My old '06 SS N/A had intake/header/DP/Tune and I thought that was quick!!

... then I drove an SS/SC ... immediately thought my 2.4 was slow

... then I got my SS T/C, made me think the S/C was slow so you can imagine how I felt about the N/A at that point.

I guess what I'm trying to say is fast is a matter of perspective, I'm sure a Toyota Tercel is fast if you've never driven anything else before, goMod you 2.2 to your hearts content but just dont drive anything "faster" or you'll be disappointed, but no to most on this forum a 2.2 will always be slow until you slap a compressor on it

 

well thanks for not letting me buy anything thatl screw it up XD , and im going saturday to pick it up, but along the way there is a 2008 2.2 cobalt, which would be better?

 

Slightly but it's really not worth it to upgrade to another 2.2 at least grab a 2.4 preferably 06 with a manual as a must and supercharge it for about $1500 all in.

 

thats the thing everybody seems to be forgetting, in the long run yes a ss would be cheaper cuz i wont really have to mod it, but the insurance, and most likely speeding tickets,,, and putting a 2.4 in there probably would be expensive and hard as hell, and if i had the know how, i would slap a turbocharging on her, BUT you need low compression pistons for that,,,, and plus i dont got the time to put one in

 

plus the one guy said thatll ill be able to get an hp tuner to work with something 07+

 

The 2.2 already has 10:1 compression so getting a 2.2 isn't going to get you lower compression pistons. Some Cobalts came with the 2.4 already. 06-07 2.4(LE5) engines had forged pistons. They were used in the SS 4dr Cobalts and the SS N/A cobalts.

Yes. HP Tuners will work with 07+ 2.2L and you can tune it yourself while it isn't boosted if you know how to learn things. HP Tuners will also work with any Cobalt with a 2.0 or 2.4. The thing about 05-06 Cobalts is that it used an oddball computer not used on many applications.


Bottom line, the 2008 is the better of the two cars if you had a choice.

 

Not entirely true on the lower compression, not running as much timing and better fuel it would be fine as long as you don't push it on E85 the stock motor is fine with a M62 and a good tune.

Correct 07+ 2.2's can be tuned using HPT, all 2.4 and 2.0 engines can be tuned on HPT.

I'm not saying swap one in though I'm saying if you're going to get another car but it can't be a SS/SC the NA 2.4 is your best starting platform.

Edit- Guess I should have read through everything before posting. Yes the 2008 2.2 is the better application but still nothing great because it's got the weaker internals, see what insurance is on the 2.4 but honestly I don't think if the small difference in insurance is that big of a deal you have the money to properly modify a car. You can definitely see some gains NA but they're minimal in the long run vs just going strait to forced induction.

 

Honestly, I'd love to have an 06 Laser Blue SS sedan with an LDK engine and 4T45E transmission swap...

Why oh why didn't GM do an 09 LNF sedan in Laser Blue...that would be my dream car.

 

Insurance on a 2.4SS shouldn't be significantly higher than a 2.2, since its rated an amazing 25hp more...