Oldsmobile Aurora

zinc1

Man, if I could only have cut down the L.A.-to-N.J. drive time to about four hours... would have gone for sure

Tpken - Great pics! You know I'm gonna ask if I can post 'em on the Classic site.

Henry - It's like when you hear a radio personality for years and then you see him and say "That's not what he looks like!" Hehe.

Mordecai24 - LOL. I (mercifully) stumbled on the battery when looking for my wife's lost jewelry. Thought someone had put a bomb under the seat. Then checked under the hood, and golllly, haha!
Better than opening the hood with jumper cables in hand and egg on face.

zinc1

VHB - What is that over the Aurora name on the trunk? You have a 95, which didn't say Oldsmobile yet(?) And did Jerry pinstripe his? There are a lot of dealers who do that if they paint the car.

tpken

I wish the resolution on this digital camera had been better - but we had an interesting discussion about the emblems on both of those Auroras. Jerry's and Henry's both have "Oldsmobile" tags on their cars and Henry can tell the story.

You may certainly post any pic I've taken - and there should be more when Kevin (kzm) posts the ones he took as well.

Wishing a great day to all

Ken

Henry

ZINC1 - I did not realize how many women view the site until my picture was posted. The emails just keep coming in.

Oldsmobile - I have an Olds logo on the car because the dealership put it there. When the 95's first came in to this White Plains, New York dealership the sales manager noticed the Oldsmobile was missing and put the chrome plastic Olds logos on all of the cars. I guess he did not read the marketing materials.

Jerry has an Oldsmobile logo on the back of his car also. In the first part of 1997 olds put the name on the car. Although he also has a 1995, he liked the look of the 1997 and put the "Oldsmobile" UNDER the "AURORA" lettering. Yes he pinstriped the Princess. The guy at the dealership did it for him. As far as I know the car was not repainted. I am surprised to see that blemish on his quarter panel that shows up in the picture. I did not realize it was there.

BATTERY - I was reading the manual when I first got the car and it mentioned the battery. The hard part is doing the jump. I have found that the postive box along connecting the negative clamp to the Black metal plate supporting the headlights works best. P.S. I once bet some guys that they could not find the battery on my car.

matrixfrog

I wish I could of been there at the meet. If you guys ever have one close to Michigan I will definatly come. The track sounds interesting, how sharp were some of the turns? I've got my aurora sideways a couple times. Im always afraid the tires gonna blow out when I do. Has anyone bought the jetchip pcm? I am interested in doing this mod on my 98 but I wondered how much of a HP increase I can expect and how it performs installed.

-Daron Starkweather aka matrixfrog
98 Metallic Green Aurora

matrixfrog

Oh yeah about the battery. If you ever hook up amps to your car audio system it is a sinch with the battery in the back seat. You can even fit lightining caps under there. The best jumping hook-up I've found to be is to use the remote battery and the black braket the sticks up by the belt(is this a 98 thing?) I remember a while back when I asked what the black thing is connected to the intake. I remember someone saying it might be to quiet down the intake. Well I also remembering someone saying they took it off. I was wondering what did you put over it and if there is more of a "growl" now when you accelerate. Also wondering if you had any problems after doing so. Gotta love that growl sound. Anyone here have an air intake?

fdion

I tought you might be entertained by this. I've recorded a few runs with my 01 Aurora, and what I've found is this (at 80deg farenheit, in high point, nc - highest elevation in the piedmont triad, not sea level!):

Skid will make you loose .3s on a 0-60, and a further .3s will be lost if you have traction control on.

My times w/ tc off, start at idle (~900rpm)
0-30: 3.0s
0-60: 7.5s

My times w/ tc on, used the brake to build up to 2200 rpm:
0-30: 3.6s
0-60: 8.1s

The skid was just a tad above 460ms, of which at least 300ms is lost acceleration. So trying too hard will actually yield a worse time.

Shedding a bit more weight would help the auto tranny in a significant way. Using an onramp (which helps the 0-30), I was able to clock 6.48s (round it to 6.5, that is 1 second faster - on my much lighter 505 stx, this helps only 0.5s)

I also have engine rpm data, but I haven't started to do correlations yet. This is where the real fun will be and as soon as I have enough data for a good baseline (t.c. on, off, skid, temperature data etc), then I'll try some adjustments. In particular, I'll try some runs without a filter, and with a k&n. I will also try to track down some silver tipped spark plugs, and also as I'm approaching the first oil change, I'll switch to full synthetic.

