Selecting Turbo For 08 Cobalt Sport

[CobaltCraig]

I just purchased a 2008 Cobalt Sport with the naturally aspirated 2.4L LE5 under the hood and I am looking into putting a turbocharger on it. I'm not looking to turn this into a track car, just a fun street car. In terms of power I was looking to at least crank out a little more than the 260 you see in the SS's.

Essentially I am looking for advice on where to look for a kit or what specific kits would fit what I'm looking to do. And obviously if the current power-train can handle the extra horse power.

I am a "diy" mechanic but I do have a friend who works in a shop that does a lot of work with turbos and is going to help me out. He and I could do this ourselves but I wanted to consult people with experience working on these cars. So ANY advice would be greatly appreciated!!!!

 

[YelloEye]

The Garrett Disco Potato works nicely, a slightly larger one will probably work better with the 2.4.

 

[CobaltCraig]

What I'm really having trouble with is finding a kit to fit this specific car. This car was only made for half a year so I'm having a hard time.

 

[YelloEye]

Anything designed for the 2.2 L61 will fit the same. Air plumbing on the two is so far as makes no difference, the same. Hahn Racecraft makes a complete kit, as does ZZP. I recommend ZZP for most all motor parts.

Anything designed for the supercharged 2.0 LSJ will fit fine as well of it comes with an intake manifold. The adapter plate that comes with most LSJ swaps puts the throttle body right around the same as the LE5. Might need a little fabrication there.

Anything designed for the 2.0 LNF well not fit unless it comes with intake and exhaust manifolds. You can use the entire intake and exhaust manifolds and turbo setup off one, you'll run out of steam before 350whp with the K04 turbo. Though you'll have a miniscule spool time, that's always amusing. The stock turbo starts making boost before 2k rpm and can hit full boost before 3k on the 2.0, imagine adding almost half a liter of displacement.

The 2.4 LE5 was in the Cobalt for like 3 years, they just called it an SS for 06 & 07. So there are 3 different SS models.

 

[CobaltCraig]

I found the zzp and han kits. Those would work but if I can find some cheaper options that'd be great.

The 2.0 LNF setup intrigues me. I don't need 350 hp so trading off some for the short spool time would be perfect.

Just to make sure I'm following, the complete 2.0 lnf setup will only fit if I find the right exhaust and intake manifolds?

 

[YelloEye]

To use the stock LNF kit you just need the stock parts off an LNF. I might be missing some things on the list but it's probably the easiest route. Plumbing will have to be done in any case.

Intake manifold
Exhaust manifold
Turbo and associated water/oil lines
Intercooler and piping