Just bought a Bird...

**logume1881** · 12-07-2008, 08:41 PM

I have a 99 trans am with a stage 2 shift kit, qa1 adjustable shocks, 3.83 posi rear end, and various other things. I have had the car for a month now, and I had a couple questions. The car has no traction control, I think the previous owner took it off. Where the switch should be is just a hole. Is there a way to put it back? I know I don't need it, but sometimes like in the rain it would be nice. I will be in the market for tires soon, any suggestions? I also want a borla cat back and an electric cut out. I changed the water pump a week ago, and it only took 7.5-8 quarts to fill the radiator w/ prestone and water, the manual says 11 quarts? I changed the belt as well, but still my cold morning belt squeal prevails. The brakes squeak a ton as well. My mileage hasn't been great, I usually drive about 75-80% city, and I get about 190 miles when I fill up at 1/8 tank. Also, I had my first screw up the other day, I hit the gas hard coming out of an intersection

turning right, it went sideways, and I hit a curb with the car at a 60 degree angle to the curb at about 20 - 25 mph. The front wheels were turned probably half a turn left. I was trying to correct left so it only hit the passenger front wheel.

There was a really loud bang like bottoming out, but I think the car is OK, it seemed to drive fine afterwards with nothing out of the ordinary. You can tell the rim has been curbed now.

Anything in particular I should check underneath? I feel useless. Sorry to deluge with questions.

**SS02** · 12-07-2008, 08:45 PM

Not the man to reply on specs... I can and could, yet if not perfect? Smackville!!!

So I am going to just say "WELCOME"!!!!

U sound like a new member?

**JoshieDoom** · 12-07-2008, 09:34 PM

Probably the wheel needs to be balanced(if possible) and look for obviously bent stuff.
As for the hole the car probably doesnt have TCS. Easy way to tell is a giant module beside the battery,with some cables going to it. The TCS is on all the time unless you disable it. Most came without traction control. As for the rear end its probably 3.73s in your 10 bolt rear end. I havent seen 3.83s...

regardless!
Give her a tuneup(belts,fuel filter, spark plugs and wires) and you will probably be amazed at the difference in power and mileage!
Get some good brakes/rotors if you need them as well

Keep us updated and post up some pics!

**rajiv1998** · 12-08-2008, 05:27 AM

Yeah give her a tune up. Thats the first thing i did when i got my bird, changed all the fluids and filters and in the spring came new plugs and wires.

**SSwt00SS** · 12-08-2008, 06:10 AM

run the RPO codes to see if the car came with Trac Cntrl...

http://www.ls1.com/forums/showthread.php?t=102564

**sirenformula350** · 12-08-2008, 01:35 PM

I get usually 200 miles per tank so sounds like your gas mileage is just about. That also depends on your driving habits though.

Oh and...

**logume1881** · 12-08-2008, 09:56 PM

Alright fine, you talked me into a picture.

This is the only one I have, and it is of the best cell phone quality. Will try to post more tomorrow. As far as the rear goes, the guy before me said he switched them to 3.83s. I don't know, whatever. Yeah, I'm a new member, thanks for the welcome! As expected with a car like this, i do like to let it stretch its legs once in a while. I will check for the TCS tomorrow, but I'm sure its not there. I don't want to sound lame, but can I add it easily?

**JoshieDoom** · 12-08-2008, 11:07 PM

You will have to have to tear apart the rear end and add exciter rings and then all kinds of linkages/controls.

Wouldnt be to hard. People delete them all the time.

**NavdeepWS6** · 12-09-2008, 12:59 AM

traction is good if you need it but i dont use it ever i always turn it off in the rain and get the car sideways anyways

welcome to the site and you can easily get that front bird painted to match your car spray it with primer and then lightly spray with a pewter (if you can find it) till it matches thats what i did

**SouthernBornThriller** · 12-10-2008, 07:48 AM

Honestly, I wouldn't bother adding traction control. It sucks on our cars anyways.

I have it on mine, and I still accidentally spin all the time, rain or not...and I bought mine when gas was $4+/gal so I'm still in the habit of driving like a grandma.

As for your mileage, have you changed the oil...or know when it was last changed? And what kind of oil? I remember when I bought mine I was getting around 200mi per tank with mostly highway driving..

Drained the oil overnight (while adding small amounts of clean el cheapo oil to clean out any crap as best as possible), then filled her up with Penzoil Platinum 10W-30 (arguably the best oil you can buy over the counter), and dumped some fuel injector cleaner in the gas tank for the hell of it, and now I'm hovering around 300mi per tank depending on my driving.

As for the belt squeal...can't help ya. Never had a belt problem, and know nothing about it.

If you havn't yet, I'd say take it to a wheel/tire place anyway even if you dont notice anything other than cosmetic damage from hitting the curb. Have them check out that wheel for peace of mind, check your alignment (mine was off pretty bad when I got my bird), and most will do brake jobs too. And as for tire suggestions - BFG G-force, Firestone Firehawk, and Nitto's are probably the favorites for these cars. Although I'll admit, I was strapped for cash when I bought tires last month and went with some cheap Tempests...and I actually like them!

And as for the 3.83s...I've seen them before, but never by anybody reputable. You're probably still sitting on a stock 10-bolt rear that now has a cheap higher gear ratio. If you plan on having any fun whatsoever with the car, I'd highly suggest saving up for a Moser 9" or 12-bolt. People break the 10-bolts at the track everyday on stock power. Hell, some people have broken them peeling out of parking lots.

Oh, and welcome!

**logume1881** · 12-17-2008, 04:17 PM

I changed the oil right when I got it, it has Mobil 1 Synthetic 10W-30 right now. It has high miles (140,000) so I think I should get high miles stuff next time. Apparently the guy ran synthetic since new, so that's good I guess. I filled the rad with prestone after I changed the water pump. I just ran some injector cleaner through it, we'll see how it goes. I was running on fumes when I pulled into the station after 220 miles of city driving. We'll see how it goes now! I took it to a tire place, the wheel was really crooked, the guy said it was cambered in and toed out. Now all is well, and they said it looked fine.

I really want a borla exhaust, but I need tires first. And tires for these cars are $$$$$$$$

**TempleU_WS6** · 12-17-2008, 04:56 PM

Originally Posted by logume1881

I changed the oil right when I got it, it has Mobil 1 Synthetic 10W-30 right now. It has high miles (140,000) so I think I should get high miles stuff next time. Apparently the guy ran synthetic since new, so that's good I guess. I filled the rad with prestone after I changed the water pump. I just ran some injector cleaner through it, we'll see how it goes. I was running on fumes when I pulled into the station after 220 miles of city driving. We'll see how it goes now! I took it to a tire place, the wheel was really crooked, the guy said it was cambered in and toed out. Now all is well, and they said it looked fine.

I really want a borla exhaust, but I need tires first. And tires for these cars are $$$$$$$$

Yeah the tires are really expensive.

I noticed before you were asking about traction control.

You dont need it. Especially in Cali. Dont worry about it. Use your right foot as TC.