Then, I'll be ready for a program upgrade.

Ciao,
Francois

zinc1

An IASCA Aurora Classic. This is the only one I've seen with these sound mods. This site used to be more detailed, but there are only thumbs now.

bdreggors

Its placed under the back seat to try to distribute weight more effectively since its a FWD car. Same deal with the Bonnies and LeSabres. I still can't get used to it.

pchop

Hi guys/gals,I am the proud owner of a 99 Aurora Classic,the third I have owned. The first was a 96 which lasted 1 month and was destroyed by a falling tree in a storm. The second one was a 97 and this is where my problems started. These cars seem to have a vibration but it feels like a tire out balance. I've had Goodyears and Michelins and just can't seem to keep them balanced. I've seen some posts that recommend Yokahomas and others.Can anybody be of help on tires or this vibration problem.Other than this problem,nothing major has been wrong and really love this car,but with a glass @$$,it just bugs me to no end,thanks in advance.

autobahn95

Does anyone know how many millimeters the throttlebody is on the 4.0L V8?
i was looking for high performance parts at RSM.com. They have an aftermarket one there, but all the info they give is that it's a larger throttle body. Does anyone have any more detailed information about this?
thanks

arcoates

Francois- do you own a Aurora 4.0 or 3.5? I'm guessing a 4.0 by the times you posted. The best I have read that a 3.5 does is 7.8 sec 0-60. You must've had some special equipment, especially to get skidpad readings and so forth.~ A.R.

slinger31

I'm getting real interested in a used 2001 with a 3.5. Have been told this could be a bad investment, that I should buy only the 4.0. The asking price is 24.5. Good or Bad.

Thanks

fdion

Hi, I have a 4.0.

Another piece of data:
traction control off, tarmac still wet from rain earlier on, I floor it:
2.53 seconds of skid. Not bad those Michelins, but in the wet... Still managed to get 0-60 in less than 9 seconds: 8.9s.

Hehe. As far as equipment, I initially used a G-tech, but I wasn't getting consistent data. I now use these following tools:
-Compaq iPaq 3630 PocketPC
-GPS (serial, connected to PocketPC)
-IBM Thinkpad 770x laptop
-Coil pickup
and more recently I've added to my 505 stx (not the aurora yet):
-Cam Microswitch
-buzzer
but it hasn't changed the precision at the tenth of a second so for now I'll leave the mod off the aurora. Might help on the 1/100th position.

GPS at this point was only used to confirm 60mph is 60mph and check elevation data from gps positions. Thinkpad records all the rpm data thru the coil pickup, microswitch at the gas pedal enables the data to the laptop and sounds the buzzer. iPaq PocketPC records the audio. The iPaq is very convenient as I always have it on me, so I can spec out any car without special installation. If I dont use the buzzer or the microswitch I say 'top' the moment I press the accelerator, and 'top' the moment I reach 30 and 60. I've replaced my first 'top' with the beep of the buzzer on the 505, and I can confirm the 30 and 60 positions by pulling the 30mph and 60mph times from the rpm data. I use a wave editor (sound forge) to set very precisely the markers at the exact same position of the sound, and soudforge tells me to the 1/1000th of a second the elapsed time. I know I can definitely trust the 1/10th, 1/100th fluctuates a bit without the microswitch. Skids are easy to note, you can clearly hear them on the audio.

As for the rpm data, I use 2 programs right now, and found another one that I'll be buying (home dyno). One is a program I wrote and spits out CSV files I then load into excel, and the other has it's own GUI but since I dont have the source, I cant customise it for my exact needs. It shows the hp/torque curve and max values at the wheels, and estimate flywheel hp.

Hope this all makes sense, let me know if you have any questions.

Oh, and dont try this at home. If you do, select a private road, closed parking lot ( a big one!) or tarmac (airstrip) that is secured. Etc.

Ciao,
Francois

fdion

Forgot to mention:
-I use a fourier transform plugin to soundforge to get instant pitch from the rpm data which in turn gives me instant rpm. Helps in getting good at "reading" wav file plots at various zoom levels.
-cartest: dont leave home without it. Put the car specs in, it gives you everything you ever wanted to know about your car. 0-60, 60-0, gs, 1/4mph, top speed, optimum launch rpm, in gear speed, rpm vs speed, track times etc. Not exact science for gs and 0-60 but close enough ballpark. You can also guesstimate hp from 0-60 times. Very precise for speed vs rpm.

