My 4 year review
Thread Starter
Joined: 05-18-11
Posts: 39,564
Likes: 87
From: West Chicago, IL
My 4 year review
Hey everybody!
Well, as of yesterday, I have owned my ’06 SS/SC for four years! Oh, how time flies.
I figured it would be a good time and opportunity to provide my insight, in depth analysis and share my experiences with whoever may want to read it, and has as much time on their hands as I do... Haha.
Well, first, a selfie. There I was, 21 years old. I had owned a 3.1L Monte Carlo for the last 4 years. Yuck. It was gold, and nothing stopped me from shamelessly ricing it out with blue neon underglows, tinted taillights and 2 12” subwoofers. My friends and I fabbed up the most ghetto homemade intake, exhaust and battery relocate for ‘performance mods bro’. This car was complete junk, and after going through three (THREE!!) transmissions I had had it up to here with the damn thing. I wanted something better.
slow, 3400lb, automatic 160hp junk
Well, I had been absolutely in love with the cobalt ever since it came out 5 years prior. I adored the styling and sense of speediness it had to it. As I grew up a bit and started learning more about it, I found out how easily modifiable they are, which was important because I didn’t want to ‘fab’ up too many parts, and definitely wanted something more tuner friendly.
Well, luckily by the time I was 21, I had some money saved up, and in retrospect, it was good that I had the ole’ Monte Car-slow, because it was a good learning opportunity on what NOT to do to a car. I wanted to hit the ground running with a Cobalt and have a do it once, do it right mentality. –We all know how that went, but for the most part, its been all straightforward.
Finally, after months of searching for the right one, there she stood, just 4’3”! A nice, little silver thang. She was a virgin and only had 34k on her! (85k now!)
Cost me 15k at the time which is insane when you think about it. Anyway.
Here she was!
First thoughts: I am the most badass person on the planet. I have a mutha___ing COBALT.
Boy was this thing a nice change of pace to drive. I learned how to drive stick on my way out of the dealer lot, and that night I was out screaming down every backroad in the city. Much nimble, many speed! I love driving manual and the feel of this car rocks.
My first plans were to add some red accent decals on all the badges and stuff… felt like such a badass.
Wasn’t long till the ‘big boy’ mods started…
OTTP trans mounts, bad-mab shorty header (which both lasted about as long as the shipping times), boy was I cool, and getting fast quick!
Awwwwyehhhhhh
EEEEvooo moood... eeaton stikar... +10 +10
Anyway, this forum really sparked my interest in all of the endless things I could do with this car. The list of things I wanted to do quickly grew (And is still growing, damn you all!)
So here we are now, 4 years and probably 20thou in mods later
Anyway, onto my review:
Styling. This is by far one of the sexiest cars I can think of. Although fit and finish could use some… fitting and finishing… it is still an amazingly well thought out looking car. It’s hunkered down, that front splitter kissing every driveway apron, the wheel wells conforming to the tires, the fender flaring, the stock wheels, and the ground effects are all quite perfect looking. This ride looks MEAN. I notice an oncoming SS from a quarter mile away and they just have a presence on the road that screams sportiness. Its truly one of a kind. Originally, my favorite thing about the styling was the big rear spoiler and taillights, but now I realize it’s so much more. It’s the front and front ¾ view. Yum! I’m in love with the roofline and short decklid. This is truly one of those cars that you can’t just park and walk away from without looking back atleast 3 times.
Those eyes 0.o
In fact, even though my car has barely ran for six months and I’m almost sick of looking at it… I’m not! Such a sick ride. Hence the reason that I’ve personally put a lot of work into the exterior, and there’s been some trial and error, but I think I’m really honing in on what my dream is. Favorite mods, gotta be the headlights and taillights. Call it ricer, and I understand, but it’s just so needed and brings the looks to a whole new level. GTR taillights was always a musthave for me, and the retros – whoo! This car has a set of eyes! Cant wait to show everyone my new set when I’m completed with them. Finally I got my ‘fitment’ where I want on some dark charcoal LNF wheels flush to the fenders. Winningggg.
Ride:
Okay, I’m not new to GM, in fact I think every GM I’ve been in has had a terribly rick-racketty ride quality. Stuff always feels like its gonna break.. you wince while going over gaps in the pavement and potholes. You quickly become accustomed to going crazy thinking about all of the interior rattles, and all performance mounts and stiffer suspension doesn’t help one bit.
