Hey,

Been researching and reading and i have come across a couple of ways to mod out my 07 cobalt ss/sc. So i thought why not get some opinions on these from members who have some experience.
These set ups should be something you can still DD. So im looking to get the best bang for the buck as well as be safe and reliable.

The set ups i picked are things i have comonly seen done and are each a bit different.

1st set up is a bit milder of the 2. smaller pulley, bigger inj. some cooling, but with gauges for monitoring

2nd set up is a bit more extreme stg. 3 kit with the same size pulley and inj. as 1st but with full exhaust (header, D.P., Catback). But its more expensive so no gauges.

current set up:
3.0" pulley (gm)
42# injectors
CAI (unknown brand at the moment)
Also assuming it has a basic canned tune

Future set up #1 (use all zzp to easily compare)
Ditch all current set up
zzp CAI
zzp stealth H.E.
zzp 2.9" pulley
60# injectors
interceptor gauge
aem 02 sensor gauge
3 hole pillar
Custom tune
Approx price (not incl. custom tune)= $1367.00

Futute set up #2 (use all zzp to easily compare)
Ditch all current set up except current CAI
zzp Stage 3 Kit (2.9" pulley 60# inj.)
zzp Long tube header Package (2.5" or 3" catted D.P)
zzp cat back (2.5" or 3")
Canned tune
approx price (incl. canned tune)= $1709.00


Some Diff's:
The 2nd set up uses the kits or packages from zzp to do a full bolt on upgrade. But would use the canned tune and have no guages do to the price. 1st set up is a bolt on upgrade mainly on the intake side of things but has money left over for gauges and a custom tune. 1st set up uses the new HE replcament where the 2nd set ups kit uses the added on HE.

Questions to think about:
So these 2 are not that far off price wise so wich would you choose and why? Which would you feel more comfortable with as a DD aka. which wold be more reliable? Would the custom tune and gauges on set up 1 give it an advantage to set up 2? Would the fully bolted on set up 2 make enough power to offset the higher price?



Just thought it could be helpful for us who cannot decide what to mod as well as be an interesting thread.

 

first thing you need to figure out is how much power you want

 

i picked the two set ups because they are similar in price and have different approaches to moding. wich one would have the most power?

I ment for this to be kinda general like a pro and con kinda discussion based on the 2 chosen set ups.

 

why 2.9? i would go lower....like 2.8 or 2.7.... and find it in the budget to get a phenolic spacer....

 

Well I'll tell you right now if you wanna save a lot of money piece your own "kit" together from the classifieds

 

2.9 was just a mild pulley hurd that it is a reliable size to have. yes the space would be a good mod. which set up would have the most benifet from it?

 

My opinion, Keep your CAI, slowly piece together a H/E, 60's, a 2.8 pulley and atleast header and downpipe USED, And still have the $ for gauges! Then profit for the ability to see what your car is doing while having more hp then recover alittle bit of $ selling 42's and the HM 3 inch pulley! And most def agree on the phenolic spacer! that's the only thing i would not buy used and if you can dual pass endplate! Cooling is the most critical part of keeping an lsj from toasting the ringlands! But that's just my opinion!

 

I have essentially your 2nd kit except not a canned tune and I have a dual pass along with a spacer as well as a 2.8 pulley

 

100% agreed on dual endpass plate....

 

Ok i like this idea a mix of the two but on a budget with some used parts.

Thanks

 

Very nice!

 

You could wait until someone is selling an,Lsj, turbokit and sell your supercharger kit and it, will be around that same price with a lot more power and potential

 

this.


figure out what you're going to do with the car. and build it accordingly

 

Go 60s 2.8 dual pass n steah h/e with zzp cai, bad mab header zzp downpipe and zzp catback with a custom tune from someone thats good

 

And the spacer ^

 

I dont know why someone above said dont buy used parts. You can get great deals in our classifieds section. just know what your looking for, and know how much you want to spend going into it.

