Aleckor

My car = 2008 Chevy Cobalt Sport 2.4L Automatic Black

1) My 2007 LS would "peak" at about 115 mph, what does the 2008 Sport "peak" at? I'm guessing somewhere near the 135 mph mark? I'm not interested in blowing a tire to find out. So until I get higher speed rated tires, I can't find out.

2) What is the benefit of larger tires? better traction? my '08 Sport came with 17"s and that's up from my LS' 15"s so I'm already 2 inches bigger than I'm used to. Are there any benefits/drawbacks to going even higher? 18"s? Cost not included.

3) The owner's manual says use 91 octane gas, but my local gas station only has 93. All of them only have 93. Should I use 93 or regular? It says the engine will take both, but that it will suffer a performance loss. But on the flip side, I don't want to use higher than the recommended octane either for the same reason. Performance loss, potential damage. Is 93 octane okay?

4) If I choose to buy some GMPP upgrades, is there any special maintenance I need to do with these? Like... if I add the cold air intake, do I have to take it off for any reason or can I leave it on year round? Or if I add the exhaust system, there's no special cleaning or anything required right? Nothing will get clogged or anything? I wouldn't mind +performance but I am already +lazy. Washing my car is important, but not THAT important to me as far as +performance goes.

5) Is there a way to make my mirror lights STOP coming on when I unlock/lock/open my doors? I hate interior lights with a passion. I like my interior dark when I get in, and I don't like my car to draw attention to itself either.

5b) Is there a way to stop my lights from coming on when I unlock/remotestart my car? Without turning the lights away from auto. I like them on auto, but I don't like them to come on when I unlock my car or remote start it.

6) If I get into a wreck, god forbid, does my car have a "blackbox" connected to OnStar's diagnostic system? Like... could my insurance company ask OnStar to tell them how fast I was going before the wreck? One probably wouldn't want something on paper that said you were doing 85 mph in a 70 just before you got T-boned by some drunk driver then losing your insurance payout because they said you were at fault.... you know?

7) Can you remove a dealer's decal with a hair dryer or is that a myth? lol.

That's all I can think of for now, thanks guys,
-Aleckor

steddy2112

iTrader: (1)

1) My 2007 LS would "peak" at about 115 mph, what does the 2008 Sport "peak" at? I'm guessing somewhere near the 135 mph mark? I'm not interested in blowing a tire to find out. So until I get higher speed rated tires, I can't find out.

Your tires are rated to 130 and that is where the limiter is

2) What is the benefit of larger tires? better traction? my '08 Sport came with 17"s and that's up from my LS' 15"s so I'm already 2 inches bigger than I'm used to. Are there any benefits/drawbacks to going even higher? 18"s? Cost not included.

Lower profile tires have less sidewall flex to keep your 'footprint' of the tire truer and adhere to the ground better...anything higher than 18's and you start adding weight which is bad. The only reason to get new rims is maybe a wider one for fitting wider tires

3) The owner's manual says use 91 octane gas, but my local gas station only has 93. All of them only have 93. Should I use 93 or regular? It says the engine will take both, but that it will suffer a performance loss. But on the flip side, I don't want to use higher than the recommended octane either for the same reason. Performance loss, potential damage. Is 93 octane okay?

93 is ****. It is what I run...ALWAYS run high test...trust me...

4) If I choose to buy some GMPP upgrades, is there any special maintenance I need to do with these? Like... if I add the cold air intake, do I have to take it off for any reason or can I leave it on year round? Or if I add the exhaust system, there's no special cleaning or anything required right? Nothing will get clogged or anything? I wouldn't mind +performance but I am already +lazy. Washing my car is important, but not THAT important to me as far as +performance goes.

Um...no...I would suggest a cheaper intake than the GMPP one though...


5) Is there a way to make my mirror lights STOP coming on when I unlock/lock/open my doors? I hate interior lights with a passion. I like my interior dark when I get in, and I don't like my car to draw attention to itself either.

Unplug them?

5b) Is there a way to stop my lights from coming on when I unlock/remotestart my car? Without turning the lights away from auto. I like them on auto, but I don't like them to come on when I unlock my car or remote start it.

That you can change in the DIC, check your owner's manual

6) If I get into a wreck, god forbid, does my car have a "blackbox" connected to OnStar's diagnostic system? Like... could my insurance company ask OnStar to tell them how fast I was going before the wreck? One probably wouldn't want something on paper that said you were doing 85 mph in a 70 just before you got T-boned by some drunk driver then losing your insurance payout because they said you were at fault.... you know?

All GM cars have had this since the mid ninties...it has nothing to do with OnStar

7) Can you remove a dealer's decal with a hair dryer or is that a myth? lol.

A fingernail did just fine for me

esfkotaro

I used a heatgun on it's lowest setting...which is basically just a slightly hotter hairdryer, and some good fishing line to cut through the 2 sided tape.

Aleckor

Wow quick reply, thanks a lot.

1) What is the "limiter" explain? My LS was allegedly supposed to be 'governed' at 109 mph? but it never was... (maybe it was 'governed' at 115 mph?)

2) Is it worth the cost to upgrade to 18"s or is 18+ only for show at that point?

3) 93 won't damage my "recommended 91" engine though, right?

4) I only want GMPP mods because I can get my dealer to install those so that they are included in my warranty. Can I include something they install for me that isn't a GMPP and still have it included in my warranty? I was under the impression only GM certified parts could be included in your warranty even if the dealer installed them for you.

