I'm getting very irritated with the sloppy suspension in my Cobalt. The car drives great other than how soggy it is on sharp turns. The car has 17" Konigs on it and really didn't seem to help that much which surprised me. I'm not really interested in lowering the car, I could car less about ride height because I don't live in an area where low ride height is ideal. Apparently Saint John, NB has been rated worse roads than Costa Rica. At every turn I cringe on their roads. But the NB highways are a dream and probably the nicest highways in Canada I've drove on. Certainly much nicer then the I-95 I've been on.

I've been struggling with what would be the best and cheapest solution. The sway bars in the front of this car are so small. I was thinking about swapping out the sway bars for something a little more beefier but I don't know if it will help all that much. I realize the lowering the center of gravity will give the car less chance of a roll but what I really want is for the car to slide into turns and me not lean and fall out.

Is there a highend stabilizer kit for our cars? Most guys would be happy with slapping some sportlines in and calling it a day but I don't want the car to hit hard and rattle the inside to pieces. When going at 150MPH I want to be able to hit a turn and feel the car take the turn but not sacrifice to much ride comfort. I've drifted before and changing the springs seems to do squat for drifting other than lowering the center of gravity. Sway bars, shocks, springs, strut tower brace, I don't really car what it takes.

Has anyone made their car feel more planted without making hit hard like a Saturday night *****?

 

heres an idea for you, the stock cobalt ss springs, it does lower the car just a bit, not enough to cause any clearence issues, but it helped my suspension out sooo much, you , and your not gonna drift a cobalt

 

I'm not interested in drifting a Cobalt

Though with some slick tires and a good e-brake system you can drift any car.

But my experiences with the drifters is that sliding into turns takes more than lowering the center of gravity.

Maybe I should have used autocross as a good example because my experiences are similar there as well. It takes more than springs most times.

 

Vin, I'd find someone with an SS and drive it to see how much better it is. It may be exactly what you want, GM spent a lot of time testing and sorting out the suspension. The ride is firm but not harsh, sway bars keep it even and it is not much lower than yours.

I believe that the SS has different springs, struts, aluminum control arms, a rear sway bar and bigger front.

Then you can save some money by getting some of the stuff used from guys here.

Also, what tires did you get?

Good Luck

 

Get with sson20s (Car of the month), he bagged his SS and has the original stuff in his garage. We were also wondering if the struts on the 2.4 and 2.0 were the same? Anyone?

 

The SS/SC springs made a big difference in handling on my 06 LS.

 

Eibach Pro-Kit... No big drop, major difference in handling.

 

Get the progress rear sway bar, a strut tower bar, and if u dont want to go eibach go with the ss/sc springs.... if your feeling sporty get the front sway bar from and SS or and SS/SC also..but honestly u really may want to check into the prokit at least.... you'll need to lower your center of gravity for the driving it sounds like you are trying to do.. if not you may end up on your roof... GL with everything

 

Thanks for all the help guys. Between online and RL chats I'll get the type of handling I want.

From the sounds of it I think the SS setup is really what I should get. I'm going to take a SS out for a test drive to see how it feels but from what I remember its pretty good.

 

Get the SS setup plus the rear sway bar and front strut bar. That's all I have on mine and it's awesome for auto-x and road course handling.

If that's still not enough, start looking at wider/stickier tires, but be prepared to sacrifice some treadlife for better handling.

 

go to CED and get the front sway bar from a 2.0 its like $50, get a set of springs. SS springs will only level out the ass of your car. I got the prokit, but if you have zero clearance issues go sportline or even tenzo's. get some better struts. throw on a progress or bwoody rear sway bar and then a strut bar on the front. that should tighten everything up nicely

 

OrngBalt.. did you order your front bar yet?? I havent ordered mine... Im thinking about buying a knock around car and parking the balt and just workin on it for like 2 months

 

no i did not. I am taking some time off from spending the money. I already have stuff in my extra room waiting to go on. once I do that I am gonna save a little. though knowing my addiction its not gonna be long until i buy something more.


Plus I was waiting on you to buy it and tell me how the install went. I can't afford to have second car... nor do i have the room for it.

 

Note sig, great handling, little body roll, smooth- not a jarring, riding on the bump stops kinda ride.