 

The only parts i would not get used are The spacer and dual pass endplate. Other than that it's pretty much fair game and you can source all of those parts CHEAP if you look around and find someone with left over's or that has turbo swapped there LSJ.. This is the forum known for cheap skates so join there leagues and build your car right accordingly!

 

So what about the TVS? spend $2500? will the tvs by itself make more power than the stock SC with all the mods?
I understand the turbo upgrade but i like th SC cuz its different, not to many cars are SC these days.

 

the tvs is gods gift to the lsj.... it has better flow....... its well worth the money... it also able to produce more hp the m62...... over all its a better place to start......

 

Keep your intake. Get 80's, 2.8, dual pass, flow through tank, zzp long tube 2.5", wideband, interceptor, hpt tune.



Personal experience. Dont cheap out it will cost you in the long run and do your research which you are doing now. If you want to stay reasonably quiet then get a cat and/or either stay stock cat-back or get borla/gmpp. 3" exhaust is not needed. I am on stock cat-back with header and catless dp and a 2.8 among other mods.

 

The tvs is awesome but it to truly shine it needs meth or e-85. If u do full bolt ons with a 2.8 on the stock sc u looking at about at around 260 to 270 depending on the tune for 93 octane, if u add meth or e85 u can get to around 280ish and pulley down to a 2.7. Now with the tvs on pump iv seen it range from 275 to 290ish on 93 depending on the pulley size but with e85 or meth u and depending on pulley size u can be anywhere from 300 to 350 from what iv seen in dyno section. U will need 80lb injectors and a header/downpipe with dual pass but i would do full bolt ons and cooling mods to get the most out of the tvs its alot of money to just run an half ass setup on a tvs swap.

 

Hmm. Ive hurd allot of mized opinions on here about E85. I think there is a station pretty near my work and my house so it could be doable. im not about to do the stupid mixing e85 to e40 or whatever that be rediculous to dd. But id be willing to run this if it would still be reliable. I read that the e85 can eat at injector seals on pre 09's.

So what ill prob do for now is start investing in some cooling mods. Dual Pass, Spacer, option B (or something similar). Not sure about the meth injection if i can do without it i prob will (sounds like a pain). Get the Gauges hoked up. Eventually upgrade my HE or get a seperate one. That stuff i could prob collect relitively quick. Thenwhen i have it cooled to the max i will be ready to do whatever upgrade i decide.

What kind of price does custom tuning run? I dont want to buy the whole program myself yet as i dont know jack about tuning. do you have to by the HPT tuner to get ur car tuned or can u just take it to a guy to get done? I know of a couple places in my area that could do a tune.

 

Only lnf guys do the e47 mix as far as iv read, not sure why they mix it but as far as LSJ aka your car engine e85 is the best **** you can ever put in ur tank, if u have a station within a reason distance make the switch. I think the injector seals was a problem for the lnf guys and not us lsj but someone would have to confirm that for me.

if u have e85 gas dont waste ur time on meth injection to be honest I think its dangerous because if it fails and u dont notice it in time say goodbye to your engine, others will disagree and say if u maintain it then you wont have problems but id rather not risk my engine on it if I can get e85.

custom tuning price just depends on who tunes u, you can go to someone and have them tune u in person and you dont have to buy the software but if u dont have anyone close to u that has the software then ur other option is to buy the software and record logs of ur car send it to a tuner via email and have them adjust ur tune and email u back a new tune. < that is the option I did my friend steven has hptuners but he is not a tuner so chevycobaltss3 tunes my car thru logs I send him and he emails me back updated tunes. then is the last option and thats a mail order tune it will get ur car running but it wont be fine tuned to ur car so it may run ruff or run to rich or other things like this so its really meant only to get ur car up and going till u can get a custom tune.

 

Ya i believe there is a trifecta tuning dealer in my area and a local shop that does dyno tuning. cant remember the name of it but the local club im in goes there all the time.

well thats good to know. Hopefully some one will chime in on the injector seals, or if someone already runs it comment on the reliability. would i need diff injectors than the 42's im using now? or could i just get tuned and start rollin?

 

This.