Sh0nuff

Ok first...it's been awhile, I went to a 2.2balt to a SRT4 now to a 2.0 balt.
Are the tops of the stock inj's a bright green?

Ok next, right after I start the car - while driving - while idling - while shut off for a bit
the car ticks from the exhaust...sounds like either around the cat or the resenator...
I do know the cat was replaced in this car about 10k miles ago..
I have a check engine light, if the bat is reset it's good for about 250miles then it comes back on, the light is solid.


Also not sure if stock it should be like this, but the exhaust is super quiet...even when u are getting on it, it doesn't make much sound...

So any ideas guys? Any pointers? car has 62k on it.

One more questions....how hot is too hot? car was running at 219 in traffic...so I kicked on the heater full to bring it down...i just wanna know how hot is too hot? And are there any issues with useing water wetter in our coolant systems?

Also anyone have any issues after adding seafoam to their gas tank or come out with good results?

Thanks!

Ryze

the ticking noise is just the exhaust cooling.. its normal and happens on all cars.

Did you check your engine to make sure it was there like the light suggests??if so your, good to go, just ignore the light..

j/k
No one is going to be able to tell you what the engine light is on for until you get it scanned and the code its throwing is known, it can come on for a lot of reason.

The exhaust is quiet because its stock

the injectors are bright green

Sh0nuff

Well the exhaust cooling would make sense, but it starts after less then a minute after starting the car while the car is running and continues.



oh **** wait...i never did check to see if the engine was there! You think someone might have taken it? ~

Tazmanian_Dvl

Go to autozone or advance auto parts if you have one near your house and they will read your codes for free. When they replaced the cat did they replace it with a high flow cat? That may be the issue. If they did you'll probably have to find someone with HP Tuners to turn the rear O2 sensor off

Sh0nuff

I don't think so, looks the same as stock from the pics i seen and was done at a stealership...so I would say it's oem...
ok I will run by autozone tomorrow after work.

Tazmanian_Dvl

I wouldn't worry too much about it. If it was major it would be flashing or your car would put itself into reduced power mode...

Jkunzy1690

219 idt is too. hot.. but thats warm. my car is a consistent 180-190...but since you were in traffic that makes sense

Sh0nuff

yeah i figured that tooo....
but i'm gun shy now after the POS srt4 I had, that car was a nightmare..was always something going wrong with it, fix one thing then bam another whould pop up like a week later..

I remember my 2.2 would go around 216 in traffic...
the fan doesn't kick on till' 220 does it?

Tazmanian_Dvl

Do you plan on modding? If you do you better do the supporting mods before you go for the power mods or else ****'s gonna go BOOM

BTW My 06 SS/SC runs around 220 on a hot day in traffic...

Zach06CobaltSC

219 for engine coolant is warm but nothing to be worried about. If you were driving 70 on the highway for 20mins and that was the temp, i would be worried. But just chillen out in traffic moving all slow, heat from every which way, will heat up a car quickly.

As far as the code, i would guess its a p0420 code which is a cat code. It's nothing major nor anything to worry about. I would find someone in your area with hptuners to delete the code *if thats what it is*.

Sh0nuff

yeah i think the cat is shot...
i will get that checked tomorrow..
would it be good or a waste to put water wetter in the coolant?

Zach06CobaltSC

The car wont go boom without cooling mods, unless its pushed pretty far. However cooling mods help tremendously and can also help keep the power you have. A lot of people don't realize that stock cars are losing a lot of power in the top end after a single pull or two because of heat soaking.

Modded cars without cooling mods are heatsoaking massively and are causing a lot of danger to there engines. The #4 cyl has been known to break if the IAT2's are to high, and the EGT's are to high. A lot of people on here will tell you iat2 this and iat2 that, yes iat2's are very important. However so are egt temps. If you have a safe iat2 temp and a safe egt temp you will be fine.

Anyways I could go on and on about different things. But hopefully this is a good start for you.

water wetter helps slightly but not much imo. Also if the cat is shot then you would be registering MORE boost than usual. What kind of boost are you hitting currently? The cat is probably perfect and not stock, which is causing the code. A lot of these cars will throw the p0420 code when they don't have the stock cat in.

