Pontiac GTO

hammen2

It showed a gauge cluster there.

You can get a geniune Holden gauge cluster (w/matching gauge colors) for $450 from JHP (http://www.jhp.com.au). I think the gauges are battery and oil pressure. This is plug-and-play for '05 GTO's - the '04's lack the input for the oil pressure/a cable may have to be run, and/or an adapter may have to be created. You could buy a blank gauge pod from JHP for around $200, or a similar one from PFYC.com for $100, and then put int your own (i.e. Aeroforce Interceptor) gauges, if you have interest.

I also noted what appears to be auto climate controls sitting where the current controls are.

Yes, Monaros have this standard. Of course, they are $60k Australian - somewhere around $45k USD. I don't know if cost or functionality was the reason why they were omitted from the GTO - but I do know the Aussie system was not calibrated to work below -4 Celsius - and it would have taken more than a year to fix it. I know several people have looked into adopting the Monaro system into the GTO, and the general consensus seems to be that it won't work (supposedly the Aussie system has controls, which aren't present in the GTO, for opening and closing the vents) and it would cost thousands of dollars to adapt (and then it still wouldn't work at colder temps).

Hope this helps,

--Robert

white6

Sent you an e-mail; thanks and, yes, it's an A4. Only does it when idling in D. Worse with A/C on and hot weather.
Dealer supposedly:
"Inspected and retorqued all exhaust system bolts and mounts, trans mounts, engine mounts and all accessory mounting bolts such as A/C compressor, alternator, P/S pump and belt tensioners."
I will give the shop foreman a B+ for effort; GM has tied his hands, however, and won't authorize any further warranty work on the car. Last thing he tried was hanging some weights off the back of the exhaust system in an attempt to dampen out the vibration. May have helped a little, but the severity of the vibration seems to get worse with hot weather and the day I picked it up we had a cool front come through, so the outside temps were 15 degrees cooler than the last time I drove it and could have been responsible for any difference.

sputterguy

It will be interesting to see what the 425hp Charger will do, but at 4200 pounds, I think the GTO will easily beat it.

blackflag3

One of my neighbors is a Mopar freak. Anything with the label "Hemi" to him is invincible. He plans on getting an 06 425 hp Charger and says he will blow my doors off. :-) I'm not into track or street racing but I may make an exception with
this guy. He's insufferable when talking Chrysler vs GM and Ford. He aknowledges
that the GTO is the "Hot One" now on the streets but will be short lived when his beloved Hemi Charger comes on the scene....We'll see when and if the time comes.

gottabgto

I'm in No. Ca. - looking at the Russell courses offered at Sears Point, aka Infineon Raceway. They have one called high performance and you drive your car on their track. Sounds interesting but it's pricey and only one day - I know I'd heard of some that are 3 days but I don't see that at this track.
It's not so much that I want to beat the car up but more that I want to see how it reacts under different circumstances, what it can do, what to expect, etc.
Of course, I'd also enjoy the chance to test out the 0-60 time without the risk of a traffic ticket

hammen2

The SRT-8 Charger may prove to be more than an equal to a 2005 or 2006 GTO. Even though it's between 4200 and 4400 pounds, word is that the 425 hp 6.1L "HEMI" is underrated. The 340 hp R/T shouldn't be a problem for an '05 with a good driver.

Of course, the SRT-8 will be well north of $40k, and expect dealers to stick to MSRP if not more. Put an intake, headers, new heads, and a cam into your GTO and get it tuned (probably around $3k-$4k), and you would likely surpass him...

Remember, there is ALWAYS somebody faster than you...

