So by your reasoning, in order to get the Mustang "fixed", you'd have to do the following...
1) To get the engine enough air to run properly, you need to put on a blower of some sort.
2) You need to get a tune to fix the throttle lag/hang issue.
3) Then you need to put on some upgraded suspension stuff in the rear to fix the wheel hop issues and get better traction.
4) Then you need to get some long tube headers and an off road X pipe so the exhaust flows properly.
5) Need some Drag Radials too so there is no wheel spin with the stock tires.

After all that is "fixed", lets race!

The only real fair comparison here is stock to stock. Just because the stock "problems" are fixable doesn't mean you are not modifying it. Plus how much $$ would you have to spend just to fix all those "problems"?

 

12.84 is fast.
Up graded intake
Downpipe
Cat backs
tuned
Drag radials.
all sound reasonable. I think the same mods on a mustang wouldn't get it in the 12 second area.

ported blower, blower pulley, and heat exhanger might be the costly things that get in the 12 second area. but idk.

 

check this out.
http://forums.bradbarnett.net/showthread.php?t=66246

 

The cobalt has lowered compression to handle the blower stock though. You would have to change your internals to put it on. That is part of what I meant. We aren’t’ swapping it or lowering compression more to raise boost. Just utilizing what is there.

Yeah, tune is acceptable. I don’t see that as any more than fixing bad stock issues.

The wheel issues for the cobalt don’t compare though. The cobalt is laughable from stock. Think of it this way. If you have a 3-400 hp car and you spin tires on a high rev that makes sense, but when you have 200hp and you can spin the whole way through 4rth gear something isn’t right.

The car will basically destroy its drivetrain stock. Like I said, it’s a POS stock. You have to really baby it. Bolt-ons like header/exhaust don’t really count much either as going away from stock. You should try the cobalt stock tire set up sometime. They are 18 inches and they wear away to nothing less than 2 years without racing.

I have like 3,000 in the car right now. Keep in mind though the mustangs are running 32+ to buy so anything under 12,000 still keeps them even. The extra money bought you better stock parts.

The heat exchanger is only like 200. That is another flaw of the cobalt. We have weak 4rth cylinders because of heat issues. A lot of people have blown them without a lot of cooling upgrades. It isn’t really for performance. The car basically needs 3-5k just to run safely unless you are only cruising around. The pulley upgrade just maxes out the stock blower. It generates a lot of heat so stock they under did it to save on the life of it and the engine; also, it is to cut costs on actually supporting it with proper cooling.

The poking fun part before I didn’t answer because I had to head to work. I just meant we get labeled rice a lot. Also, in general, you can’t hang with mustangs just because a lot of drivers look down on you. I get a lot of negative vibes when riding around if I run into a V6 especially. The V8 guys usually are cool. I wish the punk kids didn’t make the cobalt’s loose so much respect. Same thing as I like to keep my distance from rice cars. I guess it is hard for the cobalt to be recognized with it’s American cousins rather than sent off with the imports.

 

I disagree. downpipe = LT headers for the stangs, good tune, c&l intake, drag radials could very well get a gt into the high 12's. add a blower.....you have a 11 second car.

I have a friend with a 12 second turbo Cavalier. he gets respect from the american V8 crowd because he acts like normal person. Ricers all claim they run 11's.....or wanna 3 honk race from a roll......that's just ridiculous...a "race" is from a dig. simple as that.

I do however give him crap for the picnic table ricer wing though!

 

One time a Man on a Mule tried to Race me. I said, "Surely you jest! You are but a man on A mule!" He responded by revving His Mule.

I called him an *** and proceeded down The Road.

 

32k+ to buy a Mustang?? What are you smoking? I bought mine when they first came out and it was just over $29,000 STICKER. 32-35 is a convertable.

 

Yeah, try about 26K. Thats what I paid for my '06, and it had every option except leather and the Shaker1000.

 

Still I got the cobalt ss/sc for 18k. Even with the 26 there with an 8 grand difference. All I'm saying is the cobalt is a cheap car. It is a pos without a little investment. Also, should compare cars not stock to stock, but at the investment comparison when they both equal the same stock price. IE: cobalt + 8k parts. I'm saying for any car though. I look at them based on price and potential.

 

Well technically when you speak "potential" a 4 cylinders potential is severly limited in comparison to a V8 in a potential sense. . I get what you are saying otherwise. True enough, but you then open another can of worms by comparing lower priced cars. I mean potential wise a 10k LS1 Camaro with 8k in parts = 10 or lower second car, or even the same with an old Fox for even less coin. It's more about preference than anything nowadays.

 

The 2.0 was rated one of the top 10 motors though. It has a potential of 1000 horse power and 6 second qm. It isn't that limited; those have already been achieve officially not just some kids or friend of friends.

I'm talking new cars or bought new anyway since obviously you could get a 10 year old car and make it fast as hell for under 20k. I agree though, it is more about preference. I'm just saying, I respect all the other cars out there. The cobalt usually just gets laughed at though.

 

It gets laughed at because it is a COBALT. I sat in one a few years ago at the St. Louis Auto Show and it was the biggest piece ever. It was a brand new car and the HVAC control ***** felt like there was sand inside them, all gritty feeling on the movement. The e-brake handle came off in my hand when I was just barely pulling on it. There was laminate peeling from some of the plastic under the steering wheel. When I shut the door, it kept rattling like there was something loose inside for like 1.5 seconds. I think it was just the interior trim panel that was loose.

I understand those car show cars get a rough life, but the car had 25 miles on it. My friend and I decided it was the worst car at the entire car show, and we sat in about 100 different cars.

 

That sounds about right for gm. I'll give you that for sure. My brake lights went out even after 2 months because of bad factory wiring. Let alone the small stuff.

 

And that, my friends, is probably the most clever thing in this thread.....