Well the Cobalt is finally paid off so its time to do some upgrading. I have a 05 Cobalt SS/SC with around 160k on it so im thinking some new suspension components might be in order to smooth out the ride. I want something that handles well as id like to auto-x and maybe road course also. I already have a Powell Racing "Street" Bar

Setup- Idea
SS/TC Stuts
Koni Yellow shocks
YYZ Springs v.1 or v.2?????
Under Car Rails
and Moog Endlinks.

What am i missing ? or is their a better setup you all could recommend. I have considered coilovers although it seems like their arent any for our cars that do more then drop it lol.

 

Any coilovers offered for the cobalt are comfortable as long as you don't slam them lol

 

Ss tc suspension with yyz v2

 

Nice list, good to see someone not asking about just drop springs. Definitely invest in rear konis at least, you'll need their higher rebound rates to control your street bar. I've gone from TC to koni and its a better ride and grips harder. TC struts will do the job but if you're looking for the most grip possible the koni inserts can offer you that, you can set them to be much softer than the TCs which have a ton of rebound out of the box. You can't go wrong with either Powell spring, I have the v1s just because I got my hands on a set the second they were available. Id pick them again tho because with near stock ride height the alignment can be kept without using rack spacers

 

So youd go full konis then? And the inserts go on the SS/Sc struts i have? or id put them on the SS/Tc struts? New to the whole suspension setup side of things lol. And yea i like low and all and it looks good but id rather have better handling then a slammed car that scratches even more then it already does everywhere lol.

 

Harness bar?

 

SC and TC struts are the same FE5 dimensions, just different damping rates so you use either. If you're set on getting konis just gut the SC struts you have, no point buying new ones just to gut. And like I said yon can't go wrong with either Powell spring, its just your preference for height

 

Gotcha I thought it was just different rates. I'm sure of konis on rear however unsure for struts lol. And the only difference of v1 and v2 is the height ? No difference in handling ? And I've considered the harness bar however the problem is back seat is sometimes used and I don't want to have to change seats to use new belts

 

Good luck finding a set of v1. Everything is v2 now, unless you find someone selling their v1 privately already.

 

i have v1 koni yellows f and r hardcore bar undercar rails in my garage ready to go on harness bar and powergrid endlinks and its a great setup

 

pm powell and tell him to fill a large box of every suspension part he sells, and give him your credit card information. Then pm me and thank me

 

Hahaha what was your credit card again?? Jk lol. But yea I'm pretty excited to have the car handling better then new again lol. And I think CED has v1 still less I read wrong? If its same handling I'd rather the lower but not if it sacrifices handling lol

 

you wont sacrifice handling i published the rates on our thread here...its good. and its true that its good. lol
the koni fits any cobalt strut housing at the front. I am koni rear only at the moment, life is good.

 

I Wasn't trying to discredit the v2. Was only trying to see if their was a difference performance wise between the two.

 

^^^ no problem; and thats why I published the rates, so people would understand how we managed to get to a lower spring without giving up anything, other than a larger rake number. Rake helps turn in at the race track, and launch at the drag strip. How much you have ,makes a difference. Time will tell if v.1 is needed for some race track applications...I will find out maybe as soon as March, as we do more testing,.

The bottom line is, folks will still enjoy the best in street/track performance with v.2 and the car will sit lower front and rear, with less rake, which is what you , the customers, asked for.

 

can someone explain to me the benefit of the Powergrid Endlinks vs. the Moog Endlinks. I understand the powergrid are adjustable but what is the benefit to this and what would adjusting really affect?

 

The adjustability is nice for a few reasons. Since we're fwd the goal is always to add front grip, were not really concerned with the rear, its not going anywhere. When you have adjustable endlinks you directly adjust the stiffness of your front sway bar so you're dealing with the front roll stiffness. The short story for a fast fwd suspension setup is softer front, stiffer rear so powergrids help you fine tune the balance.

If you're a dedicated autocrosser you can do something kinda neat with the help of a great alignment shop that has corner scales: by setting up the endlinks at different lengths you can adjust the preload on the front sway to compensate for your body weight (which is all on the left side of the car) so its effectively neutral while you're sitting in it. And just replacing the stock ones is a good idea because they always wear out causing a lot of noise and lessening the effects of the front sway.

 

And when I say we're not concerned with the rear I mean its only going to lose grip in the most extreme driver error situations. We can do things with the rear suspension that help front grip enormously

 

ok that makes sense. Still trying to really learn and understand the suspension side of things its my weak knowledge area for sure lol

 

160k I would be replacing the suspension too! I have 73k on stock suspension and when I did my lowering springs I could compress the rear shocks with my hands easily... Lol I think they need replaced

 

Hats off to John Powell!! Spoke via email earlier and can say I'm more then pumped to get this setup going!!!! Top notch customer service even If I had a ton of questions!

 

Ya i got this Hobbit in my email!! lol
you are welcome. Its kinda fun to discuss set ups with folks interested in doing better, than just build a Simpson's cartoon car.
no disrespect to the Simpson's.

lol

 

Lol. Now to just understand the tuning and settings of the suspension as to how it affects the car better lol. Oh well. Does anyone have trouble with the stock steering knuckles and auto x ?

 

I ran my car at an autocross this past weekend. Running YYZ v2. It was my first so I have nothing to compare it to, but the car did everything I asked it to. I can't see you having an issue with the stock steering knuckle on street tires. They'll slide before the knuckle has an issue, I'd expect.

 

^^^ this. Hit a curb it will break. or the lower control arm will bend.
if the lower control arm bent and the knuckle didnt break, its probably cracked....