I've researched before I posted..

But, long story short, gotta 07 cobalt ss/sc for 16th birthday, just got a job, gonna start moddin the bitch

I'm curious as to what to do first.. I want to make power obviously, but I also need my car to be very reliable as I don't have a bunch of money to dump into it.. so I would assume i'd like to do a little bit of cooling before I tried to make power...

I "think" (give me more options if you feel different) my first mod should be either a K&N CAI, ZZP Stage 2 Kit, or ZZP S3 Heat Exchanger..

As for the CAI.. I've been told I don't want to do it first b/c it may cause me to run lean which will only lead to more problems.. but i've also been told to do that first..

As for the Stage 2 kit.. Going off my (very little) knowledge, I feel it'd be better to do other things (CAI, Exhaust, H/e, etc.) before doing this b/c along w/ this, i'd have to get it tuned. I don't want to Get the S2 kit, tune it, and then get h/e, exhaust, cai, etc. and have to re tune it..

As for the H/E.. I've been told to do this first b/c it is a really good cooling mod and you'll need it eventually..

My question is.. What should I do first, and what are the pros/cons to doing either of them first?

 

I haven't tuned my balt yet, so I'm not sure if this is correct, but I'm pretty sure our cars come from the factory with an uber-rich tune anyway, so going with a CAI first isn't going to hurt you any....it'll just make you cream your pants every time you get into boost

 

pretty sure my first mod was a CAI. and it is an e-bay one. have had it on for almost 3 years with no problems. i have heard people complain about the k and n because if you over oil it, it messes up your maf sensor

 

First Congrats on your Balt!

I dont claim to be any kind of expert on Tunning, but I will tell you what I have done and it has worked for me. I First got an INJEN Cold Air Intake. Then I got a 3" to 2,3/4" Down Pipe from ZZP, cause I broke two Factory Flex Pipes. Next I went back to ZZP and got a Tune. My car feels like a Totally different car than when I first got it. I do notice my car getting a little Lean at the New 7200 Redline I got with the Tune, so next I'm going Stage 3 with ZZP. Keep an eye on your Intercooler Pump cause they tend to stop working. I'm in the process of buying a new one right now.

Also I got SSC Springs and I would say they are worth every cent I spent!

 

ZZP h/e s3 something you should know, buddy of mine put it on his on 07 s/c , and zzp says it will just bolt on nothing else needs to be done, but that wasn't that case, cutting the bumper was required to make it fit.

 

thats false...



i installed mine with ZERO cutting and didnt even have to remove my bumper. dont want to sound degrading or anything but your buddy did something wrong.

 

Driver mod should be your first mod.

 

dual pass, option b, h/e

intake(3" Stainless Steel like the ZZP CAI is a good idea) but the K&N or AEM will work...ive head a lot of people have problems with their injen cai's wearing through the aluminum

header(figure out where you want your power so you can decide on a shorty or a long tube)

3" down pipe(catted or not doesnt matter much)...if you do go with the long tube it comes with its own DP

and any 2.5" catback(find one you like the sound/sound level of)


yes the gm tunes are pig rich
yes a cai will lean it out a bit(which wont hurt the gm tune at wot...wont lean it out enough) but might cause a CEL under normal driving conditions but wont change it enough to hurt the car

its always a good idea to get tuned for parts that change the air flow of the engine to maximize the power gain form them

 

Got a used CAI ZZP 3 Red for sale has 3k Miles on it for 150.

Would definately go get the CAI first.

 

cai makes it scream like hell!

@ 2:45 poor example...windows up and stock pulley YouTube - Cobalt SS/SC vs Civic SI @ Irwindale's 1/8mi.

 

lol @ this ^ only cuz hence the age! jus becareful dont become another statistic, id say practice your driving and get used to the road around others and what not.. even if you say ur a good driver other people on the road are retarded.. ok nuff w/ that, id say shoot for CAI and exhaust first, Headers dp, i got vibrant header longtube and catless dp off someone on here locally for 250 used.. brand new is like 3x as much... but work for h/e after that then upgrade to the s2 or s3 kit w/ the tune so u don have to get the PCM for it

 

if i was to do it all over again. diffently start with cooling mods S3 HE, dual pass endplat, oprtion b, intake. then i would start getting all the main things injectors 60s, 2.8 pulley, trifecta GM stage3 tune, bad mab header and zzp 2.5 Down pipe. then one day put all those parts on and get tuned. i love my 2.8 pulley. lets say i stay tied with a modded evo

 

i was told theres not to much diff between the 3.0 and the 2.8 pulley? thats jus info i was told of^

 

get the zzp stg2 first. That's what you'll get the most power from

or if you can go for the zzp stg 3, comes with the h/e and pick up a used cai for cheap from a member on here..

Or piece the parts together yourself, there are more than enough sellers getting rid of everything cheap.

the stg3 kit comes with a tune i believe... the tune is only for the injectors mainly.. adding an exhaust or an intake won't make tooo big of a difference..

The tune zzp will send you won't matter what size pulley you have, or what cooling mods (except e85 and meth)

 

A 3" intake isnt recommended without a tune as too much unmetered air is going into the intake.

For instance i had/have 3" intake, ls4 tb, gms2, 2.8, CA v1 header, and CA 3" catless dp into the stock catback. My afr wot was 12.2 with a steady rise to 12.8. I then had the maf adjusted and it dropped a whole point. Granted I have quite a few mods. but still the car is expecting air through a 2.25"ish pipe but the pipe it 3" so .75" of the air is not calculated for

 

right, not recommended, esp on a custom tune however on a gm tune(in my case i saw it hit 10.4 on the commanded 10.8 numerous times) being so rich wot should be fine

in your case your a gms2 tune and a 2.8" pulley

i personally had a raw 3" and a cxr(small) h/e only things on my car and ran it on 87/91 all on the gm tune never once had a problem...i think i just got lucky though cuz others threw codes

my.02



but to the op, take it all with a grain of salt

yes you can do a lots of mods with out tuning for them, best thing is to jut go get a tune though

 

If I happend to go ZZP S3 as first mod.. should I really focus on getting it tunned or just stick w/ the canned tune for a bit?

 

you can stay with the canned tune for as long as you want. just know that you wont have maximum power out of your car until you get a custom tune

 

really, the best way to make your car "faster" which usually means "quicker" is to practice racing it, nothing lowers your track times like practice.

now as for actual parts, cai, exhaust, sts, heat exchanger, all of which will help you and doesnt require a lot of other changes, but most of these are supporting mods, you need those prior to other mods like the stage kits, smaller pulleys, larger injectors, ported heads, etc etc so on and so forth

go with what you can afford and dont just slap it together

l8r,
PD