well, i finally gave in and bought the gms1 kit. i know this isnt probably the best option out there, but for me, it is the safest. eventually i want to get a real tune, but i will settle with the gm performance upgrade for now. anyways, onto my question. for those who are familiar with how to install the kit, what are the major problems that you guys come across? basically, what have the techs screwed up when trying to install, so i know what to tell them to do properly. thanks again guys.

 

Make sure the o-rings seal well in the manifold and charge pipe and solder, heat shrink & wrap the wire splices to the connectors. If the installer won't solder the leads, do it yourself afterwards.

 

I've heard some people having some problems with diff. intakes with the GMS1

I'm sure others can chime in....that's really all I've heard

Just my .02, you should have just got a real tune to begin with because if your going to down the road then you basically just wasted money.

^ Just sayin'

 

are you installing the sensors or the dealership?

THe main issues are bad splices and wire rubbing on the ac condensor area.

 

thanks guys. yea i realize that the gms1 isnt nearly as good as a real tune, but i want to get a feel for the gms1 before moving on to hpt or trifecta. if nothing else, at least i got the upgraded sensors. ive read that its good to have those sensors with a real tune.

 

just pay the dealer 80$ for no questions asked warrenty repair. i know it still covered under warrenty if you self install. but any issues gms1 related in the future i imagine they would be bitches about it. if they screw it up they are 100% accountable for everything.

 

i plan on getting the dealer to install it. sorry for the confusion. thanks for the feedback guys. i will definitely make sure to tell them about the wiring issue.

 

One problem with this kit is sensor position, the lower charge piping located sensor is too close to one of the AC compressor sensors and can bump it when you get on it, which causes the car to run rough and will throw a MAP code. I had the dealer try to take care of it and they seemed to take care of it, they "fixed" it back in June, but within the last two weeks my car has been running funny and I have gotten the P0106 code (MAP sensor) at least 3 or 4 times, and now tonight a P0101 (MAF sensor) all caused by the bad placement of the MAP sensor as far as I know right now. I am having the dealer replace my lower stock charge piping with the ZZP lower piping in order to relocate the MAP so it isn't a problem anymore because I am tired of it, other than that (and I'm sorry for seeming so negative) this kit is AWESOME! I've had it for over a year now and totally recommend it, especially because you get to keep your warranty. I also would suggest adding a downpipe immediately and then possibly an intake, but the downpipe is by far the best mod IMO, and just for a suggestion, go catless and save your stock downpipe for inspection, it only takes ten minutes to swap them out.

 

I recommend doing what I did. I did use the white pig tails that kit came with. I bought new terminals and crimped and soldered them onto the original factory harness and inserted them in to the bosche map sensors. This how the factory would have done it.

 

wow thats awesome man. so the dealer put on the lower cp for you? how much did that run you? im definitely considering the catless dp from Hahn, but so far i havent liked the sound of a catless, plus i dont want to smell the exhaust.

 

I have had the gm stage 1 for about 6 months now. The ONLY problem i had was the map sensor on the cold charge fitment. i trimmed it up just perfect and have had no problems what so ever and used everything the dealer provided with the kit. I drove it there and stayed out of boost and have had 0 problems. Im also running the K&N intake and love the combination

 

The zzp dp will give u a nice throaty sound. The gms1 isn't what I would do but I hope it works well for u

 

holy sh**! what a difference is all im going to say. granted i do have the k&n sri, Injen upper charge pipe. this car is a monster! no more turbo lag

 

ya and thats weak compared to a real tune. gmstage 1 should of been stock..it was a nice upgrade

 

yea defintely should have been stock with these cars. i guess gm needed to make more money off these kits. well so far so good. i asked the dealer if there were any problems with install, they said no. but when they test drove it, i guess the upper charge pipe blew off on the tank side. *******! anyways they put it back on for me. just wondering how bad they mashed on the gas pedal to get the charge pipe to blow off.

 

I just dropped my 'balt off for the GMS1 install - I'm getting a little stoked. I have the K&N intake sitting in the garage, waiting for the car to come back, and it seems like its going to be a warm enough weekend to do the work on that, too.

Funny - I've had my wife and some people at work ask me why I need to do this to the car. So far my response has been, "If you have to ask, you won't understand my answer."

Think my next post will be requesting performance tire recommendations.....

 

enjoy your new found powah!!

 

you will be happy when its finished. just did both the gms1 and intake last weekend. its like a brand new car

 

Good to hear! Its going to be nice having a little more sauce in my sedan. I'm now thinking how close I can get it to my modded LT1....

 

Well, because of this technically being under warranty still (bumper to bumper, I haven't hit 36k yet), they offered to swap out my old cold side for a new one and that's when I explained that the problem was the location of the MAP, so I suggested ordering an aftermarket one and the service manager said that was fine and that they would cut me a check for the price of the stock piping, so I ordered ZZP's lower piping and had it sent second day air and after the check from the dealer, I spent about $80. I thought it was a sweet deal.

AND because it was warranty work, all I paid for was the part. No labor or anything else. They had it for one day, I dropped it off before work, went back after work and my new lower piping was installed.

 

ya but after a while you just want moar!!

 

Just drove mine home from the dealer this afternoon from the GMS1 install, and I got to say - that was money well spent . I've often had problems with doing the whiplash-thing when I shifted (on-boost/off-boost/on-boost - WHAP, head meets headrest) because of swapping between my LT1, a wimpy Tacoma 5 speed and the Cobalt. The first thing I noticed is the change in how the power comes on at part throttle - its far more manageable.

And, much to my joy, I've noticed the wheels break loose in 2nd as I tach up. I'm thinking that's going to be my next job. I can't see staying on stock tires now, if all I'm going to do is boil 'em in two gears.

 

Ya if you had the injen on with the couplers it came with. You'll want to get longer couplers and tbolt clamps from siliconeintakes.com and you won't blow off the cp. Happened to me too on my test drive.

 

does it work okay with the k and n intake kit?

 

Couldn't wait - put the K&N intake on this afternoon. The GMS1 seems to work very well with the intake - started out a little spastic, but after about 5-10 minutes of some varied cruising and letting the car learn a little, its calmed down and good to go. As for power increases, I think this is so close to the GMS1 that I can't honestly tell the difference, since I only drove my car once before I added the intake.

Fit and finish are good. The shroud could be better - I'd hesitate to call this a true CAI, since the shroud is half-open to the engine compartment and half-open to the stocker's CAI tube, but what it has fits very well in the engine compartment. I'll be looking to weld a sheet metal close-out to match the K&N shroud to more thoroughly isolate it.

One thing, though - so much for "stealth". The K&N is quite a bit louder than I anticipated, with every acceleration now accompanied by a "scheeeeKUHhhhhhh" through the intake, punctuated with the occasional "kak" thrown in. I'm going to have some trouble now sneaking by as a "standard issue SS/TC sedan" sleeper.

I'm now calling my car - wheezer.