1. What does running a Cobalt mean to you this year and why?
Ok to be honest with you, I opened my shop to have a place to work on my personal cars at the time. Also so I could make enough money to go race. The shop got opened, and I started to get so busy, that I could not race anymore. The shop became the monster it is today – so busy I can’t even think about our own cars. So with this Cobalt deal I am treating it like a customer – so the time I need for the build / testing and tuning is worked into the daily grind here at Whitfield Racing. ( Formally Rage Performance )
To add to that, this is something that I have wanted for as long as I can remember. I have always just wanted to be able to race. It’s just an added bonus to get into a car that has the potential like the Chevy Cobalt. This is a major opportunity for both my company and me.
2. What are some of the differences you already see between the cobalt and Hondas you have built?
People that are close to the shop, or me, know that I am a fanatic and meticulous at what I do. When I do something I go all out for it. Since I decided to make the plunge to the Chevy Cobalt, I wanted to learn as much as possible before I started on the car. I did a few shows with Speed Vision building a Cobalt LS coupe, and I also did a lot of testing with a local dealer on the SS coupe. I can’t believe how well both of these motors reacted to after market parts. I can tell you that I have a lot to learn about the new car and OE.
I was also blown away on how involved and informative GM Racing is with grass roots motorsports and racers. They are by far more involved in a very positive way than any other O.E. that I have ever seen. They have so much information available to us for the cars, that I just can’t go wrong. They have sites and books with the main purpose of educating us the end users on their products and motors. It has really been a great time for me so far. I have learned a lot and have grown tremendously in respect for the Ecotec platform – that’s for sure! I mean I have built many Honda’s for tons of people. Lots of them have been on covers of magazines and tons of features worldwide. I am not new by any means to the Honda platform, and basically know it inside and out. When I started to dive into the Ecotec platform, I was blown away by the technology and strength of this motor. It really is an amazing platform!
3. What kind of racing are you going to do with the cobalt and what class are you going to be in?
I am building the Cobalt to run in the “true street” class or “turbo 4” class, which I hope to bring a lot of attention to the Cobalt and its awesome power plant. This is a class that can showcase the ability of this car and the incredible drive train. I’m not going to tell you that a “Hot Rod” or even a “Pro Car” would not have been super cool but, I want to hit our target market, which are guys that have really powerful street cars and want to go fast every time they hit the gas pedal! So I am building a streetcar that will perform amazing at the track, and also start up and drive with no problem down the street to In and Out for a burger. This car will be very reliable and very powerful – with lots of goodies. Needless to say, like everything else I do, I am going all out on this car, and think that it will be a ton of fun to watch. I am attacking this build like I do all of the builds…… I plan to make a big impact with the looks, not to mention a HUGE amount of power. I am planning to keep this car as close to stock form on the body as possible, meaning the car won’t be chopped up to save 10lbs. We will be running all of the interior and seats – as well as a few extras for the crowd.
5. What is done to the motor?
The motor is a turbo charged 2.0 liter based off of the 1000 horsepower build in the GM “build book” found on www.GMTUNERSOURCE.com. Of course we made changes to better suit the set up and how I plan to run the car. I will go into more details regarding the motor in the next installment on www.tunerzine.com. Trust me, you won’t be disappointed!
6. What is done to the suspension and chassis?
As for the chassis I went thru the list of “fab” guys here in Cali and when they all flaked and could not step up, Pauly @ Pauly’s Race Cars did me a favor and arranged enough time to get the car in. Pauly is well known in the drag racing industry for builds on Pro FWD and Pro RWD cars, and he also had a lot to due with the So Cal Speed shop Cobalt and HHR.
So as you can imagine – the chassis is being well thought out and will look amazing!
7. How has it been working with GM so far?
Man, working with GM can be a bit overwhelming at times, not because they make it hard but when I step back and realize that you are talking to “GM”, it carries a little more stress then callin your homie to use his car and get some info on his motor. Truthfully, they have been a blast to work with. They have been a lot of help and offered all the tech info we have needed so far to build the ultimate streetcar. They are so open about what they are doing and what it takes to win with their products. I mean, I have been a Honda guy my whole life, and I am a very loyal person, but c’mon here… Who can fight against this? I would be stupid not to play with the Ecotec. It just makes too much power, and it does it time after time after time. I like to go fast, and I like to spend more time in my car doing so. The Cobalt and Ecotec platform has allowed me to have that in a major way!
8. What are your goals for this car?
Straight up I want to set records in any class they let me run the car in – NHRA is crying about the tranny (more on the tranny on our next installment here at www.tunerzine.com) so I will have to run in the brackets. That’s fine…… A number is a number right? I also want to get more racers in the Cobalt and get people to want to make parts for it. I will tell you this. They just have to drive one – one time.. The difference is in the seat of the car. Trust me, just go beat on one of the new Cobalt SS – that thing is incredible! I had one on my dyno a couple of weeks ago – and I was beating on it non stop. It just keeps going and going and going.. It loves aftermarket parts. This motor just comes alive with minimal support. It was very cool for me to experience.
9. Will you be making any parts for the Cobalt or Ecotec motor? Absolutely! I would be stupid not to. I have already made a few style headers that I am testing as well as other parts for the streetcars. There are a ton of parts that I am thinking about making for this car and motor. When I have things ready, I will post them at www.cobaltrage.com.
For more info on Jason Whitfield and his shop, sign onto www.rageimports.com or 909.608.7123.
Special Thanks To Our Sponsors: GM, alpinestars, Whitfield Racing and Konig Wheels
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