But I gotta look at it this way… it’s different with this car. It almost makes you feel at home. You see, the Cobalt is the last of a dying legend. No car has come after it that nearly matches what it does, and how it does it. The Cobalt is a bare bones, redline racing go kart in disguise. There’s no electronically adjustable seats, leather dash, Honda accord sound deadening, GPS nav, big plushy center console, no. There’s none of that. There’s a standard manual shifter, three pedals, a no frills steering wheel, bucket seats, and a radio. All arranged in a way that is simple, but not ‘base’ feeling. All black is a plus. There isn’t a whole lot of weight to this car. It’s no civic, but it’s no truck either. I learned to love this car and how it drives. Call it positive input. Lol. You really get to feel the road and what the car is doing. You can FEEL the limits. The engine vibrates, you feel the transmission bouncing around, you feel the traction or lack of it. There is no forgiveness; this car is exhilarating! Always look forward to hopping in and driving anywhere. I will take the long way there just to put a few more miles in.
Again, even though it’s been down for 6 months, I only miss it more. I have thought of selling it for something else, but for what? Nothing will provide me the same experience this car brings. A great sounding 4 cyl with a screaming blower piercing you ears as you fly down the road. Oh yeah, this car is fast.
Speaking of the interior, this is my favorite pic that i have of it. Decent though it was stock, had to change things up a bit
Speed:
Gotta love the speed of this car. In stock form, you were able to take full advantage of what it had to offer. There was just enough power to rip you through first gear in the blink of an eye and maybe chirp second. 6ish second 0-60 for a stock cavalier wasn’t bad at all. Really, this car was tons of fun bone stock, and it’s only become more engaging since then. A whole slew of upgrades from engine, suspension and brakes just makes it more and more fun to drive. 2nd gear pulls all day, and with a rear sway bar I can really throw this thing into any corner I want, kick the tail around, and the new LSD trans helps pull it out. Nothing more satisfying than coming up to a corner at speed, downshifting into 2nd while braking, hit the corner and get on the gas up to 80mph on the way out. Cannot WAIT to get this car back and feel TVS powar.
Haters:
I gotta hand it to the haters. Sounds really cliché, but they only feed my addiction to this car. Who hates on Hyundai Sonatas? They are slow and ugly, but nobody cares. They aren’t menacing and they don’t offer any threat to competition. People hate on what they are scared of. Religious right winged fathers hate with all their might on the gays because they know there’s a chance their son will wind up that way. (I’m straight, ps, just an analogy lol) I hate on mainstream rap because it’s killing real hip hop. We hate on fords because we know they are making better vehicles than GM now, and every car guy hates on Cobalts because they know, deep down, that car could be a threat to their manhood. They will swear up and down that it’s a slow over rated car, but they don’t know if it’s a 2.2L with an intake or a 640 whp turbo LSJ. In the reasonable world of automotive competition, the AVERAGE 500 hp Camaro could meet his match any day of the week with many of the balts I’ve seen around here. My point being, it’s so much more fun being the underdog who doesn’t have a huge crowd just blindly loving it, like subarus and supras. It’s nice to have to earn the respect. (cliché again sorry). Those who know, really know whats up. Those who don’t will hate. Those who don’t care enough are still always interested in the car. I’ve had so many people come up asking what it is, is it supercharged? Wow really? Let me see! How much power, how fast, etc. Interesting, very interesting.
Maintenance:
Considering all of the **** I have put my car through, it really hasn’t let me down. Nothing that has broken was beyond my control yet, except the CABs, sway bar endlinks, rear calipers, and intermediate shaft. I’ve had a whole slew of other things go wrong but as far as I am concerned they are byproducts of messing with a perfectly fine car. The reason its been sitting at performance autowerks for two months for diagnosing a nonrunning issue is probably my fault somewhere down the line.
Really, if I could go back in time 4 years to do this again, I most certainly would. This car is a huge part of my life and I would feel a big gap in my heart without it!
As for the future, once i get this current setup dialed in and always a few more odds and ends along the way, i am done doing major things to it. I had my fun over the last four years blowing every dime i could get my grubby paws on to feed the modding addiction but now i have an absolutely amazing woman who changed my life that i want to marry one day and need to start saving for life things, like a house and kids. Lol. Luckily she is awesome and i dont think will make me sell it. Life comes at you fast, but this car really helped me through some tough times and when im older and mature i know i can look back to these days and say i had some fun.
This really went nowhere and everywhere, but I’ve been wanting to do something like this for a while. Anyone that hung with me throughout let me know how you feel or where your experiences differ!
Cliffnotes: I have had intercourse with your mother.
