Pontiac Grand Prix GXP 2006

ocmike3

See my post #393 if you can let the cruise control do some of the work 27mpg on the hwy is definitely possible.
As for the back window - cleaning it is the worst chore... I put up a couple of the cloth (w/suction cup) shades and it does a pretty good job of cutting the heat. Now that fall/winter is approaching fast here (NW) I won't have to worry much about too much sun.

tonygxp

my black GXP is tinted 15% (which is very dark) and I have no problems with radio reception

gofastbaots

I drive my 2006 GXP Grand Prix wide open weekly and it will run 137 and thats it stock with no mods.

rmozol

So why the "W" rated tires then? I'd guess they could have had better gripping, and wearing tires in "V" rating for less money. Odd..............

splatsterhound

How much did that cost to tint a back window like that?

And does it cut outward visibility?

blckthree

I have 20% 3M tint on the back and side windows. It does reduce visibility at night, but it is not very noticeable in the daytime. Keeps the interior a lot cooler when the car sits out in the hot sun all day at work.

Mike

tonygxp

I paid $225.00 for the whole car, 4 doors and back window, top quality tint that doesn't change color in a few years, I have always had tinted windows since I was 17 yrs old (32 now), probably 15 cars. I used to drive a truck for a living and now I drive a Crown Vic, full tint, (And I'm not a cab driver) for a living, so I'm used to not seeing out back at night, aside from well lit areas. I use my side mirrors for most of my maneuvers in reverse. It's something to keep in mind though. if it helps my wife isn't the best driver and complains all the time about tinted rear windows but I've been with her for 11yrs+ and she hasn't had an incident in reverse, YET. Ironically, now that I'm older I could go without the tint but, don't want the hassle around town (my face has become familiar with too many, not so nice people over the years), and now its out of necessity that I have tinted windows. That thought was depressing, good luck anyway.

spdrush

I have not seen any aftermarket mods ie. K&N filters or other performance mods for the 5.3 motor.

Are there any out there??

5100 miles and loving it in dk cherry (snotpurple)

rmozol

Chevy Hi Performance has been doing a buildup on a 5.3 Vortec over the last few issues. They did the basic, simple mods so far, and gained quite a bunch of HP. Are these engines similar?

tonygxp

does anyone have a car cover that they would recommend for outdoor all weather storage, I bought another car and now lost the garage space for my GXP, and will now be leaving it outside until my garage/addition is finished, next spring.

rmozol

I've used those California Car ones and there good. Find the level of protection that you want, and check E-Bay for prices. You should find what you want there.

tonygxp

a friend of mine suggested the wether-tech from cover craft, but I'm curious how it handles the moisture under the cover, i had a problem with humidity in the past with covers, have they gotten better from a decade ago? It would leave a haze on the car & especially the windows that made it harder to keep clean then no cover at all

brettgxp

I've got a screwnail in the sidewall of my 2005 GXP (Black, loaded with everything but NAV.....got almost 10,000 miles on it too)....I read in the October 2005 issue of "Car and Driver", that Bridgestone specifically manufactured the Potenza RE050A's that are on the GXP with a harder compound than the Potenza RE050A's that are manufactured and distributed retail. Where do I get one of these tires?...Do I go to a GM dealer??

hammen2

From an email from the former product manager for the GXP:

"The way you can tell if its the "real" GXP tire set is to look for the TPC code on the tire sidewall, meaning it was devloped by GM. Any Bridgestone dealer will have the tires and I would strongly recommend replacing with the same tire, to take advantage of all the engineering work done."

rmozol

I have an older cover too; more like a sewed together cloth. The new ones are a LOT better. If you get something breathable, moisture shouldn't condense underneath it.