--Robert

gxpgtodanman

"Remember, there is ALWAYS somebody faster than you... "

EXACTLY!! I keep most of my cars pretty much stock, maybe just a few minor appearance items.

gxpgtodanman

"One of my neighbors is a Mopar freak. Anything with the label "Hemi" to him is invincible"

A few of my friends are that way too. Hey, we all know a Hemi can't be beat? Right? Ha! There are cars that will beat my GTO, no big deal to me, as I'm not racing it.

sputterguy

Thanks for confirming the '05 can be sluggish. I was beginning to think it was my imagination until hammer heard about the torque management table. Then it all became clear to me. And it's not like the car is slow, it's just it should be much faster. It reminds me of the '04 A4. When you get to 50-60mph it is rocketing. But starting out it leaves a little to be desired. Which is why I got the M6. And which is why I haven't gotten an '05. I really like the '05 but would lose money on my '04, which I would gladly do for an '05, but not if the computer is going to decide how much throttle to give me. I want to decide that.

Thanks for the heads up with the oil change indicator. I just changed the oil myself for the first time and will need to reset it. I have a Grand Prix and change the oil myself. You have to hit the pedal three times to reset it. On the Grand Prix it tells you in the message center by percentages how dirty your oil is. Personally I think it is based on 3000 miles and when you hit 1500 miles lets say, it says you have 50% oil life left. And when you reset it it goes back to 100%. It's interesting that a car costing $8K less has that feedback that you wanted in the GTO. And by the way, I didn't put the skid plate back on. There's no way I'm going to try to put that thing back on while I'm on my back under the car. I really don't think with the roads around here that it's needed. And it probably weighs 15lbs.

gxpgtodanman

Maybe certain 05 cars have a throttle issue... However my 2005 A4 is very fast, not sluggish at all. Not at any speed, off the line or 50mph, etc. FYI according to Pontiac The 2005 A4 is actually FASTER 0-60 and 1/4 mile then the M6 by 1/10th. A4 will turn in more consistent times. No driver error like a stick/missed shift.

Only negative is highway gas mileage being less on A4, city is about the same. 80% of my driving is city, so doesn't matter.

sputterguy

The 5.7L Charger is coming in at 14.2 in the quarter which is what an '04 GTO will do on a bad day. Still very interested in what the 425hp version will do.

sputterguy

I agree. Each car is a little different and I think some are just over managed. And some are breathtakingly fast. The first '05 I drove was ahwsome. Since it had 19 miles on it I think the torque management was never activated for some reason. I wanted that car but the dealer said to wait for incentives and I've never found as fast a car since. Bummer.

Out of curiosity, if you a going ten or fifteen mph and punch it, will it burn the tires?

preformancenut

I am considering putting headers on my 05 but was told the stock cat would not hold up to the extra heat build-up. The solution was to remove the cat or install a hi-po cat which i believe are very costly. Any truth to this?

Steve in NW OH.

gottabgto

Mine does.
It still shocks me at times - I can be going any speed - or at a stop - hit that pedal and it's like a rocket. It's incredible.
A4 2005.
Sluggish is not in it's vocabulary.

sleeper92

I have an 04 and i am looking to get some more HP out of it. I have installed a K&N air charger. I have ordered a borla dual exhaust,( i have the 05 rear bumper to fit the exhaust) What else should i look into getting for my car without spending too much money, less that 3000 dollars hopefully

slickwilliedj

Hey, long time subcriber to the forum, hopefully will be in a 05/06 gto very soon. That said I have also been considering the srt-8 charger, Magnum srt-8 or chrysler 300 srt-8.

According to Motor Treads latest issue Sep. They tested the Magnum srt-8 vs a Mercedes Benz E55 AMG. The SRT8 did 0-60 in 5.1 sec vs the E55 4.1.(wow and a station wagon too)
The 1/4 mile for SRT8 was 13.1 sec @108.2mph vs the E55's 12.3 sec @113.8....

Mt's last test(02/05) of a 05 GTO brought 0-60 in 5.0 sec and 1/4 mile 13.3sec @107.5mph.

So yea the srt8 is a baaaaaaad bad boy and keep in mind this is station wagon with a curb weight of over 4364lbs!! vs the GTO'S 3725 lbs... not sure what the Charger or chrysler will weigh in at. I suppose a few lbs less though.