Ciao,
Francois

arcoates

Oh don't worry, I won't be trying that, because I wouldn't know the first thing to do, but I find it interesting that someone took the time to do some real tests on the aurora. The only info we ever get is from the manufacturers, and the car mags- it's nice to be able to read it from your own equipment. I commend you on doing those tests, you are a true auroraphile~ A.R.

Henry

You would make a perfect expert witness. The jury may have no idea as to what you are talking about, but you sure make it sound right.

Henry

zinc1

Now which classic owner is going to donate his car for fdion to test for us?

gisom

In my 95 classic, I had a vibration because my rim was bent, over $400 for that. The next time I got that vibration, my tires were in need of replacing. I got 85,000 and now on my 3rd set of tires.

dindak

Why would the 3.5 be a bad investment? I would go for it and save your money. The 4.0L is nice, but it's more gas and more up front cost for not much more performance. I have the 3.5L in my Intrigue and it's a gem of an engine!

redskin024

if your going to spend that much for a used 3.5, you might as well go for the new one.

zinc1

Found an Aurora convertible. Well, almost.

Henry

BRAVO! BRAVO!

A very nice picture of what a convertible would look like. THAT picture just made its way to my wallpaper file. I have to show it to the dealership! Only I will not tell them (not at first) that it is not real.

That picture now makes me want one. The long body is not a turn off afterall. The only thing is that heavy braces would be needed under the body to keep the body from twisting when taking turns.

How do you do this? You filled in the backgorund and everything.

zinc1

Henry, after many wasted hours in Paint Shop Pro, I've learned how to use most of the brushes (and still learning). Used the 'push' brush on the interior to move the lighter color on the seats over the darker areas, since the shade should be gone. Also 'pushed' some plants and fence around. Used the 'clone' brush to steal parts of the picture for the missing areas. The trick is to enlarge the photo 2 or 3 times to work on it, then shrink it again. That makes it easier to work on, and shrinking fixes small glitches. The solar flare hides a little and accents the windshields corner.

Actually, I didn't think I'd like the Aurora as a convertible, but I've changed my mind

tpken

Does anyone else have a problem reaching this site? I get a message saying "member page not found"

I'd love to see that convertible.

Ken

zinc1

Ken - Hmm, you might try getting to it from the Classic site. Go to Gallery/Pic-of-the-Week.

Also noticed that the long front end on the Aurora is better balanced as a convertible. I wonder what it would cost...

zinc1

[I think everyone's gone for Easter vacation]
Anyway, I uploaded these pics to the Classic site. They're from the 1995 New York Auto Show. I've never seen these cars before today, they're awesome!

arcoates

Does anyone know what the wattage of the stock sound system is an Aurora is? The BOSE system? Even if it's just for the classic aurora. GM is about the only manufacturer who doesn't tell you- everyone else does. Thanks.~ A.R.

tpken

Tried the link from here at home rather than the office and it works - Great looking convertible! I think the medium red color would be outstanding.

Thanks Zinc!

Ken

Henry

http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=584822899

thugpoet1

i went to look at a 96 Aurora for sale by owner, pearl white, all opts with chrome wheels, but has 89000 miles with the extended warranty good till the vehicle hits 100k. It was clean inside and out, supposedly they were highway driven miles..but u know how that goes. i dont know if i should get it or not what do u guys think..i still need to run the Vin #, what i didnt understand was why when i pulled up to house where the car was at,the lady was sitting in it with the car running. Was she tryin to warm it up for me or what..lol, I have been doin my homework on the 96 Auroras so i know i want an aROARa but should i get one with that many miles. i dont know give me some input. Oh yeah one more thing...i went to the auction for dealers only to see how much the dealers get Auroras for, well the day that i went i only saw them sell one and it was a 98 Aurora gray color clean as hell with 58000 miles and they picked it up for $13500. Anyways let me know, the sooner the better.

thugpoet1

how can i find out if the vehicle has been in an accident or not??? I went to the drivers license facility and they said that they don't do that ...so where do i go..anyone know.

larryfl

I just traded my 1st-generation '92 Q45 for a '95 Aurora with 50k miles. Will pick it up today. The Aurora and Q seem to have a lot in common, but hopefully the repair/maintenance will be a WHOLE LOT cheaper. :-}

I'm getting the car from a reputable pontiac dealer and it seems pristine. Is there anything I should know about? Are there specific areas that may need attention? (I could fill up the discussion group with Q45 "gotcha's")

I'm looking forward to owning the car. Any tips on care and feeding would be welcome.

