The Supercharged Saturn ION Redline Was Hilarious

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The Saturn ION Redline was a weird one. During the late era of the Dodge Neon SRT4 the supercharged Cobalt SS came onto the scene -with it's step child brother - Surprisingly, Saturn ION Redline is one of the most affordable tuner cars on the used market today. Living in the shadow of it's Chevy brother was the Saturn ION Redline really worth producing? The Saturn ION Redline we are driving today makes somehwere between 280-300HP and has bolt ons from ZZPerformance, full exhaust, different TVS Supercharger, and feels incredibly light. So what happened to the legacy of the ION Redline? Let's talk about it.
#chevy #cobalt #cobaltss #turbo #boosted #supercharged #chevrolet #ecotec #saturn #redline
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[@ThatDudeinBlue]

Download Dave today at dave.com/blue . Sign up for an Extra Cash account and get up to 500 dollars instantly. Thanks Dave for sponsoring! For terms and conditions go to dave.com/legal. Instant transfer fees apply. Banking provided by Evolve. Member FDIC.

[@Dudeman9339]

Yo patterson... are you for real? You are advertising a digital loan shark. These kinds of things ruin lives.

[@kristianodegaard6682]

@@Dudeman9339 hey man ruin your life for that downpipe! Get dave!

[@grinsler2jz]

Please give Taylor a call and do his Redline for the show!

[@fortheloveofnoise]

Why can't we have cars like this anymore?

[@mmyr123]

F Dave

[@Lonespark]

I owned one of these. It was legit a fantastic car. Had a random guy waiting by it in the parking lot of the mall make me an offer I couldn't refuse for it. Sent me a cashiers check overnight and sent a car hauler to pick it up. The guy was visiting family and apparently had been hunting for one in pristine condition for a while. It was, odd. He way overpaid and yet I still regret selling it.

[@Blakethegoat]

How much did he give you for it? Go get another one 😂

[@JesusDisciple916]

@@Blakethegoat I'm curious what he got for it, as well. I have no idea what these go for.

[@vanessaestrada3013]

Wow !

[@Dart00Z]

That could make a good vinwiki story.

[@gypsonny2]

Bob please tell us what you paid 🙏🏻

[@gotblonde4u]

So glad you finally got around to doing the redline! I daily drive my 07. Most people either have no clue or couldn't care less, but every once in a while I run into someone who knows what it is and it puts a smile on their face every time. Not easy to come by where I'm from, only ever seen 1 other redline and I thought for a second my car got stolen 😂

[@Guineson]

Daily my 06 since day 1, 257k and counting and she sees max boost every day 👍

[@davidfournier999]

I ordered a black comp 06 from the dealer, and ended up not buying it.... Seen that one once, and I seen a blue 04 once, which made me find my 04 blue. So I've seen 2 others in 18 years, lol.

[@shannacollins4741]

Rather have my SRT4 sorry Saturn! Lol

[@Guineson]

@@shannacollins4741 i wanted one my self, but A) i couldn't fine one at the time and B) the insurance rates where double that of the redline lol to many people wrecking them i guess 🤔

[@carlosesquive722]

Fuck yeah I wanted I one too

[@SM-yg1ts]

I owned one of these, loved it , Supercharger sounded great , factory exhaust sounded great , the seat were great . I was a big Saturn fan , owned 2 Sc2, 1 Ion redline , and 1 Saturn Vue . I even went to the Saturn home coming drove from Toronto to Springhill Tennessee.

[@HK_808]

I'm currently driving a 2008 saturn aura

[@CPAJayhawk]

Back when domestic companies looked at the late 90s civi Si popularity and said, “we can do this better”… we had this Saturn, cobalt ss, srt-4 neon, A LOT faster than the Japanese sub compacts

[@Rockit181]

Lol true. Then Japan was like let's send our rally cars. Enter WRX, then Evo, then STi. Everyone wins with car wars

[@philipwilliams3427]

actually the major 3 had hot compacts in the early 80's😉

[@budmatto9205]

It's refreshing seeing the positive comments on the Saturn. Both my wife and I were involved in the supply end of Saturn production for many years. GM actually did a good thing with the Saturn, building a brand from nothing that was competitive with the Asian products of the day. Quality was a true focus when started and philosophy was to be truly different from the rest of GM. Research the success of the initial Saturn homecoming and the brand loyalty that was developed that early in its life. Unfortunately, by the time that the Ion was released, GM was ratcheting down on the spending and was focused on making Saturn into just another GM division. Products that were intended for Saturn were moved to other divisions and the products that were sold as Saturns were rebadged Opels or other GM cars. The uniqueness of the first generation was gone with the exception of the Saturn Sky and Redline series. It was probably some of the most enjoyable times in our careers seeing it literally rise from an old horse plantation to one of the most modern production facilities in the country. It is great to see Saturns still on the road as daily drivers in our area.

