Slobalt SS from the high desert!

Hey! Found you guys from the KrispyKreme Tuesdays meet page on facebook. I live in the Palmdale/Lancaster area but grew up in Sunland/Burbank and it's hard to find tuner car enthusiasts around here. So hello!

Also a picture of my ride.. work in progress, you know how money goes.

Welcome to the forum!

whats some plans for your ride?

Hey bro welcome to TLA! Lancaster is only about 20 minutes from me, I am in Northridge. If you want a bunch of us roll to meets down in the Granada Hills area on Wednsday. Everyone is welcome to come with! SS' are sick cars bro, what do you plan on doing with it?

I'm completely down for that, I don't work Wednesday. Be cool to meet everyone. More info?

As for the car's future.. I got intake so far, I need a wider exhaust, and eventually boost can't go wrong there.

I wanna get some carbon fiber going on the front lip, hood, interior pieces.. maybe interior LEDs and underglow. HIDs and smoked tails I'm hesitant on because of legality. Damn rules!

Welcome to the forums buddy!

Only bit of advice I would give: "Boost, can't go wrong there."

mehhhh

Can make your DD very unreliable.

Also think of the gains. Is it worth it to spend the time and effort? Or would it be more worth it to let it be your mellow DD and use the money on mods on a better base for a project?

BigO wrote:

Welcome to the forums buddy!

Only bit of advice I would give: "Boost, can't go wrong there."

mehhhh

Can make your DD very unreliable.

Also think of the gains. Is it worth it to spend the time and effort? Or would it be more worth it to let it be your mellow DD and use the money on mods on a better base for a project?

Well, by the time I get the money for that sort of thing, it'll prolly be more than a few years down the road and I might want to jump to another car. Either another car steps up to be a DD and I go crazy on this one, or I move on to a better project car. I think I will do the exhaust and appearance mods though The interior LEDs especially are very cheap. But yeah, any advice you have is very appreciated, I'm new to all this.

Okay here is a quick rundown of the things you want to do to your car, as far as my opinion is concerned.

HIDs: HIDs, in any wattage are 100% California State legal. Weather there 10k, 8k, 5k, whatever. The only thing is you cant have any colors other then yellow, blue, light blue, or white. The rest will earn you fix it tickets.

Underglow: Underglow is not legal because CHP says it creates a distraction to other drivers. Plus, it's a LITTLE tack imo.

Exhaust: As far as exhaust goes you need to be really careful, especially if its your DD and you want to maintain Smog efficiency. I have a smog guy so idgaf, I opted for a custom made Catback with an extended down-pipe and removed my resonator for a little more growl. If you want to keep your Smog eligibility opt out for an exhaust with a carb number and make sure it has a catalytic converter, or at least opts to let you keep yours... Save your carb numbers! Save the one for your intake as well.

Interior LEDs: Trust me to do your whole car with QUALITY LED's is a lot more expensive then you think (in some cases as much as $500). They are bright as FUCK and trust me they can be a huge distraction while driving (I've driven in friends cars as the passenger and couldn't stand them). Also, they tend to burn out pretty quick, some in a matter of 4-5 months... Trust me they aren't cheap to replace and 100% not refundable.

Boost: To maintain the resale value, and overall good condition of your car. Don't put things that don't belong. I have learned through tons of blown heads and crazy torque outputs... If its not turbo'd... Don't turbo it. Again, this is just my opinion. If I were you I would work on your suspension, and gain yourself a nice take off because your car is pretty light! Get some headers, a new intake manifold, an exhaust, and maybe a new (bigger) radiator. When your engine is running hot you loose about 15hp, not to mention, when you maintain your oil changes (both engine and tranny) you stand to gain another 5hp-7hp. With all those upgrades your looking at about another 30hp gain. So with a bigger radiator and upgraded fans to cool your engine better, you stand to gain between 30hp-55hp just based off of what I listed above.

Iiinteresting. I didn't know HIDs were legal, I had heard that they weren't. What about smoked taillights?

