Well, its time for some upgrades.

So the car is a 2008 cobalt SS in yellow. has 78k miles on it. i just picked it up on Sunday the 28th. As of now it has injen charge pipes, injen CAI and muffler delete. Im ordering today or tomorrow from ZZP once we get this military discount thing squared away. ZZP lower charge pipes for maf relocation. ZZP fmic (smaller version for ground clearance) ill be doing the forge vented BPV valve. im ordering the HP tuners basic as well. and getting the tune from ZZP, i will be doing data logging with them to get the tune how i want it. ordering the 200 cell high flow cat down pipe. So right now it has 3 gauges, has a volts gauge, and oil pressure gauge, and of course the stock boost. but because I REALLY like the new AEM digital gauges ZZP sells im ordering those. AFR, BOOST, OIL PRESSURE. would you guys recommend getting the EGT gauge instead of oil pressure? That will all be ordered in the next couple days.

right now I am stationed in 29 palms for some training for the next 2-3 months. I MIGHT get lucky and my brother may install some of this stuff for me haha. we will see, if not the install will be in march most likely.

After all this is done next on my list is a clutch, and a meth injection

im hoping for 300 at the wheels with these, and then when i get the clutch and meth im hoping for about 340. On the big tune, and stay at the 300 when i dont need to be running the 340. let me know what you guys think and ill start posting pics once everything starts coming together. it may be a little before pics start being posted.

 

If you get are getting HPT there isn't a real point in getting tuned from ZZP unless you want a base to work off of.

Also, with intercooler/charge piping, a catless DP, and tune w/HPT, you should be making more than 300 to the wheels, same or more torque. it's fairly common with a decently aggressive tune

Edit: just re-read what you said about logging for ZZP.

 

You can get plenty of power with just an intake downpipe, and 3 bar map sensors. These are the only mods you really need.

 

when are the cooling mods needed? im getting the lower charge pipes so that i can run a vented BPV valve. so since i was going to be hasling with that install i assumed i would just do the fmic. and why do i need a 3 bar map? a 2 bar reads up to 29psi which our stock turbo would not run (efficiently) anyways. is there another benifit of a 3 bar vs 2 bar? and yeah i dont really know how to tune so im getting that tune and then i can look at it and what not if i want to adjust little things after i get it. but i wont tune from scratch. ill blow it up haha.

 

it won't effectively read above 14.7lbs if my understanding is right. it counts atmospheric pressure as 14.7, and then you can boost to 14ish for a total of the 29 you're referencing.

MAP Sensors and how they work
the bottom of this page explains 1/2/3 bar sensors and the differences.

I'm not much help otherwise, other than seconding that i'd blow mine if i tried to tune it myself.

 

all that did was confuse me. because it can read 29.4 psi but only 14.7 psi of boost? but our cars have 15psi stock. so im confused? when is a 3 bar map sensor needed and not needed i know you can run 25psi on a 2 bar map sensor so with my goals am i needing a 3 bar? can anyone put this is idiot terms as im confused as to what that said. thanks..

also if i want to run the vented BPV valve by forge do i HAVE to relocate my maf? after reading quite a few horror stories with the zzp lower charge pipes im kinda reluctant to order it. in your guys opinions, what is the best route to take (company, and which way) if i want to run the vented BPV valve, intercooler, down pipe with cat, thanks. i am a huge fan of zzp as thats all i used on my 07 i had, but now theres HAHN, ZZP, INJEN, etc that all make the same stuff and im sure theres others brands i dont even know about. what are your experiences with all these companies and who do you recommend.

 

Re: the map sensors, I believe stock is 2.5 bar (not 2) so it can read to 22psi of boost. Also I believe the 22+ psi of boost on stock sensors can be achieved through tune, but the computer loses active control of boost pressure via wastegate. It would then depend on MAF and tables only (passive control). Any correction is welcome.

 

Go with the aeroforce interceptor gauge instead

 

Why?

 

Okay now that makes more sense. Still a little fuzzy since I don't know how to tune. But that makes more sense as to why we can run more than an 14.7psi. Thanks for the clear up.

 

I didn't actually read the article, but I'm assuming it means the sensors reads psi absolute. Meaning it counts atmospheric pressure and boost pressure. So it doesn't actually start at 0, it starts at atm (14.7). If it was psi gauge it would only read boost pressure and start at 0.

 

Okay that makes sense. I have a question. Do you have to relocate the maf if you run the forge vented BPV?

 

If you're referring to their vent to atmosphere BPV, yes.

 

Not totally correct. Yes it reads absolute, but it does start at zero. When the boost gauge reads "0psi" the map is reading 14.7psi (or whatever ambient is). You'll also notice on the boost gauge there's a section called vacuum. When the needle is there the map is reading below ambient pressure in the intake manifold. Vacuum is measured in in-Hg.

