I have read a lot of posts on this site about how to increase hp on our cobalts cheaply and easily, yet weirdly I have never read a post on one obvious answer. Would it not be sound to spend the money and get really good tires to increase our launch times? Cause I dont know about you guys but if i remotely give it gas off the go my tires spin like theirs no tommorow and I do have an lsd. Let me know what you guys think about this? Since im thinking our stock tires arent the greatest.

 

It has been discussed before, although not as much as pulley upgrades.

I believe there is one member with some 16's and some drag suited radials.

In my opinion GM didn't design/intend the cobalt ss/sc to be a drag racer, they intended it for road racing. Of course there are several drag cobalts, like the Phase 5 and Gary Gardella, but there are quite a few road racer cobalts as well.

I would say that something to cure wheel hop whatever you choose is worth the money almost more so than a smaller pulley.

 

Better suited tires will probably give you the greatest improvement off the line.

 

Free Mods are the best bang for the buck ... (search cheap clean mods)
then maybe pully
then tires ... (if were going times/buck)

 

Im puting new 235-40-18s on my car as one of my first mods. My fist one was a motor mount. My second is new lighter wheels and new tires. They should be here monday.

Later

 

Yeah, I want to hear what happens with better tires.

The well-fare airbox mod, and the $45 exhaust mod (straight pipe in place of the muffler) would probably be the best bang for the buck at this point for small power.

For big power it appears the Intense Stage 3 is the best for the price, but we don't know how well the car holds up in the long term.

 

Glad I'm not the only one that sees this. It's not opinion, but fact. The SS/SC was designed for road courses and does an exellent job! If you wan't to go faster down the drag strip, the cheapest mod would be cut out as much wieght as possible. Other than that it's gonna cost you. A set of DR's, much stiffer rear spings to prevent squat, shift weight to the front; e.i. battery and then practice, practice and more practice.

 

How about lose the spare tire? Cheap and effective!

After that, I would say an intake. The GM stage 2 will probably be a great mod in the future, but any mod that increases your power that much will require you to get a new clutch and address the wheel hop/traction issue.

 

The best bang for buck outside perf. mods is curing the wheelhop . Losing that frustration would make this a funner car 10 fold . Power wise , right now anyways Intense has it all locked up . The power recieved for the cash spent makes me smile . Rev-it-ups pulley kit also delivers similar gains with a different method .

 

The quickest and cheapest way to reduce wheel hop is definitely torque braces. Engine mounts are another way, but they are also more expensive. I believe that our cars would preform a lot better with optimal traction. I believe that 14.6 1/4mi that most do can be reduced significantly with better traction. In fact, I speculate that a 14.1-14.3 can be achieved with torque braces and mounts. I plan on getting perfect traction before I upgrade HP.

Order of mods:
1. Torque braces ( less than $100-150! ) from torque forward
2. AEM CAI ( less than $180)
3. GM Stage Kits ( expensive but worth it, $750 )
4. Mounts ( if 1/4mi isnt in the 12's yet ) ( price N/A )
5. Headers ( price about $350-$400 )
6. Exhaust ( price N/A )

>>> with these mods we should easily be in the mid 12's for 1/4mi

 

with those mods, expect to get a stage 2+ clutch....

 

heh, maybe so. As long as the horses are 300 or below, it should be ok

 

Ditto on the torque brace. Torque Forward had a group buy a few months ago and we got them for 90 shipped.

I've heard conflicting reports on the CAI. Mostly that it sounds awesome, but the only hp you gain is from a less restrictive airfilter.

And if you've seen the restriction on the stock version of the LSJ 2.0, a header, especially a 4-2-1 would probably help a lot. I just haven't seen any confirmation (in real world testing, other than person selling it.) from anyone on this.

Be careful on the Headers, lots of guys burned on the redline forum over cheap junk headers.

icecruncher

 

3" Pulley is the best bang for the buck right now. It made an incredible difference on my car. There is a wheel hop solution about to come out from one of the vendors that will be very inexpensive so get the pulley and hang out for a few weeks for the wheel hop fix.

 

actaully since whatever size you get will be virtually the same price it would be a 2.6 or 2.7 that would be the best bang for the $$ but I'm just busting your ***** ..

 

Yes but the other mods you need kinda drive that price through the roof.

 

You can do all the engine mods you want, but if you can't get the power to the ground they are ineffective. Better tires first then stage 2+ clutch will be good for most. Then some engine mods+ traction=fast ss!

 

One of the most effective things is to lose weight. Most people don't want to do this but it affects your 1/4 mile time greatly if you rid yourself of power accessories such as power windows, AC, and the backseat, (someone said spare tire) stereo equipment.

Next step, get some lightweight bodyparts, CF hood, fenders and trunk, and then lightweight wheels and tires.

You've probably broken the high 13's after all that, on a stock drivetrain.

 

Also the self weight reduction mod works wonders. Though your car will feel slower the lighter you get f=ma says so.

Not only will your car go faster but you'll be able to bang more and with higher quality partners or you'll just simply pay less

Dan

 

Gotta get traction under control before dropping weight. If this isnt done, all youll do is spin your wheels. Especially when adding more HP.

 

With my current setup (3" S\C pulley, Injen Intake, 3" Cat Back, GM Extruded and Honed Exhaust Manifold, B&M Short Shifter, ZZ Performance Engine Mount and Front Trans Mount, DC Strut Tower Brace) my car was very impressive, BUT now my clutch is just about to totally give out.