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Coupes & Convertibles Pontiac GTO Pontiac GTO
4348 messages, Last post on Nov 08, 2009 at 9:33 AM
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I hear you , cracovian. With GTO and a wrongly-timed flick of the right foot, one can get into big-trouble/dangerous-situation with the traction-control off - even on dry roads. |
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I had an 07 corvette but became unemployed. I enjoyed 19-22 mpg all day long around town, no matter how I drove the vette. I got the 04 GTO because it was frankly the only car I could afford that gave me the same thrill the vette gave me to drive. I did a lot of research on the car before I bought it but misses a few things that turned out to be critical. The first is gas mileage. EPA says 16 city, so ike EPA says 17 for vette, I expected that to be on the low end of possibilities depending on how a car is driven. Of course the vette is far superior in fuel management technology and the fact that it offers a tranny capable of cruising at under 1100 rpm in high mids accounts for substantial gas savings too but my GTO gets far worse than estimated and I have to drive it with paranoid cautiousness to get that! If I drive like a little old woman, I can squeeze 16 out of it. Highway 16.7 to 19!! If I bust off the line and drive it GTO style, 13.5 to 15 are the numbers I can expect. Even a Dodge Hemi washing machine gets 19 and 20 driving in attack mode. I run only 93 octane gas - albeit Kroger to save the 10 cents. I ran that gas in my vette. IT sipped on it like an iced bar-brand martini. So what is this I see on all the boards from consumers that are pleasantly surprised about GTO gas mileage being better than they thought..posting 17,18,19 mpg in city driving. How does that happen? Based on the fuel avg digital gauge in the car? I have only figured it manually once against the gauge and the gauge didn't lie.. So I am wondering..could it be that the 16k low miles that came with the car have worked against me? Did the former driver not drive this car the way it should be driven to perform at optimum level..did it accumulate sludge prematurely? IT doesn't act sluggish or idle rough. It doesn't blow smoke of any color. It doesn't run hot but it sure does eat my money. Any suggestions? COLD AIR, a good engine cleaning additive, what? AND WHAT MORON LET A HI-PO CAR LIKE THE GTO GO TO PRODUCTION WITHOUT AND OIL GAUGE!! |
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Replying to: xtranaut (Oct 10, 2009 1:19 pm) As far as I knew, it was identical fuel-management between GTO & vette. With my 05 M6 I get 21 mpg all-around. Mostly highway, mostly with 87 octane. For pure highway driving I get 23 mpg with E10 and 25 mpg or more with pure gasoline. Pure city driving, 17 mpg would be about right. Sludge at 16k miles? I haven't heard of that being an issue even at 75k or 100k miles with these cars. If you are worried about it, probably good to swap the oil and get some fresh mobil-1 in there! Btw your comment about lugging the vette at 1100rpm to get best mpg is right on - that's the way to get best mpg with GTO too. lug the motor in the top gear you can manage. (that's not the way i drive it!)
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Replying to: elias (Oct 12, 2009 5:24 am) Are you figuring your gas mileage out using the gauge or the old fashioned way. I am assuming that the gauge is pretty accurate. I used it against my own calculations when I first bought the car and it seemed to line up. Any suggestions?
