I just got a GTO! (56k = TSX)
08-17-2006, 12:05 PM
#1
Drives With Hands
Thread Starter
I just got a GTO! (56k = TSX)
Oh no look what I did.
As you can see, I went out and got myself a 2006 Pontiac GTO in the same color as my 2004 TSX (they call it "Impulse Blue Metallic"). Here's the backstory on the purchase.
I got hurt a few years back in the military (paralyzed from the waist down and in the left hand [quadriplegia]), and the TSX was the first car I had since using a wheelchair. I have always been a gearhead who enjoyed wrenching on cars to make them my definition of better, but when I got the TSX I was simply interested in something that I could get in and out of easily, and would transport me comfortably and reliably. For about three months I thought the days of fast cars were behind me.
It took me a couple of months to get used to driving again, using hand controls:
Once I had become comfortable with the controls, my old interests awakened and the search was on to make the TSX better. After about a year of working on it here and there, mostly with the help of friends, I ended with this result (list of mods in my sig):
Of course, as most of you here already know, modding is an addiction. Within two years of owning the TSX (actually only 18 months so far) I've finally come to decide that the TSX isn't as mod-friendly as I'd like. As a primarily luxury car, its aftermarket isn't as large as the GTO's. Beyond that, it is also a FWD chassis with a four cylinder engine, neither of which aspects are ideal for the sort of performance I'm after.
After a lot of back-and-forth consideration I finally decided to get a GTO to fill my need for a car that offered flat-out performance and would respond well to further modification. This car is amazing - it has torque coming out its ears. With TC off, I can break the rear end loose barely tapping the throttle. I used to have no qualms about going WOT in the TSX, but with the GTO I need to plan my WOT runs carefully and ensure I have enough cop-free real estate to eat up. The stock exhaust has the legendary throaty V8 rumble, and I can't help but get a giant SEG each time I turn the key. The LS2 comes stock with 400hp/400tq at the flywheel, and with over double the cubic capacity of the TSX's engine, it responds dramatically to modification, which was my goal all along.
As for the TSX, I was initially going to part it out and sell it, but I'm tempted to keep it as a daily driver since it already has hand controls in it, plus I still love it for the 90% of the time I don't feel like painting the road black with rubber. The GTO will be more of a fun/weekend car.
As you can see, I went out and got myself a 2006 Pontiac GTO in the same color as my 2004 TSX (they call it "Impulse Blue Metallic"). Here's the backstory on the purchase.
I got hurt a few years back in the military (paralyzed from the waist down and in the left hand [quadriplegia]), and the TSX was the first car I had since using a wheelchair. I have always been a gearhead who enjoyed wrenching on cars to make them my definition of better, but when I got the TSX I was simply interested in something that I could get in and out of easily, and would transport me comfortably and reliably. For about three months I thought the days of fast cars were behind me.
It took me a couple of months to get used to driving again, using hand controls:
Once I had become comfortable with the controls, my old interests awakened and the search was on to make the TSX better. After about a year of working on it here and there, mostly with the help of friends, I ended with this result (list of mods in my sig):
Of course, as most of you here already know, modding is an addiction. Within two years of owning the TSX (actually only 18 months so far) I've finally come to decide that the TSX isn't as mod-friendly as I'd like. As a primarily luxury car, its aftermarket isn't as large as the GTO's. Beyond that, it is also a FWD chassis with a four cylinder engine, neither of which aspects are ideal for the sort of performance I'm after.
After a lot of back-and-forth consideration I finally decided to get a GTO to fill my need for a car that offered flat-out performance and would respond well to further modification. This car is amazing - it has torque coming out its ears. With TC off, I can break the rear end loose barely tapping the throttle. I used to have no qualms about going WOT in the TSX, but with the GTO I need to plan my WOT runs carefully and ensure I have enough cop-free real estate to eat up. The stock exhaust has the legendary throaty V8 rumble, and I can't help but get a giant SEG each time I turn the key. The LS2 comes stock with 400hp/400tq at the flywheel, and with over double the cubic capacity of the TSX's engine, it responds dramatically to modification, which was my goal all along.