Exhaust, I have my own smog guy (my dad's construction business uses a lot of vans that'd never pass) but I'd like to be able to pass smog if possible anyways. My exhaust piping is 2.5, then turns to 2.25 at the axle.. want to get either an axleback or catback to make it all 2.5, or start from the headers and make it all 3 inches wide. The intake has a carb sticker, so it's all good there! I can't seem to find any exhaust systems for sale that have carb stickers though, which is why I might be stuck with cat/axlebacks in the 2.5 catagory.

Derke wrote:

Iiinteresting. I didn't know HIDs were legal, I had heard that they weren't. What about smoked taillights?

Exhaust, I have my own smog guy (my dad's construction business uses a lot of vans that'd never pass) but I'd like to be able to pass smog if possible anyways. My exhaust piping is 2.5, then turns to 2.25 at the axle.. want to get either an axleback or catback to make it all 2.5, or start from the headers and make it all 3 inches wide. The intake has a carb sticker, so it's all good there! I can't seem to find any exhaust systems for sale that have carb stickers though, which is why I might be stuck with cat/axlebacks in the 2.5 catagory.

Just go 2.5. You'll still get a great sound. 3 is a little too big imo... If anything you'll loose more then you'll gain. As for Headers I think DC Sports makes a set that has a carb sticker on them. For exhausts go for Megan Racing, DC, HKS, or AEM. Tinting your taillights is illegal as far as I know but I think if you only go a certain amount of tint it is legal, you would have to call CHP for that because I am not 100% on it.

What about magnaflow? They're pretty popular for this car. And I was thinking 3 is only good if you turbo as well, so I'll prolly stick 2.5.

Derke wrote:

What about magnaflow? They're pretty popular for this car. And I was thinking 3 is only good if you turbo as well, so I'll prolly stick 2.5.

My Jetta, 3000GT, and Galant are all turbo'd and all have 2.5" downpipes. Magnaflow is good too don't know how I forgot that.

Hello and welcome!

Nice ride my friend.
I'd love to see how this car develops, Even the non SS cobalts can be very robust cars, and the new design of gms 4 bangers are outstanding.

Personally as far as exhaust goes it really depends on how much you want to spend and what you want it to sound like.

The craziest sound for a very modest price would be a flowmaster. It has more of a straight pipe sound, and works well, but you may have slight drone.
Magnaflow isnt quite as wild but has a nice aggresive rumble.
The rest I have no experience with.

Other then that what else are you thinking about?

Cold air?
Suspension?
Rims?
Maybe a tune?

Also, as far as forced induction goes, from one GM supercharged guy to another, it can work but takes work to make it work.

My genuine opinion would be stick with the basic stuff, CAI, coils, rims, get a nice tune, even full exhaust. And then keep it as a nice reliable daily gas saver, and start pinching pennies for a fun project car. (:

Displacement wrote:

Hello and welcome!

Nice ride my friend.
I'd love to see how this car develops, Even the non SS cobalts can be very robust cars, and the new design of gms 4 bangers are outstanding.

Personally as far as exhaust goes it really depends on how much you want to spend and what you want it to sound like.

The craziest sound for a very modest price would be a flowmaster. It has more of a straight pipe sound, and works well, but you may have slight drone.
Magnaflow isnt quite as wild but has a nice aggresive rumble.
The rest I have no experience with.

Other then that what else are you thinking about?

Cold air?
Suspension?
Rims?
Maybe a tune?

Also, as far as forced induction goes, from one GM supercharged guy to another, it can work but takes work to make it work.

My genuine opinion would be stick with the basic stuff, CAI, coils, rims, get a nice tune, even full exhaust. And then keep it as a nice reliable daily gas saver, and start pinching pennies for a fun project car. (:

Already got the cold air sir As for suspension, pedders springs was what I was lookin at (1.5" drop) but not sure where on the timeline of mods I'll fit it. Coilovers are a bit out of my price range for what I'd use them for, and I wouldn't want to drop a DD any further than 1.5".

I'd like a tune after the exhaust, and rims will prolly come around later but I want those as well.. might think about bigger/wider tires for better traction, but I'd have to change the brakes too (I think?) and it's probably a late-in-the-game project.

