Cobalt SS/TC to 2011 MazdaSpeed 3?

vahdyx

Hi all,

My name is Mike and I own a Cobalt SS Turbocharged. I currently have 310whp and 377wtq. It's a good car, but I want something nicer.

YouTube - ‪Trifecta Dyno for Cobalt SS Turbocharged Superflow Dyno‬&rlm;

I apologize for the intrusion on your forums, but I'm really into the new MS3! I love the look and to most it's ugly, but for some reason I think it's sexy. I went and test drove one and fell in love with the interior especially with the tech package! I was literally a heartbeat away from signing away the cobalt and getting the MS3.

Anyway I've done as much research as I can stand and there's only a few more unclosed things I need to figure out before I make effort to getting one.

I'm part of Cobaltss.net and I asked a guy that had an older MS3 and recently got a Cobalt SS/TC if he liked his car. He loved it and recommended it, but stated there's a lot of issues the moment you start adding power. This isn't the case with the Cobalt. He said he blew his piston ring or something like that just cobb tuning it.

Now I can't keep a car stock. It's against my religion lol, but if I get a MS3, am I gonna have these issues by tuning it and adding parts?

Also I hear that the car doesn't like to make it past 60k miles. Is this true?

Also if you guys can give me any advice and other information that'll be extremely helpful.

Thanks all and hopefully, you'll have me as a full member soon.

Respectuflly,

Michael aka Vahdyx

adlpb

Welcome to MSF. The first mod you need is the Donation mod. This will get you a lot more replies, respect and access to the VIP sections.

As far as mods to your car go, your friend is partially correct. Any performance modification other than an intake will require upgrading your stock fuel pump. You'll also wanna change your Rear Motor Mount off the bat, as the stock one is pretty weak and will cause wheel hop / missed gears. Other than that, the stock parts should hold up pretty well to bolt-on mods.

I haven't heard of the 60K miles issue. It all depends on how you treat and maintain your car. You can have a damn civic break at 50K if you treat it like crap.

Smily27

There are cars on here with well over 100k. It all depends on how you treat it and take care of it. Any car will fail on you if you treat it bad. Just search and you'll get all the answers you'll need.

tapa that ass!!!

banditscout

A lot of the blown motors have been attributed to driver error... When these cars first came out, a lot of folks were loading them up down low in the RPM range, causing rod failure. No WOT below 3k rpms is a fairly safe recommendation. Some of us do it regularly without issue, but that seems to be the most logical reason for the rods letting go.
Also, fuel pump, fuel pump, and more fuel pump. With a Genpu, that should be the first thing you do (especially considering your love of modding). The MS3 is definitely a much nicer car (as a whole package) than the cobalt IMO. I think you'll greatly enjoy it.
Lastly, we have an incredible community here. Donating helps to sustain it, and gets you much better answers when (inevitably) you have questions. Good luck with the new ride.

Lex

Reliability is directly related to the driver. There have been some blow-ups with the early Gen 1s but things have changed quite a bit lately. There are many big turbo people on stock motors and the Gen 2 has been even more reliable in the powertrain department.

If you do your research and mod wisely you will not have any issues.

MS33SM

Don't expect 310hp & 377tq easily. Gotta go BT for #s like that.

predapio

Welcome Michael. Those blue fans made me lol....I use them for my job...I haz like 30 of them..lololol

topher3134

While it performs well. U still have a cavalier!

Stealth01

Originally Posted by vahdyx

I love the look and to most it's ugly, but for some reason I think it's sexy.

This has most recently been tied to being GAY. I think you'll probably find that the following are also true:

1. You prefer franks over tacos.
2. You like your weenies chocolate-covered.
3. Show tunes make you cry.
4. You find Lenny attractive, especially if he's wearing a thong
5. You really wanted a PT Cruiser or a VW Rabbit, but weren't ready to "out" yourself yet.
6. You previously owned a Cobalt-alier.

Sorry...just kidding.