chats1

I have a question if you could please answer it. You have answered my questions before. On my 2006 GXP I have the "real" GXP tire set TPC 269 on front and TPC 270 on the rear. Would the former product manager recommend replacing these tires with all-season tires? My dealer tells me "no." Just leave on the tires that were made for the car because of all the engineering work done. Also, I have just noticed that when I open my door, with the ignition off, I can hear a slight humming when I put my ear next to the speakers on the driver's side which stops humming after about 20 seconds. The key is still not in the ignition and all the inside lights are still on. When I listen on the passenger's side the humming is on for about 10 seconds, then stops. I have the Monsoon system. (I had the Bose system in my 2002 Anniv. Edition. I can't tell the difference between the two systems, so I really don't know which system is better). Then, I start the car. I don't hear any humming after that from the speakers. I was just testing this. I called the dealer about this. They didn't know anything about this. I'm taking it in for an oil change next week and will have them listen to this. Do you know anything about this. Thank you.

tonygxp

You can order one through a Firestone Dealer, I know someone who works there, they told me that our tires show two different numbers, one OEM and the other is the summer tire, but both say they are RE050

rayainsw

"You can order one through a Firestone Dealer, I know someone who works there, they told me that our tires show two different numbers, one OEM and the other is the summer tire, but both say they are RE050 "

What are List Price and typical \ actual selling price for those tires?
Thanks,
- Ray
Knowing they'll not be cheap . . .

dukenitro

I haven't read through the 25 pages of this thread but if nobody made this known yet. Those SUMMER only tires were made for MERCEDES. The ones we have on the GXP are slightly different design (Even though same tire#) made for Pontiac to rid the Torque steer issue. The sidewall was redesigned just for this.

Pontiac requested this from Bridgestone and Bridgestone's first reply was it was impossible then another tire company came up with it. So Bridgestone changed there tune and somehow came up with a redesign that worked. So YES our tires ARE different.

Also for those of you that live near Snowy weather like myself (Chicago), i would swap them for Bridgestone Blizzaks in the winter.

DUKE

dukenitro

O and for the radio noise, I have the same thing. It's the Monsoon. My 04 Grand Prix had it too. It's nothing to be worried about. They all have it. Some people just can't hear it.

hammen2

He already covered the tire question (answer is no need to replace them). I'll ask him about the stereo...

"They were engineered specifically for the GXP application and had inclement weather performance as a high priority in their development.

I drove a GXP last winter in southeastern Michigan for a couple of weeks (in snow) and found the car worked fine in those conditions.

If I had to do it all over again, I'd make sure the tire had an all-season rating to clear up all this confusion."

chats1

Thank you very much. I really appreciate it.

hammen2

Here's his response on the speaker issue:

"I can't be of assistance on the speaker hum. I'm afraid the dealer or service bulletins are your best source of information on this problem."

--Robert

chats1

Thanks again for your help. I see the dealer next Tuesday. I already told them about it. They were surprised about the humming, so they'll just have to listen to it and I'll see what they say.

rayainsw

rayainsw, "Karl's Daily Log Book" #2163, 13 Oct 2005 3:40 pm

f.y.i.
- Ray
With more than a few "different" impressions (sigh)

tonygxp

center caps on the wheels are now silver instead of black, I like it, but they didn't need to put those ridiculous badges on the fenders, they're the size of a thumbnail and as about as attractive, inside.....I don't understand why they would put that distracting chrome like finish on the steering wheel?? Anyone else notice these little annoyances?

rayainsw

"2. Cruise control stalk has a flash seam in the plastic on the back side -- right where your finger sits when using the stalk. Come on GM. " - Karl

Small point, I suppose, but I checked this very carefully after reading your comment here.

My GXP (2005) has no seam anywhere that I can feel on this control - or any other steering column mounted stalk.