I love both cars but the gto is much more affordable. I base price for a srt8 Magnum is about $37,995msrp the one MT tested was $43,035 msrp. fully loaded. so about 10k more overall.. although the gto is not direct competor u cant help but respect those srt8 #'s

wish I had $96,565 for AMG E55 if they think the gto is sleeper the E55 is coma !

sputterguy

Hi Cathy. Thanks for your input. With 400hp these cars should be able to fry the tires. So what's up with these M6's I've been driving? I've driven at least a half dozen trying to recreate the experience I had with the first one I drove. Normally, I take it relatively easy on a test drive but the last one which was just a couple of weeks ago, I pulled out the stops. The car had a couple hundred miles on it so it's been around already. Anyway, I did everything to make the wheels spin except pop the clutch, and nothing. I prefer a manual but maybe I should be looking at an auto. I'd sure hate to pay that gas guzzler tax

gxpgtodanman

The SRT8 is about $7k to $10k more then GTO. Best bang for the buck is the GTO. Also the SRT8 is automatic only and gets WORSE gas mileage the GTO. With these cars you aren't buying them for gas mileage though!

gxpgtodanman

"I prefer a manual but maybe I should be looking at an auto. I'd sure hate to pay that gas guzzler tax"

In reality you are only paying about $600 or $700 more for the A4. Even though the A4 gets hit with the $1300 gas guzzler tax, the M6 is a $600 or $700 option.

elias

regarding roasting the tires when flooring it in an A4 at 20 mph or so... my 94 A4 Z28 could do this all day long - it really freaked out other drivers when i would accidentally do that on the freeway after a trafifc jam opened up. "accidentally" that is . with theA4 Z28 i think that it was really doing a double-downshift - from 3rd into 1st. so i think that the difficulty of doing this in an M6 (Z28 or GTO) is that us M6 drivers don't want to downshift into 1st gear at 20 mph, while the A4 is only too happy to shift thusly. anyway, that's is my theory #1. theory #2 is about dinosaurs. ahem ahem.

gxpgtodanman

True. The A4 GTO will immediately downshift from 3 to 1 at 20mph, thus roasting the tires if the TCS is shut off. I think the GTO tachs out at 40mph in 1st? Not sure.

jontyrees

Stupid question, but you did have the traction control off, right?

sputterguy

Not a stupid question. It's usually on because I never remember it. Only when the pedal kicks back do I remember. When I first got my car I thought my foot was slipping off the pedal until I read about the t/c in this forum. Anyway back to your question, the first car I drove that chirped the tires had the t/c on. So I never thought about it. But reading about some problems guys were having, I made sure the last couple of test drives that I took it off. With the same result. Thanks for the input though.

sputterguy

You have a good point there. Of course I saw it the other way when I got mine. The M6 cost more but ultimately was cheaper because of no gas guzzler tax. But I'll have to remember that I wouldn't be paying the full $1300. Thanks for pointing that out.

elias

last week i was amazed when i discovered how much tire-roasting the TCS would allow with my M6. way more than with my M6 hurst Y2K Z28, which did allow significant chirping compared to my M6 96 Z28. the GTO allowed for what seemed like a solid second of burnout as i turned left to merge into a small spot in fast traffic. i miss the factory hurst shifter in the Z28 - it was better than the stock GTO shifter. probably i ought to mod the GTO shifter - i know there are better shifters available.

on the way to the redsox 9-8 victory game last friday, my cousin complained so much about the torque in the M6 GTO. he asked how my kids handled the torque and i told him they *love it* and are constantly asking me to goose it. my little guy (mini-mini-me) is 5 and he asks me "Dad, please do 'fast and slow'?": he was in the car for some of my break-in procedures, which involve revving the car way up in 2nd gear, to 50 mph, and then letting it coast down. and repeat.

so anyway i dropped my cuz at his pussycat car (2003 SL500) and he put the top down. later at a traffic light he was behind me, situation was safe, so i turned off the TCS and tried my first actual "launch" of the GTO. "in his face" if you know what i mean. the tires did roast massively, but WOW does the car have a wheel hop problem. none of my Z28s ever did much wheel-hopping, neither the M6s nor M5 third-gens or the one A4 fourth-gen i had. with the GTO i yet don't know to avoid wheel-hop on a "full" launch - but i suppose will figure it out at the track one of these days/years. typically i don't go to the track until the tires are shot - then i burn off the remaining tread at the track/etc before replacing...

