hey whats up, new to these forums.
im looking for a cobalt ss mostly looking for tc but if the price is right
i guess i would get the sc.
i have an 08 civic si coupe right now and its really nice!
got rims, bass, hids, intake, exhaust, springs, much more.
black on flat black 17" rims.
whatever, not important, anyways, the cars nice and rides perfect but the lack of torque
is just freaking incredible! i have a hard time trying to get in front of ppl.
i had a 350z before this so performance was so dissapointing when i got my si
i was looking at the cobalt ss/sc and tc i was pretty impressed specially with how cheap they are to mod plus stock they are pretty fast.
so im decided into buying one. i prefer a tc, cuz the obvious reasons, but are a lot harder to find. so basicly i made this thread to get some info/suggestions from ppl to what i should look for when buying one of these and what are there opinions in these cars compared to si.

 

one word G85 performance package. Make sure you get one with the LSD transmission

 

ok cool. how do i know which trim brings that?
and whats the difference

 

on the SC's 05-06 will have the recaro racing seats. If it does than you know it has the G85 limited slip trans. On the 07's the seats could be the recaros or the black leather heated SS seats and still have it. Best way to tell is find the rpo codes easiest way is look under the carpet in the trunk look for the rpo code that says G85 if you dont see it than its non lsd. On the TC you will have to do like the 07 SC and look for the code it will be the same G85 code

 

oh alright cool. ill do that. anything else i should look for or check, making sure the car
is actually worth buying lol.
im really excited about it!

 

make sure its really a ss and not a 2.4

 

lol yea.
what tunes do you guys use for your cars? like, is there a chip you guys buy that already has tunes and MAP's or what? cuz for my si it was basically just one chip. everything else was garbage

 

a custom HP tuners tune is the best. But vendors do mail order tunes as well. And dont think that the SC cant be fast mines in the low 12's just a matter of what you want so if you find a clean one and cant find a TC you wont be disapointed

 

not at all r they slow. they have very good times. i like the supercharger, but i would PREFER to get a turbo. if not ill go with the sc, i know the GM stage 1 and stage 2 kits are a really good add plus their not too expensive. that with intake, exhaust, headers (if its the SC), and a tune, that would really help a lot huh? maybe .5- .9 seconds off the 1/4 mile?
and these tunes your talking about, i dont understand much, for these cars do you need a chip to break into the ecu like my si or you can just str8 up tune it with no chip?

 

I don't know where you're at in your search, but I would recommend checking into Used Chevy|Used Buick|Used GMC|Used Vehicles| Certified Pre-Owned - you can find Certified Pre-Owned Cobalts in your area here that have been through a 100+ point inspection and come with an extension of the new vehicle limited (bumper to bumper) warranty. Basically, some of that new vehicle security with a more affordable price.

Good luck with your search - if you ever need me, private message me here on the forum and I'm here to help in whatever way I can!

Best,
Sarah
GM Customer Service

 

Custom tuning is done via a computer program for windows called HP tuners. It's a VERY powerful program that allows you to adjust virtually every parameter in the ecu by HAND. you really need some knowledge of MAF tuning and such in order to do it. If you're uncomfortable tuning by hand or can't find someone to do it for you, your only other option is a trifecta tune, which is a mail order tune. Either tune requires you plugging your computer into your car.

GM cars really don't use "chips" we just modify our factory ECUs. On a turbo car, with a tune and some bolt ons, plus some good driving, the car will run in the 12s in the 1/4.

 

Good luck with your search! Newer Si's are nice but yeah the torque just isn't there! Both model cobalt will be a good choice.

 

dam i havnt checked this thread in a couple of days. everyones feedback was super helpful, thanks a lot.
i got probably one last question, that HP tuners program, where can you get that? how much is it?
and i imagine you order a cable to plug into ur ecu right? any info on this would be helpful.
everytime i get a different car everything is completely different

 

bump to maybe get this post going again :P