08-10 SS Turbocharged General Discussion Discuss the 2008 - 2009 Chevy Cobalt SS Turbocharged. On sale since the second quarter of 2008.

Are dealers farmiliar with the GMS1 tune upgrade

Old Feb 14, 2012 | 08:01 PM
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Are dealers farmiliar with the GMS1 tune upgrade

Hi all,

I took my car to Tropical Cheverlet in Miami, FL. for warranty work and they are Great, however they had no clue what the the GMS1 tune is? so, are dealers basically clueless and any of know any dealers in South Florida that is GMS1 friendly?
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Old Feb 14, 2012 | 08:04 PM
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dealers don't get informed of every upgraded part that comes out. It's basically that they're all qualified to install it but don't expect them to be experts just because they work at a GM dealership. Most just get general training in the car, then anything else they have to rely on experience and the detailed instructions GM gives them. It's not exactly a difficult install so any should be able to do it, especially if you get the kit from CED with the wiring adapters.
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Old Feb 14, 2012 | 08:55 PM
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Can we install the kit then drive it to the dealer to get it tuned?
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Old Feb 14, 2012 | 09:10 PM
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Originally Posted by TommyP
dealers don't get informed of every upgraded part that comes out. It's basically that they're all qualified to install it but don't expect them to be experts just because they work at a GM dealership. Most just get general training in the car, then anything else they have to rely on experience and the detailed instructions GM gives them. It's not exactly a difficult install so any should be able to do it, especially if you get the kit from CED with the wiring adapters.
i understand what you saying, but I just don't like feel like explaining to the service person what it is and looking at me like I am crazy.
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Old Feb 14, 2012 | 09:13 PM
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Originally Posted by r1owner
Can we install the kit then drive it to the dealer to get it tuned?
yes you can, but you need drive it normal, no wot , off boost.
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Old Feb 14, 2012 | 09:57 PM
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Originally Posted by ls4montess327
yes you can, but you need drive it normal, no wot , off boost.
Thanks, my dealer is like a mile or two away. Going to talk to the service advisor soon.

Any rough estimates on cost just to have them flash it?
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Old Feb 14, 2012 | 10:36 PM
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Originally Posted by r1owner
Thanks, my dealer is like a mile or two away. Going to talk to the service advisor soon.

Any rough estimates on cost just to have them flash it?
They won't warranty it if you install it yourself, if something goes wrong they'll say you installed it incorrectly, i'd let the dealer install it even if they're not familiar with it. Any competent tech can follow soldering/flashing directions.
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Old Feb 14, 2012 | 10:39 PM
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Originally Posted by peachpuff
They won't warranty it if you install it yourself, if something goes wrong they'll say you installed it incorrectly, i'd let the dealer install it even if they're not familiar with it. Any competent tech can follow soldering/flashing directions.
If you want to keep your warranty 100% this is the way to go. Some dealerships are nice and don't mind tunes/Cold Air / exhaust, but once you start touching other things it gets very cloudy. I would just enjoy S1. It's pretty fast. You'll smoke us LSJ's
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Old Feb 14, 2012 | 10:40 PM
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Seriously??? That sucks donkey *****.

Yeah, I just want it a little lower and a little faster. S1 will be more than enough. It's my DD, I don't want it too radical.
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Old Feb 14, 2012 | 11:27 PM
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Originally Posted by ls4montess327
Hi all,

I took my car to Tropical Cheverlet in Miami, FL. for warranty work and they are Great, however they had no clue what the the GMS1 tune is? so, are dealers basically clueless and any of know any dealers in South Florida that is GMS1 friendly?
Who are "they"? Tell whoever you were dealing with to get the GM Performance catalog from this year or last year off their shelf. Turn to i think its the yellow ECOTEC tab. Gm stage 1 kit is the only TC part in there. If they havent installed one before, then theres no reason they would know about it. Look how thick that catalog of parts is. Request a tech with electrical and programming skills, such as I. and it will be fine. You can even install the sensors yourself and drive it down there for the new flash.
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Old Feb 15, 2012 | 09:12 AM
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Welcome to owning a Cobalt SS. Every dealer visit will suck from now on. No parts in stock and half of the techs no nothing about the car. I'm being generous when I say half.
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Old Feb 15, 2012 | 09:22 AM
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It's a low volume model what do you expect?

Like the other guy said the install isn't difficult so once they get the part in it shouldn't be hard to install.
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Old Feb 15, 2012 | 09:28 AM
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Originally Posted by DirtyBalt09
Welcome to owning a Cobalt SS. Every dealer visit will suck from now on. No parts in stock and half of the techs no nothing about the car. I'm being generous when I say half.
I took mine in for a fogging headlight. They had a brand new one installed right away.
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Old Feb 15, 2012 | 09:40 AM
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Originally Posted by r1owner
I took mine in for a fogging headlight. They had a brand new one installed right away.
Helps that a headlights is a normal cobalt part which was a high volume car.
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Old Feb 15, 2012 | 09:40 AM
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You may be able to find a dealership in your area on E-ROD LS3 | Hot Rod with Crate Engine | GM Performance Parts that is more accustomed to working with performance parts.

Hope that this is helpful for you,
Sarah
GM Customer Service
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Old Feb 15, 2012 | 02:48 PM
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Originally Posted by DirtyBalt09
Welcome to owning a Cobalt SS. Every dealer visit will suck from now on. No parts in stock and half of the techs no nothing about the car. I'm being generous when I say half.
Don't forget how well you get treated for having a "sports car."
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Old Feb 15, 2012 | 03:11 PM
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NO they cannot void your warranty if it's working correctly.

