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Pontiac Bonneville
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Comments
With all the snow this year, there should be know restrictions on washing cars this spring and summer. I perfer to wash my car myself than taking it to a car wash place. I look forward to making the Bonnie looking her best for spring.
Question on the Premium vs Regular Unleaded gasoline: With my car having the regular 3800 Series II engine in my 2001 SE, I have only used regular gas and get 29-30 MPG on the highway. No problems with the running of the car, but I wonder if one should put a tank full of premium gas would be beneficial. A friend of mine just bought a 2003 SE and swears on only Premium. Is this a waste of money if the base engine is set for 87. I would appreciate any additional input.
On another topic, would anyone be interested in trying to setup a Bonneville meet sometime in the spring or summer. I believe some have gathered at a Mall in NJ in the past. It would be quite a site seeing 15 Bonnies or more on the highway at the same time either here in the US or Canada.
Just a idea to kick around the Town Hall.
Steve B.
With gas having gone up as much as it has and me driving much more with my commute, I have taken to using mid-grade in my SSEi and see no difference. In fact, if I am going to take a long trip where I will be exclusively on interstates, I have been known to just put regular in. As long as you aren't doing any full throttle driving, there wouldn't be any noticeable change in the car's driveability.
I would think the only way premium could make any difference would be if it had more BTUs per gallon and since it doesn't, the engineer in me says there is no detectable difference in a car that doesn't need it.
One mechanic claims that mid and premium leave more deposits in a engine designed and electronically tuned for regular.
I like to run midgrade occasionally or mix premium with part of atank of regular when I have coupons from local stations for discounts. That's when I was using a "grocery store" brand of fuel (with no alcohol) and would use occasional tanks from national brand stations.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Thanks for the input on the Premium vs Regular. The car is running fine and I will stick with the regular gas. Have a good weekend....sxb
I also do not believe in premium fuel if it is not necessary. The only difference I found in my 2000 SSEi was when I experimented with premium on a few extended cruise controlled long trips. The gas mileage was better, but if you do the math, it translates to the same price. More MPG but more $$ per gallon.
Thank you for the update on how the Envoy drives in the white stuff. I believe Iceman is using some Nokian Tires on his Bonnie. I found some dealers in PA but none near by. With the little bit of driving I do, it maybe some time before I change. Also thanks for the input on the gasoline topic.
Mike,
I hope to hear if others would be interested in a Bonneville gathering. It would be something Pontiac could put in their Magazine. Not sure how far people want to travel, especially for people at either end of the east coast. Maybe North Carolina or Virginia would be halfway. For those up north, perhaps New York. Perhaps a July time frame might be good. Maybe a new post could be setup for any future meets. Take care all, time to ZZZZZzzzzzz.....sxb
My experience with 3 winters on my '00 SE suggests that the first 20K miles on a set of all season tires (crappy Firestone Affinity OEM the first year and Good Year Aquatread III the next two winters) is fine but that after 30K the treadwear really hurts the grippiness in snow. The FWD car itself is fine. If I was running more of a touring tire - Mich MXV4 or the like I might have a different take.
As we speak, my Bonneville is in the shop having the transmission llked at. It had been downshifting rather abruptly several months ago so the dealer dropped the valve body and cleaned it which fixed the problem. Now, while it is warming up, it doesn't seem it shift all the way into 4th because the engine rpms are somewhere between what you would expect from 3rd gear and 4th gear without the torque converter engaged. I just passed out of warranty bssed on time not miles here in the last several weeks so hopefully, nothing will come of it.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item- - =2406200766&category=6417
It turns out that I was equating what the transmission was doing to the "old" days, say about 8-10 years ago. Now, what is done is that the torque converter isn't just locked or unlocked like they used to be. It can lock even in 3rd gear quite unlike the older ones that would only lock when in 4th, engine load below a particular point, and coolant above a particular temperature.
The torque converter never fully locks up in order to isolate drivetrain vibrations from the passenger compartment. It can also slip from almost nothing to 500rpm, all the while under computer command and supervision.
Talk about the days of the shadetree mechanic being over. Bottom line for me was that the reprogramming that the dealer did in January changed some things that I noticed and took to be wrong but in fact, everything was aok.
I have a coworker that had the tires replaced on a 2000 Bonneville. She has since had the tire pressure low - or whatever it says - come on the info screen. She has reset it a few times - after having the pressure checked and found correct. It keeps coming back on.
Does anyone know, off-hand, what might be causing this? I would appreciate any advice to pass on to her.
