After doing several test drives with many different cars of the same type, I fell in love with the cobalt SS/SC.

Its also cool because I get one of the last 2007's built, only thirty two more being made hehe

Anyway I put my order in about two weeks ago to GM and my car comes in around first week of july.

Well after reading through the forums here and learning A LOT, also with my terst drives, I have come to these situation I would like some answer on.

1. I am a man of sound, I love music and the pioneer system that comes with the Cobalt lacks....class. I WILL be taking it all out and replacing every inch of it as I did in my Explorer. I already know what parts to get, but I am wondering how many others have done this and if leaving the stock head unit is worth it if I add new speakers, amps, and subs. I love the HU and would like to keep it and save 400-500 dollars. Also, is it plausable to keep every stock speaker and just upgrade the sub and amp so everything gets more power? Is this option a good one to follow?

2. I hear about this "wheel hop" business, but the Cobalt being my FIRST manual transmission car, I have no idea what I am looking for when it comes to wheel hop. I heard about this ingulls torque dampener and I feel as if I should buy it and have my families mechanic install it for me just for the sake of safety even though I have no idea what wheel hop is, is this a smart thing to do? Also since I am very bad with repairs and engines, think its smart to have my mechanic install it for me? Or have chevy do it and bring the part in for them?

3. Like mentioned above, this will be my first manual car, but I feel as if I can learn over time what I dont know already. However, with you "pros" is there anything I need to know so I dont ruin my car in the first 1000 miles? I work at a car dealership, so I get about an hour of manual practice a day for the past two months. I hardly stall, but I know I will. Any tips here would be appreciated.

I think thats it, if there is anything you guys can let me know about the car the dealership neglected to say, please mention it if you can! Thanks!

 

#1. The stereo system is not the greatest but is sufficient for me and is better than most stock systems so I can't help you out on that.

#2. If you start modifying your car to gain performance, you may want to install either a torque damper or poly mounts to combat wheel hop. The way that the suspension is designed it cannot resist suspension movement very well coupled with the fact that it is FWD; this adds up to creating a hopping motion in the wheels which cause a number of problems one being a lack of good traction.
DO NOT take any parts other than GM performance parts to your dealer to install unless you know they are cool with it.

#3. Don't try to drive this car by steadily slipping the clutch as you accelerate. You want to SMOOTHLY apply the clutch in a timely manner to prevent slippage once the throttle is engaged.

#4. If you use the search button you can find alot of answers pertaining to your question. I do not say this because we don't want to help, just that it helps keep the site more clean and other people's searching more efficient.

 

Get on the search button ASAP!!!!!!!

 

first 1000 miles dont drive it hard!

 

i drove hard as hell the first 1000 lol and i still do!!!

 

Actually they tell you to drive it as you would if it were broke in. You don't want to baby it and break something later. It's gonna break or its not.

 

I had my car on the drag strip at 500 miles ...

LOL

 

first manual in an ss/sc

*ouch*

good for you getting some practice first though.
get as much as you can.

the clutch in the ss/sc is unforgiving. its a sport clutch and will feel very "off/on" for a while.

the car has enough tq (unlike alot of cars) to do damage to itself if you dont treat it right.

try to avoid shifting below 3k rpms, it slips the clutch and can cause glazing.

Avoid spinning your tires through first if you can.
and if you do, dont slam it into second expecting your clutch to grab through 200ftlbs of torque....on a car that isnt going fast enough to be in second in the first place (due to your wheelspin)

and if you feel wheelhop.
get out of the gas. asap.

 

For the stock headunit info .....call and talk to Dawn at street graphitti . They did a huge system in their Sema G5 and at the advice of GM reps , used the stock head unit . I dont rememeber everything she was telling me about it , its been awhile . But , the stock HU will go a long way from what she described .

 

Yup, but after 2 weeks of driving it I'm totally used to it by now.

That's a challenge! I think I can damage ANY car, no matter how little torque it may have!

I already found that out when I owned my SRT-4.

LOL

 

1. Aftermarket HU will always out do the stockers. You have better control, more/better/cleaner power, etc, etc.....

2. Wheel hop is essentially the loss of traction with weight transfer. It literally causes the front wheels to hop on hard launches. I'd worry about this once you get used to the car. Dont buy parts to fix things you arent have problems with YET....

3. Knowing the mechanics of the transmission helped me to learn. So just visualize how it works. Your motor is connected to a plate that spins with the engine. The wheels are connected to another plate that spins with the wheels. Between this is the clutch, as you let it out the connection between both are made. Clutch all the way to the floor and the engine is not connected to the trans/wheels, all the up and there is a solid connection between both. Goto www.howstuffworks.com that may help too. Other then that just practice and experience will get you driving it like a pro, once you get used to it you wont want anything else....cept maybe DSG or something cool like that

 

Don't feel like searching for it, so what's an "HU"?

As I stated above, I've already learned that lesson from having owned an SRT-4. LOL

I like the concept of your visualization (I'm big on that kind of stuff).

 

drive the car hard a few times in the beginning to get the piston rings a good seal. After that do what you want.

 

wheel hop is my enemy too especially seeing how i wasnt able to get my ss with the limited slip diff.

For those who have already experimented how much does the Ingalls Torque dampener really do is it worth the 150?

Btw had mine at the track at 900 miles even
Hella yea

 

Everyone has a different opinion about the Ingalls. It definately works and has been proven, but the arguement is that you might as well get tranny inserts for $60 bucks or a solid upper engine mount and they will do the same/better job as the Ingalls will.

 

aside from the above comments have some fun with this car shoot... i love it and i still smile every time i drive a bit more "spirited" then normal... be safe and just have fun with the car!!!

 

Your gonna hate the clutch. Jus done give it alot of gas and try and pop the clutch.