SS/SC Project Log: pictures of the fun stuff

[Mr Josh Zombie]

Put my my stereo in my car from my neon last saturday. (Alpine everything minus the panasonic headunit.) Sounds COMPLETELY different than it did in my neon. It's crazy. I do like it a bit more now though, more treble than before. Install wasn't terrible, just had to cut one factory wire to get it to work. (Kind of annoying... but oh well.)

Car is at the dealership to FINALLY get that shit fixed. I'm driving a grand prix right now. This car fucking SUCKS! Terrible gas milage, no power, interior sucks, it's ugly as hell.... I miss my Cobalt.

More updates on my eyelids:








Should look good on my car when they're all done.

[BlackRoseRacing]

whats got me wondering, since the progress log is for projects, does it include non 2GN's?
No offense to you OPI, since youve been here a while, but I'm wondering if this topic should be here?

[glasswars]

I think it should be, he is a pretty senior member here, with lots of information to share.. also a good guy. Also it's an awesome car.

[Mr Josh Zombie]

AND johnnymopar has a non-neon log as well

[hul kogan]

it is refreshing to read project logs about other cars every once in awhile. i say the topic belongs here.

car is coming along nicely, my friend. i look forward to seeing some more mods!

[Mr Josh Zombie]

Order a Megan Racing exhaust. $330 shipped compared to the $600 shipped of the Magnaflow exhaust. Both are 2.5" cat-back exhaust, only the magnaflow sounds a -little- deeper. I couldn't justify $270 for a -little- deeper tone. The best part is, I can expect about a 7-12whp gain from just a cat-back as well. Hoo-ray no more NGC!

Sadly, the exhaust is on a national backorder and I wont be expecting to receive it for 3 weeks or so. I pre-ordered though to ensure I'd get one when the company gets some more in.

Oh, and here's a nice little sound clip.


I'm hoping it has some pippty pop pop pip as my old SRT/glasspack exhaust combo. Now to order a ZZPerfomance header/downpipe/high-flow cat combo. (roughly $400) I'm hesitant to do that right now though, considering ZZP will be releasing there twin-charged kit soon, and that would make my header/downpipe useless considering I'd need a turbo-back exhaust.

[TheRandom1]

Wow, I completely missed this thread! Nice car Josh!

[Mr Josh Zombie]

Got my car back yesterday (finally.) I COULD have picked it up Friday, but I was going out of town for the weekend and didn't want to rack the miles up on my cobalt. (In exactly one weeks time, I put 1,200 miles on the rental.) The cluster is fixed, and the car goes BACK the 15th so the service technician can sign off on the bumper so it can be fixed. Since they have no idea what CAUSED the bumper to pop out, a head hancho has to sign off on it so it's covered under warranty. So, i only get my car for a few days then it's back to that fucking grand prix for a week....


Bought more crap for the car as well:
Magellan Maestro 4200 Portable GPS System w/ 4.3" Wide Touch Screen


Regular Price: $250-$350
Purchased: $182 shipped
Go Buy.com with $10 off using Google checkout

This is one of those things that will RARELY be actually in the Cobalt, but will be damn nice to have when I'm trying to get to concerts and what not. After using my buddies Tomtom last weekend, I figured it was time for me to upgrade as well.

Also purchased some of these:


Vinyl inlays for the "SS" badge. I bought the gloss black ones of course and these will be used on the sides of my car where I kept the "SS supercharged" badge. It's actually the only badges I kept. I'm still up in the air about debadging EVERYTHING, and these will help me decide. If I like the looks of the black inside with silver trim then I'll keep it, if not, they all come off.


Sometime soon I'll be dropping the car off with Amit (03_sxt) so he can fully detail my car. It's getting awfully damn dirty.

[slaw]

looks good, i didnt know cobalts had as many mods out there cuz i see so many of them in CT but all of them stock
i had no idea a stage2 on that thing was as good as u all say it is up against a stock srt, thats pretty nice to hear

[Mr Josh Zombie]

looks good, i didnt know cobalts had as many mods out there cuz i see so many of them in CT but all of them stock
i had no idea a stage2 on that thing was as good as u all say it is up against a stock srt, thats pretty nice to hear

Yea there is actually one -hell- of an aftermarket for the Cobalts. All engine sizes too! Hahn has released a turbo kit of various degrees for the 2.0, 2.2, and 2.4l engines, ZZperformance is releasing a twin charge kit (hoo-ray superANDturbo charged!), Rebal autoworks has an upgraded supercharger called the Twinscrew, and Harrop has an even BETTER supercharger released. Not to mention the insane amount of pully sizes, CAI, exhausts, turning software, just all sorts. Just about every vendor that supports the SRT also supports the cobalts. It's quite impressive.


Spent MORE money today. (I'm on a damn role!)



3.0" Surgical stainless steel CAI made by R.A.W. Even a month after the groupbuy closed, they let me get in on the deal. Thing that sucks about it was the groupbuy ended the day before I signed the papers for my cobalt. Thankfully someone decided to pull out of the deal and I took the spot.

