so i bought my car about 9 months ago then got laid off and just got my job back so im behind on the mods i want. i have an injen intake and just orderd the zzp header/downpipe and gmpp cat back. and now comes the hard part lol witch way should i go with my car? i want to still have the reliable daily driver? any sugestions?

 

tvs, end of story

 

Either setup has the potential to be a reliable daily driver. I'd shoot for the TVS with a 2.9. It'll enable you to reach 300whp+ without winding the M62 to the bleeding edge of saftey (heat).

Don't forget the cooling mods whichever route you take.

 

tvs with a ported head, cooling mods, tune and a 3" exhaust system and your golden

 

well my goal is to reach 300whp lol so it looks like im going tvs! but the catback i just orderd is 2.5in ... are you sure thats to small? cause iv seen alot of ppl on this site with 2.5 in pipes and running the tvs and iv seen a kid that lives near me with 3in and his sounds like a handa lol like it has a hollow sound to it ... i dont want that lol thanx for the advice!!!

 

it all depends on your exhaust set-up. get a nice magnaflow resonator that takes up from the dp to the axle bend and your ok and get a magnaflow muffler thats offset centered.

 

yeah i orderd the 3in zzp header down pipe combo and a gm performance catback... kinda hoping i that would have been ok?

 

In my opinion the gm performance catback is to restrictive for the TVS, especially when running a smaller pulley. I highly recommend you get a custom made catback for the price that is 3inch.

 

but what about back pressure? i feel that 3 in. is to big and give our cars a hollow sound? i probebly sound like a car noob but im just making sure im doing everything wright. thanks for ur help

 

What is a Tvs ?

 

its the upgraded s/c for our cars you can find out alot about on past post's

 

I see, I was reading some about it now. About how much(roughly) is a tvs and a stage 3 installed?

 

Labor will vary, but parts alone assuming a bone stock LSJ would be about $5000 shipped for the tvs, 80# injectors, injector harness, stage 2 serpentine belt, dual-pass end plate, opt b., secondary heat exchanger, header (NOT a shorty header), 3" cat-back exhaust, wideband, transmission mounts, and the GMPP clutch. If you want HP Tuners tack on another $650.

Some people will tell you you don't need X part listed above, but there's just doing it and then there's doing it right. Just doing it would be about $2500 and would consist of the TVS, injectors, and stage 2 belt. You'd be risking your motors life at that point because the TVS flows A LOT of air. Too much for the stock exhaust to cope with.

You can click on the TVS FAQ link in my sig to find out more. Hope it helps.

 

okay cool, thanks alot. I certianly want it done right. The car is our 3rd vechicle and our gas saver(My wifes suv/my truck get 13mpgish) so we use it the most. So I certianly want it done right I think I'm prolly going to shoot for having a turbo put in in the 3k-4k range instead.

 

dude i did the turbo route and trust me, its not just 3-4k done right especially if your not doing the work yourself.
i went hahn because this is my daily and i didn't have time for major errors. you can peace a kit together yourself if you kno what your doing. in the long run its the best thing i have done, i never thought i would be running with evo's and 600cc bikes in a cobalt i love it! but i also paid the price. what ever route you take make sure you have extra $$ if something comes up......and trust me, something will.

 

yeah thats what im hoping for lol i feel like 300 hp would be just enough to let me run with stock sti's but then again thats were the tvs comes in. im hoping since just 300 or slightly below being the smaller numbers i seen it put out. i wont really have and problems with everything else considering i buy all suporting mods . the one thing im scared of is that i here that our traney only hold around 300 hp after that it just falls apart... any body have that problem?

 

well ill tell you this, everyone says they "only" want 300whp but then when they reach there goal they want more lol.
if i was you and your ss is kinda stock going turbo wont be a bad idea, at least with a turbo you can achieve power with less hassle, im not knocking the tvs because ppl out there are putting out from 275-388whp plus! the hard part for the turbo set up is getting everything together but after that your good, and think about it you can sell your sc kit. i sold mine for 1k. another key point is your exhaust note, to others this my be irrelevant but im also picky with exhaust notes. once i went turbo, even with a 3" exhaust my car sounds stock and the best part is that it dips. its a sleeper and thats how i like it, no attention from the cops and i can have a conversation in my car again
with the tranny deal if you have a ss cobalt your fine, the only thing you should replace is the clutch, flywheel,flywheel bolts,clutch master cylinder, and gear oil. if you got to the track often or plan on going while your at it replace your axles also, it will save you the headache in the long run.

 

tvs for sho