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Pontiac GTO
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Comments
JHP, http://www.jhp.com.au, can set you up with everything you need to Monaro-ize your car (front fascia, badging, et. al.).
Hope you get your misfire issue sorted out,
--Robert
Yep. See my post from a couple back. Looks like we will see a next-gen GTO in MY2009 or so, even though the current model will definitely die after MY2006.
With the way Pontiac's investing in GTO racing, no way they will let this platform die and not come up with a suitable replacement, unless GM is hurting more than anyone realizes (and we know they are hurting, just not how bad)...
--Robert
All mfg are going to the drive by wire. It has been used sucessfully on the C5 Vette since 1997.
i never had any misfiring problemo. i gotta remember to check the oil though. at work today a dude reported his pal had a CTS-V that was a quart low after 2000 miles, blew a tire, then blew the tranny. ouch. my LS1 Z28 burned a quart about every 6k miles even after it was broken in. none of my LT1 Z28s ever burned a drop of oil, but burned plenty of rear tires of course, oh yeah. i wonder whether the LS2s burn any oil, especially when new.
australia - i gotta visit that down under place some time!
at first i was considering a stealth makeover to avoid attracting boy-racer drivers. but the real problem seems to be that the car attracts cops even when i drive it exactly the same as i've driven my volksy TDIs for the last 80k miles. i drove Z28s for decades too so i know that f-body/goat drivers have to play by the book more than 'generic' car drivers do. i'm trying, really! i don't think a stealth makeover is going to solve my "cop magnet" problem with this goat. my latest strategy is to avoid driving in the fast lane here. (the *right lane* is the fast lane). the mass cop who tagged me last week was so irate that i thought he was going to lose it and punch me out - this despite my total respect/honesty with him, and following all the rules-when-pulled-over 'by the book'. i've never had luck with mass cops, although it's been 16 years since one last bagged me. they must feed those guys cranky-pills at the barracks or something. they scare me.
if driving the car 60 mph on the highway is the only way to avoid tickets, i'm going to have to trade it! waaaaah waaaaah waaaah!
Thanks mate
Ok. A little bit of an aside here, but I guess I don't understand this. I've owned several performance cars (Firebird, Lightning, now a Mustang GT), and I have no problems with the boy-racer drivers. I don't race them. I don't pay attention to them, and if they want to drive fast off the line with their Rice Burner Type-RS Spec B Turbo Ultra Super Sport with the ridiculously large glass pack exhausts and wings that could put a 747 aloft and clear out all the cops on the road, that's fine too. What do they do, exactly, that makes them so feared, beyond act like fools and stare over at you, trying to get a race going?
"but the real problem seems to be that the car attracts cops even when i drive it exactly the same as i've driven my volksy TDIs for the last 80k miles."
This is part of the price to play, unfortunately. If you drive an attention getting car, you will get attention. When you see them, just don't drive like a yob, and let the goofballs who are trying to race you, above, get all the tickets. If you're being normal, the most the 5-0 can do is stare and sputter like Jackie Gleason.
What advantage if any, do the 18" wheels, have over the standard equipment
17" ones? My 05 GTO came with the 18" wheel option.
Tires are Bridgestone Potenza P235/40Z/R18
Ride quality is supposedly noticeably worse with the 18" (due to the lower profile rubber), but I've seen arguments erupt over this issue.
I'm thinking about putting CV8-R 18"ers on my GTO when my tires are gone, however I want to ride in a similarly-equipped car first, to make sure the ride isn't back-breaking, since I live in the upper Midwest (can you say concrete expansion joints?)
--Robert
mojojojojojojo, in my earliest posts on the forum i described what the boy racers have done. i'll repeat: i don't engage them at all, i just drive normally. actually racing on the street is a HUGE (and criminal) violation! not gonna do it. these youngsters have done WILD stuff to "demonstrate" something in their civics or whatever crapboxes - dangerous stuff - changing lanes 3 at a time, driving in the breakdown lane, intentionally blocking me from doing low-speed lane-changes in city traffic, massively tailgating other cars on the highway. all this stuff happened in the first week when i was driving the car really gingerly, really slow, staying in one lane, doing *nothing* - just putt- putt-ing along with city or highway traffic. my fear is more for the other drivers who don't see these yutzes coming - i can easily stay back and away from them, the brakes to stay away from them but they surprise the other drivers ahead as they zig & zag. i'm tellin ya man, people are nuts around here.