[@TheAlphaGentleman]

I still own and collect saturns with my girlfriend! We absolutely love them! I myself saved a sl1 and a sc1 from the scrapyard and built a ion redline. I have a vue redline and a sky redline as well

[@strongereveryday2302]

The only problem was in 25 years Saturn never and I mean never turned 1 penny of profit. They lost money on every single Saturn ever made. It was a poorly executed idea made from hodgepodge parts and 99% were ugly and forgettable. It was actually taught in my business classes as one of the biggest modern business failures.

[@Chriskary1]

I miss my redline! I had a FBO one pushing 310HP it was a absolute rocket! It didn’t have the high rise wing so it looked like traffic and it was fun because I use too mess with everyone in it!

[@cpftank09]

I’m glad to see ZZP is still out there. I had a handful of their parts and tunes on my old GTP’s over 10yrs ago. Miss those cars! Always wanted to do an L67 swap on a Fiero.

[@gbrunner24]

We're here and still growing!

[@SimbaUchihaa]

I can confirm just look at what they did to the Chevy sonic rs

[@Pudding175]

I have an 05 Ion Redline with all the ZZP stage 2 supercharged goodness haha

[@subie25i30]

I completely forgot about the suicide doors. That was my favorite feature on that car when it came out. Cool to see people doing some tasteful mods to them.

[@billybuchanan385]

Great feature especially if you have a couple kids. Makes car seats much easier to get in and out. I have owned one since 2020. They have their issues but if you fix them before they break they last a while. Mainly they suffered from timing chain assembly issues. Jumped timing is the number 1 killer of these cars

[@davidfournier999]

Hey man, I got one of these cars now. I ordered one in 06, needed a cheap car until it arrived, bought a 93 Impreza for $600. A week later I took my deposit back and kept the Impreza. The daily Forester I just picked up is Subaru #15. Restoring my entire suspension and braking systems over now on my 08 Legacy 3.0R which came with the spec b goodies. I'm a Subaru guy thru and thru now.

[@TheNORegretShow]

It's crazy to think how far we have come in car design. I had a 2005 orange blast SRT-4 when it first came out. Lol I had a razor phone back then haha.

[@joshuakhaos4451]

Haha, Dude. thats like a full mid 2000s vibe right there. What kind of music would you be playing in the SRT?

[@TheNORegretShow]

@@joshuakhaos4451 Eminem, 50 cent, Nelly, Mike Jones, Paul Wall, Nickelback,GreenDay,Limp Bizkit,Korn, Ying Yang Twins haha.

[@joshuakhaos4451]

@@TheNORegretShow Lol, If that doesnt describe 2005, I dont know what else will

[@codybondanza8170]

lol this was my teen years but mine was red 😂

[@ron.hertzberg]

And I smoked you in my stage 2 redline. Lol Not you. But soo many of you. Every srt4 tried me

[@irlredline7965]

Finally as a Ion Redline owner I’ve been waiting for a long time for this. Hopefully you can review a SRT4 caliber and CTS V1 because I also own those rare cars too

[@robertstone9988]

U wana talk about rare. I worked at a Pontiac dealer right at the end and we had 1 solstice gxp hard top. Only one I have ever seen in the flesh. Guy told me when he was dropping it off to take a good look id never see a nother one. Also when i worked at a ford dealer we got a 13 fusion with a 6 speed manual once by mistake a mess up in the ordering. Ford took it back but cant be to many of them around.

[@irlredline7965]

@@robertstone9988 solstice GXP is rare but not as rare as the 3 cars I mentioned. Not too sure about a 6 speed fusion. Dodge made only 5564 SRT4 calibers. GM only made 5855 Ion Redlines and 7000 pulse CTS V1s.

[@irlredline7965]

@@robertstone9988 ok just looked it up they pretty damn rare

[@robertstone9988]

@@irlredline7965 yeah its not a competition though there all pretty rare. Rare shit is cool.

[@samd7596]

@@irlredline7965 they only made 1266 solstice coupes, they were much more rare than the others you mentioned.

[@jack.obrien]

Loved this video David! Always a pleasure seeing our LSJ Ecotecs get some love!

[@VQSeries]

Nice intro as always, and I enjoyed learning about such a quirky anonymous fwd performance coupe that sits so quietly under the car enthusiast radar, ty for this quality review 👏

[@kevingarofalo8493]

Nice to see a video giving some love to the R/L! I've wanted one since they came out, took me 14 years to find a low mileage mint condition 04 that I had to drive 5 hours for and over paid lol! It did come with a van full of parts though including a low mileage LSD transmission that I swapped in when I changed the clutch. Super fun weekend car, can't wait to track it one day!

