John Heinricy here. I just had a chance to spend some time driving a Stage 1 Cobalt SS Turbocharged and the impression I got when I went to wide open throttle in 2nd and 3rd gears was, "WOW!" The torque increase was very very noticeable. It's hard not to keep doing it over and over because it is so much fun. I even got some occasional wheel spin in second gear when the boost came on if traction conditions weren't perfect. I know you GMTS fans had a number of questions you’d like answers for so let me see if I can shine some light on them...
Slapbetcommissioner: Id like to know what his first thoughts are compared to the stock form on just initial feel of the vehicle both from a day to day driving and performance aspect. Basically how the car behaves in normal driving conditions compared to stock or if its even noticeable until you start getting into the throttle? Does the added low end torque make it nicer in high traffic situations?
John Heinricy: One of the things that I like to play around with on my Cobalt is shifting into higher gears at relatively low RPM and seeing how good I can do on MPG. I know that there are not supposed to be changes to the cal below about 2000 rpm, but I swear that the car now pulls better in high gears at low rpm. It seems like the turbo spools up quicker and I get better response. It is a nice change. Otherwise all the around town driving that I do there seems to be no noticeable difference.
Fumanchu: Are traction/launch control any less effective with the stage kit? Does power hop become unmanageable? Torque Steer?
John Heinricy: I don’t notice any difference in the operation of launch control. There is no difference in the torque allowed in 1st gear so there really should not be any difference. Although there is no difference in torque in 1st gear, there is an increase in the RPM limit and this is a nice change in 1st gear because it is now a little more forgiving hitting the one-two shift exactly right to keep from hitting the rev limiter. In 1st gear, you can feel the torque drop off dramatically between 6200 and 6500, but it is still nice not to hit the rev limiter if you don’t shift at exactly the right spot. As far as torque steer is concerned in 2nd and 3rd, well yes if you are in a situation where you get torque steer with the stock cal, you’ll get more with the stage 1 cal. More torque, more steer. However I’ve always felt that it is quite manageable.
Kildore: Basics if able to collect data: 0-60, 1/4 mile, passing time @ speed on hwy, MPG +/-.
John Heinricy: Sorry, I don’t have any performance data yet. I’m hoping to get to the race track in the next couple weeks so that I can properly exercise my Cobalt. Now that I’m over the initial excitement of the Stage l cal, my fuel economy has returned to about the same as before, which averages around 28 mpg. I get 31 to 32 on highway, same as before. I couldn’t keep my foot out of it for the first week so MPG did suffer during that time!
Kildore: Is there any bogging when launching. How does the SS launch with launch control. How does the SS launch with the ESC off and at what RPM is he launching. Is the vehicle using 91 or 93 octane and about what sea lvl?
John Heinricy: Launch control has not changed. Competitive mode, foot to the floor and modulate the clutch based on the surface and temperature conditions. I’m using 93 octane at about 600 ft above sea level.
JTurner.CTN: My question is does the car still feel like it's being restricted with the stock exhaust components?
John Heinricy: I don’t think there is much restriction behind the convertors with the stock exhaust system.
JTurner.CTN: Do you feel like you are hurting the car when you get on the throttle?
John Heinricy: No I don’t feel like the car is being hurt when I get on the throttle. I think it is talking to me saying, “yes,yes,yes…”, like releasing the reins on a spirited horse.
JTurner.CTN: How is the daily moderate driving feel?
John Heinricy: I really like the feel of the torque build up in moderate driving. This to me is the area of biggest improvement, the mid range torque. It is a very big change that makes the car accelerate much quicker without necessarily downshifting.
Kilpatrickracing: Can we get some feed back on NO LIFT SHIFT? Has this been used with the stage kit yet?
John Heinricy: No lift shift still feels great. I believe that it works best when shifting below 6500 rpm. Then it is very smooth. I think the reason for this is that the torque is falling off at the higher RPM. It is best for the no lift shift to do it while the torque is still relatively high, say 6200 to 6400 for the most satisfying feel. I’ll have to take some data to find out which RPM is the fastest though.
blacky09ss: Can you feel the surge of power come faster and lower on the rpm range?
John Heinricy: It sure feels that way to me. Very dramatic increase in the surge of torque and power in the mid range and as I said above, it feels better below 2000 RPM also.
blacky09ss: Does it keep on going up to 6,000 rpm." no drop off"?
John Heinricy: The car feels very strong up to 6200 Rpm in 2nd and higher gears.
cuzimaluzer77: How's the clutch holding up with all the added torque?
John Heinricy: I haven’t noticed any change in the clutch at all. It still hooks up very good.
80vetteL82: One thing I would like to know is how the wheel spin is with the kit?
John Heinricy: I do notice a little more wheelspin in 2nd gear when the boost kicks in. I like it!!
Aterminatorz: Can you feel a difference during normal driving, or only under wide open throttle do you feel the added power?
John Heinricy: Mid range part throttle response has dramatically improved.
Aterminatorz: Does the turbo spool up more or less easily and under what conditions?
John Heinricy: The turbo seems to spool up more easily even below 2000 rpm and dramatically more above 2000 rpm. On warm days I see peak readings on the A pillar gage of 22 to 24 PSI.
Aterminatorz: Does engine braking have more, less, or unchanged affect on vehicle speed?
John Heinricy: I have not noticed any change in the engine braking with the Stage 1 cal.
Aterminatorz: Most importantly does this stage kit accelerate harder pushing me into my seat and at least making me feel like I am going fast?
John Heinricy: Oh yes. Wait till you feel 20+ psi kick in!
/Q&A
There you have it! You asked and GMTS delivers! We hope you enjoyed this Q&A about the LNF Stage 1 kit and if you haven’t seen the Q&A session with GM HPVO from earlier this month, make sure you take a look at what the engineers behind the kit had to say. See for yourself how John drives the tires off a stock Cobalt too in this cool video.
All of us here at GMTS are working for you so if you have a suggestion about something you'd like to see or anything else you can always drop us a line on our contact page.
