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It's official. GTO gets 350hp.

Old Jun 17, 2003 | 08:39 PM
  #16  
uluz28's Avatar
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Originally posted by HuJass
It sounds like the GTO will have what a fellow co-worker of mine calls "hit".
This guy is into the 60's big block muscle cars (especially Plymouths). Very smart guy.
But he always mentions how the old big block carbureated cars have a grunt that the new FI cars can't match. And I agree with him.
I had a '73 GP with a 400 Pontiac in it and that thing would smoke the tires off the rims if you nailed it while rolling at an idle speed. It's best 1/4 mile time was a 15.0. If you were in first gear, up to 30 mph; if you nailed it, it would smoke the tires. That car would snap your neck.

Now I have my Collector Edition. If I just roll it out in 1st, and then whack it, the tires do not even spin. The motor doesn't even seem to wind up that quick. You have to get the engine well above the 3 grand mark before you can actually feel the power. And you have to be over 3 grand when hitting it in 1st gear to get the tires to make any noise.
The car does not feel quick. It doesn't snap my neck. The power just kind of swells. Yet with only 967 miles on the clock, it ran a 13.4 . And there's more in the car, too. If I could drive it better, I could probably get a 13 teen to 20 out of it.

The car just doesn't have any "hit". I miss that feeling.

Our theory is that when you whack the throttle on a carb'ed car, you get that HUGE shot of fuel from the accelerator pump. A fuel injection system doesn't dump that kind of fuel instantaneously.

I hope the GTO, with these changes, feels like a big block carbureated car. If you've never driven one before, you won't understand what I'm saying.

I'm really going to have to drive a GTO when they come out. I want to see if these changes are noticable.
The "hit" you speak of with those cars are due to the fact they are big block/more displacement. This leads to more low end grunt. It doesn't have anything to do with the fact that they are carb'd...
Old Jun 17, 2003 | 09:37 PM
  #17  
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Originally posted by Meccadeth
I thought the LS1 Z28 did a 60 sprint in about 5.1/5.2 w/ an average driver? Also the document said that the GTO will run low 14's in the quarter mile? Is that false? Also I thought w/ an average driver, an LS1 Camaro could do 13.3's pretty consistently?
Your a tough guy to impress I think the GTO will do the 1/4 at about the same time as a WS6 or a little better. A loaded GTO should also cost about the same as a loaded WS6 but with better interior and build quality.

The article said "a 1/4 mile run in under 14 seconds"

The automatic GTO sould be faster than the auto SS/WS6 due the the 3.46 gears
Old Jun 17, 2003 | 11:12 PM
  #18  
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Originally posted by HuJass
It sounds like the GTO will have what a fellow co-worker of mine calls "hit".
This guy is into the 60's big block muscle cars (especially Plymouths). Very smart guy.
But he always mentions how the old big block carbureated cars have a grunt that the new FI cars can't match. And I agree with him.
I had a '73 GP with a 400 Pontiac in it and that thing would smoke the tires off the rims if you nailed it while rolling at an idle speed. It's best 1/4 mile time was a 15.0. If you were in first gear, up to 30 mph; if you nailed it, it would smoke the tires. That car would snap your neck.

Now I have my Collector Edition. If I just roll it out in 1st, and then whack it, the tires do not even spin. The motor doesn't even seem to wind up that quick. You have to get the engine well above the 3 grand mark before you can actually feel the power. And you have to be over 3 grand when hitting it in 1st gear to get the tires to make any noise.
The car does not feel quick. It doesn't snap my neck. The power just kind of swells. Yet with only 967 miles on the clock, it ran a 13.4 . And there's more in the car, too. If I could drive it better, I could probably get a 13 teen to 20 out of it.

The car just doesn't have any "hit". I miss that feeling.

Our theory is that when you whack the throttle on a carb'ed car, you get that HUGE shot of fuel from the accelerator pump. A fuel injection system doesn't dump that kind of fuel instantaneously.

I hope the GTO, with these changes, feels like a big block carbureated car. If you've never driven one before, you won't understand what I'm saying.
I was gonna talk about TPI but dnovotny got to it 1st. And he is right. If you like that feeling, (low-mid RPM power and big block TQ) Third Gen 350 TPI's have exactly that, better than a 4BBL, because the EFI's throttle response is instant. 245HP@4400 and 345TQ@3200, and they sound great too. What you described about the feeling that you don't like is what I also dislike about the LT1 and LS1. And as said, modded Tuned Port cars make some real crazy TQ numbers. I compared my friends stock 350 Tuned Port to his modded 350 4BBL and still the TPI has more TQ at lower RPM and better response although the other car has better higher RPM power and is faster because it's not stock obviously.

Last edited by IZ28; Jun 17, 2003 at 11:21 PM.
Old Jun 18, 2003 | 11:15 AM
  #19  
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No matter how you slice it, this GTO is a great car to have in Pontiacs lineup right now! And no one said it was competing against the Firebird, its the Fastest GTO ever. No one said it was the fastest pontiac ever!
Old Jun 18, 2003 | 04:41 PM
  #20  
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I think it's cool how Pontiac is reviving the GTO, but to me, it looks like an aggressive Grand Prix coupe.

