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Sedans Pontiac Grand Am Pontiac Grand Am
2575 messages, Last post on Sep 12, 2009 at 10:42 PM
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I'm thinking of buying a 1999 Gran Am GT-1 or waiting until the 2000's come out. Anybody have an idea when this will occur? Also, I would like to get any feedback on the major problems I've heard about the GT: Poor gas mileage Wind Noise Very stiff suspension, feeling all road irregularities Back up lights filling with dirt and water Stiff, uncomfortable seats for long drives Leaking door seals and trunks Poor legroom for front passenger Chips in hood paint Dead spot in center of steering control Poorly aligned door panels, etc. Were most of these problems encountered with cars built in 1998 during the GM strike?
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| Well I appreciate the responses that I have gotten from my gasmileage question. I took the GT on its first highway trip today and got about 26 miles to the gallon. That is not too bad but I was hoping for better. Something else has occured to me. Has anyone noticed that the tire pressure seems rather soft? For instance my car door indicates that the tire pressure should be at 30 psi, which to me seems very low. Therefore has anyone else got a different tire pressure for their GT. I wouldn't normally worry about it but the tires are rated up to 44 psi and 30 just seems too low. This is my 4th car and I have never had a car tire that was inflated at anything less than 35psi. Anyway my point is that if the tires are too soft then that could be affecting the gas mileage. Nevertheless any comments on this matter would be appreciated. | |
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I just purchased a 99 Grand Am SE1 today, but won't actually get the car for another day. I went and looked at the car tonight with a friend just because I was so excited to see it for the first time (it just arrived tonight at the dealership). while looking at the car, my friend an I joked a bit about racing the two cars once I get mine and both agreed that my Grand Am will definitely be much quicker off the line do to the V6 3.4 liter engine I elected to get. Though the car is supposed to be somewhat quick off the line, I wondered if it would shut down at a certain speed. Does anyone that likes to speed a bit have any comments on how their car performs above the 70 mile an hour mark? My friend felt that it would shut down, but I'm dying to prove him wrong by blowing him away!
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I purchased a 1999 GrandAm SE2 in February. Some people have mentioned chips in the front hood. Is this an inherent defect? I just thought it was from road construction. If it is a defect, does Pontiac recognize this and fix it ? I have absolutely no other complaints. The car is red with a air-foil on the back, has good MPG (28.5 hwy and 25 city/hwy). No leaks or anything. I've been polishing and waxing it with Meguiars in my spare time. It always looks slick. My wife thinks I'm nuts spending so much time detailing the car. I even bought all cotton USA bath towels for polishing and waxing.(as suggested from Zaino site)
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Matty, I was cruising along just 2 days ago at 75 MPH and I really had to look at the speedometer to see that I was going so fast. I couldn't even tell.It's a real smooth ride! |
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matty11276 - I don't have any first hand experience with Grand Ams and speed limiters, but most manufacturers limit the top speed (using the ECU) to the speed rating of the OEM tires. On the V6 Contours equipped with Firestone Firehawk tires the speed is limited to 112 MPH. I seem to remember that the speed of some GM cars is limited to 105 MPH. *_DON'T_* run it to the limiter the first day you get it though, wait until after the break in period (or better yet give it a thousand miles and one oil change) before really getting on it. Your new car will last a little longer if you do. Check your tire pressures before making any high speed runs also. Underinflated tires can be dangerous at speed. |
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The fastest I have had my SE1 V6 to is a little over 75 miles. It was very smooth at that speed. For how smooth it was it might as well have been 50. mstan1: I have not washed mine yet once. I wanted to make sure that I did not use the wrong thing and put swirls in the clearcoat or anything. When you wash your do you spray it then apply the polish. I assume that at some point it gets dirty enough that you have to wash it before you can polish it. Also for the rims do you use that no touch ArmorAll on it? Just curious, thanks. tm2003: That does not seem like a great deal. Those miles that you are giving up are going to be the best ones for it. I like to keep my cars a long time and how it was treated for those first few thousand miles can make a big difference on how it lasts. I would shop around or getting a lower model new one. I think you will be happier in the long run. They have some rebates and financing going on right now too. Stephen |
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| i would like to know what the difference betweern the ram air and the plain v6? it only makes 5 more horse power. why pay that much more? | |
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The ram air is Pontiac's way of saying intercooler. While having only 5 more ponies the gear ratios are different than in the se and this leads to much quicker takeoffs. You are not only paying for the engine but remember the GT comes with 4 wheel disc (se front disc rear drum) and "sport" handling, and the rims and tires are different. The GT has low profile tires. Also the exhaust system is different. The thing that I liked about it was that I needed to option alot of things to fully load a se (14 I think) but with the GT I needed only to include 4 options for my car. I left the chrome wheels and leather off. Besides I think the engine has more than what Pontiac is listing... I will have to check that out |
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| How much does a maxed out Grand Am GT sticker for? | |
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