- Ray
Acknowledging that THIS won't change anyone's mind . .

chats1

I have a 2006 GXP and actually like the small badges and the chrome-like finish on the inside, doors, GXP plate when you open the door, chrome-like finish on the steering wheel and the dash. I have a question and I hope someone will answer it. But, remember I am a "mere" woman and some of my questions may seem stupid but they aren't to me. Can someone tell me if using the Manual shift in 1 would help in driving up my driveway and up my hill when it is snowy or using the Manual in 1 until I get out to a main road? Or should I just stay in Drive? Thank you.

tonygxp

I too like the door sill GXP appliques, 2005's have them also, I was simply commenting on the distraction of the shiny steering wheel trim, I sat inside a 2006 for 5 minutes and couldn't take my eyes off of it (cant imagine why they did it for the simple fact, picture this, sunroof open and the sun peeking through the opening and blinding the driver as the rays bounce of any one of the 3 shiny pieces on the wheel, its the reason dashboards have a low reflective finish and why armor-all is a bad idea on the dash, as well as anywhere in the interior).
For the driveway question, you have 2 choices, 1st leave it in Drive, you have traction control or put in in Manual and use 2 (2nd gear) in those low speed climbs, it'll help keep the wheels from spinning. My initial thought is that 323lb ft of torque is going to be tough to control by just letting your foot off of the brake, they'll probably spin as soon as you release the brake pedal, but thats where the traction control will come in to play. Good luck, regardless its going to be easier than a rear wheel drive car to maneuver in the snow (at low speeds that is)

jpstax1

I haven't test driven an '06 GXP yet, but did drive an '06 Impala SS. During launch at a stop light, it started to veer left towards oncoming traffic. I backed off on the pedal to regain control. When I told the salesman about this problem, he changed the subject. I think it's only a matter of time before some driver gets seriously hurt or killed by not knowing how to handle severe torque steer. I think GM should issue warnings to drivers unfamiliar with driving a high performance car with FWD.

chats1

thanks. I've had my sunroof open and haven't noticed anything blinding me. I don't use armor-all on my dash just on the plastic behind the "GXP" logo inside the door opening. I have had three GTP's and when I would go up my driveway and my hill until I got to a main street, very slowly I drove the car in either 1 or 2 (I don't remember which) and then switched back to drive. I never skidded or had any problems in the snow with the GTP's. I guess when the snow starts we'll see how this car performs. Thanks for the advice on this car. I appreciate it. I will try both Drive and then 2nd gear. When I bought the car the salesperson told me to always leave the Traction Control button on; only turn it off if you get stuck in snow or mud! Thanks for the help.

tonygxp

for the fronts..$225.00 list & rears..$200.00..I can get them for about $15 less than that, installed with road hazzard..not too bad?? interestingly enough I'm waiting to find out if our tires are actually different from the regular RE050A, my friend thought there was a different order number for OEM & REG production, but today he couldn't find the difference he originally told me about?? I'll try to get to the bottom of this ASAP (800 number to Bridgestone Tech support)

rayainsw

Reply from the (now Ex-) Pontiac GP (and GXP) Marketing Manager:

rlsedition, "Karl's Daily Log Book" #2171, 14 Oct 2005 7:50 am

rayainsw

My last 3 cars were either RWD or AWD and had peak TQ of between 250 and 290. And they were all roughly comparable in weight to the GXP.

The one prior to that was a GP GTP w/3.5” S/C drive pulley. (Likely crank TQ = approx. 300.)

I utilize WOT virtually every time I drive my GXP, often in first gear, and though I can certainly detect a bit of torque steer, it has never felt anything like a loss of control – or even imminent \ impending loss of control.

I almost never launch at WOT. Largely because I’d prefer that my tires last for a while longer. The full throttle first gear rumble & rush from 5 MPH to 40 or even 50+ occasionally is enough entertainment for me. At least with the current price of Fuel. . .

Now if one or both sides of the launch surface had a significantly reduced traction situation (sand \ moisture \ etc.), and someone hit WOT immediately, I can certainly see where veering could occur. At least until the Traction Control activated.

Regardless of FWD, RWD or AWD, at this HP \ TQ level, there are limits . . .

- Ray
Who can only imagine the ‘warnings’ that would mean GM would need to issue with purchase of a new 500+ HP \ 470 TQ Corvette Z06 . . .

hammen2

Yep, they are different than the standard RE050's... see my previous posting (#488) in this discussion for further information right from the (former) GXP product manager...

--Robert

blckthree

Yep, they are different than the standard RE050's... see my previous posting (#488) in this discussion for further information right from the (former) GXP product manager...

