soviet

iTrader: (10)

Pontiac GTO 2004-2006 Weights and Weight Comparisons - WikiAuto

65lb hood
65lb seats
20lb seat brackets (lol?)
50lb spare/jack
100lb of exhaust, apparently

lol

18psi

iTrader: (76)

why would that be a joke? I'm sure an alum version of it would save some 20lbs or something.

turbofan

iTrader: (1)

Eh, just thought maybe you were goofing off saying to remove important parts or something. Thought maybe one of my earlier suggestions was really dumb and I didn't even know it.

Sounds like a good idea.

timk

Wow you guys have more Aussie cars than we do.

Roda

Nice Goat!

I was looking pretty hard at them when the G8 came out, and I found a great deal on an '09. Kept it stock except for a CAI, tune, and custom widened 2010 Camaro wheels (you want to talk HEAVY???)...



It was one of the best road cars I've ever owned, but was pretty floaty in the tight stuff.

A few weeks ago, I picked this up:



Should make a good stablemate to my Miata, for which I'm still planning a turbo.

sixshooter

iTrader: (12)

I remember that when I drove a new GTO that the doors were extremely heavy to swing closed. There is apparently lots of extra mass inside them.

For comparison, my 1968 GTO convertible is ~3700lbs wet with a 7.6 liter engine. '67 Austin Healey Sprite is 1250lbs.

Ryan_G

iTrader: (8)

You need to get both of those cars back up and running sir. It is sad to walk past them when I am at your house.

hornetball

iTrader: (4)

You know, looking at all the cool cars everyone is posting, makes me wonder if we shouldn't dedicate a thread to the subject.

Turbofan, on wheel weight, all I can say is I told you so. Seriously, lightweight, high-quality wheels were the best mod I made on the G8. Pays off in every respect. Here's my thread on this over in the G8 area: http://www.g8board.com/forums/showth...highlight=pf01. I got all kinds of reactions to the PF01s. A lot of people are hardcore form over function types when it comes to wheels.

turbofan

iTrader: (1)

hahaha... got a kick out of reading your other thread. What a tool that Eric guy is. Compensating for something, no doubt. I have plenty of time to pick out a lightweight wheel, but that's definitely a direction I'd like to go. The debate will also be between 17 and 18". The 18s I'm looking at are maybe 1 pound heavier than the 17s and they look much better... but of course, tires are more expensive as well. Decisions, decisions. To be honest, I don't really like the look of the PF01s on your G8. It's not the size, but the style. I would have to see them on the GTO before I would buy a set. I'm definitely a function before style kind of guy, I just know that with patience I'll find a wheel that is satisfactorily light AND looks good. I tend to prefer solid 5-spoke or BBS style wheels.

Sixshooter: yup the doors are pretty darn heavy. side impact beams, a large glass window with power window motor, and dismembered kangaroos add a lot of weight.

Roda: Those wheels look awesome on the G8. I can imagine they're super heavy though. It's a shame -- I almost always prefer the look of factory wheels but they're often prohibitively heavy. If 949 made a 6ul in 17x8 for $180 apiece I'd buy a set, no question. too bad!

Roda

I also like a 'stockish' looking wheel (on a sedan, anyway), and the Camaro wheels looked great on the G8. On the Camaro, they're 20x8 front and 20x9 rear. I put the rears on the front, and had the 20x8s widened to 20x10 for the rear of the G8. 255s up front 295s in back. About 55lbs per corner!

turbofan

iTrader: (1)

So, I ditched some weight. Gas tank bracket, v-brace, spare tire and jack and all that junk. Changed the oil. Washed it. Went to Wide Open Wednesday at Miller Motorsports Park.

Enjoyed the track time, but they put cones up to force you into crappy lines on higher speed corners. Favorite part was the autocross though. I know I know, heavy car.... but the torque was a blast, and I slid it all over the place.

No official competition, but I was asking them about others' times... There was a Boss Mustang (current model), the Laguna Seca Boss edition, and a current GT500.... Beat all their times too By just 1/10th of a second, but hey... still beat 'em, in my stock GTO. Wahoo! Had a guy come up to me and say it was a pleasure watching me drive. It was a great time overall.

Videos will be up on YouTube and I'll link them, but for now just a pic.
Note: I tried to upload three photos, but this is the only one that damn file manager would actually upload. The others keep failing. So you'll have to see epic body roll pictures after I get them uploaded to photobucket.

18psi

iTrader: (76)

Nice

How much weight did all that junk total?

hornetball

iTrader: (4)

Just think what it would do with lightweight wheels and decent rubber.

(Broken Record)

turbofan

iTrader: (1)

Trust me: this kept going through my head all evening.

The rubber on the car is actually pretty decent. Dunlp Direzza Z101 or whatever. They're a summer tire and pretty sticky. Seem like a good balance between grip and durability.

OK so I've uploaded some videos. Not exactly professional grade videos (or really driving, I suppose). Beware the in-car videos: My mount wasn't very sturdy (ha) so it might give you an epileptic seizure. Even so, I enjoy watching them!

