By now if you are an avid reader of Tunerzine, the Tjin Edition vehicles are no stranger to us. In fact, we take great pride in being one of the first to feature their prized projects. Having teamed up with GM over the year, Neil Tjin and his team over at ID-Tuning and Unique Fabrication have built a 2006 Pontiac Solstice, a 2006 GMC 6500 Pull Truck and this newest creation, a 2007 Chevy Cobalt SS.
When the Chevy Cobalt was first introduced into the US market, many sport compact enthusiasts questioned its styling and played it off as just another replacement to the infamous Cavalier line. But upon closer inspection of the Cobalt and its supercharged SS version, many enthusiasts realized that the Cobalt not only looks great, but packs a great punch at a value. Supercharged from the factory with plenty of factory backing makes the Cobalt SS an instant winner with us!
On the exterior, the beauty of the Cobalt lines in its subtle factory body lines. Tjin and his team decided not to go too crazy with this project, keeping the jet black factory paint and accenting the exterior with the OEM lip kit. This just shows how much GM has paid attention to the enthusiasts, creating OEM parts that not only look great, but fit great as well. The fine folks over at Unique Fabrication designed and fabricated a one-off metal rear spoiler that flows with the rest of the body. While the spoiler was getting painted to match the rest of the vehicle, the trunk lid was shaved and the emblems were painted a matte black. The finishing touch on the exterior is a two-tone pin striping job and Tjin Edition logos done by none other than Styles in Southern California.
Wanting to keep the comfort of a mild suspension upgrade but giving the vehicle the stance that it needs to impress at the shows, Unique Fabrication installed a set of Eibach springs and raised the shock towers to create their own ID-Tuning suspension package. The result is a Cobalt that looks menacingly low on 19×9.5 and 19×10 HRE 598 wheels while preserving the ride quality offered by Eibach’s springs. The HRE wheels have been finished in a custom bronze with fully brushed lips and are wrapped with 225/35/19 and 235/35/19 Dunlop Tires. Peeking behind the wheels are a big brake kit from SSBC front and rear.
From the factory the supercharged Cobalt already has plenty of power, but this wouldn’t satisfy Tjin and his crew. In went GM’s stage 3 supercharger kit combined with ID-Tuning new custom down pipe and headers. Free flowing the rest of the exhaust system is a Magnaflow cat-back exhaust. The only detail one can see in the engine bay is a bronze powder coated valve cover to match the wheels.
Inside the cockpit the build comes full circle. Wanting to keep a very streetable theme that would appeal to any Cobalt enthusiast, Unique Fabrication and ID-Tuning went to work creating a harness bar that’s been powdercoated bronze. Two-tone Status Racing / Tjin Edition Carbon Kevlar Ring seats can be seen up front combined with Team Tech 4-point harnesses. The rest of the interior has been redone a full custom two-tone suede, fully equipped with silver interior accented pieces. An ID-Tuning quick release adaptor was fabricated to fit the new Nardi steering wheel.
Venturing over to the in car electronics, Realm Audio supplied the entire build starting with a trio of their subwoofers, amplifiers and mids and highs. A JVC EXAD head unit with a built in TV and a JVC 7-inch TV is also located in the dash to provide plenty of entertainment.
We honestly had our own doubts when Chevy introduced the Cobalt, but we have since been silenced. The Cobalt SS is an absolute blast to drive and a great package bundled with a competitive price. For those in the market looking for something new and exciting, make sure to pop into your Chevy dealership and take a look at the Cobalt. You’d be surprised!
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