[@TheMrmmkkpro]

I just bought a 05 Ion QC 5speed 164k. I drove it on a trip from coastal NC to Columbus MS. 80 mph a lot of the way, there and back, have driven her 4k miles so far, zero oil usage, zero timing chain noise, cool little car. Wasn't sure about the centered instrument cluster, but kinda like it the more I drive it. Nice review. 👍👍

[@kevingarofalo8493]

My 03 QC was my first new car, loved it, had it for 14 years, original battery lasted 11.5 years, always sat outside, sold it for 2500 with 165k and the original clutch, although not without some maintenance I had to do on it.

[@TheMrmmkkpro]

@@kevingarofalo8493 That's cool , my 08 G5 was a great little car , I think the timing chain broke so it killed the enging at 200k , it was a great little car too , my ion replaced it , so far so good. I may go ahead and put a new timing chain in it. A little preventive maintenance. I think the Saturn is quieter than the G5 was. Putting a sound system in the ion too. Cool little cars.

[@Theheavyweightable]

I had the redline and my cousin had the SS. I think the goofy suicide doors and the gauge cluster being in the middle of the dash gave the redline much more character. I wish id never have sold it. currently looking for another to get into. by far the most fun I've had in a street car

[@kbarnes7634]

Same I had the zzp stage 3 w 2.8 pulley running like 20psi miss that car I’m looking at getting another 06 with 65k original miles on it but the guy wants 6k!!

[@Theheavyweightable]

@@kbarnes7634 $6k that’s it? Hell I’m seeing 100k miles out here for $8k-$10k

[@datone_kai]

David with the 🔥content! Even when I’m just 3 mins in, I know it will be a good and interesting review!

[@cobrien2784]

I drove a non redline 5 speed for a few years and once you get used to the center gauge I found it a lot easier to check quickly than the normal behind the steering wheel. It's not as big a focal change and you're not peering through the steering wheel, so even with a slight shift to the right it's less distracting. I think it's a better design that never took off because it's just not what people were used to so it turned them off. Kind of like how we have all these fake shifting cvts now because people are used to feeling shift points.

[@spork9255]

I own one of these and actually learned to drive stick in it! The gauge cluster is definitely weird and made it a little funky…

[@waldo1877]

Awesome you finally got a good one to review! I miss mine. Had it for about 8 years and had to sell it in 2020. Hope you had a good time with it. These are total sleepers and make even more power turbo swapped. I Hope to buy another one in the future. To bad saturn was shut down by gm. They should have lived on and continued to make great affordable cars.

[@DriveOnWHeartOn]

Great review, David. A lot of angles and it really brought me back to when I had a GReddy exhaust on my S200. It was so much fun! Picking up people at the airport was always fun. I’d always tell ‘em, just listen for me. 😅 Netsky, Goldie, John B, Reid Speed, Rusko, Marcus Intalex. We all had a blast!

[@j_mars_cars]

I heard about these cars many years ago and was intrigued. But then I realized I liked different build quality at that time. Now when I see my brothers ion 4 door auto, it’s just reliable and really easy to use for Doordash and such. Cheap as can be! Respect for Saturn.

[@rahulmandala4930]

Yeah, it was nice to see what these cars stood for at the time. However, with the typical fashion of GM, they don’t realize the value of what they have and decide to axe such a brand. May Saab, Pontiac, Saturn, Oldsmobile, etc. all rest easy. Such nice cars they were at the time and still are. Just always has me thinking what all of those brands could’ve been under the right hands.

[@MikeLaRock88]

They always got a bad rep for having plastic bodies. idk why that was such an issue, but a lot of people hated it.

[@creedns]

@@MikeLaRock88 the plastic became extremely brittle and cracked easily. In freezing temps, parts of the bumper would just break off 😂

[@MikeLaRock88]

@@creedns That makes sense. I live in the desert so didnt know about that

[@kylecube15]

@@creedns I have a 96 and live in Wisconsin so far no cracked panels

[@MrJoker42369]

Awesome to see this great and overlooked car make it to your channel!

[@rorywagner7215]

I'm so glad you finally got to drive one! Wish It was mine🥺 I had one as my first car and I absolutely loved it, got taken out by a drunk driver..

[@gigglesnbits]

i love the Ion Redline. wanted one when they were announced and and still do.

[@SlowDelSol]

I had one for like two weeks while I worked on a few things to flip it. Made a few hundred bucks and got to rip on it for a bit. It’s pretty quick and you’d never expect it from the looks of it.

[@josephthompson8571]

Very good review on the Ion red line and cobalt ss. You should definitely do a review on a HHR SS next. I have a stock one in the Atlanta area if needed.

[@julioborges871]

Love all these videos. Showing all the cool concepts the brands had.

