I am amazed at this

[CADDYMAN]

I am looking through my latest Road & Track and something caught my eye.

What is the deal here, it is really just the difference in the weight of the vehicle? Or does GM just have a potent 4 banger and a good specialization department?


2008 Chevrolet Cobalt SS ..................... 2007 Nismo 350z

Price as tested $23,490 ............... $38,070
Curb weight 2935 lb ................. 3550 lb
Engine, transmission 2.0-liter I-4t; 5-sp manual ................ 3.5 V6 5AT/6MT
Horsepower, bhp @ rpm 260 @ 5300 ................... 306 @ 6800
Torque, lb-ft @ rpm 260 @ 2000 .................... 268 @ 4800
0–60 mph 5.5 sec ..................... 5.3
0–100 mph 12.9 sec ..................... 13.4
0–1320 ft (1/4 mile) 14.0 sec @ 101.8 mph .................... 13.7 @102.3
Top speed 160 mph* .......................... 155
Braking, 60–0 mph 117 ft ..................... 120
Braking, 80–0 mph 207 ft ..................... 205
Lateral accel (200-ft skidpad) 0.92g ..................... 0.96
Speed thru 700-ft slalom 72.4 mph ..................... 69.4
Our mileage, 22 ..................... 18.9

The Cobalt SS has a slalom speed that is 1 MPH slower than the GTR????

[AUtigers370z]

Hmm... something seems fishy about that :thinking:

[Ninja350Z]

Just out of curiosity where did you find that info?

[ExtaZ33]

I would like to see one try to keep up... haha ... blow those Chevy doors off! :driving2:

[jsta240]

the ecotec engine is rather stout and that cobalt ss can pull some g's on the skidpad i have seen some impressive (possibly biased) information on that thing and made the srt4 stage 1 look like a geometro

[CADDYMAN]

It was in the latest Road & Track.... this is why I wanted opinions... does sound too good. But you never know.

[Crankee]

I believe the old Cobalt SS placed first in the Front wheel drive class in Time Attack at Buttonwood. Possibly broke a record. Not bad a fuel economy either.

[NissanEgg]

I believe the old Cobalt SS placed first in the Front wheel drive class in Time Attack at Buttonwood. Possibly broke a record. Not bad a fuel economy either.

Correct. The Cobalt SS Turbo and HHR SS Turbo both have "no-lift shift". That means you keep your foot in it, just use the clutch to change gears and keep the boost on full boil. That helps tremendously.

The Cobalt SS Turbo also set the fastest recorded lap time for a showroom stock FWD at Nurburgring with like a 8:22.xx or something. That's only about 40 seconds slower than a '08 Z06 around the same track with twice the power and tires wider than a Lazy-boy recliner.

On a side note, that same motor is rated for around 300hp in the new '09 Pontiac Solstice Coupe. With direct injection and turbo on these new Ecotec's, the sky is the limit for these 4-bangers.