Well, as of yesterday, I have owned my ’06 SS/SC for four years! Oh, how time flies.
I figured it would be a good time and opportunity to provide my insight, in depth analysis and share my experiences with whoever may want to read it, and has as much time on their hands as I do... Haha.
Well, first, a selfie. There I was, 21 years old. I had owned a 3.1L Monte Carlo for the last 4 years. Yuck. It was gold, and nothing stopped me from shamelessly ricing it out with blue neon underglows, tinted taillights and 2 12” subwoofers. My friends and I fabbed up the most ghetto homemade intake, exhaust and battery relocate for ‘performance mods bro’. This car was complete junk, and after going through three (THREE!!) transmissions I had had it up to here with the damn thing. I wanted something better.
slow, 3400lb, automatic 160hp junk
Well, I had been absolutely in love with the cobalt ever since it came out 5 years prior. I adored the styling and sense of speediness it had to it. As I grew up a bit and started learning more about it, I found out how easily modifiable they are, which was important because I didn’t want to ‘fab’ up too many parts, and definitely wanted something more tuner friendly.
Well, luckily by the time I was 21, I had some money saved up, and in retrospect, it was good that I had the ole’ Monte Car-slow, because it was a good learning opportunity on what NOT to do to a car. I wanted to hit the ground running with a Cobalt and have a do it once, do it right mentality. –We all know how that went, but for the most part, its been all straightforward.
Finally, after months of searching for the right one, there she stood, just 4’3”! A nice, little silver thang. She was a virgin and only had 34k on her! (85k now!)
Cost me 15k at the time which is insane when you think about it. Anyway.
Here she was!
First thoughts: I am the most badass person on the planet. I have a mutha___ing COBALT.
Boy was this thing a nice change of pace to drive. I learned how to drive stick on my way out of the dealer lot, and that night I was out screaming down every backroad in the city. Much nimble, many speed! I love driving manual and the feel of this car rocks.
My first plans were to add some red accent decals on all the badges and stuff… felt like such a badass.
Wasn’t long till the ‘big boy’ mods started…
OTTP trans mounts, bad-mab shorty header (which both lasted about as long as the shipping times), boy was I cool, and getting fast quick!
Awwwwyehhhhhh
EEEEvooo moood... eeaton stikar... +10 +10
Anyway, this forum really sparked my interest in all of the endless things I could do with this car. The list of things I wanted to do quickly grew (And is still growing, damn you all!)
So here we are now, 4 years and probably 20thou in mods later
Anyway, onto my review:
Styling. This is by far one of the sexiest cars I can think of. Although fit and finish could use some… fitting and finishing… it is still an amazingly well thought out looking car. It’s hunkered down, that front splitter kissing every driveway apron, the wheel wells conforming to the tires, the fender flaring, the stock wheels, and the ground effects are all quite perfect looking. This ride looks MEAN. I notice an oncoming SS from a quarter mile away and they just have a presence on the road that screams sportiness. Its truly one of a kind. Originally, my favorite thing about the styling was the big rear spoiler and taillights, but now I realize it’s so much more. It’s the front and front ¾ view. Yum! I’m in love with the roofline and short decklid. This is truly one of those cars that you can’t just park and walk away from without looking back atleast 3 times.
Those eyes 0.o
In fact, even though my car has barely ran for six months and I’m almost sick of looking at it… I’m not! Such a sick ride. Hence the reason that I’ve personally put a lot of work into the exterior, and there’s been some trial and error, but I think I’m really honing in on what my dream is. Favorite mods, gotta be the headlights and taillights. Call it ricer, and I understand, but it’s just so needed and brings the looks to a whole new level. GTR taillights was always a musthave for me, and the retros – whoo! This car has a set of eyes! Cant wait to show everyone my new set when I’m completed with them. Finally I got my ‘fitment’ where I want on some dark charcoal LNF wheels flush to the fenders. Winningggg.
Ride:
Okay, I’m not new to GM, in fact I think every GM I’ve been in has had a terribly rick-racketty ride quality. Stuff always feels like its gonna break.. you wince while going over gaps in the pavement and potholes. You quickly become accustomed to going crazy thinking about all of the interior rattles, and all performance mounts and stiffer suspension doesn’t help one bit.