so do the A4s have a wheel-hop problem too, either with or without the TCS? or is just an M6 thang. ?

gottabgto

Okay - this is kinda embarrassing to admit, but I have not even tried driving the car with the TC off yet
Guess I'll have to give that a shot but like I said earlier - the car is always startling me with the smoking tire thing - and that is with the TC on. I'm always worried I'll inadvertently do this in front of a cop...

Sputter - look on the bright side - your tires are going to last longer this way

Btw - I drove 250 miles today and averaged 19.9 MPG - Whoo Hoo!

gxpgtodanman

Wheelhopping is a characteristic of an Independent Rear suspension axle under very hard acceleration. Even BMW M5's have that problem. Yes my A4 has that problem too if I really nail it.

It seems the Pontiacs allow a decent amount of will spin before engaging the traction control, my GXP and a former supercharged GTp did the same thing. Where as some cars it comes on too soon and almost becomes dangerous to pull out.

gxpgtodanman

You are way ahead of me. Since buying my A4 in early April I have only avg about 13 to 15 mpg per tank. Again, 80%+ of that is TOWN driving.

dburger66

What I would like to know is if there is a fix to this problem... I have an '05 GTO with an automatic that will not roast anything with the TC on or off unless I power brake it. :sick: Don't get me wrong the car is still really fast but if there is a dealer fix to make it even faster I'm all for it.

hammen2

http://www.diablosport.com
http://www.hptuners.com
http://www.efilive.com

dburger66

Thanks for the websites. Do you know if there is anything the dealer can do under warranty? I'm thinking that my engine may be tuned wrong from the factory, I just went out (10 minutes ago) and tried a full throttle start from both a dead stop and rolling @ 20mph. On the full stop there was minimal wheel spin, definitely no "roasting" and from 20 mph it dropped from 3rd to 1st and took off but there was next to nothing on wheel spin. Both were with TC off. Thanks!

mparis1

robert, guru,.......all the sites do not address the 2005 LS2 engine.....has any member tweak their 2005 GTO OBD ? WITH WHAT ? RESULTS....thanks :confuse:

hammen2

I don't believe that there's been any changes to the stock PCM tune from the factory, but I will double-check. Your dealer will not help you roast your tires :-)

You need to have your car tuned (i.e. remove torque management, and adjust the pedal input table). These are functions that HPTuners and the DiabloSport Predator can do. I know both companies are VERY close to shipping, if not already shipping, their LS2-compatible software and/or hardware, and their web sites may not reflect this. Strongly suggest contacting both companies and seeing what they have to say.

--Robert

dburger66

I have what most will probably think is a dumb question... How many points will a bottle of octane boost actually raise the octane level in regular unleaded? A friend of mine told me that adding a bottle of boost to a tank of regular unleaded is the same as putting premium in the tank, is this true? :confuse:

mick1

I bought a car with 400hp. The car seems a little slow, but i heard that's the way it is programmed from the factory. I'm looking for the best free flowing exhaust, least restrictive oiled air filter and while were at it let's reprogram the computer. I say it's not every day we can void that factory warranty. It might be harder finding a good psychiatrist. Just had to put in my 2 cents.

elias

yes a bottle of octane boost should just about raise the octane of 87 octane to 91+ . maybe not to 93. i wonder if the 93 'ultra' premium at some stations can give better results than 91 octane at other stations. also i wonder whether to believe the octane #s posted. for sunoco i believe it becuz they sell both 91 and 93. around here that is...

mick1, car seems a little slow? what is it with you guys' cars? i thought the A4 was supposed to be faster from the factory, but if it needs all this other programming, what is all this about?