As for the TSX, I was initially going to part it out and sell it, but I'm tempted to keep it as a daily driver since it already has hand controls in it, plus I still love it for the 90% of the time I don't feel like painting the road black with rubber. The GTO will be more of a fun/weekend car.
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08-17-2006, 12:25 PM
#9
Team Owner
Your TSX looks great. Congrats on the GTO. So, at 400HP, 400ft-lb you're still going to mod it? Engine mods? Suspension? Cosmetic? Whatcha plannin' on doin'?
08-17-2006, 12:43 PM
#12
Drives With Hands
Thread Starter
Originally Posted by jiggaman
that thing is pimp man, cant wait to see what mods you do to it, when are they going to stop producing that car? is this the last model year?
EPA MPG is 21 highway and 16 city, but I've been getting about 80% of that according to the in-dash instrumentation (12-18MPG). The LS2 only drinks premium....yet another reason why this car won't be my daily driver.
Originally Posted by jlukja
Your TSX looks great. Congrats on the GTO. So, at 400HP, 400ft-lb you're still going to mod it? Engine mods? Suspension? Cosmetic? Whatcha plannin' on doin'?
I'm still getting comfortable driving it so I haven't identified any specific performance area I'd like to improve upon yet, but chances are I'll look into suspension and chassis stiffening first. The steering isn't as tight and clean as my TSX and so it feels more disconnected from the road. Weight distribution is something like 51/49 between front and rear axles so this car has the capacity to handle very well. Plus, with double the horsepower/weight ratio and more than double the torque/weight, I won't be getting bored with the power for a while.
08-17-2006, 12:50 PM
#14
Team Owner
Originally Posted by rmpage
What's funny is that I've never been much for cosmetic mods but that may change, as one thing I've never liked about the GTO is the generic Pontiac front fascia. The Monaro looks a lot better IMO, but there are a few replacement body pieces that I like.
Good luck with it and keep us updated on your progress.
08-17-2006, 02:12 PM
#20
Before I bought the TSX I almost bought a GTO too, here' my story. After hearing that Pontiac could not sell the 2004 GTOs, they were giving discounts on them that brought the car down in price to ~$21,000. In addition I have like $3,000 on my GM-Card so I can get the car for about ~$18,000!
I giddilly dragged my wide into a Pontiac dealer on a November night in 2004 when a snow-blizzard was just beginning to pound Chicago. Well, my wife was impatient and all that not understanding that these cars came with a 5.7 liter Corvette motor pumping out 350hp!!! So I asked the dealer to start one up so my wife can hear the sound of the exhaust and get infected by the "gotta have this car" disease. So the dealer walks us up to all seven GTO's in the dealer and on the lot outside.
Guess what? Not a single GTO engine would crank, all the batteries were dead beacause they were sitting around for so long!!! The dealer emabarassingly finally gets a grease monkey to pull out a portable jump starter to get one GTO to start. As my wife is so pissed off by now taking her "to the stupid Pontiac dealer", she does not want to drive the rear-wheel drive monster in the snow without stability control. we start to walk out of the dealer and he starts throwing out prices at me: "I'll take off $4,000!!...$5,000!!!....$6,000!!!!"
I finally bought a Milano Red/Ebony 6-speed w/navi 2006 TSX, tame in comparison to the new 6-liter 400hp GTOs, but my wife is happy, it has a ton of safety features, and I'm sure it will start on cold winter nights.
That's a beautiful car, I wish it were mine, take care of it.
I giddilly dragged my wide into a Pontiac dealer on a November night in 2004 when a snow-blizzard was just beginning to pound Chicago. Well, my wife was impatient and all that not understanding that these cars came with a 5.7 liter Corvette motor pumping out 350hp!!! So I asked the dealer to start one up so my wife can hear the sound of the exhaust and get infected by the "gotta have this car" disease. So the dealer walks us up to all seven GTO's in the dealer and on the lot outside.