But I gotta look at it this way… it’s different with this car. It almost makes you feel at home. You see, the Cobalt is the last of a dying legend. No car has come after it that nearly matches what it does, and how it does it. The Cobalt is a bare bones, redline racing go kart in disguise. There’s no electronically adjustable seats, leather dash, Honda accord sound deadening, GPS nav, big plushy center console, no. There’s none of that. There’s a standard manual shifter, three pedals, a no frills steering wheel, bucket seats, and a radio. All arranged in a way that is simple, but not ‘base’ feeling. All black is a plus. There isn’t a whole lot of weight to this car. It’s no civic, but it’s no truck either. I learned to love this car and how it drives. Call it positive input. Lol. You really get to feel the road and what the car is doing. You can FEEL the limits. The engine vibrates, you feel the transmission bouncing around, you feel the traction or lack of it. There is no forgiveness; this car is exhilarating! Always look forward to hopping in and driving anywhere. I will take the long way there just to put a few more miles in.
Again, even though it’s been down for 6 months, I only miss it more. I have thought of selling it for something else, but for what? Nothing will provide me the same experience this car brings. A great sounding 4 cyl with a screaming blower piercing you ears as you fly down the road. Oh yeah, this car is fast.
Speaking of the interior, this is my favorite pic that i have of it. Decent though it was stock, had to change things up a bit
Speed:
Gotta love the speed of this car. In stock form, you were able to take full advantage of what it had to offer. There was just enough power to rip you through first gear in the blink of an eye and maybe chirp second. 6ish second 0-60 for a stock cavalier wasn’t bad at all. Really, this car was tons of fun bone stock, and it’s only become more engaging since then. A whole slew of upgrades from engine, suspension and brakes just makes it more and more fun to drive. 2nd gear pulls all day, and with a rear sway bar I can really throw this thing into any corner I want, kick the tail around, and the new LSD trans helps pull it out. Nothing more satisfying than coming up to a corner at speed, downshifting into 2nd while braking, hit the corner and get on the gas up to 80mph on the way out. Cannot WAIT to get this car back and feel TVS powar.
Haters:
I gotta hand it to the haters. Sounds really cliché, but they only feed my addiction to this car. Who hates on Hyundai Sonatas? They are slow and ugly, but nobody cares. They aren’t menacing and they don’t offer any threat to competition. People hate on what they are scared of. Religious right winged fathers hate with all their might on the gays because they know there’s a chance their son will wind up that way. (I’m straight, ps, just an analogy lol) I hate on mainstream rap because it’s killing real hip hop. We hate on fords because we know they are making better vehicles than GM now, and every car guy hates on Cobalts because they know, deep down, that car could be a threat to their manhood. They will swear up and down that it’s a slow over rated car, but they don’t know if it’s a 2.2L with an intake or a 640 whp turbo LSJ. In the reasonable world of automotive competition, the AVERAGE 500 hp Camaro could meet his match any day of the week with many of the balts I’ve seen around here. My point being, it’s so much more fun being the underdog who doesn’t have a huge crowd just blindly loving it, like subarus and supras. It’s nice to have to earn the respect. (cliché again sorry). Those who know, really know whats up. Those who don’t will hate. Those who don’t care enough are still always interested in the car. I’ve had so many people come up asking what it is, is it supercharged? Wow really? Let me see! How much power, how fast, etc. Interesting, very interesting.
Maintenance:
Considering all of the **** I have put my car through, it really hasn’t let me down. Nothing that has broken was beyond my control yet, except the CABs, sway bar endlinks, rear calipers, and intermediate shaft. I’ve had a whole slew of other things go wrong but as far as I am concerned they are byproducts of messing with a perfectly fine car. The reason its been sitting at performance autowerks for two months for diagnosing a nonrunning issue is probably my fault somewhere down the line.
Really, if I could go back in time 4 years to do this again, I most certainly would. This car is a huge part of my life and I would feel a big gap in my heart without it!
As for the future, once i get this current setup dialed in and always a few more odds and ends along the way, i am done doing major things to it. I had my fun over the last four years blowing every dime i could get my grubby paws on to feed the modding addiction but now i have an absolutely amazing woman who changed my life that i want to marry one day and need to start saving for life things, like a house and kids. Lol. Luckily she is awesome and i dont think will make me sell it.
Life comes at you fast, but this car really helped me through some tough times and when im older and mature i know i can look back to these days and say i had some fun.This really went nowhere and everywhere, but I’ve been wanting to do something like this for a while. Anyone that hung with me throughout let me know how you feel or where your experiences differ!
Cliffnotes: I have had intercourse with your mother.
Last edited by riceburner; May 12, 2015 at 01:29 PM.