--Robert

If they are different, how are we suppose to tell the difference? I recall seeing a TPC number at one time, but it was different than what is on the side of my tires. I cant remember what is on the side, but I do remember seeing the RE050 on them. Do we have to buy them from GM (Ouch!! I can already feel that one!!), or is Bridgestone able to replace them for us?

Way too much confusion over a little round black thing!!

Mike

hammen2

Yes, there is a TPC number on the tires (I believe 269 on the front and 270 on the rear). You can get them from any Bridgestone dealer... as long as you mention that they are the special tires, not the off-the-shelf Potenzas...

blckthree

Yes, there is a TPC number on the tires (I believe 269 on the front and 270 on the rear). You can get them from any Bridgestone dealer... as long as you mention that they are the special tires, not the off-the-shelf Potenzas...

That appears to be correct Robert. There is a line in front of the 269 or 270 which almost appears to be a number 1, but I don't think that is the case. The other number on the tires which appears to be a Bridgestone reference would be "050AFZ", which is probably what distinguishes them from a regular RE050.

I'll just keep my fingers crossed I don't have to find out anytime soon first hand.

Mike

billgxp

Is anyone experiencing "chatter" from the windshield wipers on their GXP? My '05 is about 4 months old now and the wipers "chatter" or "skip" across the windshield. It becomes noticeable at 35 mph and more pronounced as you reach speeds of 60+mph. The windshield is not dirty and I routinely wipe the blade with a clean towel each time I wash the car. I have noticed GM is using a new blade design on the '06 GXP and many other '06 models. Just wanted to know if anyone else has experienced any issues and does anyone know if the new '06 blades can be used in place of the '05 blades?

tonygxp

spoke to Bridgestone tech support today, here's the deal...You can get them from any Firestone dealer (or bridgestone, but there are ten times as many Firestone dealers) but you have to make sure the dealer gets the proper "LIST NUMBER" for the OEM application...Good News...Ready for the bad... There is no..I repeat NO VISIBAL DIFFERENCE between the 2..Like the Car Mag says, the difference is in the way the plies are wrapped, thats the problem.. make sure the dealer orders (because he isn't going to stock this tire, don't let him BS you either) the proper tire, make him show you the different LIST number so there's no mistake and check the list number on the STICKER that comes on the tread of the new tire.. THAT according to the Tech is the only way you can tell, all the other numbers on the tire can be found on all the different varieties of the RE050A...
Makes me feel good knowing that I shouldn't have to replace these as i only have 1800 miles on mine since JUNE..It sure is nice to have a take home car from work.
furthermore he said if you were to buy the "regular" RE050A they wouldn't last you 15K, and would be horrible in the snow, different compounds and what not in the OEM tire make-up I guess?? These tires should last 30K according to his estimate, he had some knowledge about the tire but didn't know d idly about the GXP, he said this is common for Auto Manufacturers to put out specs for a tire and then the Tire Manufacturer produces one to their (Auto Manufacturer) Spec but for some unknown reason leave the tire as the same name (as in our case). If you ask me it's because they can then stop the limited production of the "special OEM tire" after a year or so and fool you and I into believing their regular production version is equal..
Conspiracy you say?? You do the math!!

tonygxp

Where is your light switch?? I just seen pictures of a 2006 on the net and I can't believe I didn't notice this before, you have a conventional cruise switch on the stalk?? That is where the 05 light switch is located, wonder why they changed that?? And I also noticed that the black 06 had the black center caps, not the silver ones i seen on the pontiac website, can someone enlighten me on this subject please?

blckthree

The light switch and the fog light switch are both a part of the cruise control stalk. Just an extra switch to turn on the stalk.

Mike

blckthree

Whether they discontinue them in the future is hard to say, but I can see the Bridgestone dealer selling you the one he has in stock since it will wear out twice as fast. More money for his pocket.

That said, I wonder if any other tire manufacturers will come up with a replacement alternative which will have either a better traction rating, or more miles, etc?