Now I get to play the waiting game for all my damn parts to come in! GPS should be here tomorrow, no word on the exhaust (CC hasn't even been charged) and now my intake should be here hopefully in the next few weeks. (It'll take awhile since it's all hand made.)


As soon as I find somewhere to paint parts (anyone in the area want to lend me a hand???!!!) I'm going to be nightshading all my lights, tearing my headlights apart and painting them, paint my rims, paint my calipers, and then paint the front bow-tie black. I still continue to hate living in an apartment complex.


I think that'll do for spending money. Now time to start paying off the ever increasing credit card debt.

[TheRandom1]

Damn. That's a nice CAI!

[Mr Josh Zombie]

Got my GPS in today, gotta say it's already nice to have. I'm learning new, faster routes in my every day travels. I can't wait to go on an actual trip with it.

My custom eyelids are finished now.









Sent payment today, he'll be shipping them out come Monday, so they should be in some time this week. w00t!

I'm excited.

[Mr Josh Zombie]

So, my eyelids came in yesterday. I gotta say, they are one STURDY piece of fiberglass. They're a lot thicker than the eyelids I've seen for neons. The fit is pretty nice as well. A little tight, but it'll be easier to "officially" install them when I take the headlights out for paint, so they'll be staying off the car until then.

The bad thing is, for $190 I expected the paint and quality to be top notch. Well, the clear isn't even really there, there's dirt under the paint, and dips here and there. Kind of depressing to be honest. I was most certainly not please. So, I messaged the guy, and he wasn't a dick at all. I first said the problems with the product, and stated that either they get sent back for a full refund, or I get about $100 so I can get them professionally painted. He was real cool with me, realized that he kind of rushed to get them sent out and didn't give the clear enough time to set, and offered me a $50 refund. I simply said that wasn't enough, and I woke up today with $90 in my paypal.

So, all in all, I have a custom set of THICK fiberglass eyelids that need painted, and it only cost me $100. Not -too- bad. Sucks that I have to find someone to fix these though.

Pictures to come later. The car goes back to the dealership today so the service tech can sign off on the bumper and they can finally get that fixed. Yay warranty work. Yay.

[glasswars]

Damn that's beat, but atleast he was willing to refund you some money. They look great shape wise.

[Mr Josh Zombie]

Well, the car WAS supposed to go back to the dealership, but they're having problems getting me a rental. Seems the one they usually give out hasn't come back yet, and I'm not 25 so I can't get a rental from Enterprise. But, the good thing is they're giving me a free tire rotation and a free full synthetic oil change because I've been waiting so long. So woo!

Also decided to cancel my order for the Megan exhaust, and instead am getting a full ZZP header-back 3" stainless steel exhaust. There's a GB going on for it, so I'm getting it for one DAMN good price. Bad thing is, I can't afford the ENTIRE stainless steel set.... Just downpipe-back SS. The header is an extra $130 for the SS version.

http://www.zzperformance.com/miscftp/ZZ ... xhaust.wmv

Sounds exactly like my neon did, which makes me VERY damn giddy.

Still waiting on the rest of my crap to come in as well...

[INVUJerry]

So are you still getting a header thats just not stainless, or are you only getting an exhaust?

[Mr Josh Zombie]

The header is just high temp painted instead of stainless.

The downpipe back is all stainless steel. (Downpipe, cat, exhaust, muffler)

I'm thinking I should find the extra cash and go all stainless though...

[INVUJerry]

Yeah. I high temp painted the header I put on my 98. It's all flaking off now.

[racer12306]

That dealer just isn't trying hard enough or being cheap. I've rented a car from Alamo and there were other companies that would rent to me, but its $25 extra per day.


Car is looking good Josh

[Mr Josh Zombie]

Yeah. I high temp painted the header I put on my 98. It's all flaking off now.

Yea, I decided to change my order to all stainless steel. I figure I'm going to have this car for a -long- time, might as well do things RIGHT this time around.

This will end up costing me anywhere between $809 - $950 for a full exhaust. 1.75" headers to 3" downpipe and 3" cat-back. All stainless steel bolt-in. Price depends on how many people get in on the groupbuy... here's hoping more sign up!

That dealer just isn't trying hard enough or being cheap. I've rented a car from Alamo and there were other companies that would rent to me, but its $25 extra per day.


Car is looking good Josh

Eh, I don't mind honestly. This is the first dealership that's actually treated me like a real human being, and hell they're still doing small things for wasting my time of going out there. It's not like the work I need done is a pressing matter, just something that needs done eventually.

It's funny, the first day I walked in there, some guy was cussing the workers out, the second day I walked in there I overheard someone trying to calm some guy down on the phone. I thought I'd have a lot of problems with these people and that they'd give me a lot of shit. Turns out no, they don't. They greet me when I walk in, treat me nicely, and give me "gifts" since they still haven't gotten me a car. Good people all around. AND the guy that helps me out is missing two fingers, and how cool is THAT!

[hansken_yo]

Wow Opi.... She's coming a long real nice yo.

