well im still doing my build, i lost my licence and cant get out to my car to often to work on it so its taking a while, but i also just bought new rear sway bar, short throw shifter, strut bar and i just got new tires put on just before i lost my licence so the handling is going to be sick and i cant wait to hear my car whine


EDIT: o yeah im also stage 2, and manual

 

poly bushings for the tranny mounts should have gotten rotated mounts lol

 

WUH?! I beat the **** outta my drilled rotors and they have not cracked.... yet lol. But I 've had em for well over a year beating the **** out of em too.

 

Hawk pads n R1 rotors are fine imo.. the only thing I'd change about that is leaving the factory brembo pads on cuz those ones do grab harder; I wonder how the R1 drilled/slotted rotors would hold up to them pads tho cuz they are pretty aggressive. The Hawks on the back are better than stock imo.
As for tunes, I'd recommend sticking with the bigger names.. like Vince, Term, Byt etc. I'm sure there are others also, but I know from experience that some are not near knowledgable enough to be tuning these cars :P Just my 2 cents.

 

1. engine/tranny mounts. Useless and turned the car into a vibrating rattle trap.
2. GMS2. waste of money, should have gotten HPT sooner and saved myself the money and trouble.
3. Cat-back exhaust. Sounds like ass and leaks.

Best mods:
1. TVS
2. HPTuners
3. ZZP downpipe
4. Methanol injection. *Not installed anymore, want it back*

 

I like my Hawk pads and Powerslot rotors, but when I have to do it again I will be getting autozone crap. These are lasting longer than stock but the performance isnt really noticeable over stock.

Plus, for the price of the hawk/powerslot combo I could get 2 sets of stockers and have change left over.

 

I have a pacesetter for sale

 

1) Aluminum flywheel - makes driving more of a pain in the ass. The car is harder to take off from a light and now that I have a clutch that doesn't slip it's kinda annoying. If I drove the car daily i'd be pissed off and probably throw the stock one back in.

2) MPx Lightweight Crank Pulley - When I opened the box I said "holy crap this thing is light". When I pulled off the stock crank pulley I said "holy crap this thing is light" I'm not knocking Modern Performance in any way as i'm very happy with their products but I felt this thing was kinda pointless. It's a high quality piece but the bang for the buck really isn't there.

 

1. Getting a new LT instead of a used SS/TC(didn't know about them at the time)
2. TTR engine mount and poly bushings. They did what they were supposed to but the vibration sucks. I'v taken the engine mount off and have a Powell front mount and stock rear ready to replace the polys when I make the time.

 

Id have to say GMPP manifold, and magnaflow catback

GMPP manifold split right down the middle of exit for cyl 2 in a 1/4 x 3 inch crack,

magnafart catback broke off clean right from the pipe to the muffler.
mario andretti can shove it straight up the poopshute.

 

ZZP 3" cat back.

Whoa was that ever obnoxiously loud as a DD.

 

CAtless? lol you must be inbetween young and having a 2nd childhood like me :P Cuz I'm catless and I love the sound

 

He's sc'd. No turbo to baffle the exhaust and make it sound nice, just straight off the header.

 

Oh **** son.. lolz It'd be hard to quieten down in close proximity to piggies then..

 

any aftermarket set of headlights i had were never what i expected..

retros ftw!

 

bah-ha-ha!!

I should have done the "extra-clear coat" mod...

GM's paint is imho FTMFL
From the "extra cost" paint Cobalt's that I've seen it looks like their paint is applied thicker, and has more clear...
I baby my car...
I stay off the interstates (or our version of it) and don't drive much during the week... (most of my mileage is from summer road trips the CA, OR, or WA)
I and am at the point now (a little more than 18 months in) of washing it less because seeing all the "new" spots of missing paint truly pisses me off.
Seriously - the little black bugs on my bumper make the black spots (from the paint coming off down to the plastic) almost seem invisible...

Had I known it was this bad, I would have commissioned for a shop to do a couple extra layers of clear...

This Cobalt has more paint chips than my original paint 1991 Grand Am!!
*oh and contacting GM customer service on this matter is a waste of time too, they make you think something is going to happen then the dealer just brushes you off saying it's "typical" rock chips... major BS.

 

had the same issue at 14k miles.

vht and gen4's were a waste. although the gen4s look good. horrible fitment for me.and i dont wanna hear i had them in wrong or anything. bad fitment. i bought another set and they wouldnt fit at all. waste

 

Not buying Performance winter tires. Although that's not really a mod.

All the "mods" I've done so far have improved the car tremendously! And my VHT tail lights turned out great too (it's all in the prep).

 

^ you and bika have the same avatar??....

 

I think I am gonna have my tails painted at a shop. I hear and see to much bad VHT stories. This is the first I've heard bad about Gen4s though. Anyone else have fitament issues? Might have to go retros.

 

I had this issue with mine as well. when they were installede there was a huge gap between the light and the bumper...like you could squeeze your hand into it it was so bad. I ended up putting a rubber spacer behind the headlight bracket and cutting the 2 bolt holes, on the lights thmselves, into slots so I could pull the lights a little further up...

 

VHT. My Eibach Sportlines. The roads where I live SUCK. I'm tired of my spleen being crush when as I hit potholes. I'm changing out to ARK springs and SS/TC struts next week. The sportlines mounted on Koni struts and shocks will be for sale soon if anyone is interested. PM me.

 

I had no problems with my VHT tails either.

 

Never rely on Vibrant gaskets for their header/dp combo. Its a solid set up but the location of the header collector flange is a big pain in the ass getting your hands into. Lather the gasket up with copper seal to ensure the bastard doesn't leak. Otherwise you'll butcher your hands trying to loosen the thing.

Don't trust the lug nuts sold with the MSR's from Jasonaudio. They're terrible and will seize. Bad things happen when lug nuts seize....

 

Do you wax your car? If not throw a few coats of wax on, it will protect the **** out of the paint. Im at 36K and only have 1 rock chip...And I drive on the interstate quite a bit.