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Hi folks from Canada! Glad to be here.
I've always been into the LSJ's, but I recently picked up a 2010 Cobalt SS/TC with 41k on it.
After driving the LSJ'S, it's certainly a whole different animal with the turboed SS. I got this car bone stock and remains stock as of now. I plan on ordering some stuff here soon for it as it's in winter storage RN. I know, Canadian winters are harsh.
looks really good and welcome! I actually have a 07 Pontiac G5 Gt Sedan in red sport tint coat myself. I always loved the color so when I bought my car brand new in 07 and this color of the car was on the lot at my local Pontiac Dealership I knew I had to buy it. I'm in the process of restoring right now with all new suspension upgrades last summer and doing a supercharger stage 2 kit from the cobalt ss/sc. It'll be a fun little sleeper car when I'm done since the G5 never came with a supercharger from the factory and my exterior for the most part is still stock except for my oem gt rims I painted metallic gloss black last summer. I'll post some pics as soon as I can.
That's a really clean car! I had no idea that they sold the GT sedan in Canada. I don't see many G5 GT's around here. I'm betting that they had fairly low production numbers.
That's a really clean car! I had no idea that they sold the GT sedan in Canada. I don't see many G5 GT's around here. I'm betting that they had fairly low production numbers.
Thanks man I like your SS Sedan that you shared on your thread also. Silver looks clean and classy. Yeah not too many around even my local area in Canada. I only saw one other guy look like he was in his late 70s definitely up there in age and he had gt sedan in black. That was a few years ago and haven't seen one since. I actually thought about selling my car a few years ago, however I changed my mind and decided to restore it with full performance suspension and I'm doing a M62 Supercharger swap from the 05-07 SS Supercharged Cobalt/ Ion Redline. It'll be a nice sleeper when I'm done with it. I've been working on it steadily for the past 3 years with a majority of the work done by myself. I'm in my 40s now so I need a hobby to keep me busy lol
That sounds like a great project! Stealth is an underrated aspect of these cars too. My Mustang GT frequently turned other drivers into instant idiots but the SS is a Q-ship that's a blast to drive.
That sounds like a great project! Stealth is an underrated aspect of these cars too. My Mustang GT frequently turned other drivers into instant idiots but the SS is a Q-ship that's a blast to drive.
Just how far along are you on the project?
Yes completely agree with you especially the lnf cobalts. A very underrated car and incredible handling performance right out the box from GM. Well for starters the suspension rebuild was very extensive because I replaced every single aspect of the chasis including every bushing and either upgraded with new oem gm parts or performance upgrades. So I did FE5 TC front struts(these come stock on your cobalt ss). These are a oem plus upgrade for 2.2, 2.4 and SS LSJ Cobalts. I did yyz performance springs by Powell motorsports. These are incredible springs made for track performance but still give a smooth ride and as you seen from my pics still gives you stock ride height which I prefer especially on regular streets. I also did fe5 tc lower control arms(these come stock on your ss cobalt) and i upgraded to Powell Lower control arm bushings(these are an upgrade for all cobalts regardless of which trim level you have). I also upgraded my stock front sway bar and picked up a used one from a Cobalt SS LSJ model(its a 24mm sway bar compared to my fe3 sway bar which is only 22mm). I also upgraded to Moog sway bar bushings for the new sway bar and I got Moog Sway bar endlinks. Also got new Moog Tie Rod ends. For the engine and Transmission mounts I went with Turbo Tech Racing poly engine mount and poly tranny inserts. I also upgraded my upper transmission mount (bought it from OTTP). In the rear I did new FE5 axle bushings(same ones that come on your cobalt ss), Bilstein B6 rear performance shocks and Powell Hardcore rear performance swaybar. Overall the car handles like it's on rails especially through the twisty roads in my area in the country side. The car is a blast to drive even with my current N/A setup. Now the stuff I did in the last 6 months were upgraded ottp stainless fuel line kit(highly recommend), new vapor fuel line kit, new oem fuel pump(mine was on its way out and not giving proper fuel pressure anymore). I also did a new radiator, thermostat, new plugs, new vvt solenoids(regular maintenance stuff). That's basically it up to this point. Now moving into the Spring I'm going to tackle my brakes with all new pads, rotors and stainless brake line kit from ottp. I also bought a new water pump, and belt tensioner that I have to get done. Once these things are all done then the fun part will be putting the supercharger on finally. However I'm the type of person I want to do things properly and the maintenance parts are more important to me and then I'll be able to get back to the performance stuff. A lot of young people or sometimes even older people don't understand that you need to take care of all the working parts because if you don't it won't matter how many performance you got on your car if you got a bad water pump or bad transmission etc the car will not work right and you won't be able to enjoy in it's full potential.
