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05 Grand Prix GTP : Boat with fake supercharger??????

I would: change all spark plugs, change all ignition wires, change all the coil packs and the ignition module. I would then have the suspension examined by well known shop and make any changes that they recommend. The Grand Prix is not a sport handling car; it's a road car that looks and feels great going fast in a straight line. My gp was getting 29/22 mpg hwy/city and it averaged about 25 mpg with about 80% freeway driving. I absolutely love my car even now when there is a miss on my #5 cylinder and my mpgs have tanked a bit (mostly due to me not putting it on the freeway). It now has 201K miles and I know a guy that has 2 that have 260K miles or better and he still drives the freeway with them....


5am said:
seems to get pretty bad gas mileage along with not seeming to roll as well as a car should. maybe it needs an alignment. hard to tell im not that smart. tires don't make any funny noise though .

untechnically speaking , my previous car (Subaru svx ) just seemed to want to roll or move easier , its not because of weight difference they are both about 3500lbs. maybe its how the transmission is geared . hard to tell if wheel bearings need to be replaced . the display does keep showing (service ABS ) and (service traction control). I think the dealership I bought it from needs to pay me some money back lol.
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LEVELX said:
Recently changed mine and the biggest headache was just trying to get the wires off the plugs.
Didn't even need to roll the engine forward.
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Yeah the plugs came out fine but it took me longer to get the #2 boot off than the whole rest of the process combined. Can't get leverage on it. Remember to use dialectic grease in the boots.
 
to think i do my plug change via Braille. headers do help tho. i can reach in there blind and get em out and back in. all 6 plugs changed in 10 minutes tops.

i know i did the rear 3 in less then the time it takes for a full dhp flash. we all know thats about 5 minutes.
 
LEVELX said:
Didn't even need to roll the engine forward.
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Your referring to this video I saw where the guy takes off some motor mounts and then pulls the engine forward with a ratchet strap? I can see two back there pretty easy but the very passenger side ones got a bunch of stupid wire bundles in the way I cant even really see it .
 


Got this very popular Bluetooth obd2 adapter yesterday
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005NLQAHS/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I haven't looked at car computer stuff before .

What fking app can you actually look at a bunch of sensor values and sht? Cause I got that one app (Torque) . Torque is trash . It pretty much shows nothing your instrument cluster doesn't show itself other than actual coolant temp and vacuum pressure .

One discrepancy that im not sure what conclusion to draw of is in the app it showed coolant temp pegged at 200 when I was sitting there the actual gauge sitting around 50%
 
Then from reading im pretty sure the weird liquid sloshing sound when accelerating is air in the cooling system . The level looks good you can see coolant at the bottom of the recovery container though might need to get changed looks a little ... murky
 
5am said:
Your referring to this video I saw where the guy takes off some motor mounts and then pulls the engine forward with a ratchet strap? I can see two back there pretty easy but the very passenger side ones got a bunch of stupid wire bundles in the way I cant even really see it .
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Uh...Yeah. Thats the video.
Don't worry about that "... bunch of stupid wire bundles...".
I just used a sawsall to cut them & put them back together with some scotch tape later.
And when you change them, pick up an O2 sensor socket.
It'll save you posting about it later on.
 
5am said:
Got this very popular Bluetooth obd2 adapter yesterday
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005NLQAHS/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I haven't looked at car computer stuff before .

What fking app can you actually look at a bunch of sensor values and sht? Cause I got that one app (Torque) . Torque is trash . It pretty much shows nothing your instrument cluster doesn't show itself other than actual coolant temp and vacuum pressure .

One discrepancy that im not sure what conclusion to draw of is in the app it showed coolant temp pegged at 200 when I was sitting there the actual gauge sitting around 50%
Click to expand...

I can see every available sensor value with the Torque app on my phone. Idk what you are doing to only get it to display what the dashboard says. If your car was fully warmed up then 200* F was probably correct, remember the stock thermostat opens at 190*


  1. Open Torque.
  2. Tap on the gear in the bottom left corner.
  3. Open Settings.
  4. Scroll to Manage Extra PIDs/Sensors.
  5. Tap the 3 dots in the upper right hand corner.
  6. Tap Add predefined set.
  7. Tap Pontiac/GM/Opel/Vauxhall and add to list.
  8. Return to main screen.
  9. Tap Realtime Information.
  10. Tap gear bottom left corner.
  11. Add Dislplay.
  12. Pick your style and size of gauge.
  13. Now select whatever it is you want to see.(not all of the things listed will work, just those that the pcm can read and or see)
  14. Make sure to go into the setup and change the units to feet, miles, psi ect.

Torque is actually an amazing app and can be very helpful. It just takes some time to figure out how to use it and what it can and cannot display. I have been using it for about 6 years now(back then the cheap Bluetooth adapters were $30 shipped from China) and I still think it was the best $4 I spent.
Here is a link to the Torque Wiki with more information https://torque-bhp.com/wiki/Main_Page
 
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For your handling situation, your suspension is probably shot and alignment all off. As others have said, it's a pretty large, front wheel drive car and will never be a Porsche Boxster. Having said that, with the suspension in good shape, good tires and well aligned, it's not a bad handling car and shouldn't roll too much or be hard to handle in almost all normal road conditions. It's great for high speed highway cruising, which is how mine got a quarter million miles piled up on it.

By 200K my steering rack was shot, as was the rest of the steering gear, as well as the sway bar bushings, end links, struts, hubs, CV joints, transmission, etc. The front sub frame came out and all that was replaced (transmission rebuilt), along with new springs, upgraded struts and poly sway bar bushings. It's also pretty sensitive to alignment, so get someone who really will take the time and do it right. With all that the car is pretty solid, very stable at high speed and overall fun to drive for a daily driver. I rent a lot of cars, and set up right the GP is better than most any normal daily rentals I've had, even the Challenger I had a few weeks ago, because most bigger modern cars are over 4000 lbs (including that Challenger) where the GP is 3500. I had mine on a scale a few months ago and it was 3522, so it's not bad by modern standards.
 
You are smoking something if you think a GP handles good. Weight isn't the only factor in handling. There are plenty of heavier cars in stock form that will out handle a modded GP.
 


I said not bad, if set up right, as compared to most average cars I've driven. I also said it's not a high performance car. In fact, my exact words were "it shouldn't roll too much or be too hard to handle in almost all normal road conditions."

Read more carefully.

Sure there are plenty of cars at any weight that will out handle a modded GP. On the other hand, a good condition 05 GP won't wallow around a corner like a boat back Riveria, as the OP implied his is doing.

Like I said, read carefully before accusing someone of being on something.
 
I had all new suspension on my 07 and it handled like the boat that it is. I've driven trucks that handle better.
 
So are you telling the OP that what he described is normal handling and his suspension is probably to spec and no repairs are needed, or are you just saying that his car sucks overall and he should give up on trying to improve it and get a truck if he wants a good handling vehicle? Not sure your point and how it helps the guy.
 
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