I decided that I would ignore all ecomodding until the car had a proper break in, which I concluded was best after it's first oil change.
7890 miles later that oil change is going to happen in a week or two.
ANYWAYS. The car has a well known engine, the GM LNF 2.0L Turbo 4cyl.
It's built for speed it's currently the record holder as the fastest factory FWD car to hit the 'ring, there are some vids of it to on youtube.
I bought it because speed and power doesn't have to come with a mileage price tag. I currently average high 27s in mixed driving and a generous helping of accelerator pedal. Experiments have shown I can get 37mpg on my daily commute with attentive driving, the right combination of stop lights and forgiving traffic. The turbocharger DOES NOT lend well to pulse and glide, or most other driving habits. It builds boost extremely quickly.
The car has a built in fuel cutoff when coasting in either 4th or 5th gear, however this may not be as efficient as idling and coasting, due to the nature of the beast we will see. Anyways, follow me along and if you have good input help me with a project to have a car that makes 300HP, runs 13s in the 1/4 mile and gets 40mpg daily driving.
I'd like to prove at a bare minimum the car can meet the EPA estimates for the XFE version of the same car.
At 8488 miles I have changed the oil, switched to a K&N drop in filter and adjusted air pressure to 38 front and 36 rear cold. I also removed the rear seat since nobody is ever in it. It weighs more than I expected, probably 80-100 lbs for backrest and seat together with seat belt assemblies.
The car is factory otherwise.
I had a baseline average with usual driving habits on the same route in the same weather of 31.6mpg.
After a tank of fuel my new average is 34.4mpg
I still haven't changed my driving habits but I don't speed either.
For those interested in knowing what tires I use, they are factory installed Continental ContiSport2 225 width i am not positive the aspect but I believe 35 on an 18 inch rim. They are not eco friendly tires but do roll well.
My next mods will include a coroplast of the underside towards the rear and removal of the high rise rear wing, for both weight and efficiency, though is it possible the wing helps?
That's the car, didn't bother shopping out the plate...doesn't really matter I'm the only turbo cobalt owner in a 50 mile radius...
Anyways, the wing I discovered is actually at best 8 or 9 pounds, and it appears to have a purpose which is directing airflow not "downforce" just directing airflow slightly...I'm going to test it with and without, the look of it doesn't bother me if it was gone or stayed in place.
I also wanted to mention the reason why I think this car is a good choice. It has the holy grail of fuel injection.
Direct Injection. No need for injector cleaner, no fuel dumping, incredibly reactive to slight fuel and timing tunes and it has the most interesting idle I've heard from a 4 cylinder motor.
I think those cars are pretty sweet.
I think this is a perfect formula for a small car.
Decent size, has the ability to be very very fuel efficent, yet a fast perfromance car when you want to have fun.
When they switched to turbo from the supercharger didn't they set it up to run off of 89 octane instead of requiring premium?
One thing I would suggest is look around online and see if the 15" steel wheels from the entry cobalts will clear the brakes on this car. if they do, you could go down to 15's and add some smooth wheel covers, would save some weight, rolling resistance, and add to the aerodynamics. Also there are plenty of 15" tires that will still give you good grip and improve your economy.
or you could get some light weight 15's.
either way with the right tires your handling would improve because you would be dropping alot of unsprung weight.
Ecomodding a Cobalt SS/TC
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