FuriousGXP

I posted a thread on GAGT.com to begin some demodding of my baby. Looks like I'm going to have to sell her before I head to Japan in 3 months. That was probably one of the hardest threads to post since I still love this car. Hopefully my friend will buy it since he needs a more reliable second vehicle but even if he does I don't know if I'll have the heart to ask for it back when we return from Japan. The GXP will be stored for 3 years though so she should be paid off when I get back and she'll have been spared three years worth of mileage. I'll console myself by modding her when we get back since I should be out of credit debt by then (hopefully..)

I understand your dislike for the Grand Ams but mine has been very good to me. The LIMs and wheel hubs are the only real issues I've had in the 10 years of ownership and that's with 6 years of autobahn driving at over 110 mph daily. I"m actually heading to Japan soon and I'm devastated at the thought that I might have to sell my GAGT. Sure, it's not powerful but it's a great car and I've never had any issue with the interior which is still in great shape. It actually saddens me to see the 99% of other Grand Am owners who think the car is junk and treat it that way. If you take proper care of them, nearly any car can be great and reliable. It's only when you start to view them as junk that they start to become junk. I don't have any issue with you not liking GA's Chaos, but I think you are overly one sided in your "love the Honda but hate the GA" posts. The Honda is the right fit for you but that doesn't make all GA's junk. I personally can't stand seeing so many Hondas everyday (half the people shopping at our Autozone have a Civic or Accord that's falling apart) but I do understand that your taste is different from mine. I believe that GA's can be a classic car someday simply because so many people are able to afford one as their "first car" now. Those of us who bond with them will certainly value them in the future just as I value mine now. I know it won't ever be as fast as my G8 but the GAGT is a much easier car to learn how to work on that I will always have a warm spot in my heart for GA's. Don't bother comparing your car to others because there is ALWAYS something better out there. Learning to love what you have is where real happiness comes from. Not ranting at you, just letting you know why some of us "crazies" still love our GA's. Very similar to why some of us crazy Pontiac lovers still enjoy a dead brand name. Then again, I've had a few Maple Crown and Cokes tonight so my thought process is a bit slurred....

If I win the lottery...Pontiac will rise again! Of course, I haven't bought any lottery tickets so chances are extremely slim that I'll accomplish this.....

Yeah, you, me and I think one other person!

Don't look at me, I'm a BF4 fan... In fact, I built my in game emblem to be a Pontiac dart so that any vehicles I drive in BF4 are now Pontiacs. Even the helicopters! Feel free to add me as a friend if you play on PC: http://battlelog.battlefield.com/bf4/soldier/FuriousGAGT/stats/233891424/pc/

Are we talking 4 or 6 cylinder here? Either way, if you have that much oil all over, the leak should be fairly obvious. Try looking while the engine is running but I'd be very careful about driving it very far until you find the leak. Maybe top off the oil even before starting it to ensure you aren't too low to begin with.

First one is an easy winner, the second is good but the headlight is too bright and sort of drowns out the rest of the picture. I'd definitely vote the first pic into the calendar though.

Very pretty. I see GTP's all the time but I don't know that I've ever seen a GXP Grand Prix on the road. I don't normally care fot eh final GP body style but that one looks much better than the normal ones. Maybe it's the different shaped nostrils on the front that give it a tougher look...

I'll go with this one:

Wow. I grew up in Mason City. My sister and brother in law still live there although I haven't been back in years. I'm currently out in Plumas Lake, CA but hopefully the Air Force will move us in another couple of years to someplace a little cheaper to live. I'm thinking we may try for Offutt or F. E. Warren next...

Looks good. I like BMW's to some degree and the E46's are my favorites. I owned a couple of German spec E36's and liked them for what they were.

Yeah, I bought them for the GAGT since they are my favorite rim for this car. I might still keep them though now that I know they aren't 9" wide like I thought. I can actually swap my current rubber over to these now so the cost to put them on the car just dropped dramatically. Rather than buying new tires and paying to get them mounted/balanced, all I'll need to pay for is the swap, mount and balance. Still, I don't have the spare cash for something that isn't a necessity yet so I figure if someone wants to buy them, then I'll be willing to sell. If not, then I'll be putting them on the GAGT like I had always planned... Also, if these did fit the G8, I'd probably find the money to put them on right away. Too bad the 18"s wouldn't fit over the Brembos and the rest of the sizing is all wrong...

Finally got time to take more pics. Sorry for the quality, the wife had the good camera with her so I used my cell phone.

