FuriousGXP

A Mater's degree! Sweet!!!

Possibly. THey are already tinted a bit but I don't know how much. I spent all my money buying the car so I can't afford much for mods yet. Gotta wait a few months until the finances settle and see what I can afford to do. We just had our 3rd daughter the same week I bought the car so chances are I won't have money for a while...

I don't know about your usage but I know I will probably set mine on iPod and rarely touch the screen so it should last for a very long time. Both JVC and Pioneer are similar in quality so I would expect that both of them will last for many years under normal conditions. When it comes to car audio, there's always something better but only the true audiophiles will know the differences. The average listener will think their JVC/Pioneer sounds just as good as the high end systems. Don't forget, part of the sound quality is based on the input device too. You can only get as good as your lowest quality device and higher end systems will often amplify the imperfections from a poor input device and make everything sound worse. Long story short, both of these systems are so similar that you should be happy with either one. Read a few reviews and cross reference all the options you require to make sure they fit all your needs. Then just decide which one you like best. If you're near a Fry's or Best Buy, try to see if they have display models you can look at to decide. Based on the number of people who mess with them in the store, you might even see a few clues as to how well they hold up to wear and tear.

I tested it to make sure it functioned and it does. Sounded great but so did the stock monsoon system. The real test will be when I crank it up against the sound of my SLP exhaust. I expect it will do nicely since I kept the stock radio at around 75% of max volume but this one is nearly as loud at only only level 10. I'm not sure how high it goes though since my kids were already in bed and the newborn was sleeping in the room directly above the garage.

From the models you're looking at in your original post, I think i like the Pioneer ones better. The JVC looks cleaner but I think that's just a trick of the background image each of them used. The reason I would choose the pioneer over the JVC is that since the JVC doesn't have dedicated buttons at the bottom, they put them on the screen instead. This would be a plus if they had used that blank plastic space at the bottom to enlarge the screen but they didn't. It's just wasted space that, once mounted in your dash might be compounded by the mounting hardware also having it's own blank space (similar to the blank surrounding my stereo.) It's up to you on what you prefer but that would possibly annoy me over time. They both seem fairly comparable as far as options go. I think it all comes down to the aesthetics of what you prefer since the prices are very similar too. Also, the Pioneer has a detachable USB jack on the back whereas the JVC is hard wired. not only will that make it harder to route to where you want it positioned (since you can only feed it one way) it also means that if the cord gets cut somehow, you can't easily replace it. Probably not a major concern but something to think about from an installation viewpoint.

Well, I already know that I'm never parting with my GAGT willingly. Even with the G8 GXP sitting in the garage now I will still pull the GAGT out every week or so since I still love this car. It was my first brand new car (nearly 10 years ago now) and I learned most of what I know about cars/engines from working on this one. The trip around the Nürburgring in this car solidified my unwillingness to part with her. I'll probably never get that chance again with my own car and the fact that the GAGT was such a rarity over there only makes it even better. I can't confirm it obviously, but I'm claiming to be the "fastest 5th Gen Grand Am GT" on the Nürburgring only because I assume I'm quite possibly the ONLY one. I get funny looks when people see the Ring stickers on a car that most Americans have little to no respect for.

I only installed it yesterday and I haven't even driven the car since putting it in. I also think I may have run the battery down during the install so I need to take her for a spin anyway. She's currently parked on the side of the garage that the wife parks her van in front of so I'll have to wait until she takes kids to school to get the GAGT out. Might do that tomorrow...

I figured that but since I have no plans to watch DVD's while driving I went ahead and hooked it up the way it should be. I had to remove the entire center console to find the wire but I'd rather have it hooked up right.