[@DR.P3RKY]

Had one as my first car. Got it for $2000 in 2017 with 136k miles. Interior felt awful with the hard plastic but the seats were nice. My 15-16 year old self had an absolute ball driving it 🤙🤙

[@joshuakhaos4451]

These and the Cobalt ss are a lot of car for a 15-16 year old lol. But they are a great performance car to learn on. These were too new when I was 15-16, and the most powerful cars we had in our school were the 93-02 F-body camaros and Trans-ams. One kid saved up for a WS-6 for senior year. And yeah, the interiors of Coblats and Ions are trash, but you over look that because of their potential. I miss my Cobalt SS so much.

[@tacticalmattress]

While cheap looking, the interiors hold up well though if the owner wasn't a slob.

[@tacticalmattress]

Much better than Honda's do generally at least. Not sure why every civic etc I look at has rotted seats and stained interior. Youll see a few balts like that but most of them are clean, even the dirty seat ones don't rip after all that slobbery. *edit, honda's from the late 90s-2010. They got much better after 2012.

[@zacharyohare2118]

YESSSS. I have had 2 of these, both were amazing daily drivers I paid around 2k for, and clean, comfortable, and surprisingly compentent

[@aradoran]

I daily my ‘05 Ion Redline. Had it since ‘08, 30k miles to now 150k miles. Been a fun little car. Have to agree about the gauge cluster, wish the tack was on the left side closer to view and temp/warning lights on the right.

[@FugitiveVette]

I have owned my 2006 Ion Redline with Comp Package since 2005. Bought it new and been daily driving it to this day. Great car lots of fun and greet performance!

[@elmustango4049]

I owned a blue 2004 Saturn RL that got totalled and then a silver 2005 Saturn RL back in the day. The 2005 RL I made I think if I remember right 260 whp or 270whp, from PA drove to Maryland to get it tuned. Some guy had a laptop with hptuners and had a few runs on the highway. 2.8 zzperformance pulley 60lb injectors pacesetter headers, cut the air intake box and had a big fat k&n filter. I really loved that car; I remember that crazy wheel hop, had to buy that brace thing, those gears were long and beautiful and 3rd was the best. One thing was the oem clutch was horrible and it used to get hot that it wouldn't work till you let it cool down, eventually Saturn replaced it with a Saab clutch, yup the upgrade one clutch was from a Saab. I think I got it from GM crate for like $180.00..... memories.

[@jbird1173]

I worked at a Saturn dealer when these came out. I stayed late to help bring the cars onto the lot, when the first sky red line and ion showed up we immediately raced them on the back of the lot

[@jeremypilot1015]

I love that you pointed out that center mounted gauges suck and for the right reason.

[@Mk7_kev]

I owned an 06 SS SC and I loved every bit of it when it wasnt breaking roll pins 😂

[@lifeonadime4703]

Definitely the ion redline for me over the cobalt SS. Both great cars but, the Saturn is just quirky and different. I'm partial still to the sc/sl models though because that little 1.9 dohc was just flat out reliable and got killer fuel mileage. I had a 91 sc2 with a 2001 engine swap(did NOT fit well and was missing an important engine mount) and I drove that thing to work for 2 months with a broken slave cylinder and having to shift using pliers on the shift cable lol. Had to start in gear and float it up/down shifts, also while holding the shifter in the correct gate area and making it shift by pulling and pushing the cable with pliers lmao 🤦. I worked at Cadillac at the time and once or twice a week a couple of other mechanics would come look at how it was driven because they wouldn't believe it when someone told them how I had to drive it. (Sorry for the book here). I just thought you mind find it as hilarious as we did. Hey when your poor, you gotta do what you gotta do. Matco got most of my paycheck for about a year 👌

[@jonmcdonald6374]

I remember driving my Camaro to work at 18yrs old in the 90's to the shop I worked at w 2 pairs of vice grips for a steering wheel cause I was waiting on a grant adapter. Got a few stares.... good times lol

[@g.o.g.survivalgaming]

Snap on got mine

[@lifeonadime4703]

@@g.o.g.survivalgaming adult rape vans lol

[@lifeonadime4703]

@@jonmcdonald6374 that's great lol 😆

[@s2kkyle404]

I've been close to 200mph in a few cars but 120mph in a redline was the scariest 😂😂😂

[@wadecartwright4277]

Balance your tires😂

[@inclusivelove5165]

That look you have when you peeling away from a stop looking in the rear mirror is what I do too. Looking for cops… haha

[@TheRealMrRoyal]

I'm in WA state......was a parts manager at the Saturn dealership from 2000-2002. Wish I'd have paid more attention to redline stuff back then. I've been looking for one of these for a few years locally and have had no luck.

