Hi guys.

I'm kinda new to the boards and, in fact, to the whole car upgrading stuff. I have little to zero knowledge about cars, but I'm trying to change that, so I've been reading the boards and I've gotten a lot of useful information. You guys really know your cars.

Anyway, as a little background, I'm currently in college and just bought my first car six months ago, a 2DR 2.2 Cobalt LT. Wish I could've gone for the SS, but that was about what I could afford at the time, so whatever. Love my car, though. Haven't had any problems with it, and the car looks great all by itself. But it can look better, and that's why I'm here.

I've been saving some money these past few months so I could add some body parts to the car, like a nice-looking spoiler and either a lip-kit or a full body kit. I'll also get some rims, but when it's time to change tires - what's the point in throwing away like-new tires, anyway? The thing is... like I said, I got no knowledge about cars at all, so please bear with me on my ignorance here. I'll try to be the least annoying possible and hopefully I'm not gonna leave with a "sucker" sticked in my forehead. Here we go.

First off, let's start with Spoilers. I'm not a huge fan of the SS wing - it looks nice, but it's just not my style. And since I've seen very few spoiler options for the Cobalt, I'm thinking about going for an Universal wing. They're everywhere, and "supposedly" fit every car with little to no modification at all. The problem is that I'm concerned with my rear view. I'm not sure how that's going to block my field of vision from the back and if the cops are gonna pull me over and bite my ears off for not having full vision. I assume it's not that much of an issue, after all there're a lot of people using such spoilers and I don't see'em causing much problem. But who knows, better to ask, right?

Secondly, I'd like to know if adding a spoiler will get in conflict with my brake light. The thing is, some spoilers, especially Aluminium ones, have the mounts too close together, and since the whole brake light thing on the trunk is over 12 inches long, I wonder if I'd be able to install the spoiler without messing the whole thing up. And Carbon fiber, fiberglass or aluminium? Which do you think would look best on the Cobalt(Mine's black, by the way)? I personally don't like the looks on carbon fiber, but it seems it's very sought after.

This one is interesing.
Another one I might consider
Same as above
This is the Sniper wing. It's probably the one that called my attention the most.

Opinions would be greatly apreciated.

Alright, for what I wanna do next, add a body kit/lip kit to the car. I personally like the RKSports groundeffects kit, but I think the front bumper looks too simple in my opinion. As for body-kits, I'm pretty sure I'd go with either the BCS 2 by Itrends or the Gravana kit by, well, Gravana. They're the ones that look best IMO - in my price range, that is. Which brings me to my next concern. Are these kits intended for street use? I mean, of course, but I'm afraid I'm gonna smash the whole thing the first time I park the car or go through a speedbump. I say this because some of them, in the pictures I've seen, look so low that I dont know if it's safe to use them on the streets around here. I'm sure the lip kits wouldn't be a problem, but I'm not too sure about the latter 2, so getting advice from someone who has some of these would be awesome. I'm pretty sure that I CAN drive around without wasting 600 bucks a week on repairs, but since my mom also drives the car every once in a while... I wonder if they're mother-safe.

Ah, and another thing. How about dual exhaust pipes? As of now, I don't have any aftermarket exhaust systems, but it's one of the first things on my list. I personally don't care much about performance or racing, since 4 out of 5 cars around here could beat me hands down with 80-year olds behind the wheel. BMW's, Jaguars and stuff like that are pretty common. The dual exhaust is a must for the RKsports lip kit, so I wonder if it would be such a pain in the ass to get another pipe up there. ( You can, of course, just tape an exhaust tip to the bumper. But that'd be lame, right? )

Jesus, so many questions. What about window tints? I know from experience that they're a pain to do, and many times, if you do it yourself, you'll end up with bubbles and with the whoel thing screwed up. I'm considering going to up to a Window Tint shop and have them do the work, but with so much I wanna do to the car, putting down 150 bucks right now isn't very compelling. What IS compelling is to go buy some 10-buck film rolls and do it myself, but if it's to get a crappy result, I'm better off without the whole thing for now.