That's an impressive list in terms of parts and work. It sounds like you made some great choices and I agree that the car needs to be ready for the engine. I ended up going a similar rout in terms of parts and the tune was at the end of the list. Only my neck has kept me from picking up those yyz springs.
After owning my first SS I can agree unequivocally that maintenance should be at the top of the list. That car had been thrashed for most of it's life before I picked it up and was never reliable.
Are you planning to use an after market supercharger on the stock engine?
That's an impressive list in terms of parts and work. It sounds like you made some great choices and I agree that the car needs to be ready for the engine. I ended up going a similar rout in terms of parts and the tune was at the end of the list. Only my neck has kept me from picking up those yyz springs.
After owning my first SS I can agree unequivocally that maintenance should be at the top of the list. That car had been thrashed for most of it's life before I picked it up and was never reliable.
Are you planning to use an after market supercharger on the stock engine?
Thanks and yes definitely a lot of work and money spent on those parts lol. However the car has meaning to me do to the fact I bought the car brand new off the lot at my local Pontiac dealership at the time and was the first brand new car I ever bought. I spent I believe about 23 to 24k at the time. The sport red tint coat was an extra 500 dollar option but once I saw that color I had to have it and ironically my other option was a silver gt coupe but I just liked the look of the sedan better. I was a young man when I bought that car but had the hindsight to know if i have any kids the 4 door would be the better option. Of course about 4 years after that my daughter was born so I think I made the right choice lol. Yeah i'd say the yyz's are the best choice for springs or stock is fine also. The other springs would be just too rough and i've had friends a long the way who had lowering springs on their cars and I didn;t want that as its too bumpy. No my blower is a oem supercharger that is stock on the cobalt supercharged model. I actually got my blower ported for a bit more flow and few extra hp over stock. It's gunna fun when i get that on. Here are a few pics.
I've always preferred the sedans and that color myself. The 2.4 in GT cars made pretty decent power. Adding the blower and all those mods should make for an exceptionally fun to car to drive. That's one very carefully thought out build.
I've always preferred the sedans and that color myself. The 2.4 in GT cars made pretty decent power. Adding the blower and all those mods should make for an exceptionally fun to car to drive. That's one very carefully thought out build.
