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Should i move to the grand prix world and get rid of the grand am gt?

R

rizer

New member
Hey guys im at the point I want to get a slightly newer car but want to stick with pontiac. Right now I have a 99 grand am gt and Im either wanting to get a 03+ GAGT with the SCT package or get a grand prix GT or GTP. Ive had 3 grand ams now so i know how to fix them so thats the part that scares me about switching cars.

I like the idea of getting a larger car but am worried about getting worse MPG. I travel about 70 miles a day and 50 of those are on the freeway @80MPH. I have never got better then 24mpg out of any one of my grand ams. From reading it looks like the prix gt's can get better than that, however i found out the GTP's have a lower gearing so you could get even better mpg on the freeway (if i dont play with it). Id favor the GTP the most but just the fact id have to use premium fuel and also the issue of having a supercharger that could fail.

With all that in mind, whats my best bet not factoring this is a grand prix site? I like both the 97-03 and 04+ bodystyle, just dont know the advantages between the 2 (With a 5k budget, the cars will be in the 80-100k mile range) My overall mission really is to try to get the best MPG yet be reliable.
 


Either grand prix can get good mpgs.

The supercharger is really not something that goes bad, the coupler inside can wear out, but its a simple fix.

And with any car, the faster you go the worse the fuel econ. Going 70 instead of 80 would prolly be 3-5 mpgs better.

I know I can get 30-32 at 70, but only mid 20's at 80.

A little more research on common issue's with the Grand Prix will help you alot in figuring out what you may want.
 
dont go 04+... not with your budget anyway.. FWIW I drive 30 miles a day almost all highway and I can get almost 400 miles to a tank of gas. Depending on how much blower whine I wanna hear that week. The fact that you have to run premium does not really mean THAT much.. It is only like 3-4$ more per fillup.. It averages out to like .20 cents more per gallon most of the time.
 
Well when I had my GP GT I was getting on average 26mpg on the highway with the GTP I could get closer to 30mpg @ 80mph.

I would try to get a GTP if your going to get a Grand Prix the GT's aren't really worth what people try to sell them for. There aren't really to many advantages over the 97-03 and the 04+ cars other than the 06-07 cars need to have a different pcm put in if your tuning and the 08's from what I hear can not be tuned at all. The 04+ cars have slightly better transmissions and hardened connecting rods in the engine and the 04+ supercharged engines are more power efficient than the 97-03 because of the Eaton M90 Gen V supercharger.

And the failure rate of the superchargers are very very low, the rest of the car could fall apart around those things, the only thing you really have to worry about is the coupler wearing out but that is a cheep and easy fix ~$30 if you do it yourself.

Dammit cam you ninjad me.
 
You are going to get a lot of naysayers who will crap all over the GAGT. Personally, I don't mind them. I've always liked the body styling of the GTs, and found the interior surprisingly roomy for the car's size.

Given that, I would not fear switching to the 3800 as far as repairs. Most repairs are fairly easy, and there is certainly an ample amount of info on how to fix just about anything on them by now. As for MPGs, I can get slightly above 30 on the highway when just cruising at 70 - 80MPH in my GTP. I'm averaging about 22 - 23 MPG only taking the expressway TO work, and city streets for coming home and everything else, and that's with a bad MAF. I am just shy of 171k miles on the original motor, trans and supercharger at the moment, and sometimes the engine is running so smooth at red lights that I think it shut off on me, so I would not worry about the s/c going out on you. Even if it did, it's relatively cheap and easy to find a Gen3 M90 these days.

As far as Gen 6 vs. Gen 7 body style, it will mostly come down to personal preference. The Gen 7 will have much more comfortable seats, and the interior in general uses slightly better materials. You also get the Series III motor with 20 more HP on the s/ced model. They also didn't gain as much popularity/sales new as the previous generation did, so you can get a '04 or '05 for about the same price (and sometimes cheaper) than a '02 or '03. If you go Gen 6, make sure you go '99+. There are little annoying one off things on the 97s/98s that are different than the rest of the years (i.e. PCM, MAF sensor, etc).
 


Appreciate the input guys, ive always loved the grand am's cause of the look of the GT's and the fact im 6'4" and how im super comfortable in them. Never really figured the grand prix would be a more efficient vehicle. Also reason i say 80mph is i work at a nuke plant in the middle of nowhere and the speed limit is 75, yet at 80 you still get ran over by people, heh. Looking forward to some more input, thanks again!
 
Switching from a 3.4 to a supercharged 3800 will be the best thing you've ever done in your life.
 
go grand prix i had a grand am and liked it but i will never go back ever sence i got my grand prixs.
 
I personally think the GP is a better car than the GA. The 3800 v6 is a very well built engine that has been known to last over 300k miles. As for gas mileage, I thought the GA would do better since its offered in a 4 cyl. My 2004 averages 24.1 MPG, however, on a recent trip i reset the meter. On interstate only and cruising at 83mph, i was able to averge 30.7MPG.

I like the look of the 2003's soooo much better than the 04+, but when I was car hunting I didnt have a specific car in mind. I bought mine for $4000 back in January. It had a complete maintenance record and 199,000 miles on the clock. I am now up to 218,000 and I just replaced the water pump and power steering pump, both were original.
 
I use to drive a ford ranger. I was always jealous my girlfriend had a Grand Am GT. It was comfy, decent styling, and to what I thought "fast". Then I got my GTP and what a worlds difference. I always hate driving her car cause it seems so slow and no responsive. I prolly get the same MPG as her just cause she has a lead foot. I average around 21 mpg mix highway/town with a decent light foot. On a trip, at around 80mph i averaged 27-28mpg, and at around 65-70 i got around 30 or more mpg. This car gets pretty good highway mileage, driving down a road that goes across several towns thats 45-50mph, i can get around 30mpg. But then when i want that lil extra power or need to get ahead of a car, its not problem. GTP is deff worth it. I wouldn't bother with a non SC car tbh. Too slow for my styling and they get around same MPG tbh. Just when you get on that SC that it starts going down.
 


Im 6'3" and theres pleeeeeenty of room and i dont even put the seat all the way back. Every car is gonna have its issues, but search, read and try to do preventative maintenance and youll be fine. These cars are all around great cars. I can guarantee that if you get one, youll thank us! But do yourself a favor and get a gtp and dont buy one thats modded or beat to **** and you should be fine.
 
I used to have a GA a few years back and I thought it was sweet at the tim. Now that I got a GTP ill never go back to a GA. I get about 22 mpg highway/city mix and its a fun car to drive. I would go with the 97-03s I personally don't like the 04+ body style
 
Really appreciate the answers, I think I've decided for sure now is a GTP. Going to look at a 04 silver with 83k miles for 6500. Looks super clean and not modified. If it has cloth seats and no seat Warmers, is it a safe bet its a base GTP?

Also wanting to ask you all, with the MPG on the highway answers I'm getting, is this going off the instantly readings or the old fasion divide gallons of gas into the tank miles!

thanks again!
 


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