Anyway, thanks a lot for your feedback guys. Hopefully I'll be able to return the favor sometime in the future.

 

Honestly I wouldn't touch any of those wings you posted with a 10ft pole but it's your car. I personally like the clean look and that's also what's in right now so I would shy away from gawdy wings, ground effects, or anything like that, but that's just me. If you wanted a spoiler I would get something subtle. There is a very nice looking three piece spoiler made for the cobalt. I'm sorry but the company that makes it slips my mind, but it may be RK.

A spoiler should not interfere with the brake light if you drill the holes in the right locations.

With the body kits, I would again go with something subtle. If you go aggressive and your driving around your stock LT that's going to look ridiculous.

Dual exhaust on a 4 banger? I'd shy away from that.

Get your tint done professionally. A half assed tint job will make even the nicest looking car look like garbage.

If I were you I would try doing some smaller things to change the look of the car first rather then going all out with body kits and such. How about debadging it? Painting your headlights cases, lowering the car and getting rims. I know you mentioned rims so here's a suggestion for that, keep your stock rims and tires and use them for the winter. In the spring, summer, and fall use the new rims with some stickier tires. You don't want to run some nice rims in the winter when the salts on the roads and you don't want to run tires not made for the winter on the snow. Of course this only applies if you live in a place where they get snow.

Good luck and look around at other members pictures. That should give you an idea of what you like and don't like on the car. Most importantly, have fun and do what you like.

 

dont touch those wings, if u want put the ss s/c wing on it but change the bumpers to somting better, never looks right the lt factory bumpers with the ss s/c wing

 

OK.. my opinion.. looked at the wings and maybe you shoulda bought a honda......

 

alright he's a newbie there's no need to get vulgar here.

 

The first thing you do is lower the car. Handling will improve and you can't beat the look of a lowered ride. My second mod would be wheels. Something light and that has at least a 1" lip. That will help performance and appearance. Then its up too you to make a show car or a sleeper.

 

@IMADreamer:

Thanks for the input. And yeah, I guess a stock car with too much appearance stuff on it would be lame, but I don't wanna mess with anything related to the engine as of now, since it's rather new and I really don't wanna risk ruining any of my warranties right now. They put so much warranty stuff in that contract it's crazy. But as the car gets older, tho, I'll surely put some performance parts in it.

As for keeping the car clean... well, I dont know about that. Of course some cars look pretty nice stock, the SS is one of'em, but I think the LT's just too plain for me, you know? And I'm not much concerned with staying "in", so I wouldn't care about that as long I'm happy with its looks. About the spoilers... well, guess I'll go with you guys on this one, since the opinion seems to be unanimous, I'll stay away from them. About the RKsports spoiler, I've seen it, but I don't think it's my style... never liked that kind of wing :\

And the reason I thought about two exhausts is that the RKSports, just like some other body kits, has places for two. Wouldn't have just one look kinda awkward? I've seen some cars like that and I thought that had been a bad bumper choice. But maybe it's my taste that's awkward after all :P

I've been living in Florida for about three years now, and snow's not an issue here. It's damn hot all year long, too, so the wheel swapping wouldn't do me much good. I could buy 15'' wheels to make use of the tires I already have, but I really got my eyes into going for 17'' ones, so I'd rather wait a few more months.

And you mentioned doing some simple changes around the car, right? Yeah, I thought about some, and I'm actually wondering if it's actually legal to paint the headlamps. I know a lot of people do it, but I don't know if it's that street-safe. I'm planning on either buying or cutting myself eyelids like the ones JSP sells. I think they look pretty nice.

Thanks a bunch for that. I guess I'll think a little more. I wish there was a place I could go to try some of this stuff, but I have no idea where to find these around here. The majority of body shops and specialty parts stores are around Miami, so I'll have to take a day off to go down there and see what I can find.

