Mallard

Don't pay attention to that comment. If you're turning up the boost your first mod should be forged rods and pistons. Your first mods SHOULD be rear sway bar bushings, motor mounts, brake pads/fluid, alignment (use camber bolts or camber plates to get more negative camber out of the front), and lighter wheels and tires. They're fun cars in the twisties. Sometimes I still miss mine. Maybe I'll pick another one up used someday.

The students that worked on the car. Nice pics. I always enjoy the event, but I couldn't make it this year.

What do you pist your pics with? I still can never see anything you post. ???

Automotive Engineering International Magazine (put out by the Society of Automotive Engineers) just rated the Tahoe Hybrid as the 2008 best engineered vehicle. Here are some reasons why it’s significant for those of you that think it’s a joke: * Up to 50% better city and 30% better combined fuel economy. (Compared to a 5.3L non-hybrid Tahoe) Its city fuel economy is on par with 4-cyliner mid-size sedans. * 6200 lb towing capacity on 2WD models * Eight passenger seating * Groundbreaking 2-mode hybrid technology. (If you want all the details you would have to read the article, but it really is amazing what they did, in the time they did, and how many different systems they have talking to each other to make the driving experience seamless.) * Continuously variable gear operation for low-load driving. (With the two electric motors in the transmission it can act as a CVT or normal transmission with fixed gears.) * “Hybrid Optimizing System” (HOS) algorithms determine best drive gear choice, as well as V8/V4 mode mix. * Compact 300-volt nickel-metal hydride energy storage system under second row seat * 300-volt HVAC compressor * 42-volt electric power steering * Regenerative and conventional hydraulic brakes * Launch and drive up to 30 mph on electric power * 6.0L Gen IV V8 with cylinder deactivation, late-intake-valve closing (Atkinson cycle) * More economical V4 mode up to 80 mph * 0.34 coefficient of drag * Same test-weight as base truck

First, the reason they did the Tahoe is because the PERCENTAGE of fuel savings would be the highest on SUV's. There is a lot of money wrapped up in this project, to the point where every Tahoe Hybrid is sold at a loss. They needed to show a large percentage increase on a product line that will only find itself under stricter CAFE standards. A 30% increase in fuel economy is huge. Secondly, the towing capacity is no joke! Thirdly, the Tahoe is just the beginning. The two mode Vue is on the way, as well the Silverado....then there are others. Hybrids are just an intermediate step to full electric. It's a necessary step and the lessons learned on the Tahoe will trickle down to the rest of their products. The hybrid development was a joint venture between GM, DiamlerChrysler, and BMW in order to keep the development costs low. Now Nissan has penned a deal with Chrysler LLC to built the Titan on the Ram platform in exchange for a small car. You can bet they're going to be asking for a Titan Hybrid with this same technology. No SUV from Toyota will get this type of mileage. The engine in the Tahoe also runs on the Miller cycle and has D-O-D.

The aftermarket for the S/C SS is very heavy. It will be a while until the 2.0L SIDI turbo gets a lot of love from the aftermarket. Direct injection is the wave of the future, but anyone with a little knowledge can tune a port injection engine. You may also be waiting a while for the turbo's to have their fully ECU's cracked. I'll also add that I would say each motor has just as much development into it. Consider that they share the same block, crank, rods, and the head castings are likely the same.

Yes, the 2008 SS's have the 260 HP turbo, Brembo 4 piston front brakes, nicer seats, and some other revisions (suspension, TCS/ESC system, shift without lift, launch control, etc.) The power numbers you just quoted for the 2006 SS are for the N/A 2.4L SS models. The S/C 2.0L were rated at 205 hp (I think), but they dyno that at the wheels so it's probably more like 230HP. The stage kits increase the power nicely.

I've been running the CF bulbs, recycling every piece of trash I can, unplugging unused appliances, and not turning on unnecessary lights. I've considered converting a car to full electric, but right now my commute is too far for the batteries I could afford to use. So I'll just continue the turbo Sky project, which should increase my MPG...and make a lot more power.

