i just got a cobalt ss and i have been saving($4000)but im new to the whole upgrading thing,i know some stuff but not much,wat would u guys say would be a good way to spend my 4000$ on my cobalt?

pay $4000 more into the loan

I agree or at least a good part of it. Although my first mod would be to control the wheel hop. There is the engine dampener, which has worked well for the red line, but has had some fitment issues on the cobalt. There are poly control arm bushings which a few guys have installed, but I haven't seen any reviews yet. Also available are poly engine and tran mounts, but those seem to be more complimentary to traction than an all out solution and also tend to harshen the ride quality significantly more than the others. And lastly a company has just released a traction bar setup for preliminary interest. Only Iso has had them installed, but it seems like they work well. All of the above solutions can be had for about $200, so the choice is yours. I would personally go with either the control arm bushings or traction bars. After that a short throw shifter and put the rest into your loan.

I agree or at least a good part of it. Although my first mod would be to control the wheel hop. There is the engine dampener, which has worked well for the red line, but has had some fitment issues on the cobalt. There are poly control arm bushings which a few guys have installed, but I haven't seen any reviews yet. Also available are poly engine and tran mounts, but those seem to be more complimentary to traction than an all out solution and also tend to harshen the ride quality significantly more than the others. And lastly a company has just released a traction bar setup for preliminary interest. Only Iso has had them installed, but it seems like they work well. All of the above solutions can be had for about $200, so the choice is yours. I would personally go with either the control arm bushings or traction bars. After that a short throw shifter and put the rest into your loan.
Keep what you need to spend on the wheel-hop parts, and put the rest on the loan. That is ALWAYS smart.

I would just wait for the twin kit or get intense stage 5 with intake and full exhuast and new clutch. The loan is there so what. You expected to be being for it and its in the budget already so spend away. But the wheel hop stuff should come first maybe even a lsd if you didnt get that option.

i would highly recommend the BWoody traction bars that were just released. they need a preorder of 10 to start production on them. so not only would you be curing your wheel hop and gaining some traction, you'd be helping out
the cobalt community as a whole.
here's a link to the traction bars thread:

http://www.cobaltss.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4944&page=1&pp=10


i also, happen to be preferable to the aem intake since it uses a dryflow filter instead of the traditional oiled filters.

after that is up to you, personally i'd save quite a bit of that for a rainy day.

^^^^DEFINITELY the traction bars!!!^^^^

Hit him up! Those should help out majorly!

I would just wait for the twin kit or get intense stage 5 with intake and full exhuast and new clutch. The loan is there so what. You expected to be being for it and its in the budget already so spend away. But the wheel hop stuff should come first maybe even a lsd if you didnt get that option.

It may already be in the budget, but the sooner you pay the less you pay; giving you more money for the future. That is just how loans are. Personally I don't like having a loan over my head and all the cars that I have bought I paid for in cash.

u guys are telling me all these things but i dont really know wat they do,can u guys explain the to me,i must sound like a retard lol....wat i really am looking for is to make my cobalt go faster,is 4000 enough to give it some decent engine upgrades and posibly exterior(make it look sexy,lol?
also can u give me a link or a price to the parts,thanx

well go fast mods don't do you any good if you can't get that power to the ground effectively. for that the best bet would be the traction bars since they stop wheel hop and deflection of the control arms giving you a better contact patch when launching. check that thread i gave you the link to.

other than that if you want to go fast, check out www.intense-racing.com

and don't forget about a cai. check turbotechracing.com for the aem cai. they also have exhausts and such there.

for some visual check out www.gravanatuning.com

www.modernperformance.com and www.cobalt-addiction.com are also good sites.

well go fast mods don't do you any good if you can't get that power to the ground effectively. for that the best bet would be the traction bars since they stop wheel hop and deflection of the control arms giving you a better contact patch when launching. check that thread i gave you the link to.

other than that if you want to go fast, check out www.intense-racing.com

and don't forget about a cai. check turbotechracing.com for the aem cai. they also have exhausts and such there.

for some visual check out www.gravanatuning.com

www.modernperformance.com and www.cobalt-addiction.com are also good sites.

wow thanx,so ur saying that even with good engine parts,if i dont have a good traction bar it wont help?

iso, wat do u think of the injen cai

wow thanx,so ur saying that even with good engine parts,if i dont have a good traction bar it wont help?

well without an effective mod to stop wheel hop, power mods will do you no good. i just recommend the traction bars the most because they stop wheel hop and prevent control arm deflection.

you should get yourself on the list for the first 10 sets of the traction bars (besides mine) since there is a special price for the first ten. check that link to the thread i posted earlier.

iso, wat do u think of the injen cai

i am partial to the aem cai since it utilizes a dry flow filter instead of an oiled filter. with the oiled filters there is a possibility of extra oil getting on the maf sensor and causing damage. however the aem cai ataches to the stock tubing replacing the airbox in the wheel well, so no chrome tube. if you want the show of a new tube then you would have to go with a different cai then aem. but you can always buy a dryflow filter and use it on the injen intake if you want the tube and still use the safer dryflow filter.

4k, your a lucky guy, lets go cheap first, find a copy of the gm build book for the car, its on this forum or the .net forum, read it. now what kind of driving do you want to do? find a course to go to, if you like turning both ways go to the scca web page and find some events near you and look for a school some local driver are sponsering with pro teachers. it doesnt need to be a "race" school, an advance drivers school would be best. if you like to drag race, find a school for that. that is the fastest way to go fast, how do i know, i ride a bike, and take advanced riders courses with wera race instuctors. get your knowlege from the best you can find, a racer. does this work?? i only have had one drives cousre, and it was a combat course. but i can tell you that i beat my boss in his 600hp mustang by a full second in my bone stock cobalt on the auto cross track in nashville tn. i had the combat course, he...had nothing. seat time will make you fast, supervised seat time will make you fast, faster.
now after we have had some training, and read the build book i would suggest the new "a" arms up front, according to powell motorsports thats the weakest link in the car. i have talked to john there and they are user friendly. find there contact info in the build book.
jim

another good site is www.jbodyperformance.com i bought there control arm bushing and as far as the wheel hop goes with them alone installed i have no more hop....there an awseome mod for wheel hop... but i would say the traction bars would be excellent too,.....

but like i said as for now the only mod i have for wheel hop control is the jbp control arm bushing...
but i am ordering the the torque forward torque dampners, strut bar and rear support bar today, along with a header, halo headlights, stage 3 clutch, 4 new tires, and the lower grille from gm....after all this i will probally be done for a short while on modding my car...lol.......p e a c e.....if u need anymore info on anything just pm me.....by the way i love my injen intake!!!

So you guys are sayin that one of the first things to do is get the traction bar b-4 getting anything else done. i'm new at this stuff too so i need a little help..lol.. i have a cobalt ss non s/c... Has anyone heard any info of when they r cummin out with the turbo kit for the 2.4L?

So you guys are sayin that one of the first things to do is get the traction bar b-4 getting anything else done. i'm new at this stuff too so i need a little help..lol.. i have a cobalt ss non s/c... Has anyone heard any info of when they r cummin out with the turbo kit for the 2.4L?
its a good start traction bars are a must if you want to make big power. and get down the track with it. shit in my oppinion even if your engine is stock you should have them. then Id get hp tuners along with a pulley hub and a few different rings. the 60lb injectors from intense. dont for get a C.A.I. I would get my cylinder head done up if you want to do that give me a pm or come to the redlineforums and hit me up "fullthrottle"