Hey everyone. Virgin poster here. Just purchased a new SS 2.4 coupe 5 spd. Being shipped from another dealer so I have to wait for delivery..sigh.. There are no 5 spd's within distance to test drive so I settled for a run in a 4 door auto SS. To be honest it felt like accelerating in a Taurus SE. Granted the dealer had the A/C blowin which I didn't object to since my pits were already sweatin...but I was still a little dissapointed. Obviously I don't expect a 12 sec. car but do the 5 spd's have a noticeable zip factor over the autos stock? The grip was excellent by the way. To the auto guys. My track time experience has shown that a properly modded auto will CONSISTENTLY outrun a manual anyday (duh). So Im not flaming bashing or any of that crap. Just lookin for a ohh...im going 40 and a civic pulled up next to me.. and downshift...blam..feel that rush..yay i won. BTW heres my other cars in order.

95 Wrangler S 5spd (reliable but scary slow)
92 Mustang Gt 5 spd (heavy mods including Zex nitrous / Vortech S-trim)
98 Cavalier 5spd (good car just kinda boring)
92 Mustang lx 5.0 5 spd (medium bolt ons)
87 Mustang Gt 5 spd (minor bolt ons)
91 Camaro z28 Conv. auto (stock)
78 caprice classic auto (big red)

 

If you NEEDED a 4-door, then you didn't buy a turd because you don't have any better choice. If you thought you were buying the high performance SS (i.e. the supercharged one) then you just bought a flaming bag of turds.

 

well theres no doubt that the coupe 5 speed should be faster then the auto 4 door
by how much, i have no idea

 

Due to price AND INSURANCE i avoided the creme of the crop and know it's no blown SS. Just hoping I got a sporty/practical/reliable car that still has that zoom zoom factor (sry wrong company)

 

Stock for stock a 5spd is .6-.7 sec quicker in the 1/4 than the auto (with an expert 5spd driver). An auto tranny tune will cut the difference considerably to .2-.3 sec. Mine felt like a different car with the tranny tune.

You are right, autos are much more consistent in putting power to the ground; but manuals transfer power more efficiently - less drive train loss.

I don't know if I would have bought a car without driving it first though.

 

Well the 2.4 SS is ranked as the second fastest car under 20grand so I wouldn't call it a turd. That and I have one and its not that bad at all.

Like you said its no 12sec car but it ain't half bad either.

 

Well, I have heard nothing but good things about them. Though, you might check on that insurance bit.
I pay $10.00 more a month for my SS/SC than I did for my 2.2 basebalt.

Just some food for thought before you sign the papers.

 

Yeah.. thats my prob.. I know its a lil faster but can you go woah.. I feel the power. Without a doubt mods will be on the way. Just trying to get a feel with what Im working with. I should just shut my yap and wait the 3 days to get the balt but im too excited. Thanks for the almost instantaneous replies you guys.

 

you got the right car for the price range you were looking for i got a 2.4 5speed and the way you wrote the sentence is exactly what my experience is, so if you are looking for that experience you shall receive it and welcome to the site

 

i went from a 97 monte carlo and my auto feels great to me. maybe it was the a/c suckin up some of that power or something.

 

A/C does suck up a considerable amount of power on all cars really. Drive it with the a/c off and you should feel a notiecable difference.

 

Yeah Jackalope I read that article too. Frickin 6 cyl mustang

yeah guys a/c is def. a power robber and I shoulda just sucked it up and turned it off. but my dealer was already white knuckled with my driving and I didn't want to push it. :P
05-21-2007, 06:15 PM #9
BlackBaltSSNA
I think we are on the same page. Thanks..U gave me the confidence i needed.

chipsgt - I went to prison (only 36 hrs) as a result of actions with my 92 GT. Im considered a high risk now insurance wise. That's probably the reason the SS/SC is so high. I went from 900 a year to 3600 a year with just the SS N/A. (Im 32)

And...holy cow.. It would take me days to get the responses that you guys gave me in minutes. I feel at home here already. P.S. I don't know how to quote multiple responses so I hope this doesnt end up all screwed up.

 

I would check on the insurance. My insurance is about $30 cheaper per month in the SS/SC compared to the SS2.4L.

Gotta love progressive!

And I thought they were only about $2k apart in price, and the SS/SC had more standard options I thought too.

