Guest fist302 Posted February 24, 2008 Report Share Posted February 24, 2008 Coming out this April the new cobalt SS is gonna have the 260 hp ecotec 2.0 turbo thats in the soltice gxp. Im not a hhuge fan of the styling but it will certainly a good bang for the buck performer with a factory warranty. 0-60 in 5.6 and 1/4 in 14.1 at 102, id imagine a good driver could put it in the 13's stock. It also handles quite well seeing that it beat cars like the wrx sti, r32 gtr skyline and e46 m3 with a nurburg time of 8.22. I was thinking of getting a 08 si civic or vw gti this summer but this has caught my eye. Whats your take on it? 2008 cobalt SS info video of nurburg lap Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OGRE Posted February 24, 2008 Report Share Posted February 24, 2008 i wish they would put it in a G5, ther pontiac version looks much beter IMO. Of course i'm partial i have a G5 GT 2.4L and i can attest that it handles like a champ. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trjackson Posted February 24, 2008 Report Share Posted February 24, 2008 Interesting news. I am really surprised and impressed that they moved to a turbo vs. a supercharged platform. Growing up in the chain of technology! Jackson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HotCarl Posted February 24, 2008 Report Share Posted February 24, 2008 If you have a choice between the Cobalt SS, WRX or Civic SI? If price is a major concern I would say the SI. Even with "only" 200hp it should (at least in my point of view) suffice for daily driving plus it will keep its worth WAY better than either the SS or the WRX. While 260hp is nice and the ecotec is a decently proven platform depending on what mods are done. I dont see that car or brand name beating either the SI or WRX on quality. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thorne Posted February 24, 2008 Report Share Posted February 24, 2008 I would prefer a WRX + a ecu flash which should also run a high 13 over a Cavy. At the end of the day your still driving a FWD car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpaceGhost Posted February 24, 2008 Report Share Posted February 24, 2008 I got rid of an SI for My WRX I will agree though, I bought my SI drove it for 50k and 2 years and traded it in for 2k less than I paid and the next buyer paid more for it with 50k than I paid new. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FourString Posted February 24, 2008 Report Share Posted February 24, 2008 At the end of the day your still driving a FWD car. Quote Of The Day Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest fist302 Posted February 24, 2008 Report Share Posted February 24, 2008 Thats true i doubt the quality and resale of the cobalt compares to the honda but its certainly much faster. Im definitely gonna check it out though. The si's lacking on power and 08 wrx is very ugly but i have looked into older models, it would be nice to have AWD for year round weather. Overall are the wrx's reliable? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Apex Posted February 24, 2008 Report Share Posted February 24, 2008 I'd prefer the Si on build quality but the interior is a big turn off. I've been surprised at how well those Cobalts do on the track, I watched a spec series of them and they were impressive handling cars, maybe on par or possibly better than the Civic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRTurbo04 Posted February 24, 2008 Report Share Posted February 24, 2008 I At the end of the day your still driving a FWD car. :asshole: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
koolrayz Posted February 24, 2008 Report Share Posted February 24, 2008 I saw a yellow one at the cleveland auto show last night. I was looking under the hood thinking where is the supercharger. Then I saw the turbo in the back Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotty2Hotty Posted February 24, 2008 Report Share Posted February 24, 2008 Does this mean a Grand National could make it's way back? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
31rx7 Posted February 24, 2008 Report Share Posted February 24, 2008 Assuming your goal is primarily a DD with occasional sporting events (autocross, drag), I would go with the Civic. Much easier to live with day to day, better resale, and just a higher quality piece all around. The other two cars are both good cars, but when it comes to a car to live with for a long time, the SI would be the best. Having said that, if you are just going to keep it for a couple years and are going to thrash on it racing and such, try out the Cobalt. Just be ready to take a bath financially. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJ Posted February 24, 2008 Report Share Posted February 24, 2008 i thought this was old news? i found out about this a few months ago at a GM training class. its a pretty cool design they have for the turbo with a bypass valve to keep the turbo spooled up when you shift gears insted of it starting to drop off. its also suposed to help keep it spooled up when your slowing down to go into a turn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mallard Posted February 24, 2008 Report Share Posted February 24, 2008 Don't forget that the Cobalt SS also comes with 4 piston Brembo brakes, laungh control, and shift-without-lift. The new SS is mean and they did a very good job getting rid of torque steer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug1647545489 Posted February 24, 2008 Report Share Posted February 24, 2008 Looks nice actually. Phil any idea on how hard they will be to mod? Same as the redline/gxp? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coty061885 Posted February 24, 2008 Report Share Posted February 24, 2008 Seems like everyone is forgetting (probably on purpose) one this cars other competitors: the GTI . People think GTIs are overpriced because most magazines compare or review ones loaded with options. But, if you get one with the DSG and little options/Package 1, it would probably cost about the same as the SS and the Si. Oh, and it's much better looking than the WRX, IMO. Then take it and get a $500 computer reflash and it'll make as much power as the SS and quite a bit more than the Si. The flash alone will only get you mid to lower 14's, but with a full exhaust they've seen mid 13's. But compared to an Si, it's probably the better daily becuase of the punch down low. I know most people here hate the GTI, but it needed mentioned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Apex Posted February 24, 2008 Report Share Posted February 24, 2008 Assuming your goal is primarily a DD with occasional sporting events (autocross, drag), I would go with the Civic. Much easier to live with day to day, better resale, and