Feature: Feared And Has No Fear - Problem Solved!

One year ago (February 2009), John Garener had just picked up his, now modified, 2009 Chevrolet Cobalt SS/TC. “I got the car new off the lot with less than 10 miles on the odometer,” said John. “I loved the overall performance and handling of it as soon as I took it home". The car had a bone stock pushing 260 hp and 260 tq from a 2.0 DOCH turbocharged engine and 5 speed F35 transmission. “I noticed real quick that this wasn’t like my old 1993 cavalier when I got it on a nice straight section of highway".

When John got home he looked online for aftermarket upgrades, he came across Hahn Racecraft. He started to post threads on www.cobalts.com, a site he was a member of, to get advice on what to do to his car. “I listened, and made the decision to give Hahn Racecraft a call,” he said. John spoke to Bill Hahn Jr. and told him what he wanted done to his car. John was excited to have this opportunity; however, they were still in the process of developing new upgrades at the time. “I told Bill I had whatever he needed to get me started, so he then explained to me the possibilities and the limits; the things we discussed, for about a week were quite simple". "He basically talked about putting everything they had under the hood as well as a good tune,” he said. John was e-mailed a quote and he decided to go for it. A couple days later he had to drive to Yorkville, Illinois where snow was blowing and the streets were full of ice. “It was just horrible, but I couldn’t turn back around knowing that I was only getting closer to having a lot of amazing work done to my car,” he said.

When John got to the shop he looked around and thought they just upgraded and tuned cars but realized that they must do a lot more once he saw all the machinery, tools, trophies, articles, and plaques they had. “I was every bit of amazed, I knew from that point on that my car was going to be well taken care of at all times and that I would have nothing to worry about,” he said. Bill told him that the ECU in cars now days are steadily getting harder to modify and that this job would take some time.

“I remember the day I went up to get it, it had been a couple months and I was very excited. Knowing all that was done to it, was enough to make me shake, I went from excited, to nervous very fast,” he said. “The first thing I did was pop the hood and see all the amazing new upgrades, all which were powder coated victory red to match my exterior paint". The S20g turbo upgrade was even better then I imagined it” he said. When he got into his car, he tapped the pedal and felt nothing but raw power. “It kept me wanting more, so as the pedal went further into the floor, a bigger smile came upon my face, it was then that I knew that I was driving something really special”.

His Cobalt SS/TC was the 2nd of its kind to have an upgraded turbo and a Hahn built blow off valve system, rather than the stock bypass valve system. John took his car for a nice 9 hour drive back down to his duty station in Fort Campbell, Kentucky; “the way it drove was just amazing". After a couple of months Bill called John to tell him new tuning was ready to be done to his car, with no hesitation he handed over his keys once again. He explained to John that he would need an electronic boost controller in order to "up and hold" the boost needed to make around 400whp. “With everything he told me I had no reason to turn it down". After about 2 weeks, he got a call saying everything was going great and that he would have the car back that weekend. Bill told him his Dyno results which were 405whp 409wtqe on high boost, 26 psi. “I was shocked, I couldn't believe what I was hearing, and at the same time I was thinking about how much fun it’s going to be driving around all summer,” he said.

Bill hauled the car in his trailer down to a Wal-Mart near John’s base and told him to listen because he had new information for him. “Trying to listen to him explain the new details of the tune was very hard considering how awesome my car looked in that trailer. People were driving by looking in and probably wondering why are they dropping a race car off at Wal-Mart, I don’t know, but it was a great feeling".

John asked him if he had installed an electric cutout, and as he said "sure" he fired it up and all John could hear was pure power, rumbling the trailer, the turbo purring through the cutout, the smell of a nice cold start-up, and with one good rev, he knew what the deal was. He had went through a lot of time and money, and this is what it finally came down to, he was once again amazed. “Not only did I now have a super fast, sweet looking Cobalt SS, but I had a whole new outlook on my driving style before even sitting in the driver seat. I have always took great care of my car, I keep it looking showroom clean inside and out, even when it's rainy, snowy, muddy, dusty, anything, I do my best to keep it sparkling clean."

John continues to research more possibilities for a full motor, transmission, & fuel system build. He's also been looking into further suspension modifications, Brembo brakes all the way around, a new body kit, hood, lights, and just about everything. He plans on having it all built up and mean on the streets within the next 2 years. “One thing I will never do though, I will never make my car a "trailer queen”, the time and money I put into my car, is the same amount of time and money I will put into driving it around for years and years, turning heads everywhere, knocking down V8's left and right, still keeping a good bit of common sense and never getting too carried away with any of it,” he said. “It's basically a part of my life that I respect and put time into everyday--making sure it's doing just as good if not better than I am."