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Previous import turbo owner.... Talk me into a 05' GTO

5K views 29 replies 12 participants last post by  jasonc32amg 
Obvioulsy, you'll find it is easy to make nice power- especially if you make your own turbo kit- with a V8. I still think "bang for the buck" goes to the Turbo Imports- weight alone helps. I have always owned and built Talons, I still think they are one of the most potent (per dollar) cars you can get :). A bunch of us went to the track one night and with my Procharged 05 GTO (car did 474/413 to the wheels), I was only trapping 110. I had a friend with a turbo integra running a severely traction limited 13.0@122 and another friend had his Talon with a 160k mile non-shifting trans that ran 12.0@121. Both cars have about the extent of mods that the Procharger kit cost me :(.

I have since put an alky kit on since my IAT's are insane with this kit (they put the damn filter right next to the burning hot blower!!) and am working on making a cold air intake pipe to get the filter out of the engine bay- that will help a lot and I'll be retuning it for more timing/less fuel since I have the alky on it now. It should run much better then, but I still highly doubt 122 mph traps that were fairly easily achieved with those cars are even remotely possible without a lot more work. Heh- even with the Procharger, my buddies talon just flat out ass-rapes the GTO from 60-140 (where we let off). I may take him from 140 on due to gearing, but it was still pretty ugly lol. I want to say "that's ok because this winter I'll be making some changes and I'll show him", but that is hard to bring myself to say beacause in my experience, it shouldn't take that much to get the car fast enough to beat a slightly modded talon (still has the stock 120k mile motor and head!). Besides, he is making a bunch of changes too lol.
Joe
 
I should add- this is where the drag racers come in and say you can run 11.xx with bolt ons- but the MPH is weak, I would rather run an ok et with a wicked MPH- that shows the cars power and when you drive it daily, you feel the power- you don't drive it daily on slicks launching it at every light.

Either way- the LSx engine has a ton of potential no matter what the chassis- we just have a ~600 pound handicap :).
Joe
 
It all depends honestly. The GTO is a sweet car to daily drive- comfortable, fast on the highway, etc. where the Evo is kind of boy-ricer looking. As for potential, yes- the LS2 has tons, but the Evo can run 11's for a hell of a lot less than the GTO can (unless you want nitrous which is fine- but I am talking 11's as-is, where-is kind of thing). There is a local guy with a high 700 whp evo that is daily driven (with the boost turned down on pump gas). Don't know what he runs, he is kind of quiet about it- but it is single digits :).

If I were going for a quick car that with a few well placed mods is a brutal street car, I would probably go Evo. I wanted the GTO for the LS2 and comfort- against the advice of pretty much every one I know. They still tell me I was stupid for getting the car- they all say "nice daily driver, but too heavy, slow and IRS" lol. It depends on your goals. I wasn't looking for a drag car, just a fun, fast comfortable car. "nice daily driver" fits the GTO best, plus it isn't a common car and it has that aura of being a semi-collectable muscle car to it- drive it all week, clean it up and go to the car cruise night on Friday and get a bunch of oohs and ahhs :).

If budget isn't an issue, get the GTO, build a stout motor for it and boost the snot out of it- you'll have a 700whp+ daily driver :). The only downside is the rear IMHO. There are parts out there to strengthen it, but they are retardly expensive compared to a solid axle rear and still not as strong once done. If I go much further power wise, once I start to break parts, I'll go solid axle before upgrading the IRS only to have "moderate" strength.

Overall- I don't know, tough call. Like I said, really depends on your goals.
Joe
 
J.E.T. said:
My '05 is pulling just under 500whp on a regular pulley Maggie and LT's.......no cams, etc. I've got around $30K in mods so far and am about done in that respect. There is only so much you can do before having to go into the motor which I'm not going to do.

JET

$30K in MODS?? I hope you mean including mods? As for having to tear into the motor to go much further- that is why it is a tough call- the Mitsu will handle well into the 500's on the stock motor and is quite a bit lighter, but once built- a turbo V8 is a monster :). It is just the first round of mods to get in the 500 whp range is cheaper on an Evo than the GTO if you know what you're doing.

Like I said, I did 474 with a Procharger and stock everything else, but I plan to keep going until it pops, then build a decent motor and may even ditch the blower and go turbo if the budget allows at that point.
Joe
 
turbodude said:
yea, i thinking what the hell and go gto. i am known for building relaible high hp stock block cars, so teh ls2 should be no different.

Heh- same here- not that it was insane power, but I got a Mazdaspeed Protege to do 263 to the wheels on the stock, untouched motor, turbo, FMIC, etc.- everyone else was blowing up after the 220 mark :).

I went with the GTO because I really like the car overall and it has the LS2 (even the LS1 would suffice for what I will eventually be doing with the car :) ), you really can't go wrong with it if you know what you're doing. The LSX motors are very potent though and in the right hands can be pretty brutal. You'll learn to hate wheel hop though! I have never had a car wheel hop like this damn thing and I have had cars that I thought were bad in the past! Wheel hop in any other car is an understatement after driving the GTO for a while lol. There are some suspension mods that some people claim help, others claim made it worse, so who knows. Gotta be careful though- every vendor uses the "prevent wheel hop" marketing edge with parts.

Anyway, good luck with whatever you decide- can't go wrong with either car.
Joe
 
turbodude said:
yea i hear you guys, this car will definately be "touched" :) I am not too much of a 1320 racer when it comes to cars of this size. I honestly want raw mph power. IE. 50-150. I won't be drag racing it, because i have one of those cars already. But i def do like to do highway sprints. :) Thanks for all the input keep it coming. :)

You sound like me with what you want out of the car. I think the GTO is a better choice than the Evo for your goals. At that speed, you are kind of past the disadvantage of the weight. I have had mine to 167 and it was still pulling like a mother :).
Joe
 
Hey Jimbo- stupid question- is the classic 900 a RWD? I have a NG 900 for the wife to drive to work (she got tired of her Crossfire getting dings) and never really thought about the classic's configuration.
Joe
 
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