well long story short i wrecked my camaro 2 weeks ago and just got a ss/sc on wednesday...so ive been playing with it over the weekend and i have decided on a few things...the stock clutch sux and the car needs more *****..lol..now its been a long time since ive been a newbie 2 a car bein that i had my z/28 for 3 yrs but im gonna ask the typical newbie questions anyway......lol


so is there any aftermarket companys i should avoid due 2 maybe overpricing or bad quality?

...for the first mods i was thinking poly mounts probably a torque dampner and a clutch..because the way i see it is whats the point of having any power if ur not putting it 2 the ground (had that problem a lot in the camaro)

 

Get a lightweight flywheel if your going to be doing a clutch.

 

I would recommend using solid mounts with poly bushings as opposed to using a torque dampener. They give more vibes but work much better. I agree about putting the power down. If I had to do it all over again, I would have gone suspension before power. Intake and exhaust are nice upgrades, but make sure you plan far ahead because they are worthless upgrades if you do them now and then have to switch them later on because you're making more power or change to turbo, etc. Basically, my recommendations are:

Eibach Sportline springs w/ Koni shocks/struts (Or coil-overs, depending on budget)
Solid engine and trans mounts (Bwoody, Turbo Tech Racing, ZZP, etc.)
New tires
Strut Brace
Poly Control Arm Bushings (Intense)

Then just make sure you plan accordingly for power upgrades...

 

the clutch is fine.
there is a learning curve to using it properly thats all.

Shift above 3k rpm, ALL the time. if you dont you will slowly glaze the clutch....and then when you want it to grab hard. it wont.
also these cars have horrible traction in first. and if you spin yourself all the way to redline and slam it to second. your car isnt moving fast enough. and its almost like trying to launch in 3rd. IE clutch no likey.

Work with it a bit and youll soon see that the clutch in these cars....while a bit finiky....are fine. and it comes down to what you do with your feet.

 

Don't use solid motor or tranny mounts. Yes its true that they will give you the most hp back, but what happens when the motor wants to give and it can't, bye bye axles.

 

nod.. solid mounts FTL... people that swear by them just havent had strong cars.. if something is gonna break.. you want it to be the mount.. or else its going to be....

 

J-Body Performance for both.

 

trans mounts and ingalls Tourque dampner, then GM Stage 2 and intake exhaust, maybe 2.9pulley that will put you high 13's at around 103 - 104 mph

And all of that will be under warranty and still be under $2000 installed

 

Trans mounts are know for helping the axles survive longer because the engine doesn't move as much and twist the axles and cause them to break. As in put them out of line when the engine moves too much.

 

Hey man welcome. Its weird not having torque anymore right? And the whole front wheel drive thing... Stock clutch isn't bad. It just takes a little getting used to. The clutch on the Cobalt travels like half the length of the Camaro clutch.
As for mods. A TD is a great choice. Mounts are great too. Traction is a big issue that everyone is trying to deal with. For later down the road, if you don't care about a warranty don't even bother with GM Stage kits. Just buy yourself some 60 lb/hr injectors and whatever size pulley you feel comfortable with. Just make sure you tune accordingly. And Also get yourself some cooling mods. Good luck with your car. You can learn a lot here.

On a sidenote what did you have done to your Camaro?

 

I've been hearing recently that 60 lb/hr injectors starve the fuel line and cause #4 to pop though. Be careful. On another note, I think the GMPP stage2 is a nice upgrade (definitely not the most power, but pretty good) plus if you throw the stage3 pulley (~2.99") on there, you'll be hitting good numbers, with good reliability

Traction, you definitely need to address this. I have a torque damper, and I think it does a great job. No more wheel hop for me. GMPP exhausts are really nice, and cheaper than alot of other brands. Intake it mostly for looks and sound, but kicks ass

 

LOL that was the first thing i thought when i got into my cobalt.

I had a 95 LT1 camaro that went 13.57@106 . I sure miss my old car , i put all 100k on it and the last pass i ran with it was a 13.86 @103. My brother bought a 2000 camaro , and we would go to the track all the time , it was amazing how much a difference the LS1 is compared to the LT1, his short time's were always better , and he eventually ran a 12.9 with 4.11's .

 

yea i miss my the torque, its only been 2 weeks since i wrecked it but it seems like longer...the mods i had done are in my sig...so it seems to be a little disagreement between poly mounts and solid mounts...me personally i think the poly mounts would be more appropiate for the front wheel drive rather than solid mounts...and i have no idea why GM didnt put a STB in these cars cuz they definatley need it....anyway thanx 4 the suggestions guys and keep em coming

 

OK I'll just break it down for you (since I have used pretty much every damn thing out there on my car, and I am one of the few running a 2.5 pulley, stock clutch, and still running at 20k miles, also have if not the highest stock motor and s/c dyno number at 296whp and 271 wtq)

1st mod... mounts.. trust me (the vibes suck, but its better than a cracked tranny)
2nd mod.. Axles.. expensive but worth it.
3rd mod 1 or two cooling mods.. I.e meth, front mount H/E, or dual pass with option b
4th mod Wide band gauge, and an aeroforce
5th mod. 60lb injectors, tune and pulley

and thats about it to have a fast, reliable, cobalt... just make sure to tune properly and monitor all the time and it will survive and keep you happy