I personally bought a downpipe first and then an intake.

 

The downpipe is the single most restrictive part on the car. Get a 3" catless or hi flow catted downpipe.

Intake could also net you some gains but depending on which one you get a custom tune may be In order or it will skew your fuel trims and cause your car to run like crap. ZZP intake tube and a k&n drop in filter or the k&n short ram intake are both good options.

If your getting a tune it won't matter just do some reading and see what I take is best for you.

No matter what you do make sure you get a tune because the stock tune is designed to make the same amount of power no matter what you bolt on. Some refer to it a a "learn down"
You may notice power gains at first but the car will adjust the boost levels to reduce gains made from bolt one.
Upper and lower charge pipes as well as intercooler end tanks are know to crack due to being made of plastic. So increasing boost and aggression of your tune can cause them to go. Most people change them out for reliability however in reality the power gains made from them are nominal until you start getting into the kind of airflow only a bigger turbo can provide.

Just read up on parts before you buy them.
All on all most downpipes are the same as they really don't change much in design. Just quality of materials and price changes. Cheep and rusty vs expensive and shiny lol. Power will probably not Change from company to company.


Your clutch will need to be swapped out if you are exceeding 350wtq (and easily will with a good tune)
Not to say it will go right away but it is definitely the weak link in the equation.

 

If say you should start with.

Downpipe
Intake
3bar map sensors from crate engine depot (buy the wiring harness and save yourself the trouble soldering or crimping the sensors can cause)
A good tune either trifecta or Horsepower tuners (ask around there are several good tuners around)
Each tune offers different things so ensure you read up.
And get rotated powell trans mounts to help put down the new found power.

That is the best start you can make. It will completely change how your car feels.

Once that's all done you can go bigger. But don't jump right into a bugger turbo. You make not even want that much power once you have been driving a tuned car. Fwd isn't the best platform to make crazy power and actually put it down.

Although everyone will agree more powa is more fun!

 

There is a sticky thread under the "2.0 LNF performance" section of a guy that tested all the available intakes for the LNF, and the final result was that the Hahn intake is the one that gives the most hp/tq. You can look it up

 

Is there any way to check if your LNF has the GMS1 tune already installed by previous owners?

 

look for 3 bar map sensors....... they have a blue sticker.

 

How much boost does the car make, and what's the part # on the map sensors?

 

I'm hitting 20 pounds of boost and where exactly are the MAP sensors located? :P

 

One on the top of the intake manifold, easy to spot. The second is on the lower charge pipe. Again this is all easily searchable info.

 

^^ Lol.. this would be incorrect. There are no vac lines what so ever coming off of the map. It is however located on the intake mani as stated and the other is on the lower pipe.

 

It would be incorrect lol I didnt even think when I wrote that. Thanks for the correction. I was at work killing time and doing 3 things at once. I feel like an idiot.

 

haha.. no biggie man. I just didn't want the op going crazy looking to replace his bpv solenoid with another map sensor.

 

What mods would be needed to make your Balt good at running from a dig? Would you need trans mounts, traction bars, etc?

What exactly would be needed to build suspension and all first?

 

Stage 2 trans mounts, clutch, slicks

 

Awd. Just embrace the wheel spin.

 

People really underestimate how big a difference bolt ons make. I can't put my foot to the floor under 50mph without spinning. I don't want any more power lol. OP, get fully bolted before thinking about a turbo.

 

Downpipe is a great upgrade too...as for making it faster I just wait until your used to it and it seems slow even though it's not and just work your way up...I know that sounds odd but I need to do major upgrades to mine bc I'm so used to it that it doesn't seem fast anymore even though I know it really is

 

Thank you Slapbetcommissioner! This is an in-depth answer I was looking for!

Thank you Omiotek! I seem to have the GMS1 tune and have found my blue stickers lol :P

So get fully bolted first and then move on from there?



Now, My next questions as I'am still learning consist of:

Fully bolted would mean I have: Cold air intake, Charge pipe, Down pipe, bigger front mount inter-cooler and a tune, Correct?

Once that is achieved I will be considered "Fully bolted?"

My next question is: Clutch's. Slapbetcommissioner mentions that I will be needing to swap out my clutch after 350 wheel TQ is achieved. What brand or make clutch is best? Should I go EXEDY? Maybe FMSR? Any other big names on the market?

&

Transmissions! I'm sure when pushing more power to the ground you will need a beefier Transmission. My question is the same as the clutches. What brand would I be going with Transmission? Would FMSR be best with their F35? Is that even the correct transmission to get?

What about cams? Should I be getting cams and building my motor too? What are the weak points in our motors that I would have to worry about when being "Fully Bolted?"


I'am putting together a long list of parts and prices to plan out my build.



(I have Hahn 3 inch exhaust and decided to go with the rest of the bolt on parts to be Hahn as well to match)

So far I'm leaning towards:

Hahn CAI
Hahn DP
Hahn Charge pipe
Hahn FMIC
Powell Rotated Trans mounts - (Are there any other mounts I should look into purchasing from the wonderful Powell I hear so much of?)
Powell YYZ spings
Powell hardcore sway bar
Koni shocks & struts

THEN: The Hahn 20g big turbo.

and of course get tuned to obtain the power of these bolt on's.

Please criticize or throw out your opinion in what I should and should not put in my build list.


P.S. - I'am still very new to the game and would appreciate it if you left your rude comments to yourself. I'am looking for constructive criticism and only wish to learn. Help and assist me on my journey with my wonderful LNF Cobalt.

 

The Hahn Cold air intake is made out of mild steel and will eventually rust, fun fact.

 

Not true anymore, in their Black Friday sale they mentioned that their charge pipes and intake is now made of aluminum.

 

I've had my Hahn cai for at least a good 3 years now. Not a single sign of rust on it what so ever nor have I ever seen one rusted out in person, fun fact.

 

ugh 400 trq is as easy as a downpipe and a tune on a stock tc. get there first then add as you feel the need to make it more relaible(which is what ic, charge pipes, mounts do)

If you want 400 wheel torque you are getting into numbers that will slip clutches and require lots of supporting mods(big turbo, ic, pipes, mounts, clutchs and trannies etc).

 

What he said man!

 

I had

3 bar maps
K+N intake
Forge BPV
TurboXS hot and cold side charge pipes
Extrude Honed intake manifold
Ported and polished throttle body
TurboXS catless down pipe
No muffler
Term2 tune using HPT on 93 octane pump gas. Can't run meth in SCCA autoX.

312whp/383whtq

not much traction with 235/40/18 Continental DW

Did not slip the clutch once with the stock clutch, 100 passes on the 1/8 mile drag strip here and a season of road courses and autoX.

More torque or hp would only have slowed me down.

 

I suggest u keep a close eye on ur Hahn pipes and intake. iv had my charge pipe rust inside, which was going into the motor, another user has his intake rust through pretty much. id replace them actually if I was u with something aluminum or stainless