Thanks.

Larry

larryfl

thugpoet1,
In my research for the '95 I just purchased (see message above), I paid $11,000 for it and also looked at a '98 w/ 47k miles the dealer had listed for 18,900 but quickly dropped to the "sale price" of $15,900. The two cars (95 and 98) were identical - other than the color, which was similar. Both were in excellent shape. I decided I'd keep the extra 5 grand and get the one 3 years older. I did opt for the GM 24/24K warranty, however, since I do about 35K of highway miles a year.

Henry

I always judge a used Classic Aurora by whether the black plastic strip at the front of the car is still there. These "road bumpers" were put in place to keep the nose of the car from "bottoming out" when exiting a driveway. Since these strips were easily torn off by less than careful drivers, if it is still there, it tell me that the prior owner really tried to take of the car (at least in the way it was driven).

You should check the repair history of the car. Since it is a GM dealer, the dealership should be able to look up the service records on the car if they input the VIN#. While I have not had it happen with my 95, several folks have reported problems with the air conditioner. Check the servuce records ti see if the air was ever repaired. I would also look at the back window to make sure that the rear window seal is not coming off. If there is any metal exposed, have the dealer fix it (this problem is true for all Classic - 95-99).

The next thing I would do is update the cupholder. If there is only one large rubber lip in the cupholder, it will never work properly. Olds updated the design so that there are two shorter rubber lips that will actually hold the cup in place.

I would also take the car for a test drive and be sure to floor it as you enter the highway (WOT). Make sure you get it up to at least 70 before you slow down. After doing this, drive the car for at least another 2 of 3 miles. You are looking to see if the check engine light comes on. If it does, you will need to have work done on the EGR valve.

Hope this helps.

P.S. --- Also, you may want to vist the classic site run by zinc1. If you scroll up a few posting you will find a link to that site. Lots of good information there.

b4z

Saw a pearl '98 or '99 aurora today. It had the most incredible sounding exhaust system i have heard. It had squared off pipes that were cut. It was a really sweet mellow sound. Does anybody know who makes it?

zinc1

Thugpoet1? From AAPC or Devart? I'll guess the former, as clichés are routinely smashed like flower gardens by Blue Meanies. And the worst cliché of all is the image of a skinny, sensitive kid writing poetry. Heh.

Anyway, I don't know if you've "been doin ... homework on the 96 Auroras" because it's hard to distinguish any differences from 95 through 99. But I'd be worried if she was warming up the car for you. Check Carfax, check the VIN at an Olds dealer for repair history, if they'll give it to you. Ask her if it needs warming up.

Drive it fast, slow with radio off and listen for small noises that you can't live with. If it shakes at 60mph+ you may not be able to get it fixed. Check everything in the cockpit that you can; radio, CD, A/C, heater. Wind noise is common at 60mph+, but not too loud. But you can't be too careful when checking out a used Aurora.

Henry

Watch out for the girl with kalidiscope eyes.

Especially if she is warming up an Aurora.

Henry

To give him the repair history on the Classic 95. My understanding is that any GM dealership can access that information.

Also the biggest differences between the 95's and the later years are the sway bars for less body roll and OBD2, the difference cost in "chipping" the car, and the recirculation switch.

Henry

The dealership thought your handy work was really nice. EVERYBODY liked the car as a drop top.
The owner of the place included.

In addition, everyone had the same thought, the body would be too compromised by cutting off the roof. There would need to be some serious reinforcement of the underbody.

Henri

etharmon

Some small differences. 95s have a button labeled "pass temp" while 96 and later it's the recirc button. 96 and on also have daytime running lights. Starting in 97, the seatbelt connectors were changed from the old metal "GM" ones to the generic plastic ones with the orange release button on the end. Also, 97s only have a small "Oldsmobile" badge on the rear. So lets say you see one and it has the old style seat belt connectors and a "pass temp" button? 95. Recric button, orange seatbelt release buttons, no Olds badge? Either a 98 or a 99 as there were very few changes made between those two years. All in all, what is interesting is how the Aurora was changed very little from it's introduction in the spring of 1994 until it's replacement at the end of 99. Of coarse you could always just check the 10th digit of the VIN.

zinc1

Henry - Thanks, I might do another convertible in red that looks a little more realistic

Etharmon - As I said: it's hard to distinguish... I knew all of those except for the 97-only badges - thought it was on more than 97. The only way someone could distinguish a 96 from the others would be to verify that it had daytime running lights or recirc button and the GM-logo seatbelts - not really worth the effort. I've heard some people wanting to disable the lights and some wanting to install them, so the lights may not be a reliable indicator.

larryfl

I have checked that rubber nose under the front end and there isn't a mark on it. The car drives smooth and flawless at WOT upwards of 70+ (as fast as I could take it safely on the 4-lane). It drives great. I'll do the full 60K service in the next 5 or 6K miles (car has 50,500 on it now) so I'll now it's done and cross my fingers.