Welcome, and what everyone else said -- Intake, HPFP, RMM, TUNE TUNE TUNE.

rghispanic88

The MS3 is an awesome car and i absolutely love it.

like everyone said the fuel pump upgrade is a must if you plan on modding. it can cost around 350 to 400 for internals which pretty much the same.

if you treat the car right and maintain it, then it will treat u right. ive had no problems since ive bought it 1 year ago and ive been modding it moderately.

This community is the BEST and MOST knowledgeable that i know of. so, a mere 10 dorra donation a year will only keep the knowledge growing for all of us.

oh10speed3

The reliability is directly proportionate to how well you take care of the car. If you get a stiffer rear motor mount and a high pressure fuel pump right off the bat, you will probably never have any problems so long as you own the car. Just change the oil religiously, and don't go WOT under 3k rpm.

I've never heard of the 60k mile thing either. If you're worried about it, just get the extended warranty. I bought it, just in case, but I don't think I'll ever use it. However, you will need to stock out, and hit up a mod friendly dealer to be safe.

All in all, if you have the means, I highly suggest picking one up.

Stealth01

Is the FP design in the GenPu that much different than it is for the Gen 1 and MS6?

G26

Originally Posted by Stealth01

Is the FP design in the GenPu that much different than it is for the Gen 1 and MS6?

Same fuel pump as far as I know, but the ecu fueling logic is different.

silvapain

Originally Posted by vahdyx

I'm part of Cobaltss.net and I asked a guy that had an older MS3 and recently got a Cobalt SS/TC if he liked his car. He loved it and recommended it, but stated there's a lot of issues the moment you start adding power. This isn't the case with the Cobalt. He said he blew his piston ring or something like that just cobb tuning it.

Now I can't keep a car stock. It's against my religion lol, but if I get a MS3, am I gonna have these issues by tuning it and adding parts?

Also I hear that the car doesn't like to make it past 60k miles. Is this true?

If you follow the excellent advice on this forum, you should have no problems making good power reliably. Plenty of Speeds on here are running past 60K (I'm at 61K at stage 2 with no problems).

P.S. I'm assuming you're referring to the Gen 2 when you say many people think the car is ugly. Don't worry; most of us think it's pretty ugly too.

TRex

Originally Posted by Stealth01

Is the FP design in the GenPu that much different than it is for the Gen 1 and MS6?

no...but as was said how the ecu responds to low pressure is....it is much quicker dump fuel if it starts to lose pressure....which just makes things worse if the pump cant up....go to cobbs genpu section...there is a document explaining it there

as for the cobalt...i admire their power....however...as a DD...the ms3 is a much more refined vehicle...it is quicker than most cars twice its price point...plus nothing beats having a hatch

vahdyx

Hey guys, sorry I had to resurrect this thread, but I am in a dilemma.

A guy wants to buy my car for $3000 more than my original amount paid and $6000 more than I currently owe on my car. This is somewhat huge for me and I don't know what to do.

I keep hearing MS3's have a tendency to pop or break during WOTs for no reason. I spoke with a MS3 owner on the Cobalt forums and he said his broke and he took good care of his car. Heresay of course, we don't know for sure, but it makes me wonder.

But what's important to me now is just a better build quality (I don't want squeeks, rattles) and reliability. I won't be doing much to the MS3 if I get one, just rims, lip kit, Fogs, lip kit and perhaps catch can and mounts.

Anyway, I considered a Hyundai Genesis Coupe, but RWD has got to suck in Colorado winters.

Anyway if you were me, what would you do. Jump at this opportunity to get a MS3 or wait it out and sell when I have the car paid off at the end of 2012 early 2013?

helmetface

Jump and don't look back.

You won't be dissapointed

rghispanic88

Originally Posted by vahdyx

Hey guys, sorry I had to resurrect this thread, but I am in a dilemma.

A guy wants to buy my car for $3000 more than my original amount paid and $6000 more than I currently owe on my car. This is somewhat huge for me and I don't know what to do.

