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#152787 - 09/01/04 10:47 AM Happy new GP owner
ABlackVTXinMD Offline
Junior Member
Registered: 09/01/04
Posts: 25
Loc: Joppa, MD
Hi folks. I'm a proud new owner of a GP GTP/CG. This was a big move for me because I'm crossing over from the blue oval, heh heh. Wasn't hard to do, I've just had good luck with Fords in the past but always thought about buying GM's along the way.

I was originally very attracted to the GP during the whole "wider is better" ad campaign from 1998 or so, but opted for the new (at the time) 260hp '99 Mustang GT. She ended up with a Vortech blower, various chassis and suspension mods, full Bassani exhaust and so on. It was an awesome car, but I unloaded it to take defensive measures against a week economy (it was a 2nd car).

I'm fortunate enough to safely have that 2nd car again, but this time was settled on the performance sedan niche, which brought me back to the Grand Prix. I was able to take advantage of the year end close-outs to get a new performance red '04 GP GTP/CG w/ the sunroof and premium sound for $26K on the road. Awesome buy!! I'm very happy with the huge mid-range that these bad boys have, and handling really exceeds what I thought it would be able to do. Nice grip and low body roll!! The interior is tastefully executed in a sporty way without being cheesy. In a nutshell, great car at the common man's price point.

Glad to be a part of this group. BTW, I noticed a few Marylanders in the group. Later...
_________________________
Ken
2004 Pontiac Grand Prix GTP/CG
2000 Ford F150 4x4 w/ extended cab
2003 Honda VTX1300S
1998 Suzuki Marauder VZ800
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#152788 - 09/01/04 10:51 AM Re: Happy new GP owner
AustinGTP Offline
Member
Registered: 05/23/03
Posts: 8078
Loc: Austin, TX
Congrats on the purchase and welcome!
_________________________
Bobby

Died 5/1/08, resurrected 5/15/08
ASCD SD hood, 17" Bullitts, Overkill PCM, 3.4" Pulley, NGK TR55IX, K&N 9" cone filter, JimmyC D/P, U-bend removed, Flowmaster 40 series, Hooker big bore tips with resonators, S/B brake lines, drilled/slot rotors, GMPP handling kit, KYB struts, F&R strut supports, HID's, LED's, 2.5" Air Dam, red GTP overlays on custom badges, white rear insert.
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#152789 - 09/01/04 10:53 AM Re: Happy new GP owner
4 T 8 states Offline
Member
Registered: 01/11/04
Posts: 977
Loc: winter park,fl
welcome and heres to many miles of smiles.

put the hammer down hammer before the first snow. cool
_________________________
1997 gtp sedan / green ext / tan int
all stock incl trunk mounted c.d.
general lee c.b. radio with connex board,talk back and echo plus a.m. f.m. high and low band.
bearcat bct-7 law enforment/weatherband scanner
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#152790 - 09/01/04 11:18 AM Re: Happy new GP owner
Jizz Offline
Member
Registered: 03/22/04
Posts: 766
Loc: Central Maryland
I am from Maryland so it Why2kMax (spelling?) Max I believe is Belair and I am down in Glen Burnie. I plan on hitting Cecil County Dragway on September 25th for Test&Tune if you are up for it let me know. My wife and 3 year old son will be with me also to cheer me on smile

Congrats on the Purchse!! The WS6 is an awesome package (WS6 is the Comp G)

And from a GM guy I gotta say Glad you bought a GP and not a Magnum or the such cheers
_________________________
S's? Oh it has SS's!!!
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#152791 - 09/01/04 02:10 PM Re: Happy new GP owner
ABlackVTXinMD Offline
Junior Member
Registered: 09/01/04
Posts: 25
Loc: Joppa, MD
Quote:
Originally posted by Jizz:
I am from Maryland so it Why2kMax (spelling?) Max I believe is Belair and I am down in Glen Burnie. I plan on hitting Cecil County Dragway on September 25th for Test&Tune if you are up for it let me know. My wife and 3 year old son will be with me also to cheer me on smile

Congrats on the Purchse!! The WS6 is an awesome package (WS6 is the Comp G)

And from a GM guy I gotta say Glad you bought a GP and not a Magnum or the such cheers
Jiz - thanks for the reply. I've spent my share of time at Cecil, Capital, and MIR - it's a lot of fun, but I'm not going crazy with mods on the GP like I did with the Mustang.

Do the airbox kits make much of a difference over just dropping a K&N in place of the stock filter??

I may take the car up there one time to get a timeslip, but don't really have plans for trying to get in the 13's or anything. Let me know when you're going there, at least I can take in a night at the track, even if I don't plan on taking several passes.

What kind of times have you run so far?? I saw in the other thread where someone broke into the 12's. That's incredible...