 

Damnit black.... thats exactly what I said... you have just already done it

SOOOOO how was the front sway install?

 

Front Bar install took a while, It's not something I'd want to do on a garage floor with a floor jack and stands. But it was so worth it. I drove one of the techs cars I autocross with and he lowered his further but doesnt have the bars. Leaning tower of suck. I let him drive mine, we got back to the shop and ordered his.

Note: the 07's they revized the sway bar bushings and the SS/SC ones had to be shaved a lil, 10 seconds witha die grninder, and things bolted right up.

 

crap, in other words its gonna take some real effort to put it in. Cuz all I got is a driveway and jackstands.

 

Yea, Super simplified order of operations

Car up
Wheels off
end links off bar
remove motor mount bolts
losten 4 subframe bolts
remove steering rack connector bolt
lower rear of subframe after removing rear two bolts
replace bar PITA to get out

Reverse assembly




GM Service manual way

Notice: Refer to Fastener Notice in Cautions and Notices.

Fastener Tightening Specifications: Refer to Fastener Tightening Specifications .


Preliminary Procedures

Raise and support the vehicle. Refer to Lifting and Jacking the Vehicle .
Remove the front tire and wheel assemblies. Refer to Tire and Wheel Removal and Installation .
Remove the rear transaxle mount. Refer to Transmission Mount Replacement - Rear for the Getrag 5 speed manual transmission, or Transmission Mount Replacement - Rear for the MU3 manual transmission, or Transmission Mount Replacement - Rear for the 4T40-E/4T45-E transaxle .

1Front Stabilizer Shaft Link Lower Nut (Qty: 2)

Tip Remove only the lower stabilizer shaft link nuts.

Tighten 65 Nˇm (48 lb ft)

2Front Stabilizer Shaft Clamp Nut (Qty: 2)

Tighten 50 Nˇm (37 lb ft)

3Front Stabilizer Shaft Clamp Bolt (Qty: 2)

Tighten 50 Nˇm (37 lb ft)

4Front Stabilizer Shaft Clamp

5Front Stabilizer Shaft Insulator

Tip Place the cut line of the insulator facing the rear of the vehicle.

6Front Stabilizer Shaft

Tip Remove the front stabilizer shaft from the right side of the vehicle







Transmission Rear Mount Replacement
Removal Procedure
Raise and support the vehicle. Refer to Lifting and Jacking the Vehicle .

Remove the rear transaxle mount through bolt and heat shield.

Remove the rear transaxle mount to frame bolts.
Remove the rear transaxle mount.
Installation Procedure

Install the rear transaxle mount and heat shield. Hand start the bolts.
Notice: Refer to Fastener Notice in Cautions and Notices.

Tighten the rear transaxle mount to frame bolts.
Tighten
Tighten the bolts to 60 Nˇm (44 lb ft).

Important: Rotate the rear transaxle mount heat shield clockwise until the tab is seated on the mount bracket.

Hand start the rear transaxle mount through bolt.
Important: The front and rear transmission mounts must be allowed to settle with the through bolts loosened.

Loosen the front trans mount through bolt.
Tighten the transmission mount through bolts in the following order:
Tighten

Tighten the rear bolt to 100 Nˇm (74 lb ft ).
Tighten the front bolt to 100 Nˇm (74 lb ft ).
Lower the vehicle.

 

Good info blktrax. Thanks for that.

 

no problem, thank you for being polite.

 

LMAO ok... i will put a rush on it... most likely im going to buy all my suspension parts in the next 2 weeks.. springs, sway bars, strut tower bar and take it home with me.. my cuzin works at chevy dealership(gave me a deal on my car) and i usually get discounted labor prices... so i will probably get everything thrown on at once.. but i will definitely PM you whenever i get it put on and let you know how much i love it..... cuz i know i will lol

 

damnit 7... you were supposed to intall yourself and tell me its not that bad.

 

LOL My bad. i thought about it... IM going to do the rear sway... the strut tower bar and i may tackle the springs... But i think BlkTrax said it was 4 hrs with a lift for the front... I dont have that kinda time lol.. or a place that i could do all that..

 

By yourself, without air tools, yea the front bar is no picnic.