vtirocz

I have a '00 Camaro Z28 M6 and was considering to buy a Turbo Cobalt SS. I was disappointed to see it will only come with a 5speed and no optional 6speed with a deep overdrive for better gas mileage. Any news of GM offering a 6 speed in the future?

I like the 0.50:1 6th gear on my Z28 since it will get ~29mpg on the highway. With the smaller/lighter Cobalt with direct injection, I was hoping for better than 30mpg on the highway.

SSRedSC

They dont need a 6spd and my sc gets well into the thirtys on the highway.

07SSCharged248

IDK i get 34 to gallon in mine... With the 5 speed...

nich7601

You will. By far.

Magill8

The cobalt is a 4cyl, 30mpg is easy my man lol

You dont need overdrive or more gears with a 4cyl

nich7601

hmm...you did realize the cobalt has a 4 banger right?

Sharkey

iTrader: (1)

gotta remember that its a 4 cylender, it doesnt make power low down and with a deep overdrive you will have your foot a lot farther into it, so you wouldnt get a lot better mialage.

my ss/sc with all my mods i can get 35mpg on the freeway. the ss turbo should be a bit better with the different final drive (3.83 vs 4.05) and direct injection.

TVS_SS

I agree 100%

we complain about fuel mileage and they make our engines SCREAM down the highway at 3krpms.. they only need to be ~1500-2000rpm's. All the extra friction power is wasted just to spin the engine that fast.

vtirocz

Thanks for all the replies! I did realize that the Cobalt is a Turbo 4 cyl.

That being said, at 80mph, the Cobalt's 2.0 is turning at 2900rpm. With torque peak at 2000rpm, It would be nice to have a taller overdrive gear. I am happy to see some getting as high as 35mpg with the SS/SC, but if the gearing was taller, that number would be even higher. Right now, the 0.70:1 5th gear is optimized for top speed.

While I'm nitpicking about the transmission, I wish the 1st gear was a bit taller as well and gap between 1st (3.38) and 2nd (1.78) was smaller.

SilverSS/SC

FWIW , the 08 Turbo cars lost some ring gear . SC's were a 4.05 , the new one is 3.84 .

I calculated mine with good ol math ( not the DIC reading ) , and got 36 mpg on a trip to Ohio last month buzzing 3K rpms I average about 24-25 in town . I dont see how you could do better than that with the TC .

alleycat58

With good ol pen and paper math I get 35-37mpg on the highway when I'm pushing it but I've seen as high as 41.5mpg.

UmeNNis

On this note, are the DIC's pretty accurate with the MPG estimates? I have never actually done the work to see how true they are

SilverSS/SC

Its one of the more accurate ones Ive seen . Its typically generous by few mpg's . On my ohio trip it was reading 39 when I got back .

Sharkey

iTrader: (1)

the ss/sc is cranking 2900rpm at 80mph, however with the lightly deeper final drive of the ss/tc, it will be a tad lower at 2800 at 80mph. not a big difference, but some.

as i said earlier, a v8 you want under 2000rpm for cruising, however a 4 cylinder chugs along at that rpm. you will need your foot farther into it to maintain speed and you can end up with worse mialage. gm isnt stupid when designing the overdrive ratios, they do testing to find out what will optimize fuel economy, and thats what they came up with. remember, the new turbo cobalt has the best fuel economy of any performance 4 cylender on the market, beating the mazda speed 3, srt4, and even the civic si

Rodimus_Prime

iTrader: (3)

Im having trouble even breaking 30 on the highway, not sure what my issues are

SilverSS/SC

QFT
....The engineering team for the Cobalt has extensively tested the F40 6-speed and could find no justifyable benefit in performance or economy over the F35 . It was gone over when the SS/SC was in development and again with the TC .

Its not the best of the best , I think ratio's need work in this car ....but its the best of what they have avail. to use in the Cobalt SS .

WhiteSSBalt

Yup, what he said.

Dead EyeZ24

don't worry dude........ we all do.

CobaltSS 16

iTrader: (3)

I get well over 30 mpg on highway too.

alleycat58

It's very very close. I've never been off by more than 1 mpg. Mine tends to be slightly lower than actual mileage. For a full tank of pure highway it would read 36.6 mpg, when true math would give 37.3.

jdbunch08SS

I can pull 40 in the LT if I cruise the speed limit and set cruise

Smitty1017

My LT only gets like 37 cruising the speed limit...I can average 35 on a trip with some stops if i accelerate like a granny. I do have alot of weight in the trunk though. probably about 200+ lbs. Full set of tools, Jackstands, and another toolbox full of car detailing/washing stuff. (I have an apartment so I dont have my own garage)

Kibosh3

i wish we had a taller 1st gear....but meh, i got used to it

GULLABLE0NE

i hope the 1st gear in the ss/tc isnt as bad as the ss/sc. people complain nonstop about the 1st gear in ss/sc's

Dead EyeZ24

^^ first gear in my RL drives me F*-ing nuts. It feels so weird and unnatural to changes gears that early. Is there a reason why first gear is that short??