just a higher quality piece all around. The other two cars are both good cars, but when it comes to a car to live with for a long time, the SI would be the best. Having said that, if you are just going to keep it for a couple years and are going to thrash on it racing and such, try out the Cobalt. Just be ready to take a bath financially. Rich, I know you saw those cars in person, which is why I went and found a video of them on a track, and you seemed to like their abilites on the track. Were they having a lot of serious issues? or just a maintenance laiden car? It is a GM product but a lot of their powertrains these days have been quite good imo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neonkiller Posted February 24, 2008 Report Share Posted February 24, 2008 Don't forget that the Cobalt SS also comes with 4 piston Brembo brakes, laungh control, and shift-without-lift. The new SS is mean and they did a very good job getting rid of torque steer. what I have heard there is not a Re-Flash program yet for these cars nor any high HP tuning methods unless switching to some sort of Standalone that will cost big bucks?... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick Posted February 24, 2008 Report Share Posted February 24, 2008 Is it fathomable that AWD could be next, too?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest fist302 Posted February 24, 2008 Report Share Posted February 24, 2008 I heard AWD was considered but would make the car well over 25k and undermine the performance of some of there more expensive vehicles. By the way Coty, i mentioned the GTI in my first post as one of the cars i was considering. I think its a great looking car and good quality, il certainly check it out along with the ss,si and wrx. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mallard Posted February 24, 2008 Report Share Posted February 24, 2008 Seems like everyone is forgetting (probably on purpose) one this cars other competitors: the GTI . People think GTIs are overpriced because most magazines compare or review ones loaded with options. But, if you get one with the DSG and little options/Package 1, it would probably cost about the same as the SS and the Si. Oh, and it's much better looking than the WRX, IMO. Then take it and get a $500 computer reflash and it'll make as much power as the SS and quite a bit more than the Si. The flash alone will only get you mid to lower 14's, but with a full exhaust they've seen mid 13's. But compared to an Si, it's probably the better daily becuase of the punch down low. I know most people here hate the GTI, but it needed mentioned. So then your modded car that's at the limits of the cam driven fuel pump would just be able to hang with a new Cobalt that still retains it's 100k mile warrenty, has better brakes, and has cooler electronic gadgets. (SWOL and Launch Control) Doug and neonkiller - the mods for this engine so far are limited by the ECU. Without a reflash the ECU will still control to the stock torque. You may see gains for a couple hundered miles, then it's pulled back within specs. HPTuners is limited on this platform right now, but there are 1 or 2 tuning options. Also, the ECU runs closed loop wideband control pretty much all the time after the O2 sensor is up to temp. This means there are a few people that have bolted on bigger turbos and are running flawlessly after a few MAS tweaks in HPtuners. The problem right now is that the ECU cuts torque by pulling boost and closing the throttle. Once they get rid of the throttle control there will be big gains found on this engine. Until then, about 300 hp is able to be had with the stock turbo. GM had a Solstice at SEMA that had a "Stage II" reflash, and it was said to be out in "4-6 months." Also, GM is running some stock Solstices in the NOPI drift series this year and they get 330HP and 425 Ft-lbs with just a cat-less 3" exhaust and a reflash. It won't be long until the flood gates open and the turbo Ecotec's are putting out massive amounts of power. The stock bottom end is pretty stout. One guy was running a large shot of nitrous with no issues...until he put in a 300 shot... Also, I don't think you're going to find a standalone that will control a DI engine, yet. The stock BOSCH controller is extremely powerful, it just needs to be unlocked. There are a few re-flashes out there right now, but it looks like RPi is the only company putting out one that I would feel comfortable buying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick Posted February 24, 2008 Report Share Posted February 24, 2008 I heard AWD was considered but would make the car well over 25k and undermine the performance of some of there more expensive vehicles. Typical of GM. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mallard Posted February 24, 2008 Report Share Posted February 24, 2008 Typical of GM. Uhh, I don't think they're worried of undermining the performance of any of their other vehicles. And I never heard anything about an AWD Cobalt anyway. It doesn't make sense, considering it's a dying platform and there's no sense in re-engineering the floorpan at this point in the program. This new SS is out for three reasons. 1) A final refresh before the end of this model cycle. 2) The supercharged model would not meet upgraded emissions standards (that's why the SS has taken a model year off between the SS and TC versions) and 3) To kick ass in the FWD performance category. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neonkiller Posted February 24, 2008 Report Share Posted February 24, 2008 Uhh, I don't think they're worried of undermining the performance of any of their other vehicles. And I never heard anything about an AWD Cobalt anyway. It doesn't make sense, considering it's a dying platform and there's no sense in re-engineering the floorpan at this point in the program. This new SS is out for three reasons. 1) A final refresh before the end of this model cycle. 2) The supercharged model would not meet upgraded emissions standards (that's why the SS has taken a model year off between the SS and TC versions) and 3) To kick ass in the FWD performance category. People rant and rave about these "Ecotec" engines I have yet to see one kickin ass around C-bus. Same with my motor "1.8t" It was claimed to be the best tuner friendly motor out about 4 yrs ago. But with out big $$$ neither engine can or will be fast. Everyone has there downfalls but I think even in this situation this car cost is more to mod than a brand spankin new GTI. And by the time people do break the software no one will really have intrest and the car, it will be long gone. I'm not bashing I'm just thinking out loud. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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