Also, order the kit from CrateEngineDepot and make sure to get the pigtails so you don't have to splice into the wiring.

Will save tons of headaches and pretty much promise to keep your car safe from the dreaded 5psi wiring bug.

I would have installed it myself and save the extra $200
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Old Feb 15, 2012 | 03:42 PM
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Originally Posted by r1owner
Can we install the kit then drive it to the dealer to get it tuned?
yup.

The following links are actually from a website made by, and supported by the Performance Division;

GMTunerSource.com - LNF Stage 1 Warranty Information

GMTunerSource.com - Cobalt SS Stage 1 Self-Install Tips

GMTunerSource.com - Cobalt Turbo Upgrade Release Q&A - 10/23

I'd encourage you to buy the kit from CED - and get the kit with the pigtails ~ this makes GMS1 plug&play (which is how I feel it should have been from day one)

Originally Posted by ls4montess327
i understand what you saying, but I just don't like feel like explaining to the service person what it is and looking at me like I am crazy.
as mentioned before get used to it.
Our cars are rarer than most here care to acknowledge.

Originally Posted by peachpuff
They won't warranty it if you install it yourself, if something goes wrong they'll say you installed it incorrectly, i'd let the dealer install it even if they're not familiar with it. Any competent tech can follow soldering/flashing directions.
As you should have gathered from teh links I posted above, and remaining warranty will still be honored ~ the only difference is if you do the install yourself, the warranty will not cover issued directly linked to your installation ~ this is where CED's pigtail kit is a must.

Originally Posted by DirtyBalt09
Welcome to owning a Cobalt SS. Every dealer visit will suck from now on. No parts in stock and half of the techs no nothing about the car. I'm being generous when I say half.
quoted for laughs!

BAH-HA-HA!!
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Old Feb 15, 2012 | 08:36 PM
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Originally Posted by emiller
Helps that a headlights is a normal cobalt part which was a high volume car.
Good point.
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Old Feb 15, 2012 | 08:40 PM
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Originally Posted by soundjunky
yup.

The following links are actually from a website made by, and supported by the Performance Division;

GMTunerSource.com - LNF Stage 1 Warranty Information

GMTunerSource.com - Cobalt SS Stage 1 Self-Install Tips

GMTunerSource.com - Cobalt Turbo Upgrade Release Q&A - 10/23

I'd encourage you to buy the kit from CED - and get the kit with the pigtails ~ this makes GMS1 plug&play (which is how I feel it should have been from day one)



as mentioned before get used to it.
Our cars are rarer than most here care to acknowledge.



As you should have gathered from teh links I posted above, and remaining warranty will still be honored ~ the only difference is if you do the install yourself, the warranty will not cover issued directly linked to your installation ~ this is where CED's pigtail kit is a must.



quoted for laughs!

BAH-HA-HA!!
Thanks man. I'm definitely going to install it myself then.

GMPartsDirect is like 50 bucks cheaper than CED, but I suspect they don't have the connectors on theirs.
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Old Feb 15, 2012 | 09:21 PM
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Originally Posted by r1owner
Thanks man. I'm definitely going to install it myself then.

GMPartsDirect is like 50 bucks cheaper than CED, but I suspect they don't have the connectors on theirs.
CED commissioned the creation of the pigtails - and all of the problems associated with GMS1 are directly a result of faulty crimped connections (as the kit comes);
CED is your only option for these pigtails, and quite frankly considering CED's association with GMTunerSource.com I would think that they have some kind of pseudo-partnership with GM Performance Parts
If you look into buying the GMS1(regular) kit from anyone cheaper then factor in the cost of the CED pigtails - you will plainly see that CED is a better place to buy it all from to begin with ...

Original GMS1 kit:
Cobalt, Solstice, HHR Stage Kit 19212670

CED pigtails substituted in leau of OE pigtails in GMS1 kit:
Cobalt, Solstice, HHR Stage Kit 19212670HK

CED pigtails as a solo purchase:
Cobalt, Solstice, HHR Stage Kit Harness Adapter 19212670H

~ just buy the kit in the second link.
Aside from the required modifications to the MAP sensors, this makes the kit 100% painless.
If you do decide to skip the CED plugs - I don't know how you would have sufficient room to access & properly soldier the wires for the MAP which is installed in the cold side chargepipe ~ it's freaking tight.

I have the CED plugs - Tom @ CED is such a pleasure to deal with that it (IMHO) totally negates any observed cost savings from another vendor.

I will no longer buy GM parts from anyone other than Tom @ CED.


Last edited by soundjunky; Feb 15, 2012 at 09:26 PM.
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Old Feb 15, 2012 | 10:24 PM
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Looks like I have my answer! CED it is! Thanks again for the info.
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Old Feb 16, 2012 | 12:32 AM
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Originally Posted by r1owner
Looks like I have my answer! CED it is! Thanks again for the info.
I'm only happy to help.
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Old Feb 24, 2012 | 09:58 PM
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Just ordered from CED! Can't wait to put it in and get it tuned.
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Old Feb 25, 2012 | 12:36 AM
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Originally Posted by r1owner
Just ordered from CED! Can't wait to put it in and get it tuned.
congrats!
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