Hello all. This is my first time posting, but I've been lurking this site on and off for a couple of months until recently, when I decided that a GTO would be a perfect car for me, and started visiting this site on a daily basis. I really enjoy the site, and must say that the maturity level in this forum greatly surpasses that of other forums of the same nature; I believe you all know what I'm referring to. Firstly, I would like to apologize for starting this “essay,” because half of the questions that I am about to ask have probably already been answered, but at the same time the other half most likely haven't, so I felt that it would be ok to throw in some “already-been-answered” ones. If it is not, then I apologize and will do what I can to rectify the situation.
Anyway, I thought it would be good to give you guys a little information on my driving experience and what I currently use. I earned my drivers license about a year ago, and for about four or five months, I've been driving my sisters Scion tc whenever I need it. Laugh all you want, I know I do. Especially since the plates read “lilmisstc,” though that's little mystic to you! (With me being the mystic haha.)
For a while now, I've known that what I want as my first “official” car is a Pontiac GTO. I do however, have some questions. If you have the time, answer the few that you can, and I would greatly appreciate it. Also please bare with me, as I really don't know much about cars.
To keep things simple, I'll make a list:
-As my first official car, is it a bad choice?
-How good or bad is the handling of the car? I haven't driven too many cars, so the only car I can ask you to compare it to would be a tc. I read online that the GTO actually handles well despite the fact that it's an American car, so I assume it handles a lot better than a Mustang.
-Is the interior really as nice as it looks in pictures? Every picture I see of the inside has me really impressed.
-Is the car as long as it looks in pictures?
-Should I get an automatic or manual transmission? I live in Queens so driving in traffic everyday is inevitable. Manual seems to be very complicated and I've never driven one, although my dad used to have a stick hatchback. Not really sure which one. I'm worried that I won't be able to get the hang of it, and as immature and stupid as this sounds, I can't really drive a “manual” car in video games, which I would think would be much simpler, considering the fact that there isn't even a clutch. I feel as though if you drive a sports car and it isn't a stick, people look down on you. I know I shouldn't worry about something so trivial, but it does linger in the back of my mind.
-As much as I like the way the LS2 GTOs look stock, I absolutely love the way this wide body kit looks:
I found a very similar kit here:
2004 - 2007 PONTIAC GTO PRO-DTM WIDE BODY KIT :: Full Kits :: Pontiac GTO 04 - 06 :: Pontiac GTO Body Kits :: Pontiac Body Kits :: American Body Kits :: Body Kits :: Bodykits.com - Car Body kits and Ground Effects - 1-877-7BODY-KITS
What do you guys thing of it? It's seems to be really expensive already, and I have no idea how much extra it would cost to have it painted and installed. Also, look at the grill on the GTO in the picture, and look at the grill on the body kit in that link. The link's body kit has the grill of a Monaro I believe. Also, what happened to Lingenfelter's “Revenge” GTO? I liked the way that kit looked as well, but can't find it anywhere.
-What are the best performance mods I could get for about $3,000? I'm looking at the Corsa Sport Exhaust, but I don't know what it does to the car besides make it sound really nice. Does it add any horsepower, and if so, how much? I've heard borlas, slp loudmouth Iis, and I liked the way the Corsa Sport sounded the most, although they all sounded good in their own ways. Is an exhaust system something that you could put on by yourself, or do you need some type of mechanic to do it?
-Should the stock suspension be changed, and is there a need to add sway bars or struts to improve handling and body rigidity?
-How did this person get his grill to be indented like this, it looks very good:
GTO pictures | Pontiac GTO Photos - GTOpics_with_rims_008 - Powered by PhotoPost
His car as a whole looks very clean and I really like it, as I do pretty much all GTO's. Out of curiosity, does anyone know what size rims those are? I wouldn't want them any bigger than that, for fear that it might start looking ricy, which is exactly what I don't want in a car.
-Has anyone heard of 360 forged rims? They look like they would be on the expensive side of the rim spectrum, but does anyone know how much they would cost specifically? The carbon fiber ones look absolutely amazing. Why are they 3 piece rims though? What does that mean? If these are ridiculously expensive, what are some nice 5-spoke rims to look at. I ask for 5-spoke because I can't really see anything else looking good on it.
-Is Top Gears review of the Holden Monaro an accurate representation of the GTO here in the US?
-Last but not least, where would I learn about the more “complex” parts of a car. I'm honestly now very good with terminology and it makes me feel a bit uncomfortable when I read this forum. For example: what is a cat or a cat converter. What are long pipes? What does it mean to get a full exhaust? Does that just mean that it actually connects to your engine, and isn't just a fart can? How does one begin to learn. I've tried searching individually for answers to questions like this, but how would I learn about how these parts work as a whole, and in conjunction with each other?
Thank you so much for taking the time to look at my thread, and for any answers or suggestions you might have for me. I really love the GTO and hope that getting one is plausible for me. Oh and are there any GTO meets in NYC or a neighboring area where I would be welcome? Sisters Scion tc and all? Haha. Thanks again.
