Gimme the rundown on GTOs

So i've been through Fbodys and have dealt with my share of ups and downs with them and love em a lot, but was wondering what everyone thought of their GTOs. I've seen the interiors of them and love the look of em but just curious of any downsides you guys have to say. I know some have had their share of shock issues and then there's the issue of tire size, believe 285 is pretty tight out back and i'm real into the real fat tire size, just thought i'd ask you guys about them. Any big trouble areas, issues that sort of stuff?

Thanks

Fun cars. As long as they are well maintained, they will be reliable.

Suspension is the biggest stock issue. I swapped to bc coil-overs and it changed the car completely, handles so much better. Overall its a solid car, great performance, amazing highway manors rides much better than an f-body, interior is way better than an f-body, interior is also much quieter than f-body(until you add headers and some exhaust)gas mileage is on par with f-body maybe a tad lower in 05-06's. My only regret is getting an A4 I miss having an M6 car.

Thanks, i've thought about maybe switching one day but it would take a lot for me to sell the ss. Just wondering what peoples opinions were on it.

Mine is my daily driver and I love it. Weight and suspension may be the only downside from perfection but at the moment I dont mind it one bit. Sold my 05 gto and bought a c5 corvette to daily driver, that lasted about 3 months before the corvette was gone and im back into another gto :)

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Originally Posted by BadBlueBird*

Mine is my daily driver and I love it. Weight and suspension may be the only downside from perfection but at the moment I dont mind it one bit. Sold my 05 gto and bought a c5 corvette to daily driver, that lasted about 3 months before the corvette was gone and im back into another gto :)

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I just wanted to ask, what was wrong with the C5? Did you need back seats or bad gas mileage?

nothing really but I also own a c6 so for me the c5 felt a bit dated. The gto is one of the most underrated cars in my time.

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Originally Posted by cammed goat

Fun cars. As long as they are well maintained, they will be reliable.

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You said a mouthful right there! I love the GTO don't get me wrong, but mine has not held up too well. 136K hard miles as a DD and it shows much worse than the Camaro did with the same mileage. GTO has only been down the track once Camaro went religiously 2 or 3 times a month.

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Originally Posted by slims00ls1z28

You said a mouthful right there! I love the GTO don't get me wrong, but mine has not held up too well. 136K hard miles as a DD and it shows much worse than the Camaro did with the same mileage. GTO has only been down the track once Camaro went religiously 2 or 3 times a month.

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Please elaborate

If they are driven hard, the rear could be in need of replacement...which is NOT cheap.

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Originally Posted by cammed goat

If they are driven hard, the rear could be in need of replacement...which is NOT cheap.

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:haha: sounds like an fbody, cept i could find a replacement rear in a few minutes fairly cheap haha

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Originally Posted by tatertot91

Please elaborate

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So far the following have failed or are failing on mine that aren't related to something stupid on my part.

Shift gate became notchy making it hard to engage 1st
Shifter handle broke where it attaches to the shifter on trans (probably because of the above and it's pot metal)
Pops out of first gear from time to time, especially at lights.

Suede patch on passenger door came unglued twice.
Headliner is falling on passenger side

Leather on steering wheel and shifter is fraying bad (but I'm not too hard on those because I'm sure any leather wheel or shifter with this many miles would probably be the same.)

Strut mounts were replaced before I bought it
Both tie rod ends needed replacing (took 6 months to get to me from Pedders because no one else had them)
Rear wheel bearing went out about 6 months ago
Clutch hasn't worked right for quite some time (drill mod stuff I'm thinking just not had time to fix)
Parking brake keeps working loose
Both window switches work when they want to and don't work if it's cold outside.
Driver side window window just came unglued from front track (Definately fixing that Monday)
Same leak on driver side door as several others have
Stuck key problem several times already (common problem common fix but annoying when it happens)
VATS issue curently going on as well.
Plastic bits on the car are fragile (covers for the seat tracks, and other interior bits.

That's all I can think of off the top of my head aside from the regular stuff that's required on everything (tune up, brakes, lights).

I'm rough on cars I know, and the road I live on is curvy and bumpy that I don't take lightly, but again I never had this much issues with my Camaro with the same style of driving. So far the only thing the Camaro went through that the GTO hasn't in the same time frame is Rotors and light bulbs. The Camaro ate those every 6 months. I'm still on stock rotors on the GTO and brake just as hard or harder with it, and I don't blame it for the other stuff that are obviously due to stupidity or negligance.

Still love it though. Even with all the issues I'm dealing with. Still don't know if I will sell it or keep it when I get all the stuff fixed.

As far as fat tires go 255's on stock rims rub. Me personally I'm glad I didn't trade my Camaro for the GTO. GTO's a better driver for sure, smoother etc. But My style of driving suits something a little less picky and where most of the parts are available at autozone.