I keep hearing MS3's have a tendency to pop or break during WOTs for no reason. I spoke with a MS3 owner on the Cobalt forums and he said his broke and he took good care of his car. Heresay of course, we don't know for sure, but it makes me wonder.

But what's important to me now is just a better build quality (I don't want squeeks, rattles) and reliability. I won't be doing much to the MS3 if I get one, just rims, lip kit, Fogs, lip kit and perhaps catch can and mounts.

Anyway, I considered a Hyundai Genesis Coupe, but RWD has got to suck in Colorado winters.

Anyway if you were me, what would you do. Jump at this opportunity to get a MS3 or wait it out and sell when I have the car paid off at the end of 2012 early 2013?

The MS3 is a great car. What that guy was refering to about the car breaking during WOT is the fuel pump. if you do too many Power mods the stock fuel pump will not be able to keep up.

A resolution to this is fuel punp internals which cost about 300 bucks or an aftermarket fuel pump which is about 600 bucks. After that the car will run beautifully.

The car does not rattle unless you install the parts poorly or have shitty quality mods, other than that the car is a beast.

Keeping up the car is Key

SRTie4k

Originally Posted by vahdyx

Hey guys, sorry I had to resurrect this thread, but I am in a dilemma.

A guy wants to buy my car for $3000 more than my original amount paid and $6000 more than I currently owe on my car. This is somewhat huge for me and I don't know what to do.

I keep hearing MS3's have a tendency to pop or break during WOTs for no reason. I spoke with a MS3 owner on the Cobalt forums and he said his broke and he took good care of his car. Heresay of course, we don't know for sure, but it makes me wonder.

But what's important to me now is just a better build quality (I don't want squeeks, rattles) and reliability. I won't be doing much to the MS3 if I get one, just rims, lip kit, Fogs, lip kit and perhaps catch can and mounts.

Anyway, I considered a Hyundai Genesis Coupe, but RWD has got to suck in Colorado winters.

Anyway if you were me, what would you do. Jump at this opportunity to get a MS3 or wait it out and sell when I have the car paid off at the end of 2012 early 2013?

Pretty much all issues with MS3's have been ironed out over the past few years. The people that blew up early were before we really understood the limitations of the engine and the stock fueling system. And of course there were a hand-full of flukes out there.

There really aren't any known issues with the gen2's, though (other than a majority of the owners being complete noobs). The only thing you need to do if you want to buy one is a compression check (to make sure someone wasn't beating the snot out of it). If that checks out, you shouldn't be worried about reliability.

BigJimMs3

Originally Posted by vahdyx

Hey guys, sorry I had to resurrect this thread, but I am in a dilemma.

A guy wants to buy my car for $3000 more than my original amount paid and $6000 more than I currently owe on my car. This is somewhat huge for me and I don't know what to do.

I keep hearing MS3's have a tendency to pop or break during WOTs for no reason. I spoke with a MS3 owner on the Cobalt forums and he said his broke and he took good care of his car. Heresay of course, we don't know for sure, but it makes me wonder.

But what's important to me now is just a better build quality (I don't want squeeks, rattles) and reliability. I won't be doing much to the MS3 if I get one, just rims, lip kit, Fogs, lip kit and perhaps catch can and mounts.

Anyway, I considered a Hyundai Genesis Coupe, but RWD has got to suck in Colorado winters.

Anyway if you were me, what would you do. Jump at this opportunity to get a MS3 or wait it out and sell when I have the car paid off at the end of 2012 early 2013?

Yea buy a ms3 you wont regret it. Interior of the speed3 (even Genpoo's) are better than the cobalt. Gf had a sc/ss and holy shit was that thing a pos. Moonroof would make cracking sounds when it was open/door would jam/just the car was blah... she now has a 2010 tech package.

J_Logik

Originally Posted by vahdyx

Hey guys, sorry I had to resurrect this thread, but I am in a dilemma.

