Hi everybody, im new to the cobaltss network.
I would greatly appreciate anybodys input on the following questions.


What engine mods should i do to my Cobalt SS/SC that would have the biggest impact on horsepower and torque?

Does a cold air intake make a big difference in performance?

Also, I would like to start out with something below $400.00

Thanks,

hewitt_ss

 

The best mods you can do are pulley swap and injector swap. There are many kits (including ones from GM) that will accomplish this.

IMO - The aftermarket intakes make a small difference (the smaller the pulley the more air you need, so people with smaller pullies benefit more) but not worth the money that most of them cost. Doing the airbox mod is the best way to go to get the added air and sound.

 

Thanks for the advice.

 

Personally I would get a set of 60 lb injectors, a small modular pulley system but nothing lower then a 2.7 unless you plan on some big time cooling modifications, and get someone to custom tune your car with HP tuners, that way your injector duty cycle won't climb above 80 percent. The GM tune and injectors are known for high Injector duty cycle, so a search for this and you will see. My car runs good on what I have I will tell you what I payed.
Siemens/Deka 60 LB Injectors $190 shipped
Injector Harness $50.00
ZZP Modular Pulley System $99
GM Stage 2 Belt $50
Custom Tune $150

All that for cheaper then you can even get the GM stage 2 kit for, thats without the installation charge. Plus a little no how and some friend with a Pulley Puller. Try to find someone with HP tuners and get them to give you a quote on how much they would charge to load a tune for you or even custom tune it. You will be much happier in the long run. Oh and do the Airbox Mod, totally great with the AEM dryflow filter.

 

not the best advice for this guy.... good advice overall. Obviously he is new to this and doesnt know where to start. going with 60lbers and supporting mods is not good way to ease into things. plus, at that point you really have to be monitoring things and know what you are doing.

I would say the most common and best thing to do (if you are modding for the first time) is to get an intake. Simple, easy, and a slight boost in performance. of course your supercharger whines like a bat outta hell too .

well, and i believe it was Sport Compact Car magazine that got 11hp with an Injen intake on a stage 2 cobalt. pretty decent. so, there are some gains, regardless of what some members will try to tell you.

 

id go with GM, dont have to worry about putting it in your self and you dont have to worry about something going "too" wrong. if your a noob to motors they you got the safety of not worry about engine montering. but if your up to the task of really getting to know your car and what its got then look into tag, intense, C/A, or any other of our supporting vendors

 

First of all, welcome to cobaltss.net

What engine mods. I have GM Stage II, CAI (injen) and GMP exhaust. That was plenty of mods so far and I must say my car is by no means slow. 13.6 1/4th @ 108.

Does a intake make a differance. Yes, not only does it sound awesome because your SC will get alot more air and you will hear the differance. You will feel a slight differance in power too. IMO a forced induction car gains more from a CAI then a N/A car.

You want to start out paying less the 400 bucks. Well, a intake is a great start. My first mod was a Ingall's TD and a Injen CAI. Could not of gone wrong for under 400 bucks.

Good luck, hope to hear more from you.

 

First of all, welcome to cobaltss.net

What engine mods. I have GM Stage II, CAI (injen) and GMP exhaust. That was plenty of mods so far and I must say my car is by no means slow. 13.6 1/4th @ 108.

Does a intake make a differance. Yes, not only does it sound awesome because your SC will get alot more air and you will hear the differance. You will feel a slight differance in power too. IMO a forced induction car gains more from a CAI then a N/A car.

You want to start out paying less the 400 bucks. Well, a intake is a great start. My first mod was a Ingall's TD and a Injen CAI. Could not of gone wrong for under 400 bucks.

Good luck, hope to hear more from you.

I agree 100% Good post!

 

Wow guys. Thanks for the great advice, it sound like you all really know your stuff. I am not very good with engine work myself, but i believe that the cold air sound easy enough for me to tackle, and judging by some of the posts, it sounds like the best thing for me to do at this time. You guys are great! Thanks for the help.