Yeah the 2.4 ecotec was kind of the step sister in the ecotec engine family some people say its not a good engine and dont understand why you boost it when you can buy an lnf like your cobalt ss or even the previous lsj cobalt. However like you said that extra bit of motor does have its advantages because on a 3.1 pulley plus all the other mods i have planned should net me about 240-250 hp at the wheels which is equivalent to a stage 2 setup for a lsj cobalt and on par with a stock cobalt ss turbo charged. I'll be happy with those numbers if i can get it. And i can get more from it since the 06 and early 07 models had forged rods rated for over 300. However I'm not the type to push to the limit especially not now and will just want to enjoy having a quick car that i can have some fun in and not worry about it blowing up because i went overboard with too much power. If I want big power I get a v8 coyote and we both know what those engines are capable of. I also have a few exterior things to do also. I have the front lip from the cobalt ss and the lower cobalt ss grill from the turbo charged model. I hope to get those done early summer. I have a friend who owns a small paint shop he was the one who painted my stock GT rims and he did a great job for me. So overall what is your plans? I've rambled long enuff about my little project car lol
Yeah the 2.4 ecotec was kind of the step sister in the ecotec engine family some people say its not a good engine and dont understand why you boost it when you can buy an lnf like your cobalt ss or even the previous lsj cobalt. However like you said that extra bit of motor does have its advantages because on a 3.1 pulley plus all the other mods i have planned should net me about 240-250 hp at the wheels which is equivalent to a stage 2 setup for a lsj cobalt and on par with a stock cobalt ss turbo charged. I'll be happy with those numbers if i can get it. And i can get more from it since the 06 and early 07 models had forged rods rated for over 300. However I'm not the type to push to the limit especially not now and will just want to enjoy having a quick car that i can have some fun in and not worry about it blowing up because i went overboard with too much power. If I want big power I get a v8 coyote and we both know what those engines are capable of. I also have a few exterior things to do also. I have the front lip from the cobalt ss and the lower cobalt ss grill from the turbo charged model. I hope to get those done early summer. I have a friend who owns a small paint shop he was the one who painted my stock GT rims and he did a great job for me. So overall what is your plans? I've rambled long enuff about my little project car lol
You should have plenty of thrust with that build but you may have trouble matching that tint coat! It's not an easy task.
My car is about done but I may add those yyz springs! My old car was much crisper on the road but it had an abusive ride and I've read really good things about those springs. Right now the car has Koni's, upgraded ball joints, ZZP front/rear mounts, a hardcore bar, ZZP short throw shifter (Shockingly good!), ZZP tune, ZZP LED headlight conversion, and Pilot 4S tires. Just a quick, low stress, low mile, daily driver with a nice ride and silver makes it's invisible. I think we have a lot of the same goals in mind for our cars.
You should have plenty of thrust with that build but you may have trouble matching that tint coat! It's not an easy task.
My car is about done but I may add those yyz springs! My old car was much crisper on the road but it had an abusive ride and I've read really good things about those springs. Right now the car has Koni's, upgraded ball joints, ZZP front/rear mounts, a hardcore bar, ZZP short throw shifter (Shockingly good!), ZZP tune, ZZP LED headlight conversion, and Pilot 4S tires. Just a quick, low stress, low mile, daily driver with a nice ride and silver makes it's invisible. I think we have a lot of the same goals in mind for our cars.
Yeah I figure it'll be nice power to keep me happy for awhile lol. Since these cars are light you dont need a huge amount of hp to make them a fun vehicle. Anywhere around 250hp is plenty plus combined with upgraded suspension. Yeah you got the right amount of suspension parts on your car. Koni's I heard are a good company and make quality suspension parts. Yeah I heard the zzp sts is good also. I also heard the new ZZP coilovers are really good to so its another option that is made by a good company. And the yyz's are very good. The only reason I went with them was because I hate the typical ricer springs that make a car scrape everything lol. Plus now that I'm a old fart in his 40s I wanted a more gentle ride but still give me the performance I want on twisty back roads. So if you decide to make the switch over to yyz's you will not regret it. Also the best combo for these is Bilstein shocks in the rear and either stock cobalt ss turbocharged front struts or koni's and possibly kyb's. Yeah the tint coat you are right is very hard to match. I have done a few minor touch ups and even with me taking my time and adding clear coat it still is slightly off from my original color. So what I might do is wait until next year and repaint the entire car possibly and just focus on finishing up the mechanical things i need to do. For me this build is not a race to the finish line. It's for my enjoyment so if it takes me another year or two so be it. That's what I like about the car hobby its about what you want your vision to be no matter how long it takes especially if you are really enjoying the process which I am. Plus I enjoy discussing it with people like yourself and a few others on this forum. Its obviously a dead platform for GM but there are enuff of us that keep it alive in this forum which is great.