dburger2, your car will not roast the tires gratuitously ? is it an M6 and area you using the clutch properly so as to induce a tire roast? if so, or if you've got an A4, i'd say darn tootin you should get the dealer to fix this under warranty. it seems very weird to me that the GM Aussies would program the A4 so weakly for tire roasting, although maybe they do have a good *master plan* for their A4 programming. also, i suppose those hptdiablosupercalifragilistictuners.com folks must have timeslips to show their aftermarket programming is better. hey, maybe the reason the factory A4 is supposedly faster than factory M6 is that it DOESN"T roast the tires. excessive roasting is not good for a launch, and wheelhop can't be good either.

thanks for the wheelhop/IRS info, gtogxpbmwm5danman ...

gottabgto, i am kicking your independent-rear with my >20 mpg. i've been getting more than 20 mpg on my last few tanks, measured both by the pump #s as well as the avg fuel indicator. 20.4 lately! woo hoo! mostly highway, of course. does >20mpg qualify me a treehugger? am i allowed to say treehugger here or only in the hybrid forums? just kidding, hosts with the most!

i'm driving jetta TDI now, GTO is in the shop getting the rear bumper damage repaired... after that's done i'm going to have the body shop give me a quote on removing the triangular GTO tags on the sides, and everything tag except the ".0" on the trunk.

i wonder if there is a single cyclone grey 05 in USA with a no-hood-scoop hood. i doubt it. if there is one out there, i'll trade my grey 05 faux-scoops hood for it!

gottabgto

I bought mine in May.
I do a mix of highway/city but am definitely doing city on a daily basis (M-F) and that is San Francisco traffic, which is no picnic, especially if the Giants are in town.
I think the worst I've gotten in that time is maybe 16.5 and I have something like 5,500 on it now (gotta quit driving it so much).
I tend to fill up at either Union76 or Olympic (formerly Beacon) and use the highest octane - just fyi but I doubt that really makes any difference.
I do try to avoid using the AC, mainly because I just don't like AC, but I was using it when I got the 19.9 and the driving was mostly highway.
I'm wondering if maybe it gets better with time and mileage...
This is all a killer for me as I was used to 30 MPG with my Honda, which I still own and keep telling myself I will start using again for commuting but it's hard to give up the goat and all that power.

gottabgto

Are you getting that with your GTO or with your Jetta?

sensai

Don't use store brought octane booster. It will at most raise your octane a point or two, which is a total waste of money. Plus it tends to foul out spark plugs. Stick with buying the good stuff at the gas station.

gxpgtodanman

On the 3 highway trips I did, I avg anywhere from 18 to 21 mpg. Which is close to the sticker EPA 21.

We use GTO for our commute, but it's only a TOTAL of 14 miles per day, 7 each way. Doesn't really effect us too much. For our highway and longer trips we use the Acura 3.2V6 which gets close to 30mpg highway. High 20's. We have done 2 trips in the GTO and have almost avg 20 mpg. EPA is 21.

I only use Super or 91+ octane as well. Here in NJ it's been nasty humid 95+ weather the past few days, so the GTO is only avg 13mpg in stop and go if that, with the A/C on. Alot of our miles are to car shows, etc with it.

3500 miles since early APril

Kirstie_H

Don't forget tonight's member-to-member chat - it's open mic night, so come and discuss whatever's on your mind.

6-7pm PT/9-10pm ET. Drop by for live chat with other members. Hope you can join us!

kirstie_h

elias

lately i am getting the 20+ mpg with my goat. my tdi is a passat - it gets about 35 mpg...
but seriously my "20.4" mpg with the goat is equal to your 19.9 mpg - really i doubt we can get more than 2 significant figures for our mpgs - so really we're both getting 20 mpg lately. i really like dry heat - i don't like AC much either but it it's humid i always use it.

05midblue

I'd like to know just what "town" those EPA people live in. 12mpg is a pretty damn good day! I'm usually stuck at 11 mpg to and from work. It looks like those OPECers are sticking it to our dual exhaust once again. I love driving the car though and honestly don't care too much about how crappy the fuel economy is as the price of gas is the predominant factor in our violation of the posterior (that's where the billfold is :surprise: ).