SloBaLt RiDeR

even sitting in traffic should not be in the 219, thermostat not opening, and dont get on it when its that hott piston #4 does not like it

do your cooling mods 1st, heat is the enemy, if you plan on modifying ur balt which IMO is impossible not to do

Zach06CobaltSC

This guy has 49 posts, don't listen to him. He has no idea what he is talking about. It's not to hot at 219. Apparently you have never seen the charts with fan control and temps in hptuners.

Sh0nuff

ok as of now i have not moded it...not sure if I am going to, If i do it will be a gmpp stage kit...
I can say the cat and downpipe look exactly like the stock pics I've seen of em.
Boost is about 10 - 12

What would be the best cooling mods to start with?

Tazmanian_Dvl

mine hits 220 regularly on hot days when I'm sitting in traffic. the newer cars are actually made to run hotter because the engine is more efficient. Now if my 20 year old camaro was hittin 220 I'd be worried. 220 on the newer cars is nothing to be concerned about...

Johnboy12358

If my car ever gets close to 200 coolant, I hit the AC to bring it down, with the AC on I never go over 189, ever.

Zach06CobaltSC

Also, your engine coolant temp will NOT change at all with cooling mods. Cooling mods are to help with iat2 aka intake air temp 2. IAT2's are very important however, keeping these low will save your car.

Also, theres nothing wrong with getting on the car hard when the coolant is high, infact its BETTER than when its cold. One of the worst things you can do to a car is start it up and slam down the gas when she's cold. The warmer it is before you slam the gas, the better.

NEVER get on the car hard until the car has reached operating temp. and the oil has heated up and gotten through the engine. I recommend waiting until the 180s. *this is referring to engine coolant temps*

Tazmanian_Dvl

Best cooling mod is a CX racing heat exchanger, a dual pass, and option b then meth when you get up there with your mods...

Zach06CobaltSC

In my opinion the BEST cooling mod is something called methanol/water injection. It's NOTHING like nitrous oxide and is VERY VERY safe. This will help you lower your iat2's down and keep your cylinders clean.

Basically you spray a mixture of methanol *to raise the octane* and water *to cool off the intake charge*. You have a nozzle mounted into the cold air intake, and a pump somewhere. The pump then sprays a mixture of water/meth or even straight windshield wiper fluid INTO the cold air intake.

You may think that spraying water/meth into your engine is bad, however its not. Also, you want to make sure you get a tune when using this. If you don't you will be running overly rich unless you spray JUST water.

If you don't feel comfortable doing this, then grab a cxracing heat exchanger and the dual pass end plate with option b.

Sh0nuff

what do u all think about the megan exhaust...I was looking at their cat-back system, mainly because of price...have they been holding up over the time...I remember last year with my 2.2 I wanted one but wanted to know if they would hold up or just be good about a year..

Zach06CobaltSC

Taz, the heat exchanger isn't the "best" cooling mod. You won't notice a huge difference like you do with methanol/water injection. The best cooling mod is the mod that keeps the iat2's down the lowest correct? If that's the standard were going by, the methanol/water injection would have to be the best .

However the heat exchanger and dual pass with option b are just as good. Look at my sig, I have them all, including nitrous.

Actually, I guess nitrous would be the best "cooling" mod haha, but it's not practical to run 24/7.

Sh0nuff - what kind of power do you want to have in the end? I recommend getting a custom made 3 inch exhaust with a resonator and muffler. 3 inch exhaust is helpful when running high hp numbers.

Tazmanian_Dvl

In most cases the H/E, dual pass and option B should be sufficient unless you take our pulley size lower then 2.9. But the best thing you can get is an Aeroforce Interceptor gauge to monitor your IAT1 and IAT2 temps. if they venture much further than 20* apart when your driving (sitting in traffic is a different story) you need to start doing some cooling mods...

Sh0nuff

im gonna say just about the 300 mark when i do go modding...that's about enough for me.

Tazmanian_Dvl

I have the Megan Racing exhaust and it's really good quality IMO. I really like it! It sounds pretty good too! It's a tad bit on the loud side but it's not raspy at all.