[@MotoMedicine904]

These are hard as hell to find in a clean example these days. I really miss the early to mid 2000's tuner platforms all the brands were doing. SRT4, Redline, cobalt SS, k20 Si's... I would love to have a clean Mazdaspeed Protege...also rare these days

[@joshuakhaos4451]

Same with the Cobalts. If I get another Cobalt, I'm probably going to have to restore it. Same with these. But back in th early 2010s, you could get clean ones with not much looking

[@cirealreviews1776]

My SRT-4 has almost 300k miles on it and was my only car (daily driven) for 16 years! This era was just plain FUN!! All of the sporty eco cars!

[@katdaddy469]

Had my srt4 in stock tune for thirteen years before i sold it.

[@jamesborek8125]

Absolutely! The heyday of "cheap/fun" American cars. Don't forget the Toyota XRS 2ZZ cars, including the Pontiac Vibe GT. Not as fast as the SRT4s and SSs but that 8000rpm redline was a beauty

[@BrokenLuxury777]

SE-R

[@gorbdonfreeming]

Saturn getting all the love lately, makes me so happy

[@tyg8562]

As someone who now owns a corvette, and daily drove a redline, I wish I had my redline back some days

[@isaactrujillo5396]

It was cool meeting you in person. 🤙🏼 You’re going to have to do a video in my Mustang one of these days.

[@jaywilliams3625]

That sound will never get old to me!!

[@Hamsteak]

I had a Saturn SC2 that was really fun to drive. It was a better but I stripped everything out of it to make it as light as possible. Then I did a basic upgrade to the suspension and added some performance to the engine. It was a pretty quick car and really fun driving the highways in Northern Ontario

[@jesterokjones4954]

Those SC2's were DOHC 150hp package in a car that didn't weigh a whole lot at all, those things moved! Kind of like the first-gen Dodge Neon R/T 2 door, DOHC 160 HP, 5 speed, those things were actually faster than the Civic Si at the time.

[@davidfournier999]

I had a 93 SC2 IN 97 that I put the SPS Stage 3 head package on. It made 191whp I think.

[@finickybits8055]

I picked up a cobalt ss sedan in 2010, new off the lot. Neighbor had an ion redline. We had entirely too much fun wrenching and working on our little rockets

[@RECKLEZZ.1324]

I owned the colbalt ss NA and I can say even tho it wasn't turbo or supercharged. It was still an extremely fun car to learn stick in and beat up a bit. I even jumped the thing (accidentally) going like 55mph. Snapped all the springs and the shocks were leaking. But I had a blast driving the colbalt. It'll forever be my first car.

[@ThatDudeinBlue]

Cobalt SS or Saturn ION Redline?

[@amonebrice5088]

I'm a fan of both actually. I do wish they would have turbo charged the ION Redline instead of super charging it.

[@j_mars_cars]

Ion Redline all day. Way cooler name, way more unique

[@rahulmandala4930]

Both are nice, but the SS edges it out for me. Such an underrated and rad FWD performance car it is. Everyone loves to rave about JDM’s finest and while those cars are good, the value for which the Cobalt SS played at hung out with cars 2-3x as much. IIRC, it was the fastest FWD around VIR when tested by Car and Driver. Such Wonderful motors!

[@CPAJayhawk]

Cobalt

[@hitmixhyepock9405]

Cobalt, still get parts for it.

[@slartbarg]

man I miss mine, you're making me want another. You absolutely get used to the offset gauge cluster, it got to the point where i preferred it

[@irlredline7965]

Honestly it's better

[@kevingarofalo8493]

I owned a 03 QC first and it's easy to get used to, I just wish they swapped the tach and the fuel gauge around.

[@psychomojorisin3774]

Thanks for bringing back these cars. I hope you review the cobalt SS 2.4 and SC

[@bchaps7165]

Owned one for a while and it was so much fun, mine had the competition package so it had factory boost gauge and the limited slip diff. Absolute blast of a car and perfect to learn stick on

[@R3AL-AIM]

I got a friend who has one and he swears by them. Only dude I know who has one, they are cool cars and it sounds pretty good tbh. I've seen Cobalt SS, but these are pretty cool

[@UR2SLO4ME]

My buddy has one that is turbo swapped, thing moves for what it is. Nice little car

[@MrHellohorse]

I have always loved the Ion Redline. I would take it in a heart beat over the Cobalt. The Saturn was the first one designed that they then converted into the Cobalt SS.

[@MRR-qv3bw]

The doors and cockpit were so cool to see in person! Sick car!

[@402SHO]

Seen one rocket past me the other day in Omaha I started laughing so hard. Like it wasn’t slow but it wasn’t fast. But holy cow was it LOUD!

[@OSSHWA]

@2:05 There was actually 3 different Cobalt SS variations. The 2.0L supercharged LSJ, the 2.0L turbocharged LNF (like the red one you reviewed previously) and the naturally aspirated 2.4L LE5. The "high output" LE5 engine was also what came standard in the base Solstice/Sky (whereas the GXP/Redline models used the turbocharged LNF engines).