** For those that are still interested in my remote start progress** I took the unit out and stripped everything but the shock/glass/tilt sensor. No door, light, hood or trunk triggers or sensors. Honestly I should have thought of this sooner. Why do I need to open my door from 3000 feet away? I'm glad I don't even have the opportunity. I'd hate to bump into my remote pop the trunk and wake up to all my nice stereo stuff stolen [again]. I don't have to worry about arming and disarming the system with a separate remote every time I want something. All of the sensors work fine, and when I get home from work I arm it. I disarm the system before I walk out the door, and leave the remote at home. If anyone was so bold as to steal the remote, It doesn't give them any better a chance at getting in the car and starting it up, although I probably will bypass all of the door/trunk/hood sensors and hook up the remote start some day, they will still need the factory key for all of the stock alarm features. Happy Goat Squealing

dburger66

elias:
No, my car will not roast the tires @ will. I have an '05 A4 that is completely stock, from what I have read by others, mine seems to be down on power a bit. I have been putting regular unleaded with a bottle of octane boost @ every fill up but I have been wondering if this is the reason my car is down on power. As you probably read, another post said I was wasting my time with o boost and to just put premium in it.
I work on Vandenberg AFB and the gas station on base doesn't sell premium, the nearest station is 15 miles away so I thought the octane boost was a better fix than using 2 gallons of gas to get a premium fill-up, guess not. The owners manual says the car will run on regular unleaded but will not have full power, does anyone know what kind of power loss we are talking about? I plan on running a few tanks of premium through the car and see if I notice a difference.

elias

hi dburger66. ok, i hear ya. the weather must be hot out there now, so that's the kind of weather that will make the power loss with 87 noticeable. my guess would be you could see up to a 10% power loss in hot weather with 87. but it's really a wild guess. in cooler/cold weather i bet it would be less or zero power loss. 15 mile drive to get premium, ok, that is definitely a pain. i see why you are trying octane boost instead. maybe one time try a tank of premium *plus* the octane boost, and if you still experience no tire-roasting then surely the octane ain't the problem, and i guess you'll need that ecm reprogram from one of those supertuner places.

gxpgtodanman

I was in NY Times Square today and they have a big advertisement by Pontiac where the Cadillac one used to be. They advertise the Solstice, G6 and GXP, YET NO GTO?? Quite incredible. And then they wonder why it's hard to sell them with NO advertising.

elias

gm's approach makes sense to me. in their shoes, i wouldn't advertise the gto either. apparently everyone who cares about cars knows all about gto already. i bet there are a lot more people who don't care about g6/gxp/solstice, or even that they exist and are now available.

gxpgtodanman

Many people including supposed car people I have talked to at the car shows/cruise nights I bring my GTO too, don't even know they brought back the GTO or about the car. I have had the same questions at every dif. car show I have take it too. Is it Front drive? It is a V6? They are shocked when I say V8 ,RWD and 400hp. Then again I don't think these are real car people asking these questions. I get them asked nonetheless. GM could have done more in promoting it.

rorr

"Then again I don't think these are real car people asking these questions."

I'll second that assessment 100%. The people who don't know about the GTO already aren't really 'car people' in my book.

I'll also agree with elias: the market audience for the GTO already KNOW about the GTO.

blackflag3

The Buick, Pontiac, GMC dealer I bought my GTO from runs full page ads in the local paper two to three times a week. They are yet to mention the GTO.
If it had not been for my taking my wifes GP in to them for an oil change I would never have known that they had some in stock. They had 7 of them sitting in a row and a Torrid Red A4 with the 18 inch wheels caught my eye. I have dealt with this dealership for years and are one of the best in the area for service, support and price. I asked them why they didn't advertise these cars and was told that the factory has a limited production of them and they only allocate a certain number
to each dealer and thats all they get for the entire year.
By having unsold GTO's sitting out front brings in drive by curious lookers who they can then possibly sell one of their other brands to, ones who can't afford the price of the GTO and are really not into high performance cars, but stopped only to see the GTO. They say it works.
I bought the Red one.