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Originally Posted by slims00ls1z28

So far the following have failed or are failing on mine that aren't related to something stupid on my part.

Shift gate became notchy making it hard to engage 1st
Shifter handle broke where it attaches to the shifter on trans (probably because of the above and it's pot metal)
Pops out of first gear from time to time, especially at lights.

Suede patch on passenger door came unglued twice.
Headliner is falling on passenger side

Leather on steering wheel and shifter is fraying bad (but I'm not too hard on those because I'm sure any leather wheel or shifter with this many miles would probably be the same.)

Strut mounts were replaced before I bought it
Both tie rod ends needed replacing (took 6 months to get to me from Pedders because no one else had them)
Rear wheel bearing went out about 6 months ago
Clutch hasn't worked right for quite some time (drill mod stuff I'm thinking just not had time to fix)
Parking brake keeps working loose
Both window switches work when they want to and don't work if it's cold outside.
Driver side window window just came unglued from front track (Definately fixing that Monday)
Same leak on driver side door as several others have
Stuck key problem several times already (common problem common fix but annoying when it happens)
VATS issue curently going on as well.
Plastic bits on the car are fragile (covers for the seat tracks, and other interior bits.

That's all I can think of off the top of my head aside from the regular stuff that's required on everything (tune up, brakes, lights).

I'm rough on cars I know, and the road I live on is curvy and bumpy that I don't take lightly, but again I never had this much issues with my Camaro with the same style of driving. So far the only thing the Camaro went through that the GTO hasn't in the same time frame is Rotors and light bulbs. The Camaro ate those every 6 months. I'm still on stock rotors on the GTO and brake just as hard or harder with it, and I don't blame it for the other stuff that are obviously due to stupidity or negligance.

Still love it though. Even with all the issues I'm dealing with. Still don't know if I will sell it or keep it when I get all the stuff fixed.

As far as fat tires go 255's on stock rims rub. Me personally I'm glad I didn't trade my Camaro for the GTO. GTO's a better driver for sure, smoother etc. But My style of driving suits something a little less picky and where most of the parts are available at autozone.

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I don't know if you are still monitoring this thread but I got tie rod ends from Kollar Racing in 3 days. Kollar Racing Products Home Page

I have sent emails trying to get them onboard as sponsors but haven't heard back.

The biggest problem I had was with the 05 GTO and 05 Corvette. Both have the LS2 engines which tend to heat up due to the 10.9 compression ratio and the small oil pan. The LS1 engine has a lower compression ratio 10.1 and a larger oil pan: 6.5 quarts vs 5.5 quarts. GM only made the LS2 engines for three years (05,06,07), because the LS2 engines tended to over heat unlike the LS1 engines. That is why I traded my 05 GTO for an 04 Corvette.

Ls1 holds 6.5 quarts? I wad told it was 5.5

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whats the top cheapest things you can do to a 04 gto to increase the hourse power ??

Hi Nick. Your 99ss may have a different oil pan than my 04 Vette. Forgive me for generalizing.

I had an 04 gto. I bought a Predator hand-held programmer for about $320. The GTO made an additional 15 HP and 17 TQ to the wheels.

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Originally Posted by GoatRider

Hi Nick. Your 99ss may have a different oil pan than my 04 Vette. Forgive me for generalizing.

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Oh Ok you had me worried cause I did a oil change yesterday and filled it and it held 5.5 quarts

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[QUOTE=RedSuperSport;2717228]Oh Ok you had me worried cause I did a oil change yesterday and filled it and it held 5.5 quarts

That is the problem Nick with the LS2. Your LS1 holds 5.5 quarts. My LS2 GTO and LS2 Corvette held 5.5 quarts, but the LS2 is 18 cubic inches bigger and has a much higher compression ratio (10.9 vs. 10.1) than your LS1. My current LS1 Vette holds 6.5 quarts. No wonder GM discontinued making the LS2.

[QUOTE=GoatRider;2718199]

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Originally Posted by RedSuperSport

Oh Ok you had me worried cause I did a oil change yesterday and filled it and it held 5.5 quarts

That is the problem Nick with the LS2. Your LS1 holds 5.5 quarts. My LS2 GTO and LS2 Corvette held 5.5 quarts, but the LS2 is 18 cubic inches bigger and has a much higher compression ratio (10.9 vs. 10.1) than your LS1. My current LS1 Vette holds 6.5 quarts. No wonder GM discontinued making the LS2.

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Just wanted to comment... my 05 GTO holds 6.5qts... not sure where you got the 5.5 number from?

Hi Jim, I got the 5.5 quarts number from my 2005 Corvette Service Manual and my 2005 GTO Service Manual. I kept these Service Manuals, since I had owed both an 05 Vette and GTO. GM techs are required to follow the specifications in GM Service Manuals.