Well, the SS wing isn't very dear to me. I don't know why, it's just not my style. But that one's my last resort.

Dang, I knew there was something wrong with my brain. J/k.

Well, lowering isn't an option as of now. My grandmother's 73, so she has a hard time getting in and out of the Cobalt as it is, just imagine the hard time she'd have with a few more inches below. Well, don't really want to make it a show car, just look a little away from stock, you know?

I saw this, and thought "Dude, this is me, 100%":

"I dont race i just get to speed limit as fast as i can". So...

 

Ah ha ha ha i tell my self that every day and the speed limit still comes and goes.....Good luck with the car!

 

Yeah GM is crappy with their warranty so I understand your concerns there. Modding a car with a warranty is not for the faint of heart.

I like the eye lids idea. Those look pretty good on the cobalts and can really change the attitude of the front end.

Does your car come with rims or hub caps stock? If it's rims you could always paint them yourself. It's inexpensive and easy to do. It just takes some time and patience.

Another cheap but effective mod is painting your bowties. They look especially good on a black car. There is a thread in this section where several of us posted up pictures of our painted bowties so you may check that out and see what you think of that mod.

 

Honestly if your lookin at any of those wings and thing they look good, get a ricer mobile.

 

wow, your intro sounds JUST like me. In college, just brought a 2.2 LT and can't decide what to do with it. I'm also interested in what to do next but i'll tell you what I've done to my black 2.2. Well first thing i did the night i brought my baby home was debadge her and painted the front bowtie black. Then I got a Injen CAI for her, not totally for preformance but the sound of the intake reving up is lovely.... I also got my windows tinted 20% PROFESSIONALLY. That "do-it yourself" crap is not worth the 10 bucks. Just throw down the 150, trust me its well worth it. And thats all that I've done to her now and I'm stuck....I want to lower it but i don't know how low i should go. And i want to an exhaust badly but i can't decided wither I should get a name brand stainless steel one or go the cheaper way and get it custom made at a local shop. But i will tell you this, soon as i can get my hands on a turbo and someone to tune it for me....I'd throw down for that.

 

@Red06LS:

Yep, it's a real thrill to press down on the accelerator, watch your car launch forward on the green light... until you reach 35.

@IMADreamer: Nope, no rims at all. It's the ugly wheel cover-stuff, so there's not much I can do about it. Most wheel covers are kinda' ridiculous anyway, so I'll stay with my GM ones.

I'll check that bowtie mod out. I saw it in your car and it looked awesome, good job on that. And I'm also pretty oblivious as to what material to use on my eyelids, if plastic would do it or if I should get some black film and do it from there. Any suggestions?

@Trey6417:

I didn't debadge mine yet, but I'll do that tomorrow. Seems like it's one step further into a cooler looking car, right? :heh:
And 20% is legal only for the rear windows down here, so I'll stick with 30% on all my windows, just to keep it consistent throughout the whole car. And alright, I'll definetly stay away from the do-it-yourself crap. It worked for my computers, but I'll lose that habit in regards to the car, before I mess something really bad. And Turbo for the win. Want one, but again, the warranty thing kills me, so I'll wait a few years before doing that. I'll do some research on Stage 1 and 2 and see what cheaper and easier mods there are in regards to performance, and if they fit the LT. If they do, I'll be sure to get them at the GM shop next time I go in for maintenance.

By the way, I just uploaded a picture I took the other day. I was hoping to use Photoshop to get a feeling on what I should do with it, but I just didn't have the time as of now. Need to take another pic also, that one's definitely not good.

 

Wow, the LT looks really nice in black. I think you have a good idea of what your looking to do with your car so your off to a good start.

I'm glad you liked my painted bowtie. It's the easiest mod you can do. Just take it off by removing the 2 10mm nuts and then tape off the chrome, prime, paint, and clear the bowtie and reattach it. Simple but effective.