Guess what? Not a single GTO engine would crank, all the batteries were dead beacause they were sitting around for so long!!! The dealer emabarassingly finally gets a grease monkey to pull out a portable jump starter to get one GTO to start. As my wife is so pissed off by now taking her "to the stupid Pontiac dealer", she does not want to drive the rear-wheel drive monster in the snow without stability control. we start to walk out of the dealer and he starts throwing out prices at me: "I'll take off $4,000!!...$5,000!!!....$6,000!!!!"
I finally bought a Milano Red/Ebony 6-speed w/navi 2006 TSX, tame in comparison to the new 6-liter 400hp GTOs, but my wife is happy, it has a ton of safety features, and I'm sure it will start on cold winter nights.
That's a beautiful car, I wish it were mine, take care of it.
08-17-2006, 02:31 PM
#22
C'mon, man! Row yer own.
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Congrats on the GTO, I think it's one of the best performance/$ cars there is. At what they're going for these days, you can mod the suspension, tires, body panels, etc. and have a nice-looking car that just screams. Esp. with the MT (I understand you can't use an MT), I'd think the thing would go like a raped ape. Plus, like you said, that 6.0 liter is probably ripe for plumbing more hp with bolt-ons.
There's no replacement for displacement. Sure the gas mileage sucks, but if you're not driving it every day around town, who really cares? Nice car.
There's no replacement for displacement. Sure the gas mileage sucks, but if you're not driving it every day around town, who really cares? Nice car.
08-17-2006, 02:36 PM
#23
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I've helped my buddy with his 04 conv. to 05 GTO and let's just say, have fun on getting that thing to handle well. He did poly bushings all around and though it tightened it up, he's gotten into tire/alignement wars with the car. You'll find out from lsgto forums. Funny car though. EASY to do stereo mods in as well.
08-17-2006, 02:58 PM
#25
Originally Posted by Zoopa
Before I bought the TSX I almost bought a GTO too, here' my story. After hearing that Pontiac could not sell the 2004 GTOs, they were giving discounts on them that brought the car down in price to ~$21,000. In addition I have like $3,000 on my GM-Card so I can get the car for about ~$18,000!
I giddilly dragged my wide into a Pontiac dealer on a November night in 2004 when a snow-blizzard was just beginning to pound Chicago. Well, my wife was impatient and all that not understanding that these cars came with a 5.7 liter Corvette motor pumping out 350hp!!! So I asked the dealer to start one up so my wife can hear the sound of the exhaust and get infected by the "gotta have this car" disease. So the dealer walks us up to all seven GTO's in the dealer and on the lot outside.
Guess what? Not a single GTO engine would crank, all the batteries were dead beacause they were sitting around for so long!!! The dealer emabarassingly finally gets a grease monkey to pull out a portable jump starter to get one GTO to start. As my wife is so pissed off by now taking her "to the stupid Pontiac dealer", she does not want to drive the rear-wheel drive monster in the snow without stability control. we start to walk out of the dealer and he starts throwing out prices at me: "I'll take off $4,000!!...$5,000!!!....$6,000!!!!"
I finally bought a Milano Red/Ebony 6-speed w/navi 2006 TSX, tame in comparison to the new 6-liter 400hp GTOs, but my wife is happy, it has a ton of safety features, and I'm sure it will start on cold winter nights.
That's a beautiful car, I wish it were mine, take care of it.
I giddilly dragged my wide into a Pontiac dealer on a November night in 2004 when a snow-blizzard was just beginning to pound Chicago. Well, my wife was impatient and all that not understanding that these cars came with a 5.7 liter Corvette motor pumping out 350hp!!! So I asked the dealer to start one up so my wife can hear the sound of the exhaust and get infected by the "gotta have this car" disease. So the dealer walks us up to all seven GTO's in the dealer and on the lot outside.
Guess what? Not a single GTO engine would crank, all the batteries were dead beacause they were sitting around for so long!!! The dealer emabarassingly finally gets a grease monkey to pull out a portable jump starter to get one GTO to start. As my wife is so pissed off by now taking her "to the stupid Pontiac dealer", she does not want to drive the rear-wheel drive monster in the snow without stability control. we start to walk out of the dealer and he starts throwing out prices at me: "I'll take off $4,000!!...$5,000!!!....$6,000!!!!"
