I have just started looking into upgrading to the GM Stage 2 kit which seems to be easy to get for say $550.00. This will give you 42.5lb inectors, a 3in pulley, and about say 40HP. It seems it would be much cheaper to get 60lb injectors ($200.00) and a Nate 2.7 or 2.6 pulley for $50.00 and you would have much more power and for a lot less. Is there something big I am missing? I know I would need to get a custom tune but it still seems like a lot more HP for the money going this way.

 

yes GM stage 2 is a waste of money unless your worried about a warranty. Go afermarket

 

don't forget I/H/E setup to help that sucker breathe cause of increase backpressure. Your engine will run hotter so your gonna have to cool it down, dual intercooler, meth kit are just examples, oh 1 step colder plugs too would probably help. So I've heard anyway. I could be wrong.

 

Well, my car only has 12K miles on it so I would enjoy the use of the warranty for a bit.

Hey Jason,

I have heard the Stage 2 is very rich as your signature states. Did your 2.90 pulley help with that? And did it make a differance in power?

 

Well a good custom tune usually runs between $400.00 and $500.00

Unless you know how to do it and you have the software.
Or a buddy of yours will do it cheaper.

In the end the GM stage 2 package isn't a bad deal. More power equals more money.

GM Stage 2 $550.00

Custom $700ish

Injectors-200
Pulley-50
Tune-450

 

Does anyone know about how much power you might see with say the aftermarket 60lbs and a 2.7 pulley compared to the Stage 2? I'm wondering if its worth going through the hastle as I just bought a Stage 2 kit of ebay for $400 (new) and was going to get it installed tomorrow. I guess I could just do that till the warrenty is up and look to go aftermarket then.

 

Your also forgetting about the hub. For $100 you can get the hub and pulley together. I would recommend going with a 2.8" pulley, hub, 60lb'ers, and find someone on the board locally to tune your car. Pay them for the credits you used. With a 2.8 pulley, you dont get the exsessive heat like a 2.7 or 2.6 pulley, so you wouldnt need as many cooling mods.

Another thing to look at is getting GM S2 + 2.9" pulley. You keep waranty from having S2 but also gain an extra pound or so of boost. Also the car wouldnt demand cooling mods like going with 60lb'ers and a smaller pulley.

 

Can you just add a 2.9 or even I've heard of the 2.85 without doing any more tuning after the Stage 2 is completed? Or would you need a re-tune? If I get my Stage 2 installed tomorrow, I could easily change to the 2.90 next week if it will make a differance for only $50.00.

 

yes. you dont need a re-tune on stage 2. 2.85" is pushing it but is do-able. 2.9" is a bit safer and its only half a pound boost difference.

 

you're right.. and alot of us have gone this way.. but its a bad idea if you cant fix ur own car. stage 2 is for those who need a warranty, but still want more power than stock.

 

Basically yea, if you dont have any know how of your car, or know your car well and how it reacts to things, dont go with aftermarket.

 

What is the best way to get the stage 2 with a stage 3 pulley? Buy the entire stage 2 kit and then buy the pulley and belts? Its seems wasteful to buy the stage 2 and then replace the pulley and belts? I wonder if you can buy the injectors, stage 3 and belts and still get the warranty?

 

17803229 Stage 2 Performance Upgrade Kit, Cobalt SS/Saturn ION Redline
For 04-07 Saturn ION Redline And Chevrolet Cobalt SS only. This Kit enhances engine performance to 245 hp (up from stock 205 hp). Includes high-flow injectors, supercharger pulley, new special length supercharger belt & specific performance engine calibration.

Premium fuel required.

Kit includes:
1-12597994 Pulley 77.9mm
1-12597993 Belt
1-12597995 Injector kit
4-12597996 Injector (single service number)
1-19158223 Wrench (MT2)
1-19158224 Wrench (MT2)
1-12599777 Hub
4-19157352 Bolts
1-12602431 Label
1-12597997 Instructions

 

Stage 3 is not warrantied as it is for off road use only so by using stage 3 parts it wouldn't be warrantied whether you did stage 2 first or not.

 

I think stage 2 is a great kit.
245whp under warranty for about $700.

If you know your going to go well beyond that, its not worth doing it.
but if your happy at around 250-270whp with boltons, stage 2 is worth every penny.

 

Actually, 250-275 is all I was looking for. Is is safe to say that with the Stage 2 and a 2.90 pulley I would be around 250-260hp? Then mabey with a CAI and exhaust (maybe just catback and a header if needed) would get me to 270-280hp?

 

I think s2 with 2.9, cai, header,dp,exhaust would get you to 260+

280whp would be a bit tougher to reach.

 

Thats a far far reach. You are not going to see those kind of numbers with a stage 2, and not with gm exhaust and manifold. Aftermarket yea, gm it will be tough.

 

i agree.

Alot of people neg. rep me for posting about my car... but in this case i think its beneficial to the O.P.



at the time of my dyno(mustang dyno) i had:

2.9" ZZP pulley, 42lb/hr injectors(same size as stage 2), AEM cold air intake, and a custom 2.5" Magnaflow cat-back exhaust(no resonators, mandrel bent)





i since then have added: ported blower, header/downpipe from ZZP, SSC springs and NGK BRKEs (but have not made it back to TTP for a dyno session)

I have made it to the track, and my times dropped 2 tenths, and i gained 1mph.


it depends on what dyno you run on. a dynojet might yeild higher #s

for comparison: A member on here has 60s and a 2.7" pulley(those are his only mods) and he put down 238whp on the same dyno, with better weather conditions.

 

Yea if you want to make that kind of power level try a 2.7, 2.8 with full bolt ons, thats if you dont care about warranty.

 

Well with my mods including stage 2 I was still able to run a 13.5 at 106. I haven't been able to put it on a dyno yet but I am really wanting to see what it will turn up before I get a custom tune so I can see a diffrence. I got the stage 2 because I move across the the country allot and couldn't ever find someone to tune the car for me plus I have a 100,000 mile warranty. I trust myself with hp tuners yet and that is why I haven't purchased it yet. I would have no problem fixing my car when something breaks but being 2500 + miles away from home I may not be in one place long enough to be able to fix a car with major engine damage. Those are a few of my reasons why I opted for the stage 2 over a custom job.

 

the 2.9 inch pulley only helped the richness a bit, i get less black smoke at WOT, but i still get rich codes all day long. The 2.9 and stage 2 setup is a very nice combo for daily driving and track days. Im going to be installed a Cobra heat exchanger, coolant tank, and AEM dry flow air filter soon, that should really bring my car to life.

 

Maybe my HP goals sound high because I'm thinking at the crank. Well I guess to clear some things up for me at first I assumed the stock 205HP is at the crank. And if this is true what is the stock WHP? But here is my basic math based on the 205 HP at the crank.

205HP up to around 250HP with Stage 2 kit and swaping pully to a 2.85. I hear the Stage 2 brings you up to around 240HP and I also heard you can gain about 10HP for ever 0.1 you take off the pulley. So I figured a 250 est would be good. Then maybe the 20HP for CAI and exhaust. This was where I came up with the 270HP range.

 

stage 2 with 2.85, and full boltons will be close or very near 300 at the crank, especially with a tune.
these things are at about 230-240 crank from the factory.
the 205 rating on paper is way off.

 

So the 205 number is at the crank...but it is way low? I guess in the end it's only a number and it really matters how the car feels.

Played hookie from work today to get my Stage 2 installed. Appt. is set for 1:30 and I can't wait to see the differance. I hope it makes as much differance as ppl are saying. Also after a big gain like this I wonder if I will even see a differance if I switch to the 2.85 pulley in a few weeks.