reefer_roids

hey guys,

im a newbie when it comes to tuning cars. i just bought a cobalt tc 2010 about 6 months ago. Now i have been reading relentlessly on all of the different tunes for this car. also have read the pro's/con's with the bolt-on's. Now it sounds to me like the gms1 is the safest choice obviously bc of the gm warranty. my question is what kind of boost numbers can you expect while daily driving? i have read mine w/o the gms1 and it stays between 3-5 psi. can i expect an increase in normal boost from 1st and 2nd gear, as well as a significant decrease in mpg's, while still daily driving? right now im getting 25mpg city. I would like to reiterate the fact that i am not going to be wot shifting, just daily driving. On the other hand, with that said, would just a K&N SRI be a better investment, when trying to get quicker turbo spool in 1st/2nd gear w/o messing with the warranty? sorry for the long post. any info would be greatly appreciated. thanks.

jphugel11

well I have the gms1 and no, your gas mileage wont get any worse. mine is the same, which probably means it's actually better, because I definitely step on it more often. and as for the K&N, it won't do you any good without getting the gms1 or a tune because of learn-down.

reefer_roids

yea ive read about the learn down feature, but the turbo should spool faster bc of the increase in air right? do u have the SRI as well? or just stock filter.

Dart_SI

iTrader: (1)

the intake should make the turbo spool slightly faster, yea. a catless DP will also do this.

reefer_roids

true. now with the catless dp, ive read that the CEL will be triggered. to avoid this would you recommend getting the gms1 at the same time as the dp? or does it matter.

Dart_SI

iTrader: (1)

it wont matter, youl throw a CEL reguardless with it eventually. however there are some ppl who havent. a defouler could help, but theres no way to stop a cel 100% without a aftermarket tune

reefer_roids

so is it safe to say that putting the SRI will throw a CEL as well?

jphugel11

I just have the K&N drop in filter, I'm actually looking at Treadstone Performance's CAI. I would just say get the GMS1 and make more power.

themacguy

^This^
My gas milage is a bit better. More torque in the mid-range, but more torque-steer too.
I did not notice too much effect in 1st. BIG difference in 2nd, 3rd and 4th.

reefer_roids

great. thanks guys for the knowledge.

reefer_roids

whats the deal with premium fuel only? can anyone explain why u have to have this after installing gms1.

Terminator2

You should be using premium fuel only in this car even with the stock GM tune. Turbo or supercharged cars need premuim gas.

Grishbok

The octane rating of fuels is there resistance to knock. Knock is an uncontrolled detonation in the combustion chamber and can be detrimental to the motor. This risk is amplified in boosted applications, i.e turbo/superchargers. The more air and fuel you put in the chamber, the greater the risk of those residual molecules going *pop* and your motor going *boom*. 91/93octane only.

iirc

reefer_roids

1.) LNF GMS1 stage kit
2.) K&N SRI 69 typhoon
3.) RKSport Ram air induction hood
4.) Hahn 3” turbo back exhaust/ with cat down pipe
5.) Hahn intercooler


alright this is the setup im looking at getting. my question is will this be too much added power or am i still on the safe side w/o getting a bigger turbo/ fuel components?

slapbetcommissioner

iTrader: (3)

1) LNF GMS1 stage kit- i have it and love it. good for the peace of mind wont let you make "unsafe HP" a custom tune will always be better for hp numbers though..
2.) K&N SRI 69 typhoon- a good investment from what ive readf
3.) RKSport Ram air induction hood- only for looks and if wet outside it will drop water right on the filter. could gain a couple hp from getting some cooler air form outside the engine bay effectively making your short rama CAI. you would likely wanna drill some holes in the bottom of the scoup to funnel out water if you did....
4.) Hahn 3” turbo back exhaust/ with cat down pipe- the down pipe will get you horse power for sure but the exhaust would just be a sound mod as the 2.5inch exhuast has almost no restriction after the dp with the factory turbo.
5.) Hahn intercooler-you may actually lose peak HP with this as your litte turbo can only move so much air and your effectively creating more volume for it to fill before the pressure will force its way into the engine. the cooling gains wont outballance the lower boost..


alright this is the setup im looking at getting. my question is will this be too much added power or am i still on the safe side w/o getting a bigger turbo/ fuel components?[/QUOTE]

with just the gm stage kit this wont be "too much added power" you would be lucky to get to 300whp and 320wtq.

your gms1 tune will still cut down your horse power at some point (not like the base tune) but it wont let the turbo OVERSPOOL and and damage itself meaning that theres only so much horspower to be had from creating better flow. custom tune if your gonna put all of these bolt ons as your probably gonna lose your powertrain warrenty for doing all of this if anything goes wrong even remotely related to these parts.

the down pipe woul be your best first mod followed by the k&n sri (i mean after getting the gms1 or tune)
2

Baron7700

if your super concerned about keeping your warranty, dont put any parts on it, especially ones that take a bit on time to go on an off, like the intercooler, and the hood just for the obviousness that you have things done to the car.