last week i was driving the tdi in the right lane, slowly since i had extra time before an appt - same day i got tagged for 85 in a 65 at 5:30AM. i heard a really weird/loud noise approaching - a dude in some small sedan came by at about 90 mph - driving with NO TIRE on his right front rim. the bottom of the car was scraping along, massive smoke and sparks emitting. somehow the dude retained control! all the other cars moved away to let him pass - it was just like out of the show _cops_ - but no cops was chasing the guy! i called 911 and they were all over it, asking me where the guy was going. but he was going so fast i didn't bother to keep up - and seriously i was scared to try to keep up. later i called them back to tell them that i had gotten a partial plate # and to give a better description of the car - they told me they had already bagged the guy. it was one of the freakiest things i'd seen in 25 years of driving. but yeah, that one had zilch to do with the goat - i was driving the tdi at the time. weird car karma though
as for the 5-0, as long as they don't single me out i'll be fine.
but when *all* the cars are doing 80 mph in a 55 or a 65, the cop can pull over whoever he wants to. "i was just going with the flow of traffic" does not hold up at all for the clerks/courts in MA.
and there's no way i'm going to actually drive the speed limit on the highway ! pfooey on that.
for years i've been driving in the right lane (80 mph) with my TDIs. apparently the TDIs are stealthy enough to do that. but with the goat, i gotta be on much better behavior. i drove Z28s for decades but not since 2004. with the Z28s i definitely had to drive with "better behavior" than the average-sedan-driver . after driving stealthy TDIs (like a jetta wagon) for a couple years, i've lost my "best behavior" touch. it's like i'm the "mr invisible" guy who used to be invisible but doesn't know that he got coated with paint or dust and is not invisible any more. i don't suppose jessica alba does that in that fantastic-4 movie, eh - it's the cliche thing that happens whenever someone is invisible in movies/cartoons, know what i mean?
i'm actually thinking of putting 245/45 blizzaks onto the goat and driving it this winter. i did that with all 5 my Z28s (and one v8 firechicken) and never regretted it...
It rides pretty good as far as I'm concerned.....
I checked two company's Hammen told me about but have seen nothing on either site.
You bought a GTO so keep it a GTO. I thought it would have been better just to import the Monaro instead of calling it a GTO but after seeing a picture of a Monaro, the Pontiac front end is much better looking. Awesome in fact. The Monaro front end looks like a Ford Taurus to me.
Handling, traction, and braking.
Thanks for you response mate. Look at this link.
http://www.jhp.com.au/enlarge-gto.php?image=img/products/sedan/body_kits/monaro/cv8-gts-1-- h.jpg
Disclaimer: I'm not associated with JHP, LS1Speed, or GMMotorSport. I am lazy enough to have an A4 vehicle, so I can't even comment with personal experience on the issue. Just passing along what I've read elsewhere...
hammen2, thanks again for the jhp info - i've ordered the rear bumper piece as well as the side lights.
I have heard that using the larger JHP MAF with the stock airbox, with two holes cut in the bottom, can provide close to the power gains of using a K&N cone, without the debate over heat soak, or deviating much from the stock look (i.e. your dealership service department might not notice the wider pipe or the holes in the bottom of the stock airbox, whereas they'd definitely see the K&N cone).
I haven't decided which way I'm going to go. I've seen dynos of an auto '04 that got 12+ rwhp from a K&N, so it is a worthwhile upgrade (also adds a louder intake sound, which you may prefer...
--Robert
I have heard of a couple of issues with the K&N on an '05... be aware of an electrical/grounding issue... watch the screws when you tighten the clamp, is my understanding... wouldn't preclude me from buying one, just would take extra care when installing one on an '05...
--Robert
What is your opinion on the b&m rpper shifter for an 04 GTO with 6spd??
I am waiting on mine, should be here in a few days, but I saw a message on this forum saying that people have had problems with them. Is that anything to do with bad installation I wonder. How hard is it to remove the grill and center console for the installation?? would you reccomend getting a different one even though this one seems to be the only one available?
Beats the heck out of me. I know that Hurst has been working on a GTO shifter - I know the guy in Cleveland who has helped them with some prototypes - but it's still not available...
--Robert
Here is the alternative product, if you decide not to stay with the B&M:
http://www.gmmotorsport.com/ripshiftmanual.htm
Hope this helps,
--Robert
I was going to buy the Aus made one but its alot more money and alot more shipping. If this one fails I will send it back and get the Aus one but I believe the Band M shifters are good quality.
ANYHOW, what should i ask the dealer to check/do.........bringin it in for oil change???
any tech bulletins?????thanks guys
in other news, another wild move by another driver last week - dude in SUV was weaving through traffic behind me - so i went to center lane. he weaved and weaved to get past me. as he drove past, his passenger teen/twenties male leaned out the passenger window, practically falling out of the SUV, giving me some sort of signal, pointing upwards. i think he wanted me to goose it or downshift to get that sweet exhaust sound. but traffic was packed, so i didn't. no reason to get all revved up with nowhere to go. i won't bother posting about these wacky boy-racer/girl-racer incidents, they happen so often that they are getting boring except for the part that people could get killed with wacky moves like my reasonable driving and subtle cyclone-gray goat seem to evoke !
