Sideswipe

(Tampa, FL) I'm on the Howard Franklin bridge (I-275 South) going towards St. Petersburg when this black Pontiac Solstice snakes up on me. We're packed up behind traffic, so there's no chance for a run - at least not yet. I sportshift into 3rd for when the traffic clears out because I can tell this dude is ready to gun it the way he's swerving left and right.

I look ahead just as we come over the tallest part of the bridge and there's nothing but empty lanes all the way across the water. I look over at the dude in the Solstice and caught him sneaking a look back at me. His lane clears before mine does so I get over behind him to take the same opening. I got just enough of a chance to see on the rear to see whether it was a regular Solstice or the GXP - of course it was the GXP. I ran a regular Solstice before and it wasn't even worth my time. Anyways, just as this little thing squirted off I'm already in my RPM range so I gun it after him. He's pulling away like crazy and I'm about to reach the end of 3rd gear

I noticed that as I hit the ceiling of 3rd his pull deminishes and I start gaining. I slammed into 4th just before the electronic gremlin kicked in and I'm on my way. I can't believe I'm slowly realing in this car - he had only gotten 3 car lengths ahead of me anyway. At this point the bridge is as flat as a quarter and I'm slowly gaining on this dude. Finally I creep past him enough to get 2 car lengths before making it to the end of the bridge and running into more traffic.

I had to go test drive one today just to see what this car is all about. Turns out this thing is supposed to put out 260HP but it just didn't feel like it to me. Of course it had a lot of punch to it considering it was a pussy little Cavalier engine but I just wasn't overwhelmed or surprised. I popped the hood and the turbo was about the size of a bagel

I was not impressed at all.

Oakroadsteve

Nice Kill the GXP's are supposed to be quick even if they have Chevy Cav motors.

I assume you have the 6 speed. What kind of mods do you have??

cls413MA

im pretty sure he has an auto

"i sportshift into 3rd"

anyways, sounds like a good time. i had run into a regular solstice that was messing with me and i shut him up pretty quick

cbusAcuracls

I agree with you totally. Yea they might say it comes with 260hp 260 tq and are really fast out of the whole but after that they suck.
Nice try GM but failed to impress once again.
Sideswip what mods do you have? incase I run into one. I know what to expect.

CLS6SpeedNupe

what was you top speed in this race, you had to have hit at least 120 to do all from as long as you make the race sound.

Sideswipe

I have no mods, which makes the run so sad considering this thing (Solstice GXP) was supposed to be turbocharged. From what I could tell the car has decent power in the 65 to 120 range but dies around 120. Either the car has a weak top end or the guy driving it didn't have the balls to push it as hard as it could go. From a dig I'm sure that car would kick my ass.

Sideswipe

Have you ever been on the Howard Franklin bridge (I-275 South) in Tampa? Damn - that bridge is at least 5 miles long. There's even a sign at the beginning of the bridge "BE SURE YOU HAVE FULL TANK OF GAS". It was easy to hit 140 on this bridge. it's a long, straight three lane bridge. The dude in the Solstice seemed to be kind of afraid to keep up past 125-130. The car kind of wiggled a little. Could it have been due to the poor skills of the driver at high speeds or the crosswinds I don't know but I burned him a good two car lengths before we had to shut down.

CL-Future

Could be the govern as well. I couldn't take a Grand Prix GT past 108 without the gas cutting out...

SuperTrooper169

iTrader: (2)

That's the first thing I thought of too, but I checked it out and it says top speed is 148 governed. I did read in one of the road tests though that once over 100 MPH the handling get really scary.

rp_guy

GM cars are governed by the tires that they run on

my oldsmobile intrigue had a top speed of 180km/h (111mph), and that was because it had S rated tires on it. i hit that at the top of 2nd gear

NightRider

So you were sitting in 3rd for a bit and then hit the gas? I don't know if this is just my car - but say I want to drop into VTEC and am going 75, I find the throttle response and initial pull a bit better if I drop from 4th to 3rd instead of staying in 3rd.

I have heard from reviewers that the Solstice although quick and sporty, does not have great handling even at normal highway speeds. Plus the CL feels pretty nailed down even 100+.

EDIT: I haven't heard much about the turbo engine in the solstice, but the 2.0L was never known as a modern marvel of mechanics. The turbo may provide max boost for only a short range/engine speed.

Sideswipe

The VTEC response is about the same either way but it depends on what kind of predicament you're in. I was stuck behind a lot of slower cars so I kept it humming in the mid range of 3rd until I had space to break free from the slower traffic. Dropping from 4th to 3rd is better when you're in the mid range of 4th, which is what I couldn't hit (mid range of 4th) being stuck behind slower traffic. But you're right, though.

NightRider

Sorry I should have clarified, I meant JUST in VTEC, below it the response feels about the same either way. I say this because awhile back we had to pick up one of my other cars (a 2001 Mitsubishi Diamante 210hp/230tq) with I/E, wheels, yoko 420 tires. So my buddy drives that, and I drive the CL back towards my neck of the woods. We did about 4 or 5 runs on the highway from 45 and then from 75, and if I dropped down (above VTEC) and waited to go, the pull did not seem as strong until shifting again. Suprisingly, the 1-4 gear ratios are near equal (see below, Dia 1st and CL 2nd). Not suprisingly, the CL gave the Diamante some head starts and still pulled.

Transmission gear ratio (1st) 2.84
Transmission gear ratio (2nd) 1.50
Transmission gear ratio (3rd) 1.00
Transmission gear ratio (4th) .73

Transmission gear ratio (1st) 2.56
Transmission gear ratio (2nd) 1.55
Transmission gear ratio (3rd) 1.02
Transmission gear ratio (4th) .65

So about those Solstices...

Sideswipe

Personally, I think the jury is still out on the Solstice GXP. I don't know if the guy was driving an automatic or a stick. One thing I forgot to mention at the beginning of the thread was the Solstice GXP I test drove was an automatic. Even though it was turbo is was sorry as hell and the lag was ridiculous for an 07.

Nevertheless, whether stick or automatic, from what I've researched even though the car may be governed at 148 actually pushing the car to 148 is a different story.

I'm also wondering if you're just talking about the VTEC engine's response or are you more specifically talking about when the two stage manifold kicks in? In my experience I've also found that if you just hit the gas the car doesn't respond quite as well as if I just ease into the throttle.