I have a 2006 Cobalt SS/SC, stock except for a ceramic clutch. The ride is VERY stiff and where I live the streets are filled with potholes half the year. Everytime I launch from a stop I need to fight with the clutch and the car bouncing back and forth over the streets just makes it impossible to drive smoothly. It's gotten to the point I don't like driving my car anymore, I try to avoid driving whenever possible. I need advices, this is killing me! What do you guys suggest? Coilovers, springs, bushings, anything?

 

stock is as smooth as it gets haha. positive your stock?

 

This.

It's a performance suspension from the factory. It's not meant to be a soft/comfy ride.

I live in PA which is known for their craptastic roads. I've just learned to deal with it, or avoid the extra bad roads.

 

auto or 5spd lol

 

It's a 5 speed, the owner before me changed the stock clutch to a ceramic one and it's got alot of grasp. I don't think anything else has been changed, everything else looks bonestock. I bought it last summer thinking my driving skills would improve with the clutch and it did but the car is still awful to drive...

 

Let's assume the shocks/struts are still factory. How many miles on the car?

 

Install FE1!

 

Boo

 

lol, its cushier than SS suspension! but I hated how cushy it was, no driver feedback from the car :/

 

Exactly. Not to mention 4x4 look

 

depending on the miles it wouldn't be a bad idea to replace the struts by about 70k, and atleast check the bushings and stuff and replace as needed or all just to not worry about it

as for the car jerking back and forth, well every ss/sc is like that... you just gotta learn to play the gas pedal like a violinist

 

80,000 miles on the car so far and never changed the struts. I ordered some MOOG sway bar link kits though because my passenger side is doing an awful lot of noise.

 

The MOOGs are good stuff. I run them on my car.

Check your control arm bushings to. MOOG makes replacement bushings for those as well. Just bought a set.

Hmmm.... mine doesnt jerk back and forth.

I must have super special SS/SC.

 

staged, where do you get those bushings? i'm gonna be changing mine out soon too and would rather upgrade from stock

mine doesnt jerk back and forth either... anymore

 

Yeah, I would pretty much do a suspension overall of all the major components.
No recommendation of Powell's spherical CABs?

 

im probably wrong as usual but those cabs are designed for racing arent they? therefore probably not so hot on the street?

 

I dont want to be a dick but talking about all these suspension upgrades, it sounds like you need to learn how to drive stick. My car jerks back and forth when im rushing and i dont give it enough gas, just push the clutch back in, take a breath and do it again, jerking solved...
you say you bought the car and was hoping your skills would improve. well who taught you? you? if thats the case you should look for some help, know a friend that drives stick have him ride with you, or try driving your car and see if it still happens. my 2 cents, no offense meant

 

Not from what I've read. They've been on my to-do list for awhile, but $200 for the pair is hard for me to pony up for bushings atm.
I've read that they're just a destructible replacement that will never wear out and take care of wheel hop, since that's where the problem mostly lies.

Although, you might be thinking of the leading bushing he offers, which aren't recommended for street. These are for the trailing.

 

Oh well i learned stick the first week i had my car. and had that jerking issue figured out by the end of that week.

it is kind of a cobalt ss/sc problem though as far as i'm concerned, as every manual vehicle ive ever driven since then has not had such an issue

 

Move.

 

I learned how to drive stick with a 98 Mustang, the clutch wasn't THAT sensitive and didn't grab at the same height. Driving the Cobalt as soon as I let go the clutch pedal it engages the clutch and it bites 100% right away. Also shifting in the Mustang felt much more responsive and satisfying not rubbery and loose like the Cobalt does but anyway that's not the point. The issue I'm having here is that the streets are so full of potholes that every single time I let go the clutch from a stop it engages right away which I've learned to a certain degree to master but then I roll over a bump/crack/pothole and the feedbacks I get is so friggin' stiff that my foot moves either on the clutch or gas pedal which are way too sensitive and it becomes a PITA to just drive smoothly or normally. It makes me look like I'm having some sort of seizure with the car jerking up and down and me fighting the clutch while I'm getting intense feedbacks from the terrible streets.

 

Get a stock clutch and the stock suspension isn't that stiff. I guess you could swap in the fe3 suspension to soften it up and lose some handling. I'm sure someone on here is selling their used stuff.

 

Yeah man the gas pedal is very touchy since its electronic and not drive by wire.

How long have you owned your cobalt?

I too live in a really shitty area, but idk just get used to where the clutch releases and release it slower. Get on and off the gas very slowly and you should develop a feeling for it there. I used to jerk back and forth even in 2nd and third gear but now i can drive over anything and keep it going smooth

 

you could move

 

Same thing