It does have the single rubber strip in the cup holders so I'll have to see how they work. I'm pulling the service history today. Thanks for the tips.

Did someone say something about a rear sway bar on post-95's? Does it make a significant difference in handling and should I have one put on?

Thanks again for any advice.

Henry

Your details are correct except you forgot to mention the tilt down mirrors that were added in 97. I would like to correct one thing. The Olds mobile logo was only on half of the 1997's. The 1st half of 97 had the Olds tag the second half did not. Although I am not certain about the 98 & 99 on whether they had the Olds logo. I will have to check with my dealership historian (Jerry).

ZINC1 _ I missed out on the thing but that is alright. It finally went for $29.00. Once again a little too rich for my blood. After my last bid, I started to hope that someone would out bid me. I started to wonder what I would actually do with this thing. That it would probably wind up in a closet as junk after about the first month of ownership.

Larry - The best way to decide if you want to put on the thicker front sway bar is to test drive a 97 to 99. They already have the thicker FRONT sway bar. There is a NOTICEABLE difference in the way the car handles with the thicker bars. There is one S turn in a road by me that used to ALWAYS require breaks and a little Ike and Tina Turner (Body "Rolling on the River.). Now it is just another turn in the road. The rear sway bar also improved the bodyroll problem, but the dirffrence was not as dramatic.

matrixfrog

What a nice day in Michigan! It's 79 right now at 12:25. I just got done washing my car and cleaning her up. Every time I look at my car I think "Damn, I have a nice car." I always get this impression that my car is different from all the other Aurora's out there. It looks the same but it looks different you know what I mean? I think it's because I know it's mine. Wowie, I never thought I'd get attached this much to a car. Enjoy your day and happy driving.

mordecai24

Greetings One And All...

Matrixfrog: I too suffer from... Damn I own the best looking car on the street... I imagine all the neighbors saying behind my back... "Damn Mordecai owns the best looking car on the street"... Actually what they are saying is "Damn Mordecai must be dealing drugs to afford that thing"...

Never in my life did I think that I would become materialistic in my old age... After all a car is just transportation... It is a vehicle to get from point A to point B... A Pinto, A Volkswagon or a Beemer, it's all the same... NOT!!! I do own the best car on the street!!!

Mordecai

trails

thugpoet1,
I have a 96 and it does have a problem starting when it has run for a while and then rests for 20 to 30 minutes. It's OK when cold and when starting after sitting for only a few minutes after warming up. It may be that they didn't want you to experience any hard starting.

hammen2

matrixfrog and mordecai, I know what you mean. I've owned my black/black '98 for nearly a month now, and, with the nice weather recently in Wisconsin, I've spent hours in the driveway, washing and waxing it up (the wife had to drag me in at 10:30 one night :-). I *do* have the nicest car on the street that I live on, and have thought the same thing about what the neighbors must be wondering. Actually, they're probably wondering what that dang fool is doing out in his driveway for 4 hours with his car :-)

Speaking of washing and waxing, one side-effect of the late-night detailing is a little wax (Mothers) on the plastic panels below the doors. Anyone got any good ideas/suggestions as to how to get it off?

--Robert

p.s. some not-so-great car pics (from a grey, overcast day) can be found at http://www.hammen.net/car - I hope to update this with some pics from a nice, sunny day, once I have the time...

zinc1

Those are sweet. You should be proud!

mordecai24

Greetings Fellow Aurorians...

Robert... Nice... Not to worry 'bout the cloudy day... On a cloudy day you don't have to worry 'bout the glare from the sun getting in the way of the true beauty of your loved one...

I need to warm up the camera so as to get some pictures of mine... I am heading to the mountains this weekend so I might get some pics there... By the way the Aurora does well on gravel covered curvey mountain roads...

The next time some one gets to the 139.5 mark on the speedometer, hit the cruise control and let me know what happens... Cruise control at 140, now there's a concept... Nascar look out!!!

Mordecai