I just want a deep exhaust, not a fart can sound that I've heard on some 4-bangers. And not too loud, but a nice rumble.. I want to sound sick at WOT. Why I leaned towards magna. Thoughts on all that?

For tone, I would definetly go magna.

I would go springs too, coils are more track use anyway.

But for WOT, I think you cant compare against the flowmaster. It has a slight rasp next to the rumble, combined just sounds sick.

Tune after the exhaust sounds good.

You should be fine with factory brakes, but if you feel if its not enough for you, you can look into upgraded pads and even rotors. Hawk and EBC are both good products. There are others depending on price and performance level.
Overall brakes should be fine though.

Do you like the stretched looked on tires? or would you go with a nice set of performance tires for grip?

Displacement wrote:

For tone, I would definetly go magna.

I would go springs too, coils are more track use anyway.

But for WOT, I think you cant compare against the flowmaster. It has a slight rasp next to the rumble, combined just sounds sick.

Tune after the exhaust sounds good.

You should be fine with factory brakes, but if you feel if its not enough for you, you can look into upgraded pads and even rotors. Hawk and EBC are both good products. There are others depending on price and performance level.
Overall brakes should be fine though.

Do you like the stretched looked on tires? or would you go with a nice set of performance tires for grip?

I didn't know if going bigger wheel-wise meant you needed bigger brakes, I suppose if it didn't stop like I needed it to I could always get better ones. As for the tires, what do you mean by stretched? I'd lean more towards grip of course.. lower profile. Mine are 17s already, not sure yet if/how I'd go from there.

Na, bigger wheels are needed for bigger brakes, bigger brakes aren't needed for bigger wheels.

The stretched look is where you get say a 10 inch wide rims and fit a tire that is much smaller then the rims itself so that the sidewall rather then being flush with the rim, is stretched outwards to give it a rather interesting, and in some views sexy look.

This is a nice little thread on the vw forum on stretch, Ive seen a couple cobalts with stretch, it can look really cool but not the best for performance.

Displacement wrote:

Na, bigger wheels are needed for bigger brakes, bigger brakes aren't needed for bigger wheels.

The stretched look is where you get say a 10 inch wide rims and fit a tire that is much smaller then the rims itself so that the sidewall rather then being flush with the rim, is stretched outwards to give it a rather interesting, and in some views sexy look.

This is a nice little thread on the vw forum on stretch, Ive seen a couple cobalts with stretch, it can look really cool but not the best for performance.

I like looks but wouldn't sacrifice performance for it At least not in this case.

Alright!

Well, as things go along, I'd be down to help out in anyway I can.

Derke wrote:

Displacement wrote:

Na, bigger wheels are needed for bigger brakes, bigger brakes aren't needed for bigger wheels.

The stretched look is where you get say a 10 inch wide rims and fit a tire that is much smaller then the rims itself so that the sidewall rather then being flush with the rim, is stretched outwards to give it a rather interesting, and in some views sexy look.

This is a nice little thread on the vw forum on stretch, Ive seen a couple cobalts with stretch, it can look really cool but not the best for performance.

I like looks but wouldn't sacrifice performance for it At least not in this case.

FORM>FUNCTION

The high desert is full of bumps, dips, and higher clearance ramps. That is all

Derke wrote:

The high desert is full of bumps, dips, and higher clearance ramps. That is all

A bunch of us from the forum are going to a meet tonight in the Valley if you want to come.

Aleksey wrote:

Derke wrote:

The high desert is full of bumps, dips, and higher clearance ramps. That is all

A bunch of us from the forum are going to a meet tonight in the Valley if you want to come.

When/where?

Derke wrote:

The high desert is full of bumps, dips, and higher clearance ramps. That is all

Irrelevant.

BigO wrote:

Derke wrote:

The high desert is full of bumps, dips, and higher clearance ramps. That is all

Irrelevant.

So should I just say screw it and give my car a 4 inch drop with 20 inch wheels?

Derke wrote:

So should I just say screw it and give my car a 4 inch drop with 20 inch wheels?

uhm... no