Present from parents. Its such a plain car. What could i do to soup it up. Also, i wanna put a system in it, any tips on this (400 bucks or so budget) I just want ideas for everything else, Skirt kit? Fin? New Taillights?
Why don't you not do anything to it and just drive it, sounds like a nice car, especially if it was a gift...anything you do will just be a complete waste of your money.
How anybody thinks that a POS rice body kit with altezza tails and a giant spoiler look cool is beyond me. I can tell just by the way you talk that this is the kind of shit you have in mind... please spare us the misery of looking at your riced out shit mobile. If you really want to make your car look nice you will need new wheels (make sure they have good offsets so they will be flush with the body of your car) and some coilovers to lower it. If at that point you still want side skirts or whatever, buy some nice, simple OEM side skirts and maybe a front lip. A small, also OEM spoiler would be acceptable too.
it just looks so plain, i was thinking stereo then new rims. i think theres a line i was trying to cross, 2008 cobalt vs 1996 civic... i think a cobalt could have classy skirts not totally riced
no it can't, your car is an american civic, but after some thinkin, it's your car, I should be helpin you Here's a lip kit from http://www.vividracing.com/catalog/jp-complete-body-kit-chevrolet-cobalt-ls-05-p-58535.html you could probably get the wing off the SS model that'll take away from the plain look, if you search around I'm sure you'll find some new taillights, I think what you should do is find a cobolt forum and they can point you in a better direction.
OEM 08/09 SS front lip and sideskirts look wayyyyy better then aftermarket IMO. I think a clean wingless looks good for sedans heres some pics of random non ss cars that people have made look pretty decent. http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/kk236/1slobalt12/DSCN1356.jpg http://i199.photobucket.com/albums/aa93/holmes2530/jere_s_car_009.jpg http://matrixcodex.net/gallery/d/63066-2/IMGP4463.jpg http://i324.photobucket.com/albums/k357/Projekt369/IMGP0816.jpg "It's a SS, but soooo pretty, I had to throw it in there"
How about you mod the car so it's better, not just looks better... Do something that will actually affect the ride, like a better suspension, short shifter, turbo etc. etc. If you just replace the care piece by piece (like a new camshaft, then a new exaust) you'll slowly add power until it's actually a nice car. Then maybe you'll need a wing
just leave it alone, also if you want to put in a system you are gonna need a lot more than 400 dollars for something decent and rattle proof.
You won't need more than $400 if you have any semblance of intelligience. You could get atleast one "15 in there, and worry about the little speakers piece by piece. I recommend you do your research, go around listen to systems in the store. Then go by the components online. (ebay *cough*) Get a good box, and bolt it down, by plenty of dynamat. Don't "soup" this car up, because it will look like shit. Definitely not Campbell's soup. (It's not an SS, just take your lumps and accept it.)
You need to relax man. What people like is all up to personal preference. That being said, I prefer a very clean car too. Nice paint, wheels, but other than that keep the car looking the way it was meant to look.
It may be preference, but he's actually saving the kid from being tormented and mocked about his car if he gets a kit/wing. Every time I see a "ricer" I always race them and they always lose cause their kit/wing of course makes 500+ HP. I'm sorry, but if you do put anything like that on any car, you deserve to be mocked and possibly keyed (however, I would never key someones car, EVER unless they f'ed with mine)
dont waste any money making it fast. it will take a few thousand for that. put some wheels on it and lower it and tint the windows. do not put an exhaust/muffler on it. it attracts police attention and sounds like shit. body kits and wings are tacky IMO. go on ebay and order a lip kit. you can nightshade your head and tail lights and make them darker. a sound system doesnt need to be that much. dont just throw money into it. i made that mistake twice now. you never get anything back out of it and that money could have went toward something else.
Two Words...Conical Filter.... I'ma get flamed for this, but while a Conical Filter doesn't improve horsepower that much, you're removing the stock air box, meaning the air silencer is removed, meaning under full throttle your motor will SING with induction noise. I love the sound of Wide Open Induction...it really does turn me on. Fuck a fart can, if you have to rely on a bullshit muffler for your car to catch attention...you might as well call yourself a poser. OR, you could add a nice conical filter and get a stronger exaust note, due to better breathing from the engine...that an stomping the gas at any speed and downshifting will no longer sound mild mannered.
I own an 06 cobalt LS and I was thinking the same thing when I first got it, then I realized that any performance upgrades would just decrease the reliability of the car. this is my daily driver car so I would like it to be smooth and reliable. So my only option for aftermarket stuff was to install a system in it, and I'll share with you some of the things I learned over the course of installing amps, head units, speakers and so forth. to start, the battery is in the trunk so this makes it SUPER EASY to wire the power to the amps which I have mounted on the back seats. The seats were great as far as bolting the amps right to them. I was also able to fit a capacitor on it for the sub amp (fyi if you go over 500 watts in this car you will have dimming headlights unless you buy a capacitor, I bought a cheap capacitor from frys that was 1.5 farads, now I dont have that problem anymore) I also have 4 alpine speakers with an amp for mid and treb and let me just say they sound nice but they were a bitch to install in this car, so i'd stick with a nice head unit and sub for a basic system under $400. my first system had 2 12's but I almost couldnt fit the box in the trunk make sure you measure everything carefully and underestimate sizes. the trunk opening is very small and is hard to fit anything through there. My second system was a 10 but It wasnt bumping enough. so in the end I settled with 1 12 in a sealed enclosure and I couldnt be happier, it bumps very nicely and leaves lots of trunk room (Space is a commodity in a car like this so keep that in mind). I highly doubt you could fit a 15 in this car. i mean Im sure you could get a 15 in the trunk but if you wanted any decent sound at all I guarantee you you could not fit an appropriate prefab'd 15 box in this car. your best bet would be to build one in the trunk haha. also I've installed stereos in countless cars and this is the EASIEST car to install amps or an aftermarket head unit in, so dont be scared to do a little research and do it yourself to save money on installs. so I hope these random thoughts help in your quest to make the baddest cobalt you can. if you've got any questions about anything just let me know I'll be here to help good luck!
performance doesnt decrease life, STRESS decreases life. a engine that makes 120hp thats built to handle it wont live any longer than a engine that makes 500hp thats built to handle it. an intake, header, and exhaust on lets say a nonturbo 1.6 to 2.3L 4cyl car will increase output like 5-10 horsepower. why? because it only increases its peak hp at a certain point. your headflow is what determines like 70% of your engines power, followed by displacement. theres something called volumetric efficiency, means what rpm and velocity your engine breathes best. if your car is built to be an economy car, your volumetric efficiency will be set up for low rpm fuel efficiency. a car with a wilder cam will have worse gas mileage AND less power on low rpm because its set up to breathe better at high RPM's. your cobalt is made to have decent low end torque for commuting and gas mileage. to make any decent power gains, you should have the cylinder head worked or at least a camshaft upgrade, but that requires work you may not be able to or want to do. if youre not serious with this car, save your money for something else.
if you put a wing kit on it... just promise us you wont think it makes it fast lol.. a stock coblat does work for a 2.2l 4cyl... put a lil money into the motor... put a wing on it.. then show ppl its fast lol.. but i would keep it basic.. cuz engine mods arent gunna be cheap.. if u have a 400 dollar stereo budget i doubt u have a 2000 dollar upgrade budget... lowering springs.. rims with a clean off set.. and make sure it flows with the stock paint.. these cars can look really nice done rite..