 

As far as i know, the stock 2.5 bar map sensors work till 22.5 psi and don't read accurately near that or above it. The 3 bar is used to read more accurately and support higher boost loads. These ECU's HAVE to know how much air is going in and what the manifold pressure is as you can see where the two map sensors go.
I'd run an aggressive 26 psi tune but I might just do 24 since you don't gain much after that.


Cheapest way is to get a K&N CAI, zzp 3 inch catless downpipe and a bypass valve mod to make sure that air gets out. My brother ran those mods except with a boost controller and made 330/380 @ 26 psi. Damn was it fast until his piston cracked like 30k miles later. I think it was shitty timing that caused it.

 

Thanks. How do you like the zzp intercooler and lower charge pipes? Did you have problems installing it? And do you have any leaks from the map or maf sensors? I've read they leak sometimes.

 

Okay so sounds like I'll be getting a 3 bar map sensor. Seems like it would be beneficial at the boost I want to run. And it also sounds like I can run a pretty mild tune with all I have listed and get my 300 easily. And won't wear and tear on the car so much. There's already an injen cai on it so I'll stick with it. And I live in california so im getting the high flow cat. 200 cell as I've heard they pass smog if your tuning is spot on. And I'll have a "smog" tune set up to make sure it passes. What is the bypass valve mod? And what was the point of the boost controller if his tune was for 26 psi? Or was it not tuned for 26 and he turned it up via boost controller which caused it to put a hole in his piston? Thanks for the info though makes me feel good about making 300.

 

Even if you get a safe tune, you'll still be making 305-310 whp.

Just get catless and throw your oem one back on when emisssions come by, cheapest and best way. I don't know CARB laws exactly but you might not be able to run a cold air intake, you might have to run a intake tube and a k&n filter. Here they just plug in the OBDII and check for codes and mil then we're off, for newer cars atleast.

The bypass valve mod is when you plug the bypass valve vaccum line directly into the intake manifold, then you bypass the vaccum tank by removing the lines, and putting vaccum line on two sides of the little solenoid to cover up the holes. You spool faster since your bypass valve is staying shut instead of slightly open.

He used the boost controller to keep his boost at 26 PSI instead of it falling down slowly so his HP was really high.

As of the cracked piston, I think it was caused to shitty timing caused knock and then boom.

 

Ya I meant the sensor is reading 14.7 when the boost gauge is at 0.

 

in california you can have a CAI as long as it has a carb number. and im pretty sure the injen does but ill have to check that. and as for the catless. i know its more power but its very little maybe 5 or so. and im not sure i like the sound with a catless dp. so im definately staying with the high flow cat. what does bypassing the vacuum tank do? like i get it makes the turbo spool faster but why was it there to begin with?

 

The vacuum tank is there to provide instant vacuum to the bypass valve but it's a bunch of bullshit and it opens much better without it. But leaving the bypass valve setup stock I like the sound it makes when you do 3/4th throttle, let it build some boost then let off the gas a little bit. it lets some air out and OHOOOOHHOO the noise, I love it. But running it directly is better.

 

Do yourself and do this...

Get a downpipe, intake, 3 bar sensors, and a tune and be done with it if you only want 300. No need to do more honestly. Don't get a vented bpv. Such a waste when the stock one works. Why change it...

 

okay so a little change to what my build was gonna be, still going to do the zzp fmic, the zzp lower charge pipes with maf relocate to run a vented forge BPV, injen upper charge pipes, injen CAI, custom tune from zzp via HPT, running 23-25 psi. a 3 bar map sensor just to keep the computer happy. AEM digital gauges, AFR, BOOST, and OIL PRESSURE. then start working on suspension, and braking.

 

at what horsepower level are these stock fmic good for? ive heard several people say with just a tune they blew the caps off of the stock IC. i may only be planning for 300 but i want it reliable. and i have future mods that will put me into the 400's so im getting some of that stuff out of the way now. im okay with "over doing" supporting mods. as long as im not under doing anything then im happy. and as for the vented being a waste. in your opinion its a waste, but to me its not. the stock is prone to leaking and not being reliable in the mid 20 psi range, the forge is more reliable, and if im going to replace it with a forge BPV i want the vented one so i get the sound and the reliability with it. i may lose a little spool time but in all honesty these cars make such good torque down low an extra 100-200 rpm out of boost will help with traction. so no the stock isnt broke but its a precautionary measure im taking to make sure it doesnt break . i appreciate input as i thought it was a lot harder to hit the 300 mark before i made this thread, but hearing several people say ill be hitting 300 easily that makes me happy, and theres never enough horsepower so if with my setup i hit 320 then fuckit i hit 320. im not gonna complain over to much horsepower lol.

 

Aeroforce interceptor because it displays boost, afr, kr and anything else u could possibly need