my dealer just called me he has an allocation for my SS my problem is he can not get that G85 .... would u order the cart or not? need help i dont no what to do

 

if you really want the Recaros then wait but if it's just for the lsd I wouldn't. I don't have the lsd and I doubt I will miss it.

 

I'm not buying an SS without LSD.

There's a reason the SRT-4 comes with it standard now. So does the Nissan Sentra SE-R Spec V.

I'm sure there are others.

 

I'm really surprised by the amount of members that are over the LSD option! I have owned a number of cars the last ten years (yah, I'm one of the "old guys" here) and I am being more than honest when I say that unless you are planning on building up your SS to a very respectable street runner and will be tracking (straight line, road course, or track) on a very regular basis you will not know the true and most noticeable purposes of its function or design.

I totally understand the "I want" and "I have" concept, been there done that more times that I would like to omit. But lets face it and be honest guys,..I am willing to bet that 90% of the buyers are getting it b/c its great to be able to say you have it. That 95% of the owners here will have the SS as their daily driver and get around car that will have the occasional street race or fun with other cars like it. And that 98% of us getting it will NOT be getting b/c they are going to build the car up enough that it even be worth while and powerful enough to have let alone "need" a LSD! And when I say "building up" I'm not talking bolting on an CAI, pulley, and new exhaust!

It is great have it, great to say you have, but the reality of it is the "average" owner of an SS is very unlikely to see the day where they can,..."man I need that LSD now!"

 

The reason is what?

I don't have the limitied slip diff and I can honestly say I don't miss it and I am not sorry I didn't get it.

If I decide to start dumping money into more horsepower I probably would consider it at that point. I think a bigger bang for the buck would be to upgrade the suspension with that 1500 dollars to improve handling.

 

110% agree, put a stock SS with a properly balanced set of coilovers or even a cup kit with f/r sways up against a stock SS with the LSD and the SS with the LSD wouldn't know what hit it or if it was coming or going!

The purpose of a LSD is control and properly place power, period! If you dont have the BIG number power for it to properly place and do its job what do you have.....$1500 not spent as best it could have

 

I 110% disagree, changing the suspension is not going to help under a hard lunch as much as a LSD would. With out the LSD u are going to just sit and spin. One of the first things u should up grade after bosting a car is the LSD, so u dont just sit a spin one tire. So, the SS is already bosted so it makes sence that it should come with a LSD. Now under hard corning a tuned suspenion would be the ideal. And chevy all ready admits that the SS needs a rear sway bar. And if you where to decide to get an after market full LSD it would cost u more then $1500 to buy and install. The package is pretty cheap when u think about it, nice race seats and sliders is going to set u back 800-1000 and a good lsd around 2000+. And just to let u know 200 + hp high hp for a 4 cylinder.

 

I agree with you! LSD's are not for handling, they are for traction. Thus is the reason an LSD is one of the first modifications to drag cars. You can upgrade your suspention all you want, but with any amount of power (greater than 170whp) you will just sit at the line and burn out, much like my camaro does (open differential) Now if you are into road racing, then getting an open differential is actually more beneficial to you, since whenever you apply torque to it (hit the gas) out of a turn, an lsd locks up and applies power to both wheels, wheras on an open diff. one wheel gets power, while the other wheel is free to spin with the turn.

 

Missing the point here,..

"That 95% of the owners here will have the SS as their daily driver and get around car, not their "toy car", and at best will have the occasional street race or fun with other cars like it. And that 98% of us getting it will NOT be getting b/c they are going to build the car up enough that it even be worth while and powerful enough to have let alone "need" a LSD! And when I say "building up" I'm not talking bolting on an CAI, pulley, and new exhaust!"

Plus we cant not even compare it to the SRT-4 reason of needed one, a SC Vs Turbo is a no brainer! The SS will never the type of numbers the SRT-4 does, esp at the same $ 4 $, or even remotely close for that matter! Boost with a turbo is a whole other ball game! When you have 25-30+ lbs of boost sure your going to need a LSD b/c the boost is hard hitting, pretty much all at once, and falls off rather quick as you climb. That you need help controlling....a SC'er that will see 7-9 lbs on the avg and very quick bursts of 12lbs where delivery is consistent through out the band does need it for anywhere near the same reason.

Face it guys,..its the "I have" 10x more times than the "I need" factor! A VERY small % of SS of owners will be track junkies! The average/majority of SS owners will be doing a CAI, pulley, and exhaust. And the car is their daily driver back and forth to school (or work) and hanging out with the friends on the weekend having some good old fun!

 

OK.... LISTEN UP...


I've said it before and I'll say it again. Here is a VERY good reason for an LSD that everyone overlooks.

Traction in bad weather! It's stupid to have an open differential if you don't have to. One tire on pavement.. one tire on ice.. step on the gas.. you go nowhere! You'll get much better rain and snow traction. That's reason enough for me. You can bicker about handling.. bicker about quarter mile times, but you can't dispute that an SS with LSD will get much better traction in bad weather than one without. Escpecially with the 1st gear ratio on the SS. If you live in California or you have a second car, then you don't need it, but anyone who actually lives somewhere that doesn't have perfect weather all the time and uses it as a daily driver, I wouldn't get one without it.

 

Weather , Good point, to bad they didn't even offer it in Canada to us -40 winter people. You wanna talk icy roads and crappy weather spend a winter in Saskatchewan. I think I could have reaped the benifits of the LSD in the winter months up here. To bad it wasn't an option so mine will come without, just like the other 99% of cars that get around just fine in the winter. I agree it would help but I'm not thinking it's that necessary. I've had 2 Acura Itegra's now and they did a good job of getting around in the winter months. You wanna know what sucks. That the SS doesn't come with a block heater even in Canada. Usually they come standard up here so there goes $100+ right off the bat after you get it installed. Small price to pay to drive such a nice car i guesse. I can't wait. Dealer says mines on the way. Asked him for proof. We'll see what he comes back with.

