Even detuned, the Chevy Cobalt's stock, 2.0L I4 turbo motor provided stiff competition during an exciting weekend of racing in Daytona Beach.

Koni Challenge – Daytona Beach

We recently took a trip over to Daytona Beach, FL where the Koni Challenge was taking place right before the big Rolex Cup 24-Hour Race.

The weather was absolutely perfect for this race, which made the cars run that much better. The Koni Challenge is an exciting venue for sportsmen racers to come out and push their cars to the limit.

There are two classes in the Koni Challenge: “Street Tuner” and “Grand Sport.”

Chevy Cobalts run in the Street Tuner category and have done very well in the past!/ This year was no exception; the seven Cobalts racing in the Koni Challenge did great!

This is a start to a new year and many of the teams are extremely excited to get out there and compete. Last year the Cobalt teams were running the Cobalt SS supercharged engines, but this year they converted more than cars to the new 2.0L I4 turbo motor and did all of this within a month’s time! read more...

Drifting into 2008

For 2008, Solstice Drift fans will have a couple more cars to watch. GM Racing is putting Solstice GXPs with production 2.0L turbo ECOtec (LNF) engines on the Drift circuit.

Rhys Millen’s Solstice GXP Drift has an amazing 2.4L turbo ECOtec race engine. It’s a robust torque-monster, putting out 520 ft-lbs of torque and 500 horsepower, and we love it! But. . . what about the production Solstice GXP engine, the 2.0L turbo ECOtec LNF? It’s an advanced engine design with direct injection and continuously variable valve timing, making 260 horsepower and 260ft-lbs of torque. Can it power the Solstice to achieve drifting prowess?

We say, ‘yes!’ And we’re out to prove it.

Since we’re running our Solstice Drift cars on closed courses only, not driving on public roads, we can make a few tweaks to bump up the power. We made a couple changes in the engine calibration, removed the catalytic converter, and installed a free-flowing 3-inch exhaust. While we may not pass government emissions testing, or meet the longevity requirements for the GM Powertrain warranty, we were able to get 330 horsepower and 425 ft-lbs of torque (those ECOtecs are torque-monsters!) from the production engine. After employing some basic vehicle weight-reduction techniques, you have yourself a darn good power-to-weight ratio. read more...

Gary Gardella: A Look Into 2008

Gary Gardella made a name for himself the right way in the racing industry. His reputation is very good and always well received because he has been there from the beginning, has maintained an incredible attitude and runs with an amazing passion to win! I have rarely seen Gary stop at a table to sign autographs where there wasn’t a line of enthusiasts waiting to get his autograph and to have a chance to talk to him. One of my favorite things about Gary is that he approaches each fan as his most important. And it shows!

I personally have been a huge fan of Gary’s all the way back from my days at TMR M’Zine! I was excited when his 2007 season ended with a championship. It was an amazing year for Gardella Racing and something tells me that 2008 could top last year! Gary has a lot going on in 2008. Make sure to keep an eye out here for updates and more inside stories.

We took a few minutes to get inside Gary’s head and look forward to 2008. Here’s what he had to say: read more...

New GM Sport Compact Performance Build Book

Hi, all! GM Racing is proud to announce the release of the third edition of the GM Sport Compact Performance Build Book. It has all the latest updates and advances we’ve made in our ECOtec Pro-level drag race engines over the last two years, as well as some info on our Drift engine, a sneak preview of our naturally aspirated engine, and lots of helpful specifications for both production and race ECOtec engines. Best of all, you can download this book, FOR FREE, right here on this website!

If you bookmarked our old “L61 Build Book” page, you’ll notice it won’t work any more. But, the new edition is definitely bookmark worthy! So, check it out!

If you want to buy a hard-copy of the new book, you can order it from the parts department of your local Chevy or Pontiac dealer. The part number is 88958728.

I hope you like our new book!!! read more...

TPR Magazine – Solstice Issue

TPR Magazine is a great tech and how-to publication that puts out six issues a year. They have great tech in each issue and do a lot of cool owners meets around the nation. Many of you may be familiar with them, as we have found that the Cobalt nation has a strong hands-on DIY base.

That’s exactly what TPR focuses on! read more...

2007 NHRA Pro FWD Champion, Gary Gardella.

ECOtec Racing!

2008 is here, which means another year of racing, winning and setting records for the GM Race Teams powered by ECOtec! What’s that you’re saying? If you’re questioning the muscle of GM Sport Compact Racing, just take a look at what we’ve done in the past.

Just recently, we were working on a project and asked GM Racing's Carmen Smith for some basic statistics on our race teams. We were all blown away and really excited by what she found.

Check it out: read more...

Happy New Year!

On behalf of everyone here at GMTunerSource.com, we would like to wish all of you a happy and healthy new year! We have a ton of exciting things happening here in 2008, and look forward to meeting and hearing from all of you as we make it out to different shows and events this year.

Keep tuned here to GMTunerSource.com for your GM Tuner updates, inside information, special stories and more! read more...

Get Well Soon, Rhys!

We want to wish Rhys Millen, our Pontiac Solstice GXP drift driver, a speedy recovery. Rhys was scheduled to perform a never-been-done trick in front of a live ESPN audience on New Year's Eve in his GMC stunt truck. The trick was to do a back flip in a truck coming off a stunt ramp.

Red Bull released this statement from Rhys:

“After successfully landing the 360-degree back flip three times into the cardboard boxes in training, I am disappointed that our last jump ended in an accident. As I lay here in the hospital with three broken vertebrae in my neck and two compressed and broken vertebrae in my back, I am also disappointed that we cannot perform the 360-degree back flip at the Red Bull Experiment on New Year’s Eve, but I’m happy that I will be able to walk again.”

We are all pulling for you here Rhys and wish you nothing but the best. Hope you feel better soon! read more...