I didn't want to clutter up that other thread so I started a new one. Here's my old setup with an iPod input wired through an interface box into the XM input of the stock Monsoon system. It was good but I had to mount the iPod in the center dash (custom made mount from a cup holder mount that fit perfectly in the center vent) which meant I had to hide the iPod anytime I parked it anywhere I didn't trust completely. Here's the new stereo with the iPod wired to the glovebox. I bought the stereo when my original hopes to buy the GXP fell through. This was sort of my consolation prize to myself. Then after ordering the stereo, I managed to finance the GXP so I ended up with both. I probably wouldn't have bothered upgrading the GAGT yet if I had known I'd be picking up the GXP at that time. Oh well, I'm not going to argue with the outcome! The only drawback is that now I don't know where to hang my sunglasses!

I'll try to snap a pic tonight or tomorrow morning. I didn't finish until nearly 8:30 last night due to the door chimes and steering wheel modules having such poor instructions. And I learned how to remove the center console from the car so that I could get to the e-brake switch. Which I now wonder if that was even really necessary since I'm not really sure why the radio cares whether or not the e-brake is on...

I've had a couple single DIN JVC radios in the past since that were cheap but overall very decent radios for the price. I just installed a Pioneer AVH-1500DVD in the Grand Am last night and I must say that it's pretty nice. I went with a lower end model of the Pioneer since all I cared about was the iPod interface (shows what's playing on the screen) so that I could hide the iPod out of sight. Honestly, I find both Pioneer and JVC to be decent mid-priced/performance brands so either one should be a good buy depending on what options you want in it. I know I'll never need Nav, backup camera or phone options in the Grand Am so I saved about $100-$200 by finding a "lesser" model of the radio rather than the fully loaded versions.

He kept the GTO too. Just added the G8. And just to add one more to your list, I bought a G8 GXP last week too. Of course, now I don't have the funds available to put rubber on the AT Itallia Inox's that I got bored out for the GAGT but that can wait a while...

According to the interwebz, Cali is 70% in front and no limit in rear. Kinda weak for a state with so much sunshine...

Sounds like fun. I owned a couple of German spec E36's while I lived over there. One was a '92 325i manual and the other was a '95 320i automatic. They accelerate quickly enough but lack torque over 100 mph. Still fun to drive though since they are fairly light weight. Should be perfect for what you're going to be doing!

None for now. Still paying on the 2011 Caravan along with having our 3rd daughter born on the 11th. Been a busy week... I'm sure I'll start modding eventually but for now she's going to stay stock. Considering this car has more than twice the hp of my GAGT I don't feel the NEED to add any more hp right now. I'm sure I'll get the modding bug again in the future but hopefully the GXP and the Caravan will be paid off then.

Here are some pics! I spent the entire day cleaning out the garage so that I can fit the GAGT in there next to the GXP and I'm still not finished. Once I get that done, I'll see about washing the GXP and finding a suitable place to take some better pictures. Oh, and not even 24 hours after I bought it, I had an older couple in a Grand Prix (last model) pull up next to me at a stoplight and ask to trade. There aren't many G8's in this area and I've not seen a single GXP so this car is definitely catching people's eyes already.

I might just go with that myself then. I think I'll even take the front plate off the Grand Am and put the filler plate on it that I bought 8 years ago and have never been able to use yet.

Just out of curiosity since you're in CA also, how are you handling the front plate issue? It looks like you're not using them but have you been pulled over for not having a front plate? I don't want to put one on but I also don't like getting tickets. I asked a local GM dealer for a front plate holder but they were less than helpful. If I do put one on, I think I'd used 3M double sided tape rather than rivets.

Got it!!! Camera's battery was dead so all I have is a cell phone teaser pic for now. More to come soon.

Ick. That's more form over function than I could put up with. I'm guessing the same is probably true for the girls...

Beautiful. Makes me even more anxious for Friday...

If I can't get it this Friday, it will have to wait another week since the seller has a business trip coming up next week. Hopefully this Friday.....

I wanted black or white originally but I think I'll be more than happy with the red. I got my loan check today so hopefully I'll be able to meet the current owner soon and get my G8. You might actually have yours before me though!