BTW, I live in Joppa which is just south of Bel Air, also in Harford County.
_________________________
Ken
2004 Pontiac Grand Prix GTP/CG
2000 Ford F150 4x4 w/ extended cab
2003 Honda VTX1300S
1998 Suzuki Marauder VZ800
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#152792 - 09/01/04 02:24 PM Re: Happy new GP owner
Jizz Offline
Member
Registered: 03/22/04
Posts: 766
Loc: Central Maryland
Mine is stock other than the PCM. Got too many things on my plate right now to mod up my car frown - I suspect it will run around 14.5ish if I can hook up off the line.

I do not do much at the track either...1-3 runs then I eat a burger and go home smile

Cecil County September 25 (Saturday) in the morning. I will post when I know I am going for sure. But that is my tenitive plan.
_________________________
S's? Oh it has SS's!!!
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#152793 - 09/01/04 03:25 PM Re: Happy new GP owner
AustinGTP Offline
Member
Registered: 05/23/03
Posts: 8078
Loc: Austin, TX
Quote:
Originally posted by ABlackVTXinMD:
Jiz - thanks for the reply. but I'm not going crazy with mods on the GP like I did with the Mustang.
Easy now. We just met you. Don't start lying to us!
_________________________
Bobby

Died 5/1/08, resurrected 5/15/08
ASCD SD hood, 17" Bullitts, Overkill PCM, 3.4" Pulley, NGK TR55IX, K&N 9" cone filter, JimmyC D/P, U-bend removed, Flowmaster 40 series, Hooker big bore tips with resonators, S/B brake lines, drilled/slot rotors, GMPP handling kit, KYB struts, F&R strut supports, HID's, LED's, 2.5" Air Dam, red GTP overlays on custom badges, white rear insert.
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#152794 - 09/01/04 08:18 PM Re: Happy new GP owner
ABlackVTXinMD Offline
Junior Member
Registered: 09/01/04
Posts: 25
Loc: Joppa, MD
Quote:
Originally posted by Austin GTP:
Quote:
Originally posted by ABlackVTXinMD:
[b] Jiz - thanks for the reply. but I'm not going crazy with mods on the GP like I did with the Mustang.
Easy now. We just met you. Don't start lying to us! [/b]
LOL! Well I do plan to drop a K&N filter in the air box. I put them in all of my cars and bikes. We'll see if that leads to anything else lol
_________________________
Ken
2004 Pontiac Grand Prix GTP/CG
2000 Ford F150 4x4 w/ extended cab
2003 Honda VTX1300S
1998 Suzuki Marauder VZ800
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#152795 - 09/05/04 11:20 PM Re: Happy new GP owner
Chew Offline
Member
Registered: 05/01/02
Posts: 311
Loc: Washington, DC
Wow all these MDers and I haven't seen a single one of you guys at our local club meets ;-)

For those who didn't know:

Washington, DC area Club Grand Prix

www.wdccgp.com

Drop on by and say hello! Besides Mod'ing here I also run the WDC area club chapter.

Or if you happen to see my car on the road - say "Hey!"

http://www.cardomain.com/memberpage/549517
_________________________
Regards,

Chew

2007 Sly Silver Pontiac Solstice GXP
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#152796 - 09/06/04 08:25 AM Re: Happy new GP owner
jvojr Offline
Member
Registered: 07/31/03
Posts: 583
Loc: Catskills, NY
Quote:
but don't really have plans for trying to get in the 13's or anything.
After doing all that work on your stang, it's hard to believe that you aren't secretly dreaming of modding your GP. I own mine a month and from my experience with modding my previous 03, the mods made it Vette fast and didn't affect driveability at all. The car drove like stock until you punched it and the mpg went up to 31 on the highway and averaged 28. My 04 only seems to average 22 mpg and is a lot slower than my 03. I'm not ready to put the three grand worth of mods that I had on my 03 in the 04 yet. But when I do get some extra cash, you know that's what I'll be doing. devilgrin
_________________________
JackO
2004 GTP CompG. WS6, 3.29 axle, HUD, tapshift, Premium sound, XM radio, leather, sunroof, 17inch 5 star chromies, BFG Comp T/A. Wizaired CAI.

Traded in. 2003 GTP. Every option but HUD. New Mods: Wizaired CAI, SLP Headers, Cat, U-bend and Downpipe, 3.2 Modular Pulley, Phase 3 rollers w/OR Pushrods, Larger Belt Tensioner Pulley, Gatorback, AL103's, 180 Degree Stat, DHP
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#152797 - 09/06/04 08:49 AM Re: Happy new GP owner
ABlackVTXinMD Offline
Junior Member
Registered: 09/01/04
Posts: 25
Loc: Joppa, MD
Jack - Thanks for the response. OK, I'll grant you that I fantasize about hopping up the GP into the 13's and love to read about what other guys are doing to their cars, but as a guy who has motorcycling for a hobby (i'd love to have a trailer for the bikes) and kept his 4x4 truck, I gotta keep those urges in check for now. I'm just lucky to own a performance sedan like the GP, and am milking the novelty of that for as long as I can. Believe me, commuting to work in this car instead of the truck is a HUGE improvement to my daily living, heh heh. I love this car!!