I finally bought a Milano Red/Ebony 6-speed w/navi 2006 TSX, tame in comparison to the new 6-liter 400hp GTOs, but my wife is happy, it has a ton of safety features, and I'm sure it will start on cold winter nights.
That's a beautiful car, I wish it were mine, take care of it.
That's what I'm counting on when the time comes to pick one up used. 
08-17-2006, 04:03 PM
#26
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08-17-2006, 04:15 PM
#27
Team Owner
Originally Posted by Ronin317
You old man
08-17-2006, 07:32 PM
#33
Slippy maybe...
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Did the GTO ever make it to Canada? I think it was supposed to come this year (the last year, of course) but I haven't seen one, nor is there any mention on the GM Canada website.
I've been giddy about these cars since they drove one on Top Gear a few years back (first as the Holden, then as the rebadged Vauxhall, and more recently as the updated 6.0L version). I've never been a fan of GM (aside from the Corvette) but the Monaro/GTO really caught my eye. It's got a classic GT car look to it with the long hood, and apparently the build quality is much better than your typical GM product. Hats off to the Australians. It's too bad that the Americans had to mess with the styling though -- I think the GTO looked much nicer without the gimmicky Pontiac hood scoops that they added.
If I ever were able to buy one, I'd be tempted to do an ADM conversion to a Holden. :wink:
Congrats on the purchase! I have no doubt you will thoroughly enjoy the GTO.
I've been giddy about these cars since they drove one on Top Gear a few years back (first as the Holden, then as the rebadged Vauxhall, and more recently as the updated 6.0L version). I've never been a fan of GM (aside from the Corvette) but the Monaro/GTO really caught my eye. It's got a classic GT car look to it with the long hood, and apparently the build quality is much better than your typical GM product. Hats off to the Australians. It's too bad that the Americans had to mess with the styling though -- I think the GTO looked much nicer without the gimmicky Pontiac hood scoops that they added.
If I ever were able to buy one, I'd be tempted to do an ADM conversion to a Holden. :wink:
Congrats on the purchase! I have no doubt you will thoroughly enjoy the GTO.
08-17-2006, 07:46 PM
#34
Drives With Hands
Thread Starter
^^ I don't think there was a CDM version of this car...also I agree that the generic Pontiac look that GM gave this car was mostly a mistake, but the hood scoops were certainly to harken back to the original 1966 GTO. Its twin hood scoops were its hallmarks so leaving them out of this model would have probably turned off some purists, even if their modern renditions didn't quite fit.
Exactly! I love the super-refined, high tech, small displacement engines to death, but I have found NOTHING that comes close to the combination of low-down stump pulling torque and deep exhaust rumble of a big V8. Peak oil, schmeak oil...I'll probably put less than 10k miles/year on this car anyway, if things go according to plan, so it'll be my weekend indulgence.
Thanks dude. Don't worry though I'll still be hanging around here and going to the meets that I can though, especially if I keep the TSX (which is looking more likely at the moment actually but I'd probably still part out some of it).
Originally Posted by peter_bigblock
There's no replacement for displacement. Sure the gas mileage sucks, but if you're not driving it every day around town, who really cares? Nice car.
Originally Posted by madmanmax3000
congrats Ry, I know you've been wanting this for a lllong time!
08-17-2006, 07:47 PM
#35
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Hey, Congrats Ry! 
With all of that power and TQ, all I gotta say is DAMN! haha
Have fun with the ride and the modding. Keep us posted on the progress of it as you mod it.
...also, you might want to get that Escort radar transferred over to the new ride
With all of that power and TQ, all I gotta say is DAMN! haha
Have fun with the ride and the modding. Keep us posted on the progress of it as you mod it.
...also, you might want to get that Escort radar transferred over to the new ride
08-17-2006, 08:00 PM
#36
Drives With Hands
Thread Starter
Originally Posted by Tsx536
...also, you might want to get that Escort radar transferred over to the new ride
Also, I forgot to post an engine bay shot so here's one of those:
I'll make sure to let you guys know if I do anything that I think is really cool.