I need to take another pic anyway since I think I measured the width wrong. I'm pretty sure they are only 8" wide so I'll post a pic of me measuring it (with my username) to own up to my mistake. Probably won't be until tomorrow though since work kept me late today.

My bad. I'll take another couple of pics tomorrow with the username. You can delete this if you have to so that I'm within the rules.

Not sure if anyone here will be interested but I figured I'd post it up here as well since I think some Grand Prixs had similar rim sizes as the 5th gen Grand Ams and these rims might be a better fit for a GP even. I hate to do this after all the time/money I've put into them but I really need the cash and my future modding interests have shifted more to my G8. Please note, the original hub bore on these was for an RX7 (I forget the original measurement) but I had them bored out to 70.3mm (GA size.) I have not had the money to put tires on these to verify they will fit on the GA without any rubbing but my calculations have left me optimistic that they should. You may need hub spacers with these if you are lowered. I have tested them without tires and they fit the hub perfectly. I really don't have the resources to ship these so if you absolutely want them and need them shipped, you'll have to cover the costs. If you're in the Sacramento, CA area though I am willing to meet up. Here's a link to the Craigslist ad. If you're a member of this forum just let me know your username and I'll knock $100 off the price for you.

This only strengthens my thoughts that the Chevy SS should have been named the Impala SS instead. Of course, I also still think they should have made the V6 and GT versions of the G8 with the Impala nameplate after Pontiac went away. Would have made the Impala a respectable car back in 2010 rather than waiting until now...

I had that problem. I had a shop replace both my front hubs and not even a year later, my lights started coming on again. I bought the parts and put the car on a lift to do it myself when I found the tie rods both had some wiggle to them that shouldn't have been there. I suspect that the shop that did the alignment (different shop) after the hubs were changed probably didn't tighten them down properly and caused my new hubs to wear out extra quick. After changing them myself I got it aligned again and I made sure to check the tie rods when it was done. These hubs have been on the car for over 4 years now with no issues.

I changed the rear brakes (fronts were done last weekend) on the '98 Lumina LTZ 3.8L that I bought about 3 weeks ago. I bought the car for $1000 and so far I've spent about $300 in parts (brakes/rotors all around, new multifunction switch and some misc small parts). Once it's finished, I plan to give it to my Mom.

Honestly, I think the recession has more to do with this than anything. Back in the 90's, you could pick up a used car pretty cheap because the midsized drivers could afford to upgrade before their old car wore out. Then they would then sell off their previous car at a reasonable price giving the next generation of drivers a cheap starter car that they could enjoy until it was their turn to upgrade. Once the recession hit and gas prices raised, all the full and midsized drivers started snatching up the smaller cars or holding on to their current car. If they did sell, they often tried to to get what they still owed which was more than most kids could afford. Also, since smaller cars were now in demand, even the prices on the normally cheap cars went up. This combined with all the car companies continuing to raise prices on their entry level cars each year even though the car isn't any better than the previous model meant that buying a new car required a decent paying job which was also more scarce. Basically, prices went up, income didn't. Demand for cheaper cars went up and therefore so did the prices. Kids that were lucky enough to buy cars, got overpriced pieces of junk or at the least they were overcharged for their mediocre car. This "crappy car" mentality creates bitterness in those that could buy and those that couldn't, learned to use public transportation or bicycles. The economy may be getting better for the big businessmen but the little guys haven't felt it yet and may not for a while. The increased costs for everything including food, college, cars and gas will only prolong the problem.

And now you're on the FBI's watch list!

You're going to paint those first right? I went with the red Z06 calipers for my upgrade just so I wouldn't have to paint them. That and I wanted the Corvette lettering on the side... Brake upgrades was one of the more fun (both literally and sarcastically) upgrades for me and easily the most recognizable modification to my GAGT at least until I start it and the SLP exhaust sound fires up.

I don't know...this guy sounds a bit too much like a bot that might have registered just to try to pull user info off this site. He might be legit but the poor translation with only very generalized details makes me suspicious. Please prove me wrong Perry; I want to be wrong on this assumption.

Well, I can certainly approve of that dream since it was my dream too. I only bought mine about a month ago and it's #1233 out of 1826 and #9 of only 15 with this set of options. (A6 and no sunroof.) Congrats on the purchase and welcome to the G8 GXP club! I haven't completed any mods on mine but I'm already looking at the Vararam OTR intake, the Solo axleback exhausts, and a set of lowering springs. Beyond that, I don't really know what I'd like to do. I'm just happy to have it. Here's my favorite shot of mine so far: i.imgur.com/WyIYDuY.jpg

Oh, and welcome to the forum!