I'm open to inexpensive mods that add hp like CIA for now. I've noticed a lot of references to pulley upgrades. Not sure which ones might be underdrive (less parasitic drag but would make the SC spin slower) vs smaller pulleys on the SC to get more boost. I'd like to know more about whatthe mod combinations get you and to what expense on the driveability, engine cooling etc.


Not to offend the GM faithfuls (I think we all like fast cars) but here's a link to my former Mustang GT. The quoted times were naturally aspirated. I was getting 12.8's at 110 mph with the Vortech. I really miss that thing, but I love the GP too.

http://www.mustangworld.com/ourpics/News/select534.htm
_________________________
Ken
2004 Pontiac Grand Prix GTP/CG
2000 Ford F150 4x4 w/ extended cab
2003 Honda VTX1300S
1998 Suzuki Marauder VZ800
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#152798 - 09/06/04 10:36 AM Re: Happy new GP owner
tallpaul Offline
Member
Registered: 04/13/04
Posts: 100
Loc: waukee iowa
congrats on your new ride. hope you like it. i have had mine a year and being a big person 6ft 6in tall this grand prix gt2 is the most uncomfortable ride that i have ever driven on a trip. i just completed a over 400 mile trip and the longer i drove it the more my legs and back hurt. they sure cut back on the leg room verses the 2001 i had. boy i know now i realize i made a big mistake in buying the 2004. it is even hard to get in and out of the car too. maybe i have taken a few more rest stops and strech out my legs more. i am not happy anymore with this car.
_________________________
tallpaul
2004 buick regal ls sedan
sterling silver-graphite leather interior
1994 olds ciera s sedan
adriatic blue-drk blue interior
P195-70/R14 uniroyal tiger paw touring radials mounted on factory olds aluminum wheels.
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#152799 - 09/06/04 05:02 PM Re: Happy new GP owner
ABlackVTXinMD Offline
Junior Member
Registered: 09/01/04
Posts: 25
Loc: Joppa, MD
Paul - Sorry to hear about the cramped situation you have there. I'm 6 feet tall and am able to fit comfortably with the seat all the way down, a little raised under my knees, a little bit of recline on the seat back, and drop on the steering wheel. Fits comfortably (a bit of effort getting out), but I think if I was 2 or more inches taller, I'd be singing your blues too. So far, I really love this car...
_________________________
Ken
2004 Pontiac Grand Prix GTP/CG
2000 Ford F150 4x4 w/ extended cab
2003 Honda VTX1300S
1998 Suzuki Marauder VZ800
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#152800 - 09/06/04 06:28 PM Re: Happy new GP owner
zachd Offline
Member
Registered: 04/15/04
Posts: 1316
Loc: Evansville, IN
Paul,
Im 6'2 and am ever more comfortable in this Grand Prix than my last 4 door. My 2 Door although was worlds better. No pillar blocking the view and easier entries and exits. Although already having my car on 2 1k road trips trying to burn my warranty into seclusion i have not been more comfortable in a grand prix. I was able to sleep part of the last one while it was someone else turn to drive. Something I have never done in all the vehicles i have tripped in, includes f350, chevy 2500 hd, lumina, corsica, cutlass, 98 gt 2dr 99 4dr gt, durango, grand ma, and a dakota. Its odd how much different 2 people yet so physically the same with in 4 inches vertically speakin they can be.
_________________________
2006 GT!!! Yay my first supercharged car!
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#152801 - 09/06/04 07:36 PM Re: Happy new GP owner
ABlackVTXinMD Offline
Junior Member
Registered: 09/01/04
Posts: 25
Loc: Joppa, MD
Quote:
Originally posted by zachd:
Paul,
Im 6'2 and am ever more comfortable in this Grand Prix than my last 4 door. My 2 Door although was worlds better. No pillar blocking the view and easier entries and exits. Although already having my car on 2 1k road trips trying to burn my warranty into seclusion i have not been more comfortable in a grand prix. I was able to sleep part of the last one while it was someone else turn to drive. Something I have never done in all the vehicles i have tripped in, includes f350, chevy 2500 hd, lumina, corsica, cutlass, 98 gt 2dr 99 4dr gt, durango, grand ma, and a dakota. Its odd how much different 2 people yet so physically the same with in 4 inches vertically speakin they can be.
I have to agree about the pillar obstructing the view. I have to lean forward a little to do a good headcheck before switching lanes. The head clearance, legroom, and reach to the steering wheel is fine for me however.
_________________________
Ken
2004 Pontiac Grand Prix GTP/CG
2000 Ford F150 4x4 w/ extended cab
2003 Honda VTX1300S
1998 Suzuki Marauder VZ800
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