[@jeffreycruz2967]

Sky redline came with the turbocharged LNF

[@OGDemonburn]

I misses out on one a while back. Doesn't look like I missed much, but still cool for a Saturn and way better than the Sky.

[@dizztroyer-5049]

I had a wingless 05 IRL, loved that car. It was a bit of a sleeper. Most people just saw a Saturn until they got dusted.

[@hitmixhyepock9405]

I own a cobalt ss/sc.. The cobalt ss also had a Recaro seat option. The first cobalt ss's had the 4 post steering wheel, then they switched to the corvette wheel. The good thing about the SC is the stop and go traffic races.....1st and 2nd are brutal. You should have hit the Rev limiter in 1st and 2nd....it's a TVS which is different than the Eaton m62....it's more top end peak.

[@joshuakhaos4451]

My old Cobalt SS S/C had the Recaro's, they were so damn comfortable when they had no right to be. They were so nice on Roadtrips. And they held you in on the twisties

[@hitmixhyepock9405]

@@joshuakhaos4451 I got the crappy pleather seats in mine...but I got the Prisma "pizza seats", they are super comfortable and hold me in great lol.

[@OllamhDrab]

Well, that Saturn center gauge pod, I found, isn't actually so hard to adjust to, at all, especially considering that if you aren't tall, sometimes the steering wheel can clip your view in regular spots. My friend had an Ion3 with the 5-speed and their kinda vteckey thing, it was OK, and one of the few manual options she could get at the time. I think the REdllines are OK but getting kinda scarce/worn out.

[@CallusFutura]

I love these cars! My friend has a 04 cavalier coupe that he’s trying to build and supercharge. maybe one day his car will be on here.

[@godzilla7391]

Love it! I really like the ecotec engines in these Cobalts and IONs. I bought a 2004 Cavalier new off the lot in 04. It had the factory body kit and was white with grey racing stripes. I used to joke that them damn racing stripes would get me in trouble, cause all these Hondas wanted to race me. Lol. I ended up buying a 13 Genesis coupe rspec in 2013, modded it to my liking, but I still have my Cavalier (143k), and she's been solid. I would have loved to thrown the Eaton supercharger on its 2.2 ecotec. Maybe I'll still do it just to see. Good vid

[@dirtybirddog1579]

I’m not sure how much it would cost but there was a cavalier at my local drag strip back in the day that had a 3800 supercharged swap from a Grand Prix GTP or one of those cars and it would hurt feelings all night

[@godzilla7391]

@@dirtybirddog1579 Wow. Yeah , I'm putting most of my $$ in my Genesis coupe, but I'd be interested to see if those same superchargers in the Cobalt / Ion, would work in my 2.2 ecotec. I'm assuming it would.

[@dirtybirddog1579]

@@godzilla7391 I’m pretty sure it’s an Eaton M90 like what was on the Thunderbird SuperCoupe. Most applications I’ve seen have been v6’s but I figure there’s gotta be a way. Either way, happy modding!

[@ezraa7777]

Yes it bolts right on with the intake manifold as well, and the 2.2 l61 in the cav can handle it

[@cmdrw9855]

@@ezraa7777 bolts on yes, handle it no..the rods in the L61 are the weak points..with the piston right behind it. Redo the guts and do some headwork (port/polish etc) and you can have reliable power. Can probably get it done for $1k to $1.5k diy of course. If you pay a shop to do it then you're into the bend-over price range

[@skippingbear92]

I owned a 2004 ion 3 got it for 2k with 260k miles on it. Man that car was in remarkable shape especially the engine. Didnt burn oil got 34-35mpgon highway and 29-30 city. It was a slow car but I was suprised how well it ran with the miles it had. I traded it in though. I want a redline lol

[@AKcess_Dnied]

I had an Ion 2, 4 door, with manual, and it was pretty quick. Much better once I put the recaro seats in from the redline.

[@JosephFrietze]

I have been seriously considering one of these. Thanks for the review.

[@elichosen3931]

Love the fact that these were roots style SC. Just like some of the FWD era 80s/90s buicks, Pontiacs and Chevys. Had a 89 Pontiac Bonneville SC transverse v6, lol torque steer was a stubborn crackhead 😂

[@dementedwarlok]

the saturn for sure, i had a love for the style of them and the weird names like the sl1 etc. i relly liked the station wagons

[@Sparaco487]

my sl1 i swore would go a week on empty gas light being on

[@gbrunner24]

I had an 98 SW2 as my first car, I loved that thing, one of the cars I regret selling.

[@hakeemsd70m]

I miss seeing the 2000-02 LW wagons, preferred the pre-facelift versions.

[@anthonyrick9750]

Really want to see a 3800 series 2 review buddy love this “zzp” content!

