I searched and didnt find anything so I decided to post it...

I dont know if any of you watch the show Setup on Speed (theres 12 2 man teams all driving Pontiac GXP's) but in the most recent episode they put the first GM Stage Kits on their rides (they formally announced the kits too)... So I am assuming that this kit will be soon available to the public and most likely on the Cobalt SS Turbo (I would see no reason not). Anyone heard of this/any feedback?

EDIT: They did not state power increases or how the extra power was made...

 

I've read on the official test of this that GM doesn't plan to release any stage kits for the SS/TC

 

They are releasing Stage Kits for the Solstice GXP, which has the same motor aka they will probobly release stage kits for ours too since its the same deal

 

Same motor, but different transmission.

 

Yeah, but look how well the Sol/Sky differentials are holding up to the power. Most of them are leaking from the factory.

 

/end thread

 

If they release Stage Kits for the Sky and Solstice but not the Cobalt SS then you know something is wrong and they probobly dont trust the car beyond near-stock-like performance with these "maxed out" trannys and launch control type stuff... Because if they did theres no reason not to develop stage kits for our cars if they already have them available for a same-motor vehicle like the solstice

 

The new cobalt has a much better drivetrain than the sol/sky. The engineers apparently launched them 600 times a day or something.

 

I've heard the same thing.. but that sounds like BS to me considering they would be short changing the market the car is being sold to

to all those thinking that the tranny is maxxed out.. talk to 06black or paul (06blackg85ss ) yea it's really maxed out at 260 alright

 

the tranny & clutch will hang if the driver is nice to it. i mean 400+whp on daily driven coby has and can be done...

 

i agree, i dont know who started this whole transmission being "maxed" out myth. look at wrx guys and srt-4 guys. those cars are said to have "weak" transmissions too, but those guys are putting down loads of power on stock trannies.

 

the only thing that makes emm weak is the 16yr old driver exactly what you said... my buddy put down 700+whp on his srt-4 with 1000cc injectors 4"exh and a huge turbo that never even broke a sweat... the only thing that killed his tranny was when he put the clutch in he drained out the gear oil and never put it back (******* live and learn) his stock replacement is still going strong...

 

God i was actually laughing at loud. 600 times in one day?!?!?!?! they did 600 test passes, they never said how long it took, but i would bet my first born it was not all on the same day

 

GM does not plan on adding stage kits to the LNF Cobalt because the increased power will not meet there standards for reliability to continue warrentying the parts; we have already discussed this a few times before.

 

PWNED

 

PFFFFFFFFFFT AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Are you crazy dude?

 

I would really like GM to elaborate on why they have no plans for a stage kit on the Cobalt. What don't they think will stand up to the power? Maybe it is a tiny new part that none of us have thought about.

I still don't understand their reasoning. The solstice and sky differential has troubles handling the power of them stock, and they are gonna bring out a Stage Kit for them.

Yet, the Cobalt drivetrain is now significantly stronger, and won't have any problems doing 350+whp, even with a moron driving it. The only thing that was wrong with the balt before, was the clutch. Even that wasn't really weak, it is just very difficult to get used to.

(True, some cars have had faulty clutches or synchros, but every manufacturer has some lemons)

 

Heres a thread from another forum:


"BTW, the Chevy engineers told me that stage kits for the Cobalt and HHR are in development, though they wouldn't give horsepower numbers or likelyhood of production. The biggest hold-up is apparently making sure they develop a kit that won't blow engines before the 100,000-mile warranty is up."

Any truth to this ? So many rumours back and forth?

Would be nice to get a straight answer from GM

Here is some more info regarding the quote...

Here's the deal I heard. I don't know about the automatic transmission, but the manual is quite capable of managing an increase in power. According to one of the engineers I was riding with, its code name is "F35" because of the fact that it is rated for figures as high as 350 hp (drop the 0 from the end and it becomes 35). By the same standards, the F40 can handle 400 hp. I wouldn't be surprised if he left out some details of how it might need to be modified, but that's what he told me. In regards to the stage kits, multiple sources on both the HHR SS and the Cobalt SS trips said that they're being tested at Milford right now, but that nothing has been confirmed and they wouldn't say anything further, other than that "we need to make sure these kits can hold up for the lengths of our warranties."

I like the sounds of this!

 

The F35 and F40 stands for 350 and 400 Neuton-meters, not hp. Neutons then translated to WTQ are about 250wtq and about 290wtq, respectively.

 

Oh boy do i know something you all dont, haha........Midwest Meet FTW, we had a chat with a GM guy outside while we were checking out his HHR SS and he spilled some news, but he was not allowed to discuss the power levels or what came with the stage kits, but he giggled when i tried to trick him into telling me, there will be stage kits coming though he said!

 

Here is the email I recieved from GM today regarding my inquiry....

"Unfortunately, we haven't been able to announce anything yet.
Essentially, both things you've heard are true. Yes, we are working on it. But, GM has to get through many hurdles like warranty testing and government emissions testing.
I can tell you that there won't be much for power upgrades to the automatic transmission cars, as they are already at the limits of the trans."

 

even an uncertain answer is good news

 

i wouldn't warranty something that was "iffy"


why would chevrolet?

 

It would be nice if they released staged packages like they did with the SS/SC. But I can think of at least two reasons why this would not be a huge priority for them.

This car was purpose designed to compete on the SCCA circuits SSC class (same class John Heinrichy won last year.) In this class, there are only 3 modifications that are allowed: 1) Tires- because they wear out. 2) Brake pads- because they wear out 3) Air filters- becaus they wear out. No modifications to the factory stock setup are allowed including modifications to the airbox, exhaust, etc. This means that a staged upgrade is out for SCCA SSC class racing... the very purpose the car was designed for.

Second, even if it were permissible in SCCA, additional horsepower for a purpose built car after it has been tuned for the track would negate the tuning. This means that the balance and behavior characteristics of the car would have to be reconfigured to accomodate the additional power.

I think I read somewhere that when GM was first contemplating turbocharging the Cobalt, they dropped the LNF motor into an 06' balt that was being raced in SCCA competitively. Dispite the huge power increase, the driver was very dissatisfied because the car was much less predictable that it was with it's 200hp predecessor. Hence all the chassis elements that came to exist in the 08' Cobalt.

Sure, it'd be great to have staged packages, but what would be even greater is if GM would manufacture a complete package that included detailed, track tested chassis tunes to accomodate for the additional power rather than just giving us staged power adders. So far, from the sound of things, they've gotten torque steer pretty well under control... but this is at 260hp. Some of the Solstice GXP are putting 300hp to the wheels with a computer reflash. Can you imagine what that would do to the dynamics of this car?

 

I agree.