On my old 96 Grand Am w/ 3.1L V6 would do changes at 10,000 miles w/ mobil 1. That grand-am now has 170,000 miles on it has never had major interior engine work. Only starter, alternator, and idler pulley have been replaced - at around the 125-135,000 mile mark.
Anyway, one of my seat motors gave up a couple of weeks ago and the driver's seat is now stuck in its closest to the steering wheel position. It sucks because I'm 6 feet tall but I've been managing OK so far by leaning back really far. It makes putting a toddler in and out real easy though since I don't have to deal with the slow speed of moving the seat back and forth in the first place ;-) Its current limited functionality reminds me of getting into the back seat of the series of Trabant station wagons I grew up with. Here's a pic of the vehicle I'm referring to (26HP 2-cycle engine, so that's different at least): http://mclellansautomotive.com/photos/B25465.jpg
I don't have time to go to a dealer anytime soon but, obviously, I'll have to one day... I wonder if this is a common problem and how long it will take them to order the part and fix it. I don't expect an 'in and out' visit for sure but we'll see.
Haven't heard of failing seat motors as being a huge recurring problem. You just never know how long it's going to take to get a part in, so, if I were in your shoes, I'd get it to the dealer ASAP for diagnosis. My gas cap broke (it just spins and clicks when trying to put it on) - at least I can get it off, and I'm not getting an SES light from it not being sealed, at least, not yet - but we'll see how long it takes to get one.
--Robert
With the car off, turn the ignition to the On position (but don't move it to Start and begin cranking)
Press and release the gas pedal slowly two or three times within five seconds
Turn the key back to the Lock position.
--Robert
my parts arrived from jhp to my neighbor's house yesterday. they already thought i was crazy, but having a rear lower bumper delivered to them leaves no doubt. the side marker lights are small. i hope the paint is all good under the monstrous triangle GTO tags. whatever, the dealer body shop will do what they have to do. i'll probably get the car to them on thursday.
so even the gas cap on these cars is an aussie-only/holden part ? hey, could be worse, at least the gas cap don't screw in with counterclockwise direction due to the southern hemisphere coriolis effect.
I don't know that for sure, was just guessing/making fun of the fact that it might take days/weeks to get one. But, I called the dealer, and something happened that's never happened to me before: they actually have the part IN STOCK and I have an appointment first thing tomorrow morning to get my gas cap replaced! I'm guessing this must have happened to one or more of their other GTO customers (I know that their parts guy has a red GTO), so they're stocking the part.
Beats the month and a half I waited for door lock ferrules, and the 3 1/2 weeks I waited for one of the retainers under the back seat that shattered when I changed out the subwoofers and peeling grille (don't want to admit what I paid for what probably is a 12 cent piece of plastic...).
--Robert
check this dashboard oddity: i think the diagnostic-speed-mode on the lcd display shows a different speed than the big-numbers/non-diagnostic lcd speed indicator. i think the big-numbers/non-diagnostic-mode lcd speed indication is reading a few mph faster than actual speed. i think the diag mode shows actual speed. this shows me that the angry mass state cop who bagged me lately was really lying. he said i was doing 85 to 90 when it looks like i was doing 79 or 80, max. oh well, no worry, the penalty is not much different in either case.
privetotruski/cracovian i sure did not mean to offend by using the russian word for "friend" - i hope that is obvious. i figured that using a russian word was cool since a soviet-era (russian) car was mentioned by cracovian dude/dudette. i plead guilty to cultural moronicism and total US-centricism!
Yep. In and out in under 30 minutes - probably a record. Had the car fixed within 16 hours of calling them - fastest dealership repair ever.
i think the big-numbers/non-diagnostic-mode lcd speed indication is reading a few mph faster than actual speed.
Yep, known issue on the 2004's.
From Chris White's http://www.gtoshiftlight.com:
"2004 Odometer/Speedometer Correction (Corrects 2.91%+ Error on the 2004 instrument cluster)"
Chris can activate the shift light indicator, customize the DIC (mine has the Holden HSV logo at startup, and a customized message on the LCD), et. al. Cost me about $125 for him to do this (hook up his laptop, or send it in to him. He can also customize/change out the gauge needles, LCD's on the radio, HVAC indicators, et. al. - I'm going to get matching purple LCD's on the cluster and change the radio colors when my car's in storage over the winter...
--Robert
years ago with my 1989 iroc-z, the speedo was WAY off and the dealer couldn't get the tranny speedo gear matched with the speedo head gear. they finally sent it out to a speed shop to have a custom speedo head gear cut. GM gave me a letter after that, extending the warranty to 15000 miles on the odo, or some such. after i bought that car, i was driving up the rt 2 hill (steep!) outside boston, speedo said 70 mph and i thought it felt slow. then a volksy bus passed me going up the hill. "what's wrong with this picture".