Just bought an 08' 2dr Coupe LS

[BankDude]

Hey guys. New to the forum here. Just bought myself a 2008 silver Cobalt 2dr coupe LS and am looking at modding a little bit. Had a 98' Cavalier before this but the heater core blew up for the second time in a year and I didn't really feel like spending the time to put another one in since it has 205k miles. I don't exactly have a price range right now but am pretty much looking for some advice as to what I should start off at.

It's just a little 2.2 and it gets good gas mileage. For sure want to put an exhaust and an intake sooner or later. Probably gonna lower it too but I have NO clue what brands to look for. And would also like to know if anyone knows of any good chips to throw in there too. I'm somewhat car savvy as to I can do my own repairs and installations, but I've never done any performance mods on a car before, so I don't exactly know what to look for. So if anyone's got some suggestions as to what to put in and in what order to put them in, that'd be awesome. Thanks.

Not sure if there's a thread about this. I apologize if there is, you can throw me in the right direction if there is one though.

 

[cobalt123]

if you dont want forced induction. bolt ons are generally very easy installs on the cobalt..

exhaust for 2.2s inexpensive n1 tsudo catbacks sounds great i haz one...

your an 2008 im pretty sure you dont have secondary air injection so any intake is good. i have a 2.2 and have the K&N short ram intake great had it for 2 years

downpipes

ZZP 2.5 downpipe with magnalfow highflow cat

Headers

any you want but the i recommend either the LSJ header or the GMPP honed extruded exhaust manifold

you can get a 2.4L intake manifold and throttle body and a tune from trifecta and your naturally aspirated

 

[Intmd83r]

welcome and congrats on getting a cobalt !!!!!! easy and cheap take badges off and paint the bowties . what do you wanna do mostly performance ?

 

[BankDude]

Thanks for the welcome!

I think lowering it might be the first thing on my mind, as it seems like it's pretty high up from the ground. The only thing I'm worried about if I lower it is bottoming the body out. I work downtown and park in a garage that has probably 2-3 inch speed bumps every 50 feet. And when I decide to go see my dad at his place, the speed bumps in his culdisack (sp) are higher than that and there's absolutely no way around them.

I'd like to get an exhaust ASAP though. The stock one makes the whole car (in my mind) look like a freaking pansy. I want the purr of a nice exhaust. I don't have the money, nor will I, for a turbo or a supercharger. So basic mods are pretty much what I'm looking for


*Edit* I spose rims and tires might be something to look at before lowering it though. It's just got stock steel rims that aren't very attractive. So I probably won't lower it until I get new rims and tires anyways. But since I live in Minnesota, it'll probably be after winter until I get those...Thank god for tax returns, ha!

 

[Intmd83r]

ya i cant lower mine cause of winter ( live in new hamshire ) and every now and then my wife gets a little touchy feely ...... so i pull into the woods lol

 

[cobalt123]

any springs out there minus coilovers shouldnt give you any problems just go veryr slow over the bumps

 

[wardzach2007]

Welcome

 

[BankDude]

So I've found a couple things...

05-10 Chevrolet Cobalt Air Intake Kit w/ Heat Shield Typhoon 2.2L :
K&N Short Ram Intake - I think it sounds pretty nice and looks pretty easy to install. Not a huge hole in my wallet and seems to put out.

05-09 Chevrolet Cobalt Cat Back Exhaust 2.2L : Tsudo by: Tsudo
Tsudo N1 Cat Back Exhaust - This is what Cobalt123 suggested up above. Sounds pretty decent, and I think for the price, it's a pretty damn good deal.

Anybody else agree?

Also does anyone know of any decent performance chips out there for my Cobalt?

 

[RedDead]

ya i cant lower mine cause of winter ( live in new hamshire ) and every now and then my wife gets a little touchy feely ...... so i pull into the woods lol

lol i hear ya buddy i live in west virginia lol these back roads are unforgiving with the pot holes