Brian King

I have an 05 2.0 lsj sc. Only mods are catback Magnaflow exhaust, lowered three inches(soon to be coming back up a little bit) and the clear coat is coming off so a paint job is in it's future as well. Well. I put an injen cai and every once in awhile after getting on it, when coming off the throttle it will throw a lean code. I'm planning on doing a stage kit when I do the header and dp. Are there any decent shops around cleveland or anyone who has some experience making these cars run the right way. Assuming this should take care of the low air/ fuel ratio.

andrewcarr1993

iTrader: (5)

The Injen is known to throw codes. I wouldn't go to a shop unless they've had experience tuning these motors.

C Vanciu

I live in the west side suburbs of Cleveland (Lorain County,) and I really wouldn't trust any shops around here tuning an ecotec. I am familiar with a few performance shops but they are usually pretty clueless about ecotecs, especially LNFs. The big 2 I can think of are Buschur Racing, but they only know how to work with motors that require leashes for their crank; ) and Big 3 racing in Brunswick, they specialize in v8s, a lot of LT/LS motors, 5.0s and Hemis.

If I were you I would invest in HPTuners and have someone remotely tune you, or even better I know there is a group of guys on this forum from Dayton that are really knowledgeable when it comes to
LSJs, maybe they could help you out or point you in the right direction.

The Cobalt community in this area isn't too active, which sucks.

blueLNFftw

iTrader: (16)

I will be in Ohio in mid-January. Cleveland (Middleburg Heights/Strongsville to be exact). If you have not found anyone by then I can help you out.

blueLNFftw

iTrader: (16)

You will need to have a wideband installed in the car. Have the signal wires for the gauge be easily accessible and able to reach at least the center console so they can plug into my HPT interface. It will cost you $100 to unlock you car on my interface because I do not have 2005 cars unlocked, only 06 LSJ and 09 LNF.

If you decide to invest in HPT for yourself, you will need a PRO interface so that you can feed your wideband signal into it.

Brian King

Thank you guys. And I live in Lorain but more people know cleveland by name. So to get it tuned, I would need a wideband? I'm confused on that whole topic. I'm use to building chevy 327s and 350s. This is my first 4cyl that I'm doing anything to but I'm having a blast with it. Just hope I can get this car right.

C Vanciu

I would definitely invest in a wideband. Your tuner will need it to be able to tune your car properly and after you are tuned you definitely want to monitor your Air/Fuel Ratio. A wideband is simple to install, if you needed a hand, I live in North Ridgeville and could help you out if you ever needed it. I have an 08 SS and there isn't one thing on my car that I haven't replaced/had to remove at some point. I have just about every bolt head size and thread pitch memorized lol.

Brian King

Lol. I work at a shop so I've done all my own work. Two clutches, timing chains, guides, water pump, two thermostats, shift cables, brakes all the way around, cv half shafts, and a bunch of other stuff. And I've been debating about investing in one when I do the stage kit. But before that I need to get the car painted, whoever had the car before me wacked it a couple times and whoever painted it didn't wait for the color to dry completely before spraying the clear and now it's peeling bad.

08VRSS

Stay away from big 3 racing for any ecotec tuning. I have personally looked at one of their customer's LNF "tunes", which I fixed for him. I literally laughed out loud at the minimal things they changed, and they had no idea really WTF they were changing based on the changes.

Brian King

Good tip. I have not met anyone personally with an lsj. I need summertime to drive my car and see what they think!!!!

ThexGovenor

iTrader: (2)

Do you have an LSJ or LNF? I had thought the LNFs came stock with a wideband. LSJs need a wideband to tune because they come with a narrowband which reads a "narrow range of Air fuel ratio" 1 to be exact. .5 in each direction away from stoich. When you tune you set up a much lower AFR for wide open throttle (WOT) and it is outside of this narrowbands range. If you dont know what the AFR is you cant set up your airflow correctly and cant safely tune the car!

Brian King

My car needs a bit of work and wonder what others think. Suspension is to low, tires are shot, and wonder what else I should look at.

blueLNFftw

iTrader: (16)

What suspension is on it?
What is the mileage?
How are the tires shot?

Brian King

H&R 3 inch drop, put on by previous owner, 110,500 miles, and tires have tread but need to be replaced. The front end almost shakes when 30%-60% throttle. Tie rods are tight, lower ball joint, lower control arm bushings, wheel bearings, has new half shafts.

Brian King

And its a lsj. I was trying to find a lnf but time wasn't on my side so I took what I could.

ThexGovenor

iTrader: (2)

Well you will absolutely need a wideband then.