5) If I can't figure out a way to get those damn mirror lights to stay off, that's exactly what I'll do. I wonder if I could replace the bulbs with blue ones - that might solve my problem in a different way.

6) But this blackbox dealy, is it in the car then? Like on a plane? Do the insurance companies search for it to find out what happened or do they stop once they find out that some drunk driver just boned you? I think it would suck in that hypothetical situation that if you got T-boned you still don't get your insurance money because of your own driving habits which were safe until you got pwned.

7) I'll try my nails, but won't that decal scratch the paint without being heat removed?


Thanks again for the quick response.
-Aleckor

esfkotaro

forgot to add, to clean off the left-behind goop from the tape, goo-gone or similar works well...i wouldn't use nails, esp. on black (even the finest scratches show up like mad, trust me)

4 is more or less correct, depending on the dealership and your relationship with them. mine's all GMPP right now as well (Black '08 Sport 5spd coupe) for that reason.

93 octane is fantastic all I use...except that one time in PA i got stuck settling for 92. lol =) bastards even made me pump it myself...how rude.

steddy2112

iTrader: (1)

1) What is the "limiter" explain? My LS was allegedly supposed to be 'governed' at 109 mph? but it never was... (maybe it was 'governed' at 115 mph?)

I think a limiter is self explanitory

2) Is it worth the cost to upgrade to 18"s or is 18+ only for show at that point?

I think it made a difference on my car, but the biggest difference with rollers is the tires you run. Good tires can make or break a set up

3) 93 won't damage my "recommended 91" engine though, right?

Dude, for real stop

4) I only want GMPP mods because I can get my dealer to install those so that they are included in my warranty. Can I include something they install for me that isn't a GMPP and still have it included in my warranty? I was under the impression only GM certified parts could be included in your warranty even if the dealer installed them for you.

Anything is included with your warranty...they can't deny your warranty because of aftermarket parts

5) If I can't figure out a way to get those damn mirror lights to stay off, that's exactly what I'll do. I wonder if I could replace the bulbs with blue ones - that might solve my problem in a different way.

It till light up...blue...

6) But this blackbox dealy, is it in the car then? Like on a plane? Do the insurance companies search for it to find out what happened or do they stop once they find out that some drunk driver just boned you? I think it would suck in that hypothetical situation that if you got T-boned you still don't get your insurance money because of your own driving habits which were safe until you got pwned.

Yes they have been there but can't grab them unless there is reason enough to

7) I'll try my nails, but won't that decal scratch the paint without being heat removed?

Are you talking about the dealer decal or the chevy decals?

Aleckor

Dealer decal, not the factory badges.

And for limiter, I know there are more ways than one for your engine to be 'limited' so I was curious what you were referring to. I know about a 'governor' and a 'rev limiter' but I've never heard of just a limiter. That the same thing as a governor?

As for octane, I heard that if you put higher octane than you need in your engine you can get some vicious knock. I suppose 2 octane is probably not going to be a problem but I was asking because I just got the car and I don't want to "do it wrong" better to ask and look stupid than to break **** and look even worse.

And yes, they can deny your warranty if they can prove that it was your aftermarket parts that screwed up the 'warranty' covered part of your car.... I've been told time and again that if something isn't GM certified, and it breaks, you're SOL. - and that if your non-GM certified crap breaks your GM certified crap, that they won't cover it....

Thanks for all of your answers,
-Aleckor

Black07LS

To low Octaine will cause knock

They would have to prove it was the aftermarket parts. My dealer doesn't say **** about my intake. IMO Don't overpay for a intake, get something cheaper + better.

Dunkinuts

I have a 2008 Sport 5spd.

iskl

5) Is there a way to make my mirror lights STOP coming on when I unlock/lock/open my doors? I hate interior lights with a passion. I like my interior dark when I get in, and I don't like my car to draw attention to itself either.

yes try turning the dome light to the left

5b) Is there a way to stop my lights from coming on when I unlock/remotestart my car? Without turning the lights away from auto. I like them on auto, but I don't like them to come on when I unlock my car or remote start it.

yes just enter your DIC its an option

mike25

btw yes the ecm i believe it is does remember speed....im not sure how often they check in cases of wrecks but i do know the comp. logs speeds up to a certain amount of time

CASol

all cars have black boxes, it stores the last 3-5 seconds before the accident
headlights are a option in the DIC
All GMPP parts are under warranty, since it is a GM product
Limiter only applies when you are in your final drive(4th auto or 5th manual)other wise its till you hit your rev limiter
if your so worried about 93, just put in 1 gallon of 89 or 1/2 gallon of 87, this will reduce your octane value safely.

Evil C

93 octain is fine i run it all the time and get better gas milage than 87 or 89.

SWmaster

I used to run 91 to 93 premeum. I tried 89 and I monitored engine knock with my dashhawk and have had no problems. I wouldn't run 87 with our compression though. Running higher won't hurt it but is not needed for anything.

There should be NO difference in mileage between octane ratings. The only thing that will change your mileage is whether the fuel has ethanol or not. If there is 10% ethanol the mileage might go down a small amount. I have found that this is barely testable at all between 91-92(no ethanol) and 93 (with ethanol) in my car. In most cases premium is a waste of money at 30 cents+ a gallon more. If you have 89 available then run that and you will do fine.

If you are going to go out drag racing by all means run premium but in day to day driving there is literally no difference. I even tested my 0-60 and quarter mile on the same day when switching from 93 to 89 and it made no difference.

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/question90.htm