A guy wants to buy my car for $3000 more than my original amount paid and $6000 more than I currently owe on my car. This is somewhat huge for me and I don't know what to do.

I keep hearing MS3's have a tendency to pop or break during WOTs for no reason. I spoke with a MS3 owner on the Cobalt forums and he said his broke and he took good care of his car. Heresay of course, we don't know for sure, but it makes me wonder.

But what's important to me now is just a better build quality (I don't want squeeks, rattles) and reliability.

I won't be doing much to the MS3 if I get one, just rims, lip kit, Fogs, lip kit and perhaps catch can and mounts.

Anyway, I considered a Hyundai Genesis Coupe, but RWD has got to suck in Colorado winters.

Anyway if you were me, what would you do. Jump at this opportunity to get a MS3 or wait it out and sell when I have the car paid off at the end of 2012 early 2013?

I'm sorry bud, I don't mean to flame you, but I nearly LMFAO when I read this part of your post......really you want to compare the reliability of the MS3 to a boosted new-age Cavalier?!?!

Others have already told you about the proper parts, mounts and maintenace etc., so as far as selling your Cobalt, get that $$$$ from the overzealous person who will leave $6K clear in your pocket, save $2.5K for mods and snow tires and laugh as you fly by the person you sold the Cobalt to while he's stranded on the side of the road next spring in your new Genpu!!

That is all

jack_hammer

sell car
profit
donate
buy ms3

vahdyx

Originally Posted by J_Logik

I'm sorry bud, I don't mean to flame you, but I nearly LMFAO when I read this part of your post......really you want to compare the reliability of the MS3 to a boosted new-age Cavalier?!?!

Others have already told you about the proper parts, mounts and maintenace etc., so as far as selling your Cobalt, get that $$$$ from the overzealous person who will leave $6K clear in your pocket, save $2.5K for mods and snow tires and laugh as you fly by the person you sold the Cobalt to while he's stranded on the side of the road next spring in your new Genpu!!

That is all

No offense taken, but I will say this in Cobalts defense. I haven't had any issues with the motor and the internals are forged from the factory I believe, so I don't imagine the main engine being a problem. It's just everything else that can and probably will be an issue down the road. I've already taken my car in like 4 times for warranty work. Ignition switch, steering column rattle, brakes, and sensor failure. But I agree, the interior is terrible and the ride quality is so bad. I hit a bump about a month ago and it sounded like my car just lost the engine out the bottom of my car. The thud was 100 db.

The only reason why I like the SS/TC is because it's the fastest FWD car that was produced and available for sale in the US. Little did I know it was also poorly built.

So now, the important things are quality

tooslow10

the Mazdaspeed3 recorded its quickest acceleration times, completing the 0–60 mph sprint in 5.3 seconds, with a quarter mile time of 13.8 at 102 mph

Cobalt owners have found that better times can be achieved while racing when the car is manually launched. These features help propel the car from 0 to 60 mph (97 km/h) in a class-leading 5.5 seconds, and a quarter mile time of 13.9 seconds at 102.5 mph

wouldn't say the cobalt is the fastest........this is from excerpts from car and driver..

DISIindahead

Get the MS3 and get rid of that Cobalt!

BTW RWD is not so bad in Colorado as long as you just take it slow and have decent All Seasons or even Winter tires. I mean shit, my neighbor drives his 700hp WS6 as a winter DD and hasnt had problems in the 15 years hes lived here.

Jake5713

Originally Posted by MS33SM

Don't expect 310hp & 377tq easily. Gotta go BT for #s like that.

You can make 310/377 on a ko4

---
I am here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=44.739692,-93.107887
-Jake

BigJimMs3

Originally Posted by Jake5713

You can make 310/377 on a ko4

---
I am here: Google Maps
-Jake

Im not going to hit 377tq but i hope to hit 305-310hp with the dp install over the weekend. And some where around 330-335tq.