Joined: 04-18-14
Posts: 16,423
Likes: 603
From: El Paso, TX
Really nice review rice
: i can actually say i know your feeling of not driving the balt, people will say your crazy for loving your cobalt that much but by far is the best car ive driven
: i can actually say i know your feeling of not driving the balt, people will say your crazy for loving your cobalt that much but by far is the best car ive driven
Senior Member
Joined: 04-16-09
Posts: 654
Likes: 0
From: Toronto, ON
Felt the same way when I first got my LSJ. Sold it, wanted more, bought an LNF. No ragrets.
The cobalt is probably the best bang for buck you can get with a sports car.
When lowered, the SS is a pretty sharp looking car. It gets me 30 mpg too, that's a huge plus.
Rice, your car and mine are like twins. Except mine is the burlier, older, and more handsome twin
The cobalt is probably the best bang for buck you can get with a sports car.
When lowered, the SS is a pretty sharp looking car. It gets me 30 mpg too, that's a huge plus.
Rice, your car and mine are like twins. Except mine is the burlier, older, and more handsome twin
Last edited by LTBALTBMX; May 12, 2015 at 09:48 PM.
Joined: 12-30-07
Posts: 14,079
Likes: 197
From: NEPA
After 8 years of ownership this month, I still love my car the same as the day I drove her off the dealership lot. The car hasnt failed me yet, and has never given me any sort of issue.
Still feels brand new to!!
Still feels brand new to!!
Last edited by Staged07SS; May 13, 2015 at 10:23 AM.
Senior Member
Joined: 03-01-10
Posts: 5,833
Likes: 26
From: Toronto, ON
nice write up RB! I love these cars, hence why I came back to the cobalt scene! (did it right this time time hehe) I dont understand when people say the SS is ugly, have they SEEN an SRT 4 o WRX? hell even the evo 9 looks like a rental with some lipstick
A lowered SS to me has such a great profile, I really think they're good looking cars
A lowered SS to me has such a great profile, I really think they're good looking cars
Senior Member
Joined: 12-14-10
Posts: 676
Likes: 2
From: SoCal
I know how you feel, OP. I love my Cobalt SS/TC. I contemplated selling it last year, but when I thought it through, I realized I wouldn't be able to own anything with 4+ seats, a manual and major fun-to-drive factor without breaking the bank open.
The WRX/Evo are great, but they're so common. I see plenty of base model Cobalts, but I rarely see the SS Cobalts driving around. And when I do see one, I always stare and admire how sexy it is.
I hope you get your car running again and get to enjoy it for many more years to come.
The WRX/Evo are great, but they're so common. I see plenty of base model Cobalts, but I rarely see the SS Cobalts driving around. And when I do see one, I always stare and admire how sexy it is.
I hope you get your car running again and get to enjoy it for many more years to come.
Thread Starter
Joined: 05-18-11
Posts: 39,564
Likes: 87
From: West Chicago, IL
Thanks, it wasn't too organized but i was bored and wanted to do something. haha
Older twin? yours is a TC though lol! Oh yea and i forgot about the mileage haha
That sounds like a noncobalt related problem haha
Good man, i wish mine felt brand new still!
For sure, well put!
Please do, and try to drive afterwards. Hope to see you again this year at CED brah
Awesome!
Felt the same way when I first got my LSJ. Sold it, wanted more, bought an LNF. No ragrets.
The cobalt is probably the best bang for buck you can get with a sports car.
When lowered, the SS is a pretty sharp looking car. It gets me 30 mpg too, that's a huge plus.
Rice, your car and mine are like twins. Except mine is the burlier, older, and more handsome twin
[img]http://mg]
The cobalt is probably the best bang for buck you can get with a sports car.
When lowered, the SS is a pretty sharp looking car. It gets me 30 mpg too, that's a huge plus.
Rice, your car and mine are like twins. Except mine is the burlier, older, and more handsome twin
[img]http://mg]
nice write up RB! I love these cars, hence why I came back to the cobalt scene! (did it right this time time hehe) I dont understand when people say the SS is ugly, have they SEEN an SRT 4 o WRX? hell even the evo 9 looks like a rental with some lipstick
A lowered SS to me has such a great profile, I really think they're good looking cars
A lowered SS to me has such a great profile, I really think they're good looking cars
Awesome!
New Member
Joined: 10-02-11
Posts: 127
Likes: 2
From: Fargo, ND
Great review! I'm almost at 4 yrs owning my 06 LSJ, bought it with 68k and now at 130k and the only thing that's failed on mine is the alternator and something bad with the shifter linkage right when I bought it but the previous owner had a aftermarket warranty that ended up replacing the whole trans. now since I have a company car I can finally start adding go fast parts!