I think location is a huge part of it. I would never stop in to buy anything if it were in a bad part of town. Not to mention leaving my car overnight in a location like that. Of course, that would depend on if you were interested in in-store sales or just focusing on internet sales and on-site installation and tuning.

Nice job, that's a very good return. Just be careful. I have a few friends that were in the same position at 23 y/o. It can come down just as quickly. We're all doing it as a hobby now, not for our main source of income, just so it's not as big of a stress day-to-day. My one friend was trading on margin a lot, then the dot-com bubble burst.

So you don't track year-to-year? Or even what your % is intraday? I move in and out of positions frequently (not by the minute or hour like a day trader) but I still track the yearly growth of my portfolio.

Quoting how much money you are up in one day is worthless. You should only talk in percentage. Not to mention that looking at a one day return is pretty much worthless too. I would get excited over the day-to-day movement, but only care about my year-over-year increase.

While putting all your eggs in one basket can be exciting, and there's a slim chance it can be very rewarding, it's not the smartest thing to do with your money. There is a great potential you will lose everything. I know a guy that turned $10,000 into $1.2 million in 6 months during the dot-com bubble. Then he lost it all. He made extremely risky trades and it eventually came back to bite him. You're better off diversifying, especially if you're trading stocks with your 401k money.

No, it's the same show but they've had multiple seasons. The first season had a Nissan Skyline R32, Cobalt SS, and something else; the second season had a GTI, Mustang GT, and a Honda Fit; The latest season had a new Focus, Mini CooperS, and an EVO. I don't think I've ever seen a 350Z on it, but it sounds like the same show.

Well, that Cobalt SS is the same one that won the Turbo Magazine Time Attack, so it was no slouch in the performace category. They judge the cars based on their percentage increase over the stock vehicle, along with a car show.

They are both on the same scale, but I'm not sure it it's SAE or corrected. My guess is it's not corrected since my friend doesn't like dyno corrections. The intake manifold is a JDM Cyclone part. I don't know any more than that but I found this on DSM Talk: Nothing was changed between dyno runs other than the butterflies on the manifold. He was looking for what RPM the torque curves would cross, then he wired a solenoid to actuate the butterflies off of a programmable shift light. Juiced - I know plenum volume and runner length are completely different. I was contesting Nate's comment that wave length tuning is trivial for a boosted application. I have no test data for plenum volume though.

Here's a dyno of my friend's 2.3L EVOIII 16G AWD Eagle Talon in which you can compare the effect of different intake runner length's on power output. The manifold was set on the short runners for the "Test Run" and the long runners for the "Base Run." http://www.msprotege.com/members/Mallard/Pics/Dyno_Chart1.jpg I don't have anything comparing plenum volumes though.

Am I the only one that only sees red x's whenever Brian posts?

http://cobaltss.net/forums/showthread.php?t=105295 There are numerous threads in the sub-forum section that thread is from. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v511/fast98/blower009.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v511/fast98/blower006.jpg

Have you seen the new TVS blower for the Cobalts? There's a direct bolt on swap for the Cobalt made by Harrop, and they going to be making others.

What about a Rotrex blower?

That's identical to my old car (minus the M3 headlights and Infinity wheels)! Welcome.

Looks like he over-nighted parts from Japan.

Electric cars are extremely reliable. There is very little maintence required. The biggest worry is the battery life, but they're warrenting them for 100,000 miles. I would definitely drive one every day. They're not exactly an Eilse. In fact they are quite different in nearly every aspect. Although the driver compartment is similar, along with the seats, but the side rails have been moved for easier ingress/egress. Why wouldn't you drive one in the rain? (or was that sarcasm)

True, and that's the thought behind the Chevy Volt. For me, I have 2 cars already, and if I'm going on a long trip I'm not going to fit all my stuff in a Tesla (or a Sky), so things wouldn't change much except not having to buy as much gas. 00TypeR - Those perks only exist because they need it to catch on. If everyone switched those benefits would be gone in a second.