Jake5713

Originally Posted by BigJimMs3

Im not going to hit 377tq but i hope to hit 305-310hp with the dp install over the weekend. And some where around 330-335tq.

nice man!
good luck with the dp install, looking at doing it myself around tax time!

vahdyx · 04:51 PM

Originally Posted by tooslow10lol

the Mazdaspeed3 recorded its quickest acceleration times, completing the 0–60 mph sprint in 5.3 seconds, with a quarter mile time of 13.8 at 102 mph

Cobalt owners have found that better times can be achieved while racing when the car is manually launched. These features help propel the car from 0 to 60 mph (97 km/h) in a class-leading 5.5 seconds, and a quarter mile time of 13.9 seconds at 102.5 mph

wouldn't say the cobalt is the fastest........this is from excerpts from car and driver..

I disagree, the MS3 according to Edmunds, Car and Driver, Consumer Report, Modified Magazine all show data of the Cobalt SS beating out the MS3 if not matching it. I find more articles stating a faster time with the SS, especially on track runs like the Nurburgring track. There's no other FWD car with as much power on paper as the MS3 or Cobalt SS/TC (Well Caliber SRT4) that I can think of in the sold in the states. So if it's not the SS/TC then it's the MS3 and I'm fine with that lol.

Anyway all besides the point. The SS to me is stupid, I don't like it anymore. To me it's a terrible car for daily driving. If I just wanted to build a fast car, sure I guess, but I don't wanna be 500whp on a FWD car doing the speed limit 90% of the time uncomfortable anyway. I'd rather be 270-310whp in a MS3 and feeling good.

***Edit***

A MS3 driver posted on CSS.net and corrected some SS drivers. Apparently they're comparable in performance. So that makes me even more excited for a MS3.

vahdyx

Well, the buyer just contacted me and backed out due to personal problems. Son of a...

Well, I'm not going to let this stop me. I'm gonna hopefully sell it for asking price and hop into a 2010+ MS3 soon and when I do, I'll be sure to donate to the forums.

Thanks guys

kylelewis32

do it man. get er done and get rid of the slobolt

alochsta

I went from a Cobalt SS/SC to a Honda S2000 to a Genpu MS3. Loved the S2000 the best, honestly, but had to switch because of having kids.

Anyways... S2000 aside, the difference between the SS and the MS3 is substantial. You have to look beyond what's under the hood. Clearly performance is important to you, which is great, but you can get equal performance from both machines if you put in the time and money. The difference is in build quality. The Chevy is total garbage. The interior is as cheap as an old Cavalier (yes, I owned one of those once too). Pieces just break, rattle, and fall off consistently. Sure, there's plastic in the Mazda, but it's done with better quality.

The biggest difference for me was the gearbox. Even after putting a B&M shorty in the SS, the gearbox is still garbage compared to the MS3 OEM gearbox. (Wish I could have the S2000 gearbox back, but that's irrelevant).

From somebody who's made the switch already, I suggest doing it simply because you'll be happier with the Mazda day-to-day. And as for people having issues with the Mazda's early on, I think that depends on how you drive and how carelessly you mod. I knew of a lot of Cobalts blowing up too. The Ecotec is nice, but it's nothing special.

alphasaur · 09:22 PM

Originally Posted by vahdyx

Hey guys, sorry I had to resurrect this thread, but I am in a dilemma.

A guy wants to buy my car for $3000 more than my original amount paid and $6000 more than I currently owe on my car. This is somewhat huge for me and I don't know what to do.

I keep hearing MS3's have a tendency to pop or break during WOTs for no reason. I spoke with a MS3 owner on the Cobalt forums and he said his broke and he took good care of his car. Heresay of course, we don't know for sure, but it makes me wonder.

But what's important to me now is just a better build quality (I don't want squeeks, rattles) and reliability. I won't be doing much to the MS3 if I get one, just rims, lip kit, Fogs, lip kit and perhaps catch can and mounts.