 

You couldnt get the LSD in Canada...

IMO... as soon as I realized I had to give up color inserts for an LSD, (becuase of the RECAROS... which are nice too) it was a no brainer. Now if your trying to save 1500, then I understand.

If you can spend the extra 1500 it is well worth it

Color seats
or
Racing Seats and an LSD

you cant compare with or without its a no brainer if money isnt a factor

 

For a fun daily driver, do not worry about the LSD option.
If you plan to race/modify, do wait and get the LSD option.

 

I went ahead and got the car without LSD, it will be my daily driver but for the most part but I have a jeep for bad weather so that doesnt bother me too much. according 2 my dealer build date is may 22 I cant wait 4 my baby to be born. thanx guys for your input

 

Plus if you don't get the LSD you actually get your car produced and sent to you.

 

Haha. That point will not be true much longer though.

I wouldn't be interested in getting powerful car unless it is quick from a stop. Why wouldn't I choose the option that would put the most power to the ground? That just makes sense.

The wet weather issue is a good point too, although I will be driving much more cautiously (read: slowly) in wet weather anyway.

Then what do you think of the Spec-V having one? I guess in your opinion, Nissan wasted their money there because that thing is only a NA engine! Right?

 

But have you driven an SS/SC with LSD? It's hard to say that you don't miss what you haven't even experienced. I could say I honestly don't miss driving a Ferrari 360, and it would be a true statement, but it is kinda pointless to say that until I have driven one. It will be interesting once they are more cobalts with LSD around and people start driving both and the comparisons start coming in. The magazines like it, but they are usually at a track anyway.

I fully realize that in normal driving, there won't be much difference. But I love acceleration, and anything that is going to help drive the wheels sounds like a good thing to me. This is not even considering handling aspects.

 

Sorry to be the old guy on here but traction on dry pavement for racing LSD will "maybe" give you a little faster time on quartermile, but on ice and snow??? You do not need all 200 ponnies hitting the ice or snow to get going, "feather" the clutch , start in 2nd (twice a year when the ice is that bad) and you will get going. That being said I live in Canada and cant get the LSD so maybe I am just feeling sorry for myself LOL.

 

I admit it I was lusting over those Recaro's after the Detroit auto show, and when my order couldn't be changed the day the G85 package was made available, I was pissed. But, I really feel for you guys that don't have your cars yet, and you're seeing pictures of all of our cars.

My plan is to add the lsd if and when its offered as a dealer-installed option, and I'm already looking at Recaro's with the red inserts to match my factory rear seats. Yes, $1,500 is a good price for this stuff, but I sure am glad I got my SS back in March.

 

Yah i will eventually end up buying the lsd for my SS...i ordered mine back in october way before the package was available...i was kinda bummed out when i came out but when i found out you can buy it from GM for around $1500 which is not bad..i think

 

Yeah pretty sure my SS/SC won't be see any bad weather. Thats why I have an Olds Alero

As for the traction in snow, have you driven a car with Summer W rated Ultra High Performance tire on the snow? Even with an LSD they are gonna both spin at the same time with zero traction in the snow.

I am sure the LSD will help some but is that a reason to spend 1500 bux on it ? 1500 bux will get you a set of snow tires on some 16 inch cheesie rims that would make a non LSD SS/SC run circles around a Cobalt with the LSD. And I am sure you will have some money left over

 

Good point Zinner. Why am I getting the LSD? I am getting it because I really liked the way the Recaros felt over the stock seats, and I hope the LSD can help with all the things mentioned. Bad weather isn't a problem here.

I just remember Road and Track and Car and Driver bitching about how the SRT-4 didn't have one. I have also come to understand as someone stated above that that is because the SRT-4 runs a turbo.

I just don't want to not buy it and then regret it later...is all. I figure just spend the money, get the seats I like better, and have more time to save for a down payment. I don't look at it as having to wait longer...it's time to save longer.

 

Tio:

I'm prefectly aware you're not going to want to stick all your ponies to the ground in the snow. I'm also aware of feathering the clutch. It doesn't matter.

You're still limited to your one stinky wheel with the least resistance. It will spin even in second gear. You're not going to get going up a hill with snow on it. You may not even get going with the LSD, but at least you'll have a much better chance. Mabe you live somewhere where the terrain is flat, but around here we have hills, traffic lights on hills, stop signs on hills. You need to be able to move again in the snow. That's proven to be fairly difficult with your standard open differential car around here. It can be done in most cases, but why not make it much easier?

The point is.. if ONE wheel has some sort of traction, you'll use it. In your open differential setup, you will not. Both wheels need to have it.


Zinner:

Stick some snow tires on the car with LSD and it will again eat your car for lunch in traction in the snow. Nobody said the tradeoff would be LSD, but no snow tires.

 

You can't have both!! LOL

Put in a 4x4 drive system, a 8 inch lift and some 35 inch tall tires and my Cobalt will eat your Cobalt alive in traction.

General statement not directed at anyone:

I am just getting a little sick of people saying the Cobalt SS/SC is worthless without the LSD. You read it in the reviews, you hear people say the same thing on the forums, it's just a load IMO.

 

I currently drive an '03 2WD Silverado with traction control. I'm not sure if it uses a limited slip or some other form of traction control. Anyway, this past winter, it was beyond useless. I actually found I got better results turning it off, and letting both wheels spin, then having it enabled. I'm guessing the LSD won't make much of an impact in bad weather - certainly not as much as people think.