[hul kogan]

looks like a good exhaust you are getting, hopefully that group buy will get some more people and the price will come down for ya.

also, Enterprise definitely rents to people under 25. i had one of there rentals about 3 months ago.

[Mr Josh Zombie]

But does Enterprise in Michigan rent to people under 25? *shrugs*

i'm just assuming every location is different, but what do I know. I've never had to rent a car for any reason.

[INVUJerry]

Yeah. I high temp painted the header I put on my 98. It's all flaking off now.

Yea, I decided to change my order to all stainless steel. I figure I'm going to have this car for a -long- time, might as well do things RIGHT this time around.

This will end up costing me anywhere between $809 - $950 for a full exhaust. 1.75" headers to 3" downpipe and 3" cat-back. All stainless steel bolt-in. Price depends on how many people get in on the groupbuy... here's hoping more sign up!

That dealer just isn't trying hard enough or being cheap. I've rented a car from Alamo and there were other companies that would rent to me, but its $25 extra per day.


Car is looking good Josh

Eh, I don't mind honestly. This is the first dealership that's actually treated me like a real human being, and hell they're still doing small things for wasting my time of going out there. It's not like the work I need done is a pressing matter, just something that needs done eventually.

It's funny, the first day I walked in there, some guy was cussing the workers out, the second day I walked in there I overheard someone trying to calm some guy down on the phone. I thought I'd have a lot of problems with these people and that they'd give me a lot of shit. Turns out no, they don't. They greet me when I walk in, treat me nicely, and give me "gifts" since they still haven't gotten me a car. Good people all around. AND the guy that helps me out is missing two fingers, and how cool is THAT!

And here I thought me paying $500 for all my exhaust work was too much.

That guy helping you out is awesome. My mom taught me how to drive a stick shift car.

She only has 1 arm.

[Mr Josh Zombie]

Yea, almost a grand for an exhaust IS quite a bit of money... but it will net me about 10 - 18whp gain, and it's large enough in case I choose to go turbo in the future. It's pretty much the last exhaust I'll ever have to buy for this car, since it's 100% stainless steel, (and i live in ohio and will drive this car year round...) so I think it's worth it.

Oh, and your mom = AMAZING. I dunno, I think people missing appendages are awesome.

Got all my vinyl stuff in Monday. I installed the black SS overlays, they turned out pretty damn nice. One needs re-done because it has a tiny bump in it, but it's fine for now. I accidentally screwed up a set because I sat on it while it was over some pebbles and left indents in everything. I let my girlfriend practice with the ruined set. She actually did damn good, but I had to rip it off so I could use a "good" overlay. It's nice that she has a small interest in the car. Also, when I ordered the "SS" overlay, I bought a set of these:



for the day when I paint my calipers red. God, I have so much shit to paint, yet no where to do it. I despise this apartment complex. Anyone want to lend me their garage?

Still no intake, which is leading to about 36+ pissed off people. Exhaust GB is going well, up to a 18% discount, I have yet to touch my eyelids, they still need fixed, and god DAMN does my car need washed. I also can't decide if I want to go Stage 2, or custom stage 2. GM stg2 = warranty in tack, custom = voided. Decisions, decisions. Thankfully, I'm still not bored with the speed of my car, so i'm in no rush to make it extremely faster.

[kc2005ptgt]

what's the difference between GM vs Custom? More horsies? That sort of thing? I say go GM, since you have already had to use "warranty" work.

[Mr Josh Zombie]

Custom = cheaper and a bit more ponies. (like 20 more ponies) and about $200ish less.

and the warranty would only void work on engine related items that the aftermarket parts could have damaged.

[TheRandom1]

Custom. If you go GM, someone else out there has the same thing!

[Mr Josh Zombie]

I just bought another small appearance mod, a set of headlight covers:



Couldn't resist for $25 shipped really. I just sent the money, so who knows when they'll be here.

Nothing at all to report otherwise. My car just sits in the parking lot now while we take the girlfriends neon to work everyday. Gotta love these gas prices.

-STILL haven't gotten my #$@ing car to the dealership to get the bumper fixed... They wont get a hold of me so I'll be stopping out there in person one of these nights.
-Still need to drop my car off with Amit to get it completely detailed, headlights/taillights painted. Hopefully Sunday it'll go to him...
-Still need to work on those eyelids... just haven't had the motivation to go get sand able primer.
-I'm getting 25% off that exhaust. Group buy is over in two days.
-People are FINALLY starting to get those effing intakes. I'll be one of the last to receive mine sadly. Ah well, it's all about the quality.

Still haven't even raced my car yet, minus my one buddy in a camero. He didn't stand a change to say the least. Auto v6. But generally I'm being pretty damn sense able in this thing. I'm proud of myself.

[ZeroChad]

Good god I hate it when balts black out the bowtie on the grill... too each there own I suppose. Cars looking good so far, I wish my GF had a "small interest" in mine lol. How do you like the handling stock? I'm thinking about getting an SS/TC when I graduate in a year an change, but the whole independent rear suspension makes me wonder about the cornering.