[@SW.cowboy]

The view of the back of your head at 5:25 has me cracking up idk why 😂💀

[@MrTimcrawlin]

I'd have to go with the Saturn. I've owned a Saturn Ion sedan and my girlfriend had a Cobalt a couple years back also. I like the layout of the Ions dash alot more then the Cobalt sedan. Plus, the Ion Redline looks more like a sportier car then the SS.

[@bradleybreeki5800]

PLEASE! Do a saturn SKY Redline (or Solstice GXP)! I know you've done a base Solstice but it's not the same. I have an 08 Redline 5MT that I'd love for you to drive! 🙂

[@zacharytribou2728]

i remember seeing a top 10 cars to buy for cheap as a first car and this one was one of them, and ive always been keeping an eye out because its just such an obscure car

[@OxygenGenetics]

I'm getting around to putting the turbo back in my HHR soon, the SS and redline were super fun little cars. Had an 05 ss G85 cobalt and now I've got an HHR SS years later lol.

[@davevan9150]

Don't forget the wagon version of the cobalt/ion... the HHR. The supercharger setup can swap over, I got mine from a scrap engine.

[@Jessecwebb]

I do not think it had much to do with Ion. HHR is considered one of the worst car’s of the 2000’s, it’s why you don’t see them on the road anymore. More similar to the PT cruiser, similarly terrible car.

[@menarenotwomen]

I’d rather own the ion redline. I’m actually currently trying to buy one. Finding one in good shape is hard

[@anthroism26mc]

Ah glad to see you're a part of the Saturn-Scion mixup fam lol, and this is coming from someone who owned an 02 SL1 5 speed

[@DDRPriest]

I went to an auto show that had a bunch of new cars to sit in and check out. I sat in an Ion Redline and didn't want to get up. Those Recaros are so comfortable.

[@crisisrogue8286]

i love these quad coupe ions, some had the 2..4 which is not too slow either, pretty fun cars

[@redsealjourneymanreviews6647]

180 hp

[@crisisrogue8286]

@@redsealjourneymanreviews6647 yeah

[@redsealjourneymanreviews6647]

@@crisisrogue8286 hi

[@crisisrogue8286]

@@redsealjourneymanreviews6647 hi

[@redsealjourneymanreviews6647]

@@crisisrogue8286 hi

[@Jim_Layhey]

I never realized how big and professional his camera setup was

[@Thatguy55595]

Yup he had a lot of help from his parents

[@Jim_Layhey]

@@Thatguy55595 naw he did everything himself

[@Thatguy55595]

@@Jim_Layhey yeah like that Mustang GT he had when he made his channel right? He definitely paid for that himself LOL

[@skylarmccune9242]

My first car was a 1997 Saturn SL2. It had a 5 speed manual, and despite having only 100 hp, was quite peppy and fun…as long as you were the only one in the car. Thanks to that car, I’ve always had a soft spot for Saturns, especially the Red Lines. I test drove an Ion Red Line on my 20th birthday, and I would love to to own one, but it just never was possible. After losing the SL2 in an accident, I owned a series of Mercury Sables. All 3 were fine cars, but they weren’t nearly as fun as that little Saturn. I finally got back to having a fun manual car this year when I got an 05 V6 Mustang.

[@joshuakhaos4451]

Considering that I owned a supercharged SS, I'm Partial to the Cobalt. And yes, those Recaro's are the best. My S/C Cobalt had them and they were so nice on roadtrips.

[@Guineson]

Tach isn't a big deal, mine is blocked by my cellphone so i never even see it 😅. Drive it enough and you learn the shift points. Also i have the competition package with boost gauge / shift lights so it is a nice back up as when you see the red light turn on at (for me) 7k rpm you know what you got to do. Original owner of a 06 and have 257k miles on her and i still hit max boost and play around with people who have no idea that it can pull as hard as it does.

[@travissmith5739]

badass buddy!

[@PeelePowered]

Hey David! I see you’ve been on the weird or niche car kick lately and wondered if you have ever been offered to drive a 2007-2012 Nissan Sentra SER Spec V? The last generation of the Sentra SER Spec V’s are getting very hard to find like the ion redline.

[@gbrunner24]

I support this one! Would love a review on the SER Spec V

[@Seasniffer69]

They're ok. About like reviewing an svt focus nowadays. A normal cvt 1.5t Honda is gonna be faster than both now.

[@brayancortez3212]

Theyre cool looking but slow na :(

[@rafaelfavela77]

Those things were sick. 6 speed 2.5, brembos, SUPER loud vtec sounding vvt.

[@PeelePowered]

@@Seasniffer69 I promise you. The 1.5t with CVT isn’t going to leave the spec V lol.