Just an FYI Stage 1 and 2 is for SS/SCs only. Your best bet for the LT if you want to stay simple and warranty friendly would be some colder spark plugs (not really a performance mod but some claim it makes a difference. I'm skeptical) an intake (talk to your dealer about warranty), and maybe some exhaust work. That will open up a few more ponies for you. I'm not sure but you may be able to do an airbox mod on the 2.2 and not worry about the cold air intake. The airbox mod won't add much horsepower (1-2 tops) but it will give you more sound. Again I'm not sure if that is an option for you 2.2 guys though, but it's a heck of a lot cheaper then an intake.

I really can't help much with the performance aspect of the 2.2 though so I'm just trying to throw out some ideas you may look into. Obviously my area of expertise is the 2.0 SC.

Again the most important thing is to have fun.

 

you definetly dont want colder plugs, thats for forcewd induction cars, a few things id recomend

gmpp parts if your worried about the warnty. such as their intake, honed manafold and catbacks

an intake in general, i know aem comes with good instructions , theirs a thread i read somwhere on a vw or nissan forum where a guy had his 8yo daughter put it on by herself without help

msd 2 ingnition systems, once you get more into the modding thing, these will enhance you spark and allow a little bit of ajustments

you concern for the body kits in a good thing, their pretty much all fiberglass kits, except the rk and razzi i bealive are some form of abs plastics, fiberglass does tend to get broken somwhat easy


if i was in your shoes id get some 17 or 18 inch black with polished lip rims, tint ,catback exhaust ,debadge and black projector headlights

 

Congrats on the car. If your lookin for references to tires, spoilers, wheels, etc I have the basics on my car. If you have any questions refering to those, shoot me a PM and i'll be glad to help you with any questions. And black is a very nice color.

Peace.

 

@IMADreamer:

Yeah, I love black cars. It's my favorite color, so I figured my car wouldn't be different. Yeah, the painted bowties actually give the car a pretty nice look, so that's a must. And I have a can of paint the same color as the car I got a few weeks ago to fix a scratch, so that's gonna come in handy for this. By the way, when you guys say debadging, you mean removing all the stuff in the trunk, like dealer's name and stuff? I'd like to leave my Cobalt LT in there, though. It's not an SS, but heck.

And thanks for the info on the stage kits, saved me a few hours of reading :heh:. Sucks that it's not for the 2.2/2.4, though, so I think I'll have to add the other stuff to it. It's pretty useful that GM has their own performance kits, that way you don't have to slaughter your warranty for just a few parts.


@halfj99: Thanks for the info on those. Stay away from cold spark plugs and go for their intake and catback. Sucks I don't have enough money to get everything done at once though. But I wish I could, I sure as hell did.

I have an idea on what I want for wheels too. I don't know about 18'', haven't seen that many, but the 17'' ones I've seen would look great on the Cobalt. And black with chrome for the win. But one of the things I'd want to stay away from is getting the car to be TOO dark, you know? I don't wanna go around driving a Batcar cover.

@AZCobalt19: Thanks! And watch out for your offers, I might stick to your foot like gum and PM you every 5 minutes. J/k. But maybe 10?

Well, as for a little status on my endeavor here, I tried to paint my bowtie and cut myself some eyelids today, but the weather was so gloomy and it kept raining all day long I had to stop. Don't have a closed garage, so it's hard to do stuff like that when it's not sunny. I'm also interested in painting my headlamps gloss black, but I'm not sure if that's street legal. I know some people do it, but since laws vary from state to state, I think it's better to check before I get pulled over. But if it can be done, I'll do it in no time.

I'm still looking for a spoiler, and since the ones I thought would look nice didn't catch any of you guys' attention, I'm open to other suggestions here. I actually haven't seen a Cobalt with a spoiler other than the ones GM produces or the one RKSports made, the lip one, so it's hard to get a good idea of how it's gonna look. It sucks even more that I don't know where to find this stuff around here, so I can't try them on and see how they look.

But thanks again for you patience guys. I'll post more pictures as soon as I get some of this stuff going.