Thanks.
of a 215 on a friends LeSabre a year ago to replace a damaged tire. The ABS system would
come on occasionally on soft stops if the car was going downhill because the tires were rotating at different speeds and the system thought one was slipping!
If tires are okay and all at same pressure, perhaps the mechanic bumped something related to the wheel sensors when installing the new wheels on the car...
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
www.INTENSE-Racing.com
Hope to see you there,
Scott Cook
2000 SSEi - 11.886 @ 116.45 MPH
1998 GTP - shooting for tens this year
Here are a few comments on the above few posts:
Bonnie's snow performance: Unquestionably, it's the tires. those Goodyear RSA's were nice (when new) on dry roads and they coped alright in wet and on ice. But they sucked out loud in the white stuff. The Nokian WRs are absolutely wicked in all conditions. Obviously, it isn't AWD but the tires and the all-speed traction control give me mucho confidence in ice, snow and wet.
Tire pressure monitor: If the tires are all the same size and are correctly inflated, the only explanations I can think of is that the DIC unit is faulty or she's not resetting it properly. Essentially, she has to select the tire pressure monitor and hold "reset" for something like 5 seconds. In the past, I confess that I have inadvertently not reset the tp monitor properly - you might want to suggest she just try again and take her time. And, if still in doubt, consult the manual or the dealer.
Intense: Thanks Scott for reminding us what this car is capable of doing.
Premium vs regular: All my reading on the subject is that you're wasting your money on premium unless your engine is designed (or modified) to take it. I tend to use an ethanol blend mid-grade at 89 octane that costs the same as a regular grade at 87 octane. I like the ethanol blend because it's cleaner and its emissions (esp. sulfur) are lower.
After two weeks in a country where 50's eras Chevs, Buicks, Zephyrs, etc. mingle with small Japanese and European cars, I'm looking forward to running errands this afternoon in the Bonnie.
Cheers for now,
ice
I haven’t completely given up on the GXP, however. My wife’s 01 GTP lease expires in early 04, and she loves the creature comforts in the SSEi such that she might want the SSEi and agree to my buying a GXP. No promises at this point, just a “maybe” and a “we’ll see.” Although if a GXP retails in the $38-43K range as the GMHTP magazine article indicated, that may be a show stopper for me, especially if the initial demand is high in which case Pontiac won’t be offering many or any incentives on the car. Incentives or not, that would be about a $4-5,000 price hike over the current SSEi. I really don’t know if there is that much more car there.
Actually I am thinking that unless I fall immediately in love with the GXP when they arrive and just can’t live without one, I would probably want to give the GXP some time to “mature” before jumping in. I really want to see one up close and personal, sit in and drive one, see some of them driving around, and maybe let some of you folks be the first GXP owners, talk about what you like, don’t like, etc. That probably means my wife would pop for an ‘04 Grand Prix when her lease is up, which also means I may be a long term SSEi driver whether I like the GXP or not. But I could do a lot worse.
Actually at this point, I have to say that I really have always, and still do, like the aggressive look of the current SSEi with the ribbed cladding and its kind of “in-your-face” front fascia better than the smoothed down “more refined” GXP (which is still cladded). I have never liked the Grand Am cladding – too extreme for my taste – but the SSEi cladding of the 2000+ models has always been attractive to me. I do like the GXP rear fascia a little better than the SSEi, mainly because of the exhaust tip treatment, but I have already replaced the rough cast tips on the SSEI with some Ravin stainless steel oval tips that really stand out. I’m not sure I would like the GXP interior touches (the white-faced gauges, carbon-fibre inserts, all those brushed aluminum trim pieces, two-tone seats with suede inserts (wearability?), etc.). I realize that’s the way the industry is going, but I’m not sure I would like all that better than the more or less understated way the current SSEi interior and instrument panel looks.
The V-8 is what primarily attracted me to the GXP in the first place since I am a GM V-8 guy from way back, but as those of you who have one know, the L67 V-6 is no slouch with its abundance of low end torque. I’m thinking while the V-8 will have around 20% more horsepower, but with maybe only 10 or so more lb ft of torque, and then most likely higher up on the power curve, I’m wondering if I really need it over what the L67 offers. I’m thinking probably not. It would just be a bragging rights thing for me to be driving a V-8 since I don’t street race or take my cars to the drag races anymore. Then there will also obviously be a little decreased gas mileage with the V-8 and the heavier car. And I’m already liking the big gas mileage advantage of the SSEi over my Trans Am.
