Hey guys I was wondering what is the best way to add more hp to my 2.4l with out spending a crap load of money? I Don't Know what to do my friend told me to stick with visual mods because of I don't have alot of money to spend. Should i go with what he said? If so what are some good mods to do? I already have : Rims, De-badged truck, shorty antenna, Painted front bow tie, Tinted windows and new stereo.
I don't want my car to be a RICER

 

quick cheap hp? CAI 250 or less, exhaust anywhere from 230-600

You gotta do what you wanna do. i went looks, then added some HP, and now im doing both.

 

I also went looks first but that is mainly because I like the car show scene and wanted to look good. It all depends on what your goals are and what you want to do.

 

make power. i personally dont think these cars need a whole lot of exterior modification. They are good looking as they are. I would start with an intake and work on exhaust after. Let the visual mods wait

 

I'd say both.
But I think it's safe to say that the cheaper you end up going, the more rice your car ends up being.
(I.E. A fart cannon costs less than a full catback exhaust. Performance stickers cost less than a new paint job)

 

agreed, but i believe he is saying its less expensive to add most visual mods than it is performance mods.... I would never suggest going cheap on performance mods.

 

sleepers FTW. hp mods.

 

I say HP mods, only cost me around $1200 for everything in my sig minus the HP tuners, thats a little more :p

 

I'd go for an intake. That said, I just painted the inside of my headlights black yesterday. It's a cheap visual mod that make the car look way better in my opinion.

 

I think it all depends on what you consider inexpensive:

Interior:
Painted Interior ($20 for paint and a couple hours time)
Removed Seatbelt Holder (free and 15 minutes)
Removed Rear Headrests (free and 15 minutes)
Ultra White Interior Lights ($10 and 45 minutes)
MRZ Door Sills ($120-$150 5 minutes)
Exterior:
20% Tint ($200)
Luminics Ultra White Head and Fog Lamps ($50 and half hour)
Ultra White LED Reverse Lights ($10 and 5 minutes)
Color Matched Bowtie (Paint plus a couple hours)
Debadged ($20 bucks for supplies and 30 minutes)
Removed Exterior Door Trim (same as debadged)
Shorty Antenna (free, chopped the stocker 30 minutes)
AVS Tail Lights ($65 and 20 minutes)
Nightshaded Sidemarkers ($20 for nightshades, hour and a half for painting)
Color Matched Headlights (Paint plus 8 hours)
16" Riax SECA Rims - Gun Metal (Kelly Evo-Z tires 205/50/16) ($325 off another member, $500 for tires)
Eibach Pro-Kit Springs ($225)
Performance:
B&M ShiftPlus ($30 and 30 minutes)
Removed Intake Silencer (free and 45 minutes)
CPP Automatic Transmission Bushings ($100 and couple hours)
Removed SAI (need connections)
GMPP Cold Air Intake ($150 off another member and 20 minutes)
Suspension Techniques Rear Sway Bar ($175 for front and rear from member and 30 minutes)
MRZ Strut Bar ($135 and 20 minutes)
Accessories:
791XV Viper Alarm and Autostart ($400 installed)

On the Way
Suspension Techniques Front Sway Bar ($175 for front and rear)
LSJ Exhaust Manifold ($50)
LSJ Downpipe ($65)
Eventually
2.4 Intake Manifold ($230)
GMPP Performance Exhaust ($450)
RK Sport Lip Kit ($600 plus paint and install)
SunCoast Ram Air Hood ($650)
Inner and Outer Neons (approx $100)
Veritcal Door Kit ($1000)

you can do alot without spending alot of money and if you spend wisely you can have a nice balance of power:pretty

 

No perfomance stickers are going on my balt. If i go preformance then I'm not going to be cheap. I want the best thing for my car at a nice price

Im going to go with cold air intake now and then that will be it for a while. I have spent over 2000 on mods already and paid $16,900 for the car. Rims=$900 Tint installed=$200, stereo installed=$300, New tires=$500,

 

add the CAI and remove the silencer... you will not be dissappointed

 

Well everyone has their opinions but I say suspension, I got my CAI and a few other mods for power but the thing I'm working on now is suspension, and first is the Ingalls ETD, then springs. But like I said it's all about opinion and how big your wallet or credit card is.

 

Yeah my wallet is running out fast. Im in college and have no job. Plus I have a 1972 Chevy C-10 im restoring.

 

hell do some eyelids dude, there cheap and make a huge difference

 

I did a how to for painted eyelids which look badass, don't have them anymore cause I have the projectors now.

https://www.cobaltss.net/forums//showthread.php?t=65024

 

I would say neither looks or motor stuff... focus on handling and braking.... you can have all the HP in the world, but if you dont have good suspension and brakes backing it up... you'll be in trouble!

 

Don't modify by money, modify by goal.

You'll waste less money.

Read this: http://www.ecotecforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2435

 

i agree with NJHK.... what do you want to do with the car?

 

i went horsepower....then visual

 

Nice write up, saw some very good points.

+REP

 

hp if nothing else

 

HP over annyyything. The cobalt already looks pretty good. I mean if it were a neon i would understand.

 

Thank You

 

I origanly was gonn go HP but I think im going the turbo route so I need to save money and some of the bolt ons are a wste at this point, but I will be asking family and gf on holidays for visual mod help till then, plus the doit yourself visual mods arnt that much money. So like njhk said it depends on what your goals our, it reallly must be your call tho man