Anyway, I considered a Hyundai Genesis Coupe, but RWD has got to suck in Colorado winters.

Anyway if you were me, what would you do. Jump at this opportunity to get a MS3 or wait it out and sell when I have the car paid off at the end of 2012 early 2013?

Definitely sell the cobalt if you're making a profit on it, you'd be an idiot not to.

I was considering the gc before I got my ms3, the 2.0t is SLOW when I test drove it, felt eh cheapish inside and was very cramped.

These cars don't really pop as long as you're running a good tune, but there are always those few that have (usually a combination of things, high bat, knock and woting at low rpms)

In terms of build quality I'd say mazda is probably one of the best non luxury brands.

The tranny in gen ones imo is vague and hondas have better feeling trannys

ms3 is quick car with a good amount of torque, also alot of room and they're nicely put together. Go for it.

Originally Posted by J_Logik

I'm sorry bud, I don't mean to flame you, but I nearly LMFAO when I read this part of your post......really you want to compare the reliability of the MS3 to a boosted new-age Cavalier?!?!

Others have already told you about the proper parts, mounts and maintenace etc., so as far as selling your Cobalt, get that $$$$ from the overzealous person who will leave $6K clear in your pocket, save $2.5K for mods and snow tires and laugh as you fly by the person you sold the Cobalt to while he's stranded on the side of the road next spring in your new Genpu!!

That is all

their motors are reliable, stop talking.

2011speed

lets be real here fellas a cobalt ss stock for stock will be a drivers race, but mod for mod, the cobalt makes better power.

But thats pretty much where the glory ends for the cobalt because everything else about it IS garbage.

vahdyx

Originally Posted by 2011speed

lets be real here fellas a cobalt ss stock for stock will be a drivers race, but mod for mod, the cobalt makes better power.

But thats pretty much where the glory ends for the cobalt because everything else about it IS garbage.

I support this comment, but I'd also like to add that the Cobalt is a very very cheap machine. I had to put down my rear seats and touched the back of my rear seats, you know the area where the rear speakers are and underneath the rear window. I about fell through. The material that's back there is, I kid you not, a thin; probably cardboard wall. It flexed and I almost broke it looking for a way to put my rear seats down.

I thought to myself this is the final straw. So I spent a good 15 minutes looking for more cheap shit and the list is astronomical.

Like I said, if I want a fast cheap car, sure the cobalt is great, but as a daily driver I can't justify keeping it. It's too harsh and not practical. I want 4 doors and a hatch and to be quick. The MS3 seems like the perfect match.

alochsta

My final straw was when I went to open the sunroof on my cobalt and the button fell off in my hand. Not to mention the silver paint on the door trim that rubbed off in the first 4 months and the giant wing that flaps around like a shopping bag in the wind.

vahdyx

Originally Posted by alochsta

My final straw was when I went to open the sunroof on my cobalt and the button fell off in my hand. Not to mention the silver paint on the door trim that rubbed off in the first 4 months and the giant wing that flaps around like a shopping bag in the wind.

No button probs and I have a low spoiler. I made sure not to get a high spoiler. I definitively do not like the high spoiler...

Here's my car

MammaFreed3

rghispanic88 wrote:

if you do too many Power mods the stock fuel pump will not be able to keep up.

I'm looking at adding a CorkSport sri/tip to my stock 2010, no other performance mods. Will the stock fuel pump be fine?

adlpb

Originally Posted by MammaFreed3

rghispanic88 wrote:

I'm looking at adding a CorkSport sri/tip to my stock 2010, no other performance mods. Will the stock fuel pump be fine?

Yes it should

Rustysocket

Originally Posted by MammaFreed3

rghispanic88 wrote:

I'm looking at adding a CorkSport sri/tip to my stock 2010, no other performance mods. Will the stock fuel pump be fine?

I'm running a CS sri/tip on my stock '11, no other mods. No issues at all. Very easy install.

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