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Pontiac GTO
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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
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.
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.
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
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
EXACTLY!! I keep most of my cars pretty much stock, maybe just a few minor appearance items.
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.
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.
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.
Out of curiosity, if you a going ten or fifteen mph and punch it, will it burn the tires?
Steve in NW OH.
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.
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 !
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.
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. ?
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!
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.
http://www.hptuners.com
http://www.efilive.com
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
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!
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.
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
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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.
** 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
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.
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.
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.