 

I didn't mean to throw you in the wrong direction. I waited two years to make my own stage kit, I guess what I was saying is don't be like some of our members and get the GM stage 2 only to be dissapointed by it. I have that setup and I don't have any gauges on my ride yet, (still waiting on my Interceptor to get here). If I were you I would do this, get as much info as you can from reading on these forums, get a solid Cold Air Intake but I wouldn't mess with the Airbox Mod unless you really fell good about cutting your stock plastic intake pipe. Look at the group deals section of our message board, their are some good deals going on right now. The Fujita F5 Air cold air intake is going for 255 shipped, after that I would look into a good catback exhaust, GMPP or Corsa if you have they money are pretty good and about what most members are leaning towards. After that I would start saving for a stage kit, Header and Downpipe. Thats about the extent of what I would do if I were you. Sorry to give you advice by what I did. I am a technological nerd when it comes to cars and engines and I really wanted what was best, regardless o the warranty that GM presents, the reason being I have 20,000 miles on my car at this point and if something is going to go wrong its probably going to be my fault for putting on 60's and a 2.7. Bottom line do the basic bolt on's. And drive your car until you feel you want more from it then look into a stage kit from someone.

 

get an injen or k and N....that's what most have been doing around here. i bought and installed the injen and hydroshield from Turbo Tech Racing. I don't mess with my car's engine at all and i was able to install the injen/hydroshield in a few hours. it just took me longer than some.


from experience the injen is great, it makes the car whine like a "banshee." other than that you could get the GM stage 2 kit and have it installed for about 900 bucks. i have both the injen and GM stage 2 on my car. i love it.

 

one more thought. traction is a major problem with these cars and i remember when i got my Ingalls torque damper, i wanted to kick myself for not making it the first mod.

it's very easy to install (no car knowledge necessary) and wont vibrate your teeth out of your head like solid mounts. just a thought.

would all still be around or under you $400 limit.

I also recommend Turbo Tech Racing as a vendor.

edit: I also would stray from Injen, as I (and many other members) have had some problems getting replacement pipes on their old setup. Their customer service is literally non-existent. K&N, on the other hand, is great.

 

I have heard similar, but if you are careful on install and use rubber hose to protect it from the metal/grounding bolt you shouldn't have any problems.

 

have you checked ebay lately on the intakes ,50 -60 bucks with filter , get a new filter and you have an intake for 100 dollars

 

buy an AEM dryflow filter for $40.
put it in and take the bottom off your airbox. cover the bottom of your airbox with a nice strong mesh, and screw that in instead.

Now you have a cheap loud intake that is dyno proven for 7-8 HP for $40.

now while your enjoying that. spend a good solid week reading your ass off on these forums to learn as much as you can.

thats more valuable than any list of mods we can give you.

 

Welcome to the site. If you have any performance questions or concerns feel free to msg us.

 

great post , do you really think there is a minimal difference between the stock intake tubing and an aftermarket one , i have the airbox mod but im looking into getting aftermarket piping

 

the aftermarket piping certainly looks spiffy..... dont know if the performance gains are worth it. Larger diameter (maybe) and smooth bends help get the air in faster, but you have to consider whether or not it is worth the price. if you are not concerned about looks and want to keep the intake "stealth" do the AEM airbox mod

right, but i just do not promote injen as a company anymore because of personal experiences. no problem with the intakes if you take precautionary measures. they just dont treat customers or potential customers very well.

 

i think im gonna buy an ebay intake its only 50 bucks

 

I just picked up a GM Stage 2 kit on ebay for $460. Then $162 for install at my local GMPP dealer. The best $620 you can spend if you like having a warrenty!

 

Thanks to everyone for the great advice. I placed an order today for an AEM Cold Air Intake. Should be here in a couple days. Ill let you all know how it comes out! Once again, you all are awesome, thanks for the help.

 

Injen intake and a TTR Engine mount, with tranny mounts is a Great start for less than $400

 

Hey guys, this is probably stupid.

This is my first time putting in a cai, I bought an AEM cai and i just received it and it just came with an extension pipe about 6 inches that i just ad to the bottum of the stock intake pipe. I was under the impresion that it came with one long polished aluminum pipe and not an ad on.

I was just wondering if that's how they come or did i screw up somewhere.