I thought Pontiac would have made this car look muscular and aggressive the the old GTOs did. I got a magazine from Pontiac in the mail yesterday showcasing the GTO and it looks like it has a lot of room in the back and the fit and finish of the interior is really good.

They said it'll do 0-60 in under 6 seconds, I just hope it's not like 5.8 or 5.9.

I had the opportunity to see a GTO "The Judge" at a car show once and that thing looked like it had a set of *****. This new one doesn't look as intimidating as the old GTOs.
Old Jun 18, 2003 | 06:39 PM
  #21  
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Originally posted by Meccadeth
I thought the LS1 Z28 did a 60 sprint in about 5.1/5.2 w/ an average driver? Also the document said that the GTO will run low 14's in the quarter mile? Is that false? Also I thought w/ an average driver, an LS1 Camaro could do 13.3's pretty consistently?
Not sure LS1 Z28s are that fast stock.

The performance predictions on the GTO is coming from GM itself, and company performance numbers normally are lower than what a car actually does, so it should be interesting to see how the GTO actually performs.

4 more months!!
Old Jun 18, 2003 | 08:43 PM
  #22  
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my dealership is recieving 6 GTO's, if you would like to get on the waiting list please email me: Raphaelloberant@netscape.net with your phone number... thanks


Im located in Rochester NY
Old Jun 18, 2003 | 09:47 PM
  #23  
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Re: It's official. GTO gets 350hp.

Originally posted by Z284ever
On the GTO, the LS1 can be mated to GM's most aggressively geared (M12) six-speed manual transmission. The M12 provides quick, smooth, precise shifts; increases torque multiplication in almost every forward gear for quicker acceleration; and delivers outstanding high-speed performance by providing more usable torque at higher speeds.
What is the M12 transmission? I thought this car would get the T-56, are they the same thing?
Old Jun 18, 2003 | 09:49 PM
  #24  
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Re: Re: It's official. GTO gets 350hp.

Originally posted by Z28x
What is the M12 transmission? I thought this car would get the T-56, are they the same thing?
The M12 is the T-56 in the Z06. It is a strengthened T-56 with revised closer ratio and steeper gears.
Old Jun 19, 2003 | 06:18 PM
  #25  
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Not sure LS1 Z28s are that fast stock.
13.3 in the quarters. Well now, have you ever checked out ls1.com or ls1tech.com as I mentioned in an earlier post. If you had, then you would know that this is typical. Consider that it costs $150 to get a new lid and filter, which normally adds 10 real rwhp on the car. Consider that I haven't seen a stock dyno for an '01-'02 below 300 rwhp. Consider that these cars dyno higher and run better quarter mile times after breaking in, which is quite often 10+ thousand miles. Unless someone can't drive or received a factory freak of the wrong kind (i.e. really slow which does happen), its a low 13 second car. I thought people on this board were familiar with an LS1s 4th gen performance. Its become pretty clear from many posts about how the GTO will "blow away" 4th gen LS1s in the quarter that a lot of you don't drive these cars or know much about them.

I agree that the GTO will be a fast car, have a nice interior, and should be fun to drive. But something newer isn't necessarily something better, and in this case I'll describe it as something different. Anyways, since the GTO doesn't appeal to me style wise, I'm going forward with installing a C4 IRS with coil-overs on my 4th gen. I've always been curious how a 4th gen chassis will feel with an IRS. It'll probably be a couple more months before I have the work done, but I'll write up a post once its complete.
Old Jun 19, 2003 | 07:06 PM
  #26  
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I doubt it's faster than the later 4th gen Ls-1's. As for 1/4 miles, MT will probably get sub 14 second 1/4 miles. The faster times probaby won't dip lower than mid 13's. Just a guess.
Old Jun 19, 2003 | 07:21 PM
  #27  
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My point with my original post was that it seems GM knows that the LS1 does not FEEL like a muscle car motor. Therefore, they've tweaked it out to give it more of that 60s, big block feel and sound.
Hopefully they get it dead on, or there will be alot of people (who were used to the originals and expected the new ones to deliver the same or better power and feel) who will be upset with the performance. Even if the ET is better than the originals. Well, maybe not upset, but just not totally satisfied.
Old Jun 19, 2003 | 07:28 PM
  #28  
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Hopefully they get it dead on, or there will be alot of people (who were used to the originals and expected the new ones to deliver the same or better power and feel) who will be upset with the performance. Even if the ET is better than the originals. Well, maybe not upset, but just not totally satisfied.
If a 5th gen ever appears, I'm sure many of us will be complaining about something or other. But at least the GTO is still a V8 with rear wheel drive. They definitely got that part right.
Old Jun 20, 2003 | 08:06 AM
  #29  
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Its still a cross between a Grand Am and a Sunfire. This car will be gone soon.
Old Jun 20, 2003 | 08:16 AM
  #30  
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It still amazes me how many people have the attitude displayed above. How can your whole opinion in a car be so wrapped up in the sheet metal (or composite panels). I don't like how it looks, so it must be cr**. Don't even see the car in person, or bother to look inside or....heaven to mercy...actually sit in it and drive it?!?!?

Nope....all can be told from how you think the car looks....


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