[@rniejx4219]

My redline makes 260whp on 93, has 210k miles on stock longblock, trans, clutch, etc. Been pullied and tuned/bolt ons since 100k miles. There are lsj engined cars with similar miles to mine making twice the power on stock longblocks. With proper maintenance and care (which many of these cars did not get) and timing chain replacements, the LSJ engine is extremely reliable, probably the only endgine that is more so in this class is the K series.

[@nickvin7447]

Was one of the first people to own one of these, worked for Saturn in the early 2000’s. Great overall car, especially once you put a CAI on some eibach springs on it.

[@randomriffsrawsome]

My first car was an 06 saturn ion (not redline) but i had so much fun with that car :D just be careful if you want to do an intake on the N/A ecotec, because the car won't correct for the added air and go into limp mode. Lol

[@tony_5156]

I’m pretty sure the gearbox in the Saturn is actually a SAAB transmission

[@SJSOmar]

aisin trasnmission probably the f40 trans that every cobalt guy wants because they arent as brittle

[@tony_5156]

@@SJSOmar isn’t the F40 transmission the one that is found in the 9-5?

[@tony_5156]

@@SJSOmar or it that the F35?

[@gbrunner24]

F35 transmission from the factory, F40 came in the 9-3 and was a 6 speed. Much better design, we make a swap kit for it because the F35 is horrible.

[@tony_5156]

@@gbrunner24 I have the 5 speed, which is hooked up to a high mileage B205R (which has had money money dumped in to fix than the car is worth: 1.6K. Oil crank +new radiator) I’m thinking about maybe keeping the car or not, and maybe in the future turn it from a daily into a project.

[@MilesOfTexas]

The Cobalt SS is definitely better known than the Ion RL. The Ion was made from 2003-07 whereas the Cobalt SS went into production for the 2005 model year. I bought a brand new 07 Ion RL with the competition package on 10/31/06. I absolutely loved to drive that car. It ended up becoming a project after a mystery issue developed in the engine/fuel system, then it got crushed by a building in a hurricane. My last dyno run was 320 whp.

[@SimbaUchihaa]

What was the issue? I was having a weird throttle issue in my cable, base ion. Turns out it was the air filter. I heard K&N drop ins only affected MAF in the ions, so I thought I was safe since I had MAP for the intake manifold and that isn't a known issue. I added 2+2 together and realized MAF has the IAT sort of combined in it, and I had IAT in the air intake as well 😂

[@stuartschultz8823]

Right before I got my 05 TC I looked at a black on black Ion Redline. I went to look at it, they gave me run around about test driving it and I got the Scion. I really liked it as I had a 95 Saturn Wagon.

[@davedave2882]

I was at my local Saturn dealership sometime in the 2000s I saw one of these brand new on the dealership floor, I had no idea what a red line was until then, and to this day I've never seen another one. And I'm the guy that breaks my neck checking out badass cars when I'm going down the highway.

[@Third_eyee]

that TVS blower is like the best mod you can do to a supercharged ecotech, they are highly sought after for sure

[@maya00795]

Superb dude...... love this Saturn ion redline.... Too good 👍🏻👍🏻

[@jasonrogers8754]

When I was in highschool in the late 90's a friend of mine parents bought her an 88 or 89 factory model 4 cylinder supercharged 4 door Nissan stanza 5 speed. That car was a blast to drive for what it was.

[@ryanbruneau306]

Nice my dad has one in his back yard and asked me if I wanted it. I’ll think I’ll take it now! Thanks cool vid!!

[@connorbottorff7664]

I've got the 05 ion, not the redline and I got a compliment the other day. Made my day

[@ricklawson8240]

I remember them coming out brand new of the trailer when I worked for Saturn !! It was a great time doing PDI on them when they came in . Great times back then

[@tokay57]

Ha Ha, I worked for Ford dealership in 87-89, I did the pdi and dealer trades with the 5.0 mustangs gt's,lx, the sho taurus, turbo coupe thunderbird. Great times. I purchased my new dark blue, blue interior 88 lx notchback 5.0 at 19 for $11,500 out the door.

[@tokay57]

oh yeah, I currently have 2009 cobalt ss tc sedan. super clean, great car and will never sell it.

[@bryonhrin3230]

I really miss my 2006 ion redline competition package boy was that hard to find. this was a great video I really miss my car. I feel like that car should be making way more though must be running a large pully

[@kevingarofalo8493]

I don't recall him saying what it put out, and I believe most people run a 3.0 or 3.1 with the TVS and E85, not sure if IAT2 temps become an issue under a 3.0 pulley.

[@dis6900]

Owned an ‘04 Ion Redline and man, that car was a riot. Took the wing off and nobody had any clue how quick it was. Could spin the tires in third gear with all the torque it made and the best part was slaughtering GTI’s, mustangs, WRX’s and Civics. Unfortunately my supercharger blew and needed an engine rebuild at 34,000 miles so I had to sell it. Totally underrated car back in the mid ‘00’s!