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The SSEI will run like crap on regular gas..when i first bought mine (2000SSEI) we didn't know it had to have premium fuel. Well after reading a bit I found out why it was so larthargec. Also the fuel mileage with anything other than Premium really suffers.....I can get mid 20's with premium but only was getting 14 or so with regular. The motor retards the timing to keep it from blowing it's self up and that gives it reall bad performance....
The SSEI is not only the best looking but wow it really screams and handles, I have a set of Goodyear ZR45 (P24555R17) if someone would have told me how much better the car handles and performs I wouldn't have believed them...My .02
Annette
Mike from San Antonio here. Got my Dad's 93 Bonne with 109K mi in August when he and mom were shedding one of two cars, unfortunately right about the time gas prices jumped to $3/gal for premium. Bonne needed a new Supercharger. so I agreed to fix it and sell it in San Antonio, rather than sell in rural Mo. On the way down to Texas, I got attached to the bonne and 27mpg at 80mph, so I have decided to keep it. It is loaded with everything but the CD player (tape instead). So far I have installed two superchargers (1st one leaked), rebuilt the steering column radio controls, replaced the water pump bypass (leaking) fitting into the upper manifold with the new metal fitting, and polished the car up a bit. It really looks nice--white with grey leather interior. 115K on it now. I will look into the air filter upgrades to improve gas mileage if available, but first I would like to stiffen up the bouncy ride with new front struts. Eventually I would like to explore a way to lengthen the driver seat platform so it moves back another inch or two for more leg room. Anyone know where to get replacement buttons for the electronic Climate control center? And what do you do for coffee mug holders? The cup holder is kind of cheesy and I would just as soon remove it if I can find a place to put my coffee mug for the commute into work. Can't imagine doing much else to this car, it really is a neat car to drive.
I'm from Canada and have had a 93 SE and now own a 96 SSE. The solution I found to the cupholder problem is to purchase a custom cup holder from a automotive store. They would be about 3-4 inches deep and the same diameter. I then screwed them into the transmission tunnel on either side of the council. Make sure that the seat travel is to your liking. This works perfect for me. It's the only place I've found to put cupholders in my bonnevilles. Another question I have is does your SSEI run hot and can you tow with it? Would appreciate and information.
Thanks
Happy Bonne owner,
Matt from Maine
When you think of the post 00 cars as the same as STS H-body, it's just nicers.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
I'm 22 and for the past 3 years I've been driving a 1988 Bonnie. It's maroon and runs perfect still! Amazing, its only racked up 126,000 miles.
Anyone else here have an '88 with more miles? Just curious what kind of longevity I could expect.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
On an earlier LeSabre the tire store put on the standard struts without the SensaTrac which was new then thinking I'd never know. It was like a truck. I used to put shock absorbers on my own cars and I put on heavy duty shocks for more control. That's what it reminded me of.
I verified the struts weren't SensaTrac by crawling under the car, and by calling the Monroe company and talking to a tech.
I went right back to NTB and they found the right struts from another store to switch those out the very next day...
Many stores or companies have a 30 day satisfaction guarantee on tires and maybe on struts. Or if they did use the normal strut which is very stiff maybe they will switch out with the Sensatracs. The SensaTracs on my cars did have a softer ride in he middle of the up-down movement.
SensaTrac description
Look at your receipt to see the part number or name of the type of strut they installed? SensaTrac? #71822
Monroematic Plus? #801822
If they give a part number you can cross check it on the same site I linked above.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
My name is CJP. I am interested in knowing how rare my car is? I have a Pontiac Bonneville GXP '05 In cranberry red metallic.
Any information you can give me would be great. Thanks
Blast to drive, I get about 25 mpg on the highway; 17-18 around town. Rarity? Not sure how many were built in '04 and '05, but I don't see many on the road. I'm definitely smitten with the upcoming G8, but I'm not ready to give up my GXP. Hope you enjoy many many miles of driving smiles!
I'm Kev, and I just inherited a friend's 1992 Bonneville SE. It's seen better days, sure, but he took pretty good care of it...mechanically, anyway. Runs like a top. most of the amenities still work, all that nice stuff. It's in decent condition outside, although the interior looks like he used it for a tree surgeon's business or something. But I'm not too worried about that.
Anyway, the biggest problem is the heater core blew up. Or did something that causes it to leak all over the passenger floor. And stink, of course. Keeping the heat off keeps the car drivable, but it naturally runs hotter than I would like it to and still burps a bit of antifreeze onto the carpet, even with the heat off.
I plan to just disconnect the core for the time being, just running the outlet from the engine for the heater back into the inlet that's supposed to come from the core. It's summer, and I won't need heat for a LITTLE while.
BUT...Does anyone know what a horrible job switching out the core is in these models? I know it's NEVER a fun job on any car- I know first hand- but perhaps there may be some helpful tips out there? Any advice would be certainly appreciated. This has the potential to still be a great car with a bit of TLC, and I'm a poor guy, so if I can keep it alive without massive investment it would be great.
Thanks!
Is it the coolant smell you're talking about? Is there any chance the drip is because the drain for the AC water drip is clogged?
Taking the hose connections into the heater off under the hood requires the sideways plier like tool to get at the snap wires easily. Then the rubber is usually melded to the tubes of the heater core. I suspect most people replace the whole heater hose pair when doing a repair because they damage the rubber getting them off.
I'll take disagreement about the core being terrible to get out on these cars. If it's the same as the 95-99 models, the cover comes off the end of the heater box with two screws and then break loose the caulk sealer and remove the cover which has to prongs hold it into the other end. The unit is very nicely engineered for do it yourself--if you have a medium level of expertise with cars and time and enough body flexibility you can lie on your side and back to work under there.
I'll try to get a picture for you.
Edit: I put two in my carspace picture album. http://www.carspace.com/imidazol97/Albums/imidazol97%27s%20Album
Go there and you'll see apicture of the heater box with the programmer removed off the end. Then you'll see the box with the end cover opened to show the heater core. The entire dash has been removed by the person taking the photos--you do NOT need to remove the dash. It can be done by removing the hush panel above the passenger's feet and removing the glovebox which is 7 screws along the bottom hinge.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
There are other issues, too... 'Check engine' light (Big surprise there...) and airbag warning light, but let's just see if we can keep it from burning up first, right?
As far as bypassing the core for the time being, you wouldn't know of any potential dangers of doing so, do you? Except maybe in the event of a sudden ice age or something, of course.
Thanks all!
Jaime">
Is that Ball State as in BSU? I'm an alumnus from many years back.
There are several individual Bonneville topics in the group that shows if you click "Bonneville" in the blue position links at the top of the page. You can subscribe to the whole group by "watching" the group so you'll see any new posts. Most posts now are about problems with the H-body Pontiacs.
http://townhall-talk.edmunds.com/direct/view/.ef14c39!make=Pontiac&model=Bonnevi- lle
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,