Looks like these will be expensive tires no matter what, they wont be manufacturing that many of them. Just hope they are easy to come by when you need one, since you have no spare.

Mike

rayainsw

"you have to make sure the dealer gets the proper "LIST NUMBER" for the OEM application.."

And how do we find out what this mysterious 'list number' is?
Thanks,
- Ray
With 5,00+ miles and no significant tire wear, but planning ahead . .

tonygxp

Ray, I was on the move when I was speaking to the tech, (10min on hold, not doing it again) But I can ask my friend at Firestone for the 2 different, or more practical, I'll get the one's we need, and then we'll have to write them down and stash it in the glove box.. Now.. 1st day with a little sunshine I'm taking a 150mile trip in my GXP, gotta get some more miles on it for first oil change..
On to a different subject, I'm not impressed with the changes to the 2006, just went back to the dlr with mine and looked at them side by side..
A) Badges on fender look like an exposed bolt from more than 10ft away
Antenna location and change looks odd, very odd
C) The new wipers are definitely to address a "chatter" type problem, I once owned a Shelby Lancer (by Dodge) and it had those wipers on it with the fins, I replaced them and payed dearly, flapping all over at highway speed
D) Interior... don't like it at all, they took away the cruise control stalk.. look in from the passenger side and you'll notice the cheapness right away. Something as small as that can have a big effect on an otherwise attractive interior by adding a bit of "HIGH TECH feel", back to the 1970's all in one, too bad they couldn't put the wiper switch into that also??
E) And I'm not sure why but again I have seen the same center caps on the 06 as mine, but on the pontiac site they're the same finish as the wheel on the 06???

blckthree

D) Interior... don't like it at all, they took away the cruise control stalk.. look in from the passenger side and you'll notice the cheapness right away. Something as small as that can have a big effect on an otherwise attractive interior by adding a bit of "HIGH TECH feel", back to the 1970's all in one, too bad they couldn't put the wiper switch into that also??

Tony,

I guess I never saw an '05, so I am not sure what you are talking about when you refer to the cruise stalk. I know mine is still on the left side of the steering wheel with the headlight, foglight and dimmer switch and directional signal. Were they in a different place on the 05's??

Seems like a traditional layout that I have used before in another Pontiac I had, just cant remember which one it was now. Either a TransAm or a Grand Am. Memory escapes me now.

Do get that elusive list number for the tires. It would be good to have in the glovebox incase of need.

Mike

tonygxp

Yes, the cruise stalk on all 05 GP's was on the right of the steering wheel, and actually turned with the wheel, like the Japanese auto makers have on their vehicles, it's something I really liked about the interior, I can't see why they would revert back to the old style (GM has had numerous problems with that multifunction switch over the year's), they don't age well. As with most vehicles they took a dollar away from one place and used it in another (chrome rings around air vents??) or maybe new safety regulations that required that stupid Passemger side airbag light (What the helk is that there for??who cares if its on or off??)

blckthree

Guess I never saw the type of cruise stalk you are talking about from the '05s.

as for the air bag light, people with kids care about that. kids are not suppose to sit in a front seat with airbags, and there is a sensor that turns the airbag off if there is a small amount of weight in the seat. i dont know what the minimum weight is for it to stay turned on. i guess it could save you a few dollars in repairs during an accident, if no one was in the passenger seat, it wouldnt deploy.

Mike

tonygxp

As far as I know it wont deploy, so the light is there for no reason, after 2004 all passenger vehicles had to have that built into the passive restraint system, if I'm wrong correct me, but that's what I remember seeing in an article a while back. So my point is why the light there if the bag isnt going to deploy anyway, strange I guess. maybe it's there to reassure people about the bag not being operative while a baby or youngster is in the front..Where they shouldn't be anyway, believe me, I see more carnage and death from people not being belted in and others belted in the wrong way (famous, lap belt only cause the shoulder harness hurts"my neck")than I care to think much about..

rayainsw

"we'll have to write them down and stash it in the glove box.."
Exactly!
Thanks,
- Ray
Even more happy to have a 2005 w/the cruise control on a seperate stalk . .