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

Got tuned today- Did I get screwed?

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Old 04-06-2016, 10:04 PM
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Got tuned today- Did I get screwed?

Exactly what the title says. I tuned my LNF for the the first time today at a local shop that another cobalt owner referred me to. Since there aren't many other ecotec specialists in my area, I figured the guy must be pretty good. He's supposedly done many turbo cobalts before, so mine should be cake. I'm nearly full bolt on with ZZP catless downpipe, ZZP smaller intercooler, Injen hotside pipe, and K&N drop in with stock airbox.

When i mentioned my goal of 330-340whp he pretty much scoffed at me and said there was no way. but that we should see around 290. I was a bit taken aback by this because many guys here are in the 320+club with similar or less mods, but I took his word for it, and let him continue.
Like i said, I was hoping to see around 330-340 whp, but saw significantly less. The baseline run put my car at 224/242 and after only 4 pulls he was happy leaving me with 285/326 @~21/22psi after about 30 minutes on the dyno (dynojet).
Also, the temperature was in the high 30s at the time.
My concerns are that 4 pulls seem awfully low, even for someone who knows these cars well. Friends of mine in the Honda community have seen similarly modded cobalts putting down mid 340s and told me 4 pulls are no where near enough.

I paid $450, and while I understand that 100 goes to HP tuners, I was wondering if i should demand at least a partial refund or if this it is common practice to only pull that few times and to see that little power.

For obvious reasons I will not name the company until I find out if i was in fact played.

Thanks for any input guys!

Last edited by Stumpy; 04-06-2016 at 11:18 PM.
Old 04-06-2016, 10:24 PM
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Matt from zzp did 3 pulls for mine and I'm at 289 and 315 tq
Old 04-06-2016, 11:08 PM
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Sounds about right on the numbers to me (the ones he gave you you should be able to hit 300 but 340 seems high on e it should be possible tho
Old 04-06-2016, 11:39 PM
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315/360 should be normal numbers for I and DP bolt ons. Now if you see for 91 or 93 anything above 340/400 that car is going to blow up or it has a really good tune.
Old 04-07-2016, 12:48 AM
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It's really hard to know, sounds like his dyno isn't properly calibrated at the very least.
Old 04-07-2016, 01:30 AM
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Are you using 93 or 91?
Old 04-07-2016, 09:03 AM
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I'd be livid if I only made 285 on a dyno jet after paying $450 Jesus
Old 04-07-2016, 10:00 AM
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Originally Posted by Canadia
I'd be livid if I only made 285 on a dyno jet after paying $450 Jesus
I agree, this is barely above GM Stage 1 and an intake.
Old 04-07-2016, 10:09 AM
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But prior to he only dynod 224 on the same one, so still a 60hp bump.
Old 04-07-2016, 10:13 AM
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Price is high but that probably includes tune and dyno time, and I agree with ecaulk on the hp
Old 04-07-2016, 10:13 AM
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Are people here confusing wheel HP with brake HP? 285 at the wheels should be in the neighborhood of 320BHP if you use a 12% drivetrain loss.
Old 04-07-2016, 10:47 AM
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Originally Posted by Solaris99
Are people here confusing wheel HP with brake HP? 285 at the wheels should be in the neighborhood of 320BHP if you use a 12% drivetrain loss.
No we aren't, but as stated above, I think we are seeing a heartbreak dyno.

He was 15whp less than most in stock form. So that would put him at 300whp on a typical dyno if the +60HP holds true.
Old 04-07-2016, 11:31 AM
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I only use 93 (Shell to be specific)
Originally Posted by no_ss
Are you using 93 or 91?
Old 04-07-2016, 01:30 PM
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330-340? Where did u get those numbers on stock turbo? Not gonna get that without running e
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Old 04-07-2016, 06:36 PM
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Originally Posted by ECaulk
But prior to he only dynod 224 on the same one, so still a 60hp bump.
not worth $450 he could have got gms1 and made the same if not slightly less
Old 04-07-2016, 06:37 PM
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Originally Posted by Solaris99
Are people here confusing wheel HP with brake HP? 285 at the wheels should be in the neighborhood of 320BHP if you use a 12% drivetrain loss.
who the hell talks about bhp in that case I'm 400bhp woohoo
Old 04-07-2016, 06:38 PM
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Originally Posted by tomj77
330-340? Where did u get those numbers on stock turbo? Not gonna get that without running e
guess my car is a magical unicorn
Old 04-07-2016, 08:20 PM
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Originally Posted by Canadia
not worth $450 he could have got gms1 and made the same if not slightly less
When did GMS1 ever add 60hp? Starting at 224 and going to 284 is a good bump no matter how much of a heart break dyno it is. You can just look at the overall dyno number and say he got screwed, without looking at 60-100 times or the tune it's impossible to know.
Old 04-07-2016, 09:22 PM
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Originally Posted by ECaulk
When did GMS1 ever add 60hp? Starting at 224 and going to 284 is a good bump no matter how much of a heart break dyno it is. You can just look at the overall dyno number and say he got screwed, without looking at 60-100 times or the tune it's impossible to know.
what does gms1 dyno then
Old 04-07-2016, 09:24 PM
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That's the problem you guys are just basing out of the numbers and forget about the actual gains
Old 04-07-2016, 09:47 PM
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Originally Posted by Snail_SS
That's the problem you guys are just basing out of the numbers and forget about the actual gains
aren't most lnfs dynoing 225-240whp stock? His starting #'s aren't far from the norm to me
Old 04-07-2016, 10:20 PM
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Originally Posted by Canadia
guess my car is a magical unicorn
it is
Old 04-08-2016, 09:40 AM
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You numbers are about the same I made but it was on a mustang dyno, and I'm on 91 octane.

Can't really ask for a refund since they did offer you a service, and did the work. Since they only did 4 pulls they probably just loaded the generic tune they had and did pulls just to make sure the car doesn't knock.
Old 04-08-2016, 10:28 AM
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Those numbers are very good for a stock turbo.

People get way too caught up on numbers from the dyno without looking at the variables (altitude, calibration, etc) . The dyno is a tuning tool and it needs to kept in perspective. If the people who get 330-340whp on their dyno STARTED with a base line of 250/260 hp, they did just like you and gained 60ish whp.

Also there are alot of different dynos out there as said earlier. Mustang dynos tend to read lower than dyno jets. But some dynojets read low like mustangs. You did not get screwed over.

Also, 4 pulls is enough. You don't need 10+ pulls with someone who knows the cars well.

I personally made 295/310 on my stock turbo a long time ago.
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Old 04-08-2016, 10:43 AM
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Originally Posted by Canadia
guess my car is a magical unicorn
No you just got a happy dyno.

Originally Posted by Canadia
what does gms1 dyno then
Normally around 270-280whp and stock is normally around 250whp


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