 

Well my SS bare w only sunroof + base options is about 19,600 before rebates. Cheapest SS/SC I found was 23k and change.. sunburst orange (mmmmm). But thinking about it your right.. I got a quote on the SS/NA and when I asked Chuck about the SS/SC he just laughed and I didnt follow it up. State Farm by the way. But don't get 2 cocky.. im going to humilate your SS/SC once I get my Eibach stickers on.

 

The Taurus SE has a good sized V6, so that's a compliment, actually. I drive a 4-door auto, and it's no dog, just a bit slower off the line than the 5-speed. Also, they probably had regular gas it it. Mine is noticeably more sluggish with regular, since the computer compensates for the lack of octane by backing off timing. Also, the auto feels much better if driven in the "I" position rather than "D".

Anyway, enjoy your 5-speed when it arrives. The FE3 suspension is a great compromise, the Cobalt is noticably quieter inside than much of the competition, and I love the steering feel in spite of all the mags bashing the electric power steering. If you evern want more handling, springs are like $225 and make a big difference, plus there are numerous sway bars available.

 

i love my 2.4l its a very peppy motor. i also have the 5 speed and even with my AC on the cars got no proplem geting up to speeds. first to third gear put a smile on my face when i get on it at times. but no you didnt by a turd

 

night and day between stock automatic and a stock 5 speed.

for the 5 speed not the auto

 

IDK about that whole A/C power loss thing.. I dont notice a difference, except that I'm not sweating.

 

Didn't know it stipulated between the transmission type. So where does that put the automatic then?

 

according to who? i think you're forgetting a car or 2 there man. what about the new Mini CooperS Turbo? I'm sure there is another I can't think of right now. (quite possibly a Civic Si with a good driver - but IDK if you can get one for less than 20 grand)

Not sayin they aren't quick... I'm just sayin, there are other cars out there for 20K that move.

 

The link was posted here a few times, can't remember which magizine did the testing but yeah the 2.4 SS was ranked #2 behind the V-6 Mustang. Which made it the fastest 4 cylinder under 20k.

The mini I believe is over 20 and so is the SI so they're not included.

 

Absolutely right, 'lope. The cheapest Mini is $21,200 (and I doubt it is easy to find a base one). The real cost tends to be dealer marked up, so is higher. I test drove one when they came out and didn't like it. Too small, not a great ride to handling ratio. At the time I was driving a New Beetle Turbo S, and the Mini wasn't any quicker.

I like my 2.4 SS overall better. And a SS/SC would be considerably better, IMHO, if you want the extra performance.

 

You got + rep!

 

read the article again. They dove both but the 5 spped was the one in the results.

Wheres the auto? Well it was slow enough to get cut

Heres a cut and paste:

VEHICLE TYPE: front-engine, front-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 2-door coupe

BASE PRICE: $18,900 (Cobalt SS), $19,040 (G5 GT)

ENGINE TYPE: DOHC 16-valve inline-4, aluminum block and head, port fuel injection
Displacement: 146 cu in, 2393cc
Power (SAE net): 173 bhp @ 6200 rpm
Torque (SAE net): 163 lb-ft @ 4800 rpm

TRANSMISSION: 5-speed manual

DIMENSIONS:
Wheelbase: 103.5 in
Length: 180.3 in
Width: 67.9 in
Height: 55.7 in
Curb weight: 2880 lb

C/D TEST RESULTS:
Zero to 60 mph: 7.1 sec
Zero to 100 mph: 20.3 sec
Zero to 120 mph: 37.0 sec
Street start, 5–60 mph: 7.3 sec
Standing ¼-mile: 15.7 sec @ 91 mph
Top speed (governor limited): 118 mph
Braking, 70–0 mph: 174 ft
Roadholding, 300-ft-dia skidpad: 0.83 g

FUEL ECONOMY:
EPA city/highway driving: 25/34 mpg

 

Here's the deal. Stock 2.4SS dynoed whp at 150 for me. The magazines tell you its 173 but thats flywheel. For the supercharged they more or less took the whp dyno and put that in the specs instead of the flywheel. Most supercharged Cobalts are at about 200whp and that calculates to being at about 250 flywheel horsepower. I know this because my original intentions were buying the 2.4 SS and modding it to be as fast as a supercharged and I'm having a SUPER hard time. So far spent about $1000 including intake, catback, and tune and I went from about 150 to 165whp. To sum it up there is about a 70ish horsepower difference between the two.