My first autocross run, shot from above. Ran a 37.8. Pretty slow, but he said it was the fastest first run he had seen.


My best run. Unfortunately killed a cone so I guess it didn't really count.


An in-car AutoX run. YouTube's shaky video fixing makes a HUGE difference.


In-car run on the west course. I have an east course run too but haven't uploaded it yet (forgot to stop recording so the video is 20 minutes long... oops.)


Anyway... Feedback? What a blast.

turbofan

iTrader: (1)

I have no clue why it double posts videos. I go to the vid and hit share, then copy the URL it gives me. Then here I click the YouTube icon and paste the youtube link between the brakets. Right or wrong?

turbofan

iTrader: (1)

So, Vlad sent me a PM about this car asking a few questions. Figured I'd go ahead and just post the answers here so any others who are curious can read them.

Did you do any weight redux mods yet?
All I did was remove the gas tank brace and the y brace from underneath. I had removed the spare and jack and stuff but it's back in there now. Will probably take it out again this weekend. Once that's back out, approximate weight savings is 100 lbs. I plan to ditch the insulation under the hood soon, which is worth what... 10 pounds? Also replaced the center resonator with an x-pipe, probably only saved about 5-10 pounds there. Next weight-saving mod will be wheels.

Hows the mpg?
...Acceptable. In Utah, I averaged right around 20 mpg with about 70% highway and at least one full throttle 10-85 mph run each time I drove it. Here in Oregon where traffic moves a little slower and there are more hills I am averaging just under 19 MPG, but again probably 65% highway.

On the trip from Utah to Oregon packed full of stuff it got about 23.5 mpg running 75+. Not as good as I had hoped but not horrible. All city driving would be probably 12-15 mpg.

Hows the car overall for daily use?
Again, reasonable. The clutch is a little heavy but probably about the same as the clutch on your old car. Visibility is horrible. Seats are super comfy. Stock shifter blows, I want to replace it. But since Vlad is kindof a baller that's no big deal for him.

The rear seats are awesome. There are separate A/C vents back there. My 6"2" tall uncle fit back there fine. The squeeze to get back there is kinda tight though.

Any reliability or maintenance issues? How much money have you spent on up-keep so far?
None thus far. I understand I should change the differential fluid. I've put maybe 3k miles on the car so far. Changed the oil just after I got it so I'll change it again in a few K miles. I have some ticking happening in the engine. Sounds like lifters. Will have to investigate.

As for the ride, I really like how it rides. Firm but not jarring. Very comfortable on the freeway. 80+ mph on cruise is heaven. Car has a great sense of straight ahead stability, but it actually feels really good when you push it hard in the corners. That being said, I know my rear shocks are totally shot. I need new suspensions. I want to put Konis in because they're adjustable, affordable, and have great reviews, but they require cutting the stock strut in half... not really interested in that. So my next purchase for this car will be new adjustable shocks of some sort, but not yet sure which ones I'll go with.

In summary: I still miss my Miata. I have taken the GTO on some seriously awesome roads west of Portland and it really does them well, but the car is big and it feels big. I'm expecting that between new, firmer shocks and lighter wheels I'll get a more nimble feel. But the steering rack has a pretty slow ratio (there is a faster rack available for it from Pedders) and no matter what it's pretty heavy. The ONLY time the weight bothers me, though, is on really tight small switchback roads, and the awesome, AWESOME torque mostly makes up for it. This thing is quite a lot stronger at this elevation with this humidity than it was in Utah. Throw on an intake, long tube headers and a tune and you'll be close to 400 whp. Comfortable, reasonable fuel economy, comfortable, and TORQUE. What's not to love?

All in all, I love it. I love how it torques, how it drives, how it rides, and how it looks. TTP. And I can bring friends along. All it would need to be perfect is a turbo Miata parked next to it that can be the weekend canyon carver.

18psi

iTrader: (76)

Oh snap, thanks man. Really appreciate the feedback.

Might go look at one this weekend

Sold the vette a week ago and literally the only thing I miss is that engine. So if I can haz it in a more practical car, with better interior (hopefully) I might just get one.

turbofan

iTrader: (1)

What year? Color? How many miles?

Definitely go drive one if you haven't. On ls1GTO.com there's a red '06 with all the right good mods and less than 10k miles for sale. Beautiful.

turbofan

iTrader: (1)

So? Did you go look at it?

I can only imagine how sweet one of these would be with good shocks on stock springs, LT headers, intake and tune, and a good shifter. Sooo sick.

18psi

iTrader: (76)

I passed.

It was a clean 05 spiral gray or something simlar, 75k miles and one (lady) owner. very very clean. She wants 13.5 which I thought was a steal at first, but then I ran the KBB.

WOWWWW

These cars don't hold value for crap. I was shocked that even private party good condition it was at like 12.7 and down. For a car that's only 8 years old and was 35k new. Didn't want to lowball the lady, so i passed.

If I would be planning to keep this car for long term and not care about losing money, I'd get one in a heartbeat. I really really like them still