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Replying to: xtranaut (Oct 12, 2009 7:38 am) I think I almost always get >20mpg for each tank because I use the car mostly for highway driving and long-distance-highway roadtrips. The car spends more than 90% of its miles on interstates & state-highways. Of the other 10%, much is actually "suburban" driving rather than "city". Suburban driving can actually yield mpg better than highway mpg for some cars! (I have a VW TDI which I drive when my drive is sure to be city-ish or stop-and-go, or snowy/icy/etc, or all three.) Ideas: -Don't be afraid to "lug" the GTO engine and let it torque the car along at 1100 rpm just like you did with your vette. - Oh, another factor. I have the 17" wheels/tires. Maybe you have 18s and they have more rolling-resistance? I inflate tires to 34 psi cold. Maybe your tires are low? Our president says "air up those tires" and I agree with him on that! - and here's one. The gas cap - maybe it's that simple! These cars eat gas caps since they don't seal/lock like typical USA caps - I guess it's a Holden thing. If your gas cap is not sealing, this will cost you massive MPG due to the fuel evaporating! You can tell if the gas cap is bad if it just keeps spinning without any ratcheting sound. The ECM on these cars will NOT necessarily throw a code due to no gas cap seal - although I understand that "OBD-something" mandated they should. - also try 87 octane and see if that saves you 10% cost without costing any mpg, like it does for me. my car runs fantastic on 87 at all temperatures but I do use premium during warm weather. |
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Replying to: xtranaut (Oct 10, 2009 1:19 pm) My 2004 M6 GTO had a lifetime 14 MPG but I drove it like a bat out of hell (part of the reason why I had to give it up now that I'm a Daddy) but I could get mid 20s on the highway easily at 75+ mile speeds. I was putting in regular too.
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Replying to: cracovian (Oct 13, 2009 6:07 am) I absolutely love this car as much as I did the vette and the interior is even better. I put a Pioneer Nav with about every bell and whistle you can get. It fit right in the Blauplunkt radio slot and looks like factory. My car is an A4 and runs strong. I have been a bit worried since I read about the tire shredding issue with the way they put wider tires on the car that rub the struts. I have the original tires and wheels on the car..17s..although I don't much like them. I don't know what I will replace them with yet but for sure, something quieter than these BFGs. They sound like truck tires. It doesn't help that my car didn't come undercoated to deaden some of the road noise. I am also in Houston where everything is concrete so you note every little variance in the grading as you drive. I found a chip made by VOLO that seems to be the only possible legit performance-fuel economy chip that rally does anything, aside of a programmer. http://yhst-19807630266082.stores.yahoo.net/vp12-performance-ch12.html The VOLO says it retails for 149.95 but sells for 89.95 at the intro discount. I am thinking about getting one after I see what a few guys that bought them think. I also noticed that before I bought the car, the dealer changed the oil and 1000 miles later, it looks to be a full quarter low. Is this normal and what kind of oil do you guys run that you find best for this car? The car doesn't smoke at all and there isn't a drop on my garage floor so ??? I am seeing more people saying that a Group 3 like Castrol GTX is the best for this car instead of synthetic. Many are also suggesting to ad a product called AUTO-RX to the oil at change and run for 3,000 miles then change and ad a small amt again. The product is ester based so isn't corrosive but cleans all the engine parts and rings. Since my car wasn't driven that much over the almost five years the original owner had it and it was a woman, I think it could be possible that the car built up sludge from just sitting or not being run like an LS1 should be. Your thoughts about any and all of this? |
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Replying to: cracovian (Oct 13, 2009 6:07 am) I have an K&N in my airbox but don't have cold air....and by itself, cold air doesn't help anything. Then I would need to change the exhaust and can't get away with anything less than about $800... so there is an easy 1200. dollars to get maybe a few MPG more. Now that the economy is tanked, I give a lot of thought on everything i do and what kind of a return it's going to give me on my mone. I figure I could make that CAI-EXHAUST money back in 18 months but its always easier to pay for the gas as you go than plunk out 1200 and not even be able to get excited! ha.
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Replying to: xtranaut (Oct 13, 2009 7:17 am) 
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xtranaut, i wouldn't try any mods/chips/programming without reading all about others who have tried the same things: ls2gto web site. imho your mpg can only get worse if you alter the factory programming! A4 GTOs are expected to get less mpg than M6 models, so that might be the main factor - same thing that caused the gasguzzler tax for the A4 cars... Re oil: GM sent a letter to all owners warning them the car could burn a quart every 1k miles especially if driver does lots of high-rpm coast-downs. It also warns to check the oil every time one fills the gas tank. I don't! I change oil every 10k or 15k miles. Never had to add a quart over those 10k or 15k.
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