plan to do with this one).

I am hoping to get at least another 7 years and 70K miles on it with only the occasional light repair (alternator for example might go while I have it). As was stated, much has to do with how it was driven and maintained.

umrdyldo

iTrader: (1)

It's all about luck. The engine platform can handle several hundred thousand. But as with any car, maintenance helps a lot, but sometimes things are out of your control. Like timing chain and things like that.

Don't tune the hell out of it and don't drive the crap out of it.

63 Nova SS

iTrader: (3)

They are just like any car. If you drive it hard it won't last. Take care of it and it will last a long time. I plan on swapping the engine at 100,000, but the miles I drive every year, that will be another 11 years...staying under 400 hp with a nice boost ramp will help.

Alex S

Gotcha. id definitely be under 400. I'd like to be about 350 or so down the road. But even then I'd like to have enough money to replace a major compenent of the car if need be. Cuz I'd want it to last.

63 Nova SS

iTrader: (3)

My advice if it's near you is to mix e47 on a fairly mild tune with 340whp and call it a day.

nickate

LOL. You mention "Build Quality" and Cobalt collectively....
1/2 a Brembo brake package w/o even an option to even it up??!!
sunroof rattle
taillight that I had to drill a drain hole in
Crap azz Faux suede seat inserts that get dirty when you look at them
...and how about that front end/steering rattle and shhake!

I happily accept all of the above and call it "character".
It's a Cobalt not a BMW.

Very strong drivetrain in a bean counter rental chassis.... but the new Buicks and Cadillacs???

Alex S

That's what I was thinking about doing but I feel like I'd get sick of mixing real fast. So I'd either wanna just do 93 or go all the way and run full E

Snail_SS

iTrader: (3)

It's not bad doing e47 pretty simple

63 Nova SS

iTrader: (3)

E47 isn't bad to mix, and you don't have to stop by the station near as much as full e.

63 Nova SS

iTrader: (3)

The front brakes on most all cars do 75% of the braking so you don't need high end calipers on the rear.
My sunroof doesn't rattle
My front suspension has Powell stuff on it and has no play or rattle and responds quickly to steering changes.
I have black lnf seats that stay clean because I'm picky about eating/ being dirty when setting down in them.
Like has been said proper maintenance/spending money wisely on upgrades goes a long way.
If you don't keep up with maintaining them they are rattle traps.

Staged07SS

iTrader: (25)

I have no interior rattles either.

Most of the rattles are caused by the kiddies removing interior parts to paint them lol.

Also, crappy suspension will cause the car to rattle apart as well.

Alex S

Now I read somewhere that some people switch back to 93 octane during the winter because of a "winter blend" of the e85 or something of the sort. Is it bad to run E of any kind in conditions that can get around 0 degrees Fahrenheit ?