With that list you got, get an aftermarket tune?

I have had both, I should of went with my byt tune from day 1, instead of gms1. Not that gms1 wasnt nice, just turns out I wanted more from the car, o well.

reefer_roids

great. thanks guys for your knowledge and insight. much appreciated. from what you guys have said, sounds like the best way to go is gms1, 3" dp, K&N drop in filter. (w/o killing my warranty if possible.)

Baron7700

Ok so i got my car back from gm the other day, and it was back to stock + GMS1 which was slooow (from what im used too)

put my dp and intake back on and holy crap what a difference, i dont know how long that would last tho with learn down but it was nice.... right until I got to BYT's to have him reflash my tune, and than it was check my pants time again.

The best way to go, I had the tune on, had some issues that were none tune related, he flashed it back, went to GM they knew NOTHING, got the car back, tune back on.

northvibe

iTrader: (1)

I have the gm stage 1 kit. Its worth it if you wanna stay "stock" for a while. Definitely a power difference. Then I got injen charge pipes, high flow cat downpipe and k&n sri. I would say just cat a catted downpipe if you stay with the gm stage 1 tune. F dealing with the cel. Ive had my downpipe on for over 5k miles without a cel. everyone i know with a catless and stock or gmstage 1 is throwing cel's.

vahdyx

iTrader: (7)

Here's what went through my mind. Now I'm probably just as knowledgeable as you are (I'm not very)

GMS1 seems the safest, but also the most unsafe due to the shotty sensors. From what I understand the sensors have a high failure rate due to most dealerships not knowing how to install them correctly. So you'll have to deal with taking it back all the time until the problem is fixed.

If I were you, I'd get either Trifecta or ZZP for the spare PCM so you can still have warranty by either writing stock with trifecta or switching back to stock PCM with ZZP. Also I understand that Trifecta is safe, it's conservative and if you ask for a conservative tune you'll be just as "SAFE" as GMS1

Anyone wanna comment on my post. I'm still learning as well

northvibe

iTrader: (1)

meh imo any tune could be unsafe in some situation. In theory the gm stage 1 kit sensors should be fine. I havent had 1 issue with mine, but bad installs seem to of plagued people.

When you tune you take a risk. A risk you should be fully aware of. Many will say a tune could be even safer than stock, and it can, but with temp/weather changes you may have to monitor or retune your car as the gas can also go to **** in winter climates. Theres no one answer to be 100% for everyone. People need to do their own research, find out what they want out of the car, and proceed to choose what will fit their needs.

vahdyx

iTrader: (7)

I did research and it led to more questions and then more and more. The problem is I want reliability more than performance and everything is a risk and reward.

Its that nothing was risk free. So to me after all my research I felt. Keeping my stock sensors and keeping a low boost was the solution. 20psi Trifecta seemed the smartest way to go.

northvibe

iTrader: (1)

sure...I dont see why the upgraded sensors are a bad upgrade though...Mine work great but the people who really break them are going past 25/26psi or bad installs.

I have the upgraded sensors and now I think I'm keeping my car, I still have my HPT. I'm gonna go that route.

Grishbok

they wouldnt warranty the gms1 if it was prone to failure like you are making it sound. that is all.

vahdyx

iTrader: (7)

Agreed, but the risk in bad install seems high. Most dealerships I have called here in Colorado have no experience in them. The sensors are heat wrapped in other dealerships and some just tell me, you're under warranty so just come back we'll fix it. Then I read about lower o-rings being to small and the sensors failing after 9 months and this risk was too high.

People with Trifecta seem to be going strong for greater than a year and less reported failures. Plus the added safe feeling that it wont void your warranty if you write back to stock.

GMS1 seems like a good answer but I dont know. Price to pay is high and sensor fail seems high.

I'm still not 100% on anything