Yes, we HAVE to run the series decals on our cars at every event plus the numbers needs to be easy to read.
I have worked in the timing tower before and it is a PITA if you cannot make out the numbers on the cars...

Everyone should look into these magnetic backed signs IMHO. (if you want to do any SOLO events that is)

 

Those are some great videos Venom, it's amazing what the Cobalt can do at the track. I've had my 09SS for about 4 months now and I still get excited driving it every day; even just commuting to work. Do you know if racing the car on a track will void the warranty if something breaks? I am planning on going to a track event for the first time and don't want to trash my car since it's my daily driver. Thanks.

 

Thanks,

ANY kind of “racing” will void your warranty on the drivetrain, but a little spirited driving is ok. That is how I understand it anyway…


So far my SS/TC is holding up very well. I plan to do a final update in the next couple of weeks on this thread.

 

as an avid player of sim racing games...these videos were a blast to watch. this makes me wanna stop modding the LS and start saving up haha. props on the driving, you seemed very consistent and seem to be hitting all your marks and apexes nicely. thanks for sharing these

 

Thanks venom. You're right, I will be doing some "spirited driving", not bringing my car to an HPDE.

 

My racing season is commoing to an end and I am thinking of doing a final update on this thread, sort of like a 10 000km review.
What kind of info would you guys like? Here is what I was thinking - in no order. Feel free to add.
Pick up date, distance travelled and total track days, things I like/dislike, things gone wrong...

 

You should be thinking of what mods you'll be doing to get her ready for next season.

I recommend ---> Pedders spings and OTTP Hardcore rear sway bar.

 

I'm pretty sure some mods might move him up into a different class though.

 

I took all the pips for GT3, only thing left is more seat time on a couple tracks and wider rubber.

Final results are posted.

2009 GT3 Solosprint Champion and 5th Overall.


http://soloontario.com/events/2009/2009_overall.html

 

Wow great job!! Like I've said before, good to see the TC lived up to (and I'd go so far as to say exceeded) your expectations .

 

Great post. As for your end of season update/review I would like to hear if you had any issues, brakes, tires and other mechanical issues. I also have an '09 SS 4DR and have done several track days at Putnam Park near Indy, which is a fairly high speed track (115-120 at the end of the front straight) and the Cobalt has been very impressive. Many owners of Porsches, Vettes, BMW's, etc. come up to me after my sessions and ask what mods I have done to the engine and suspension and are very surprised/disappointed to hear the car is mostly stock. I am running the Kumho XS in the stock size and have -2.1 front camber. My issues have been brakes, the stock Brembo pads did pretty good at the track put would get too hot and leave a lot of pad deposit on the rotors, which made the car vibrate/shake under braking. I recently changed to the Hawk HPS Plus pads which did a little better but not great. Also, although you are running different tires I would be curious as to what kind of tire pressures you are running. I have to run high cold pressures (40-42) to keep the outside of the tires happy but I have noticed that the center of the tire is wearing excessively.

Follow-up: Also I noticed you list muffler delete as one of your mods. Did you simply put a straight pipe in place of the muffler? If so I would be curious how loud it is. I want a little more sound but nothing too loud.

 

Thanks buddy!

I am running 37-38 hot front, 35 - 36 hot rear.
Even at 2.5 deg camber tire wear is a problem for me. Higher pressures will help, but I like how the car "feels" at these lower pressures. It moves around a bit through the tighter stuff with a LOT of grip in the sweepers.

Stock pads are better than HPS in terms of pedal feel IMHO, I may try HP+ next year if I run bigger rubber. As for deposit on the fotors, I know what you mean. I had the same problem early this year (steering wheel shaking). A GOOD cooldown lap and some in the parking lot before you shut her of seems to help.

Take the muffler off and just weld in a straight pipe, you won't be sorry! It is not loud at all.

Glad you can still shock them at the tracks down there
The secret is out around here. No more surprising comments about how fast the stock little Cobalt is. Last week I was invited by Performance Auto And Sound for a day at the track while they were testing new tires. People literally stopped what they were doing and stared as I drove into the pits. I could see them pointing and shaking their heads. And these were owners of M3's and 350 Z's


Shannonville Event 7 Turn 1


Thanks man, I missed you this season! This Saturday WOSCA is running a charity event at the Fanshawe College. Last time out I gave Marsh a good run for his money in his little Miata. If it doesn't rain we plan on going.
See you there?
http://www.wosca.com/Event_info/Fans...lalom-2009.htm

 

Congrats on a great season. I would like to see what you have planned for next year!

 

Perfect, I actually DON'T have something going on this Saturday short of giving the car a bath 'cause it looks like hell (black ). If it doesn't rain I'll come out and say hi and take in the runs for sure! Hopefully the forecast picks up; I'll show up somewhere halfway through registration and should probably get a hold of that waiver so I'm not stuck behind "the tape" !

 

The view the others got to see...

Great thread Venom. Your thread inspired me to go to our local track and see what events were happening. Auto-x was the easiest to get into and I ran 2nd fastest in novice on my oem's with 11k miles on them. I would have been 5th fastest in the 'non-novice' class that I would be in if I wasn't novice. Incidentally, the guy who's fastest in novice is/would also be fastest in the non-novice class. He's running a very well prepare 05WRX STI.

Thanks again for the great thread and great vids!

 

You are welcome! I am glad to see more SS/TC owners out there having fun. I bet you made that STI nervous Love your vids BTW

here is a vid of Turn 1 (same corner as above pic)... enjoy
http://s64.photobucket.com/albums/h1...t=MVI_2750.flv

Thank you! The car ran great all year, but I failed as a driver (got upset and pushed the car way beyond its limits) at the last Event and ruined my chance at the top 3 Overall.

Plans for next year... Yoga classes and 275/40/17 AD08's

 

Thanks for the kind words Venom. I'm interested (Via PM) in the 'mods' if any you've done. I think I saw you mention earlier that you did a muffler delete? Also perhaps camber adjustment? Can you elaborate on how you achieved this?

Thanks for your time.

 

You have a PM

The muffler delete was purely for sound. I don't think there was any performance gain for the stock muffler is a really nice flowing piece.

 

Just sat and watched a bunch of videos on your channel. Great stuff.

 

Thank you.
WOW, I have over 28 000 hits on the Cobalt videos as of this morning.



Solosprint wants to re-evaluate the HP on the Cobalt! Update #8 on my first post.

 

Read your update, it's not surprising. Most TCs dyno at what, 240-245whp? That puts the power at 280bhp with a 15% drivetrain loss. Are you going to contest the rating change?

 

It just proves that people cannot stand getting beat by this car and will look at any excuse to get out of it.

 

This.

What affect would the change have on your performance on the track? What kind of handicap would it give you against the competition?

 

I'll need a dyno chart of my car and atleast 2 more showing 230whp max to fight it. Lets face it the Cobalt was pretty quick this year, no way they're gonna let me get around this one.
Wanna go to the meeting, should be interresting?

In 2005 they did the same thing with my Cobra. After I won SGT2 ( + 2 laprecords) the car was re classed in SGT1 for 2006

 

Venom, once again, you're my hero for showing me the ropes on the Auto-X course at the CNE today. Despite what I said about not going out again... I did. I KNOW it was quicker than my 23.3, but the timing gear was broken. I went way harder out of the gate, didn't wash as wide in the decreasing radius left hander, and ran more aggressively to the finish line.

I'm hooked.