The 18” GXP wheels don’t excite me that much, either. They look very nice, no argument about that, but I’ve had plus-sized and low profile wheels and tires on my TA’s, and the noticeably harsher ride has not excited me (or my wife). I have already replaced the stock wheels on the SSEi with 17” GXP wheels. They look great and of course the ride and handling are the same as stock.
I’ve always liked the V-8 exhaust note of my cars, but one of my Trans Ams was the ’89 V-6 20th Anniversary Turbo TA (talk about torque: 345 @ 2400), and it had a really mean sounding engine “growl.” The Bonneville’s L67 engine sound when pushed reminds me some of the Turbo TA, so I can live without the V-8 burble of the GXP.
Maybe this is all just a sign that I’m getting older and don’t feel the need to blow the doors off of everything out there like I used to. Now if I was 20 years younger, I might be thinking a little differently about the GXP at this point. I guess I just need to let some things play out over the next year. Meanwhile I sure do like this SSEi!
BTW, I officiallly declared winter over last week when I tucked the plug for my heater back inside the engine compartment.
Enjoy that new SSEi, and post some photos if you can!
You lucky guy. I think the 89 Turbo T/A is one of the coolest cars around. And they were wickedly fast. I think you will find the biggest difference with the premium V8 is in refinement, though also somewhat in upper-end power. The S/C 3800 in the SSEi is certainly the better engine for hot-rodding and such. You can easily make the 3800 faster than you could make the 4.4 V8. In that sense, the Premuim V8 is a big downgrade.
If you want a teaser of the possible sound of the Premium V8 with a Corsa system, take a look at these clips I made. The sweetest one is the "Go" one. If you only want to hear one, that's the one.
Also, congrats on the purchase. The SSEi is a lot of car for the money.
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rjs200240: Great clips! There's just nothing like that V8 sound. You are right about the Turbo TA. That car was an animal. I kept it for 3 years but sold it because my wife was afraid I would kill myself in it. With a car like that it was too tempting not to street race every now and then.
regfootball: I'm not sure what the Aurora seats look like. I do know that the leather seats in this SSEi are new for 2003. They have gone away from the "catcher's mitt" style except for the cloth seats. All I know is they sure are comfortable. The side bolsters are not as big as the ones in my TA were, but then this is supposed to be a family sedan, not a hot rod.
Bill
If they could simplify the dash in the same way.....
There will be no SSEi for 04. The GXP will start production in the 3rd quarter.
I have not heard that assembly of the Bonneville is moving, although I suspect something has to give since the 2004 Grand Prix is now being produced at Orion. Anyone know anything? Production on the '04 SE and SLE is slated to begin in June.
The timing could be right - the lease for my wife's '01 GP GT will be up in May '05. I shouldn't have too many problems getting out of that one early - clearing the way for my wife to take over the SLE and leaving me the chance to nab a GXP.
Between the two cars we have - the GP and Bonnie - I think the Bonnie's the keeper. The real question is whether or not my needs will be remain the same in a year's time. Who knows, maybe I'll be looking at Envoys like smfran.
I think Bunky posted this GXP link before but it's a good one so I'll repeat it: GM High Tech Performance: "Sudden Impact Is the production-bound Bonneville GXP the start of a performance renaissance at GM?" The most interesting (to me) perspective in this article is the one on the blown V6 vs. V8 issue - they speculate that it is one way to keep the Bonneville distinct from the Grand Prix.
I quite agree.
ice
:-(Dan - glad you had a chance to defrost on the beach for a couple weeks. Our snow has finally melted here - yours shouldn't be around for too many more months!!
I was at the dealership yesterday - signed up for another 60k kms. worth of warranty ("only" costed another $US1400). It occurred to me that the Canadian warranty at 60k kms. is slightly more than 37k miles.
I was musing about an interest in an '04 GXP (of course, the dealership knew nothing about it) and learned that my dealership (a volume dealer here) have only ordered 1 '03 SE this model year - they refuse to order more unless GM starts promoting the model (which they don't intend to do). Sick, isn't it?
ice
Zaino'd her up this last weekend and still looks as good as new. Not bad for 3 years old.
Gas mileage is definitely better now that I'm not warming the car up for 5 minutes before starting out in the morning. Geez Dan - will you Canadians pleeeze stop blowing that arctic air this way? Enough already!!!!!
Damned Ruskies... :-)
Direct link to the (reasonably) high-res promotional image: Bonneville GXP pic.
Trolls: They don't come to our corner often but it seems that one of the topics in this little "club" was so infected last night. You gotta wonder about the need for self-amusement.
Later,
ice