I just got the Stage II kit in and i called around and ALOT of the dealerships have no idea im talking about 1/2 of them diddnt even know the cobalt came supercharged. i eventually found a dealership that knows how to do it and they want to charge me $400 for labor. to me thats alot of money and i was curious as to how hard it was to install and if anyone had installed there own did the instructions that came with it. did they acctually make sense? if i do it myself does it require any special tools and how long is this job SUPPOSED to take

 

well you'd need a pully puller atleast.. and your need them to reflash your ECU anyway..

 

would it be bad to drive to the dealership afterwards and tell them i need a reflash? or will the car run like **** and not get me there?

 

I live near CED and had them do it.... I leave nothing to chance when it comes to warranty!! but $400 is highway robbery...labor for my install was under $125

CED is great... I love them guys

 

lucky ^

 

First, your gonna need to check if your dealer will still honor your warranty if you do it yourself and bring it in for the reflash.

Second, have a dealer do it.
You could have chosen a less expensive aftermarket kit that produced higher numbers, but the nice thing about the GM kit is the warranty.

Keep calling around, even if you have to drive an hour keep calling to find a dealer that knows whats going on or at least gives you a fair price.

It will run ok, it will get you there, just dont get on it on the way there.

 

what is a fair price? becuase i was initially looking to pay around $150

 

I chose #2 but its more like "its not so hard to do, but your dealership might give you crap about it" to me.

 

i did mine in about 3 hrs and it did not void my warrenty and it ran fine after... i didnt reflash mine for bout a week... all you need is simple tools, 3 arm pully puller and rubber mullet to put it back on but i used a hammer, you just have to be careful and not hit to hard, and if you do mushroom the end of the hub a lil bit just grind it down.

 

agreed.. keep your warranty... don't give GM any reason to void it!!!
it was about 45 mins for me to get to CED... but worth the trip... damn, I'd drive 2 hours to use CED

yeppers 2X

 

would they void it if they see my injen CAI?

 

Lol, some people on here don't have the resources to just grind it down if they make a mistake. Me being one. If I F* Up, I'm screwed. I'm gunna go to the dealer for my instal. Even tho it's more $$$$, its also peice of mind.

 

Warranty, warranty, warranty. It sucks now to have to pay for labor, but never, ever void your warranty.

 

not unless U have a problem and they can PROOVE your CAI was the cause of it.

 

I am all for doing your self. But do not for the love of god use a hammer to press on the hub.

The puller tool from ZZP will press it on for you.

It took me about 3.5 hours with 3 friends.

Included 2 trips to the parts store, and a lot of time getting the belt back on.

To date it is the biggest job I have done to any of my cars.
Also, dealership agreed to the reduced warranty.

 

here's some dealers within 200 miles of houston You might call some of these guys if you haven't already Hope this helps

114905 KNAPP CHEVROLET, INC.
815 HOUSTON AVE Phone : (713) 228-4311
HOUSTON,TX 77007-7709 FAX : (713) 236-8650

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114814 DAVIS CHEVROLET
2277 S LOOP W Phone : (713) 794-2500
HOUSTON,TX 77054-4802 FAX : (713) 794-2575


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114879 LANDMARK CHEVROLET ,LTD.
9111 N FWY Phone : (281) 820-8100
HOUSTON,TX 77037 FAX : (281) 405-5731


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114854 MONUMENT CHEVROLET
3940 PASADENA FWY Phone : (713) 473-7601
PASADENA,TX 77503-1110 FAX : (713) 580-1502

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114909 MAC HAIK CHEVROLET
11711 KATY FWY Phone : (281) 497-6600
HOUSTON,TX 77079-1799 FAX : (281) 596-6211


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114838 STRICKLAND CHEVROLET, INC.
5719 BROADWAY ST Phone : (281) 485-1495
PEARLAND,TX 77581-7899 FAX : (281) 485-6613

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114859 CHAMPION CHEVROLET GULF FREEWAY
13800 GULF FWY Phone : (281) 481-6680
HOUSTON,TX 77034-5009 FAX : (281) 929-3236

 

No, they may say something but voiding it because of an intake is a little far. Its pretty easy to see if you have the intake installed correctly and it doesnt make a big difference regardless, just gives it more room to breathe.

Now injectors, and removing the blower for a hub and pulley swap is a different story.

 

suburbanrobot who did you speak with about getting your kit installed... im looking to get stage 2 in the next few months and im in illinois as well....thanks

 

There is a much cheaper and happier version to this story.
btw there are 14 idiots out there....anyway.

 

I say get the dealer to do it, but its all according to if you really want to keep your warranty. I know at the dealership I took mine too they said if I installed it msyelf they would just have to check everything over ot make sure it was up to spec and reflash the ECU they was going to charge me $100 for that. Though with the install and everything done by them it was only $183, so I let them do it.

 

thanks but i live in cali at the momment

 

I just talked to a GM dealer in the area who did another members Stg2 and who knows what they are doing. I'm gunna have them do my Stg2 + Header + Short throw for $560...... Done By Certified GM Tech's..... what more could I ask...... ( well, have it done for free but lets be real lol)

 

I think you can get it done at a saturn dealership also, you could give that a try. I think you will probably get even more though

 

not necessarily, the redline was out a good year before us so your chances should be about the same. Good thinking though

 

ninjahamster, i met you at the cobalt meet, come to the chevy i work at, the guy who would do your install owns a cobalt ss/sc himself so is very familiar with the car. He's also dying to do a stage 2 install, cause no one has brought one in yet. I doubt they would charge 400 bucks for it.

Foothill Ranch Chevrolet
Lake Forest, CA
(949) 457-2000 (thats the general number but from there you can ask for parts or service.

hope that helps
-Ian-