Another FNG GXP Owner
Thread Starter
Staging Lane
Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 68
Likes: 0
From: Dayton, OH
Another FNG GXP Owner Hey everyone, been snooping around here for a while, mainly, just to keep up with my competition 
I’ve been on web forums for a while and people might have seen pics/vids of my Turbo Stang, but just recently, I picked up a 05 GXP.
Must say, I really like the car a lot. Pretty much is everything I wanted in a daily driver. I used to have a 97 GTP and it had 215k miles on it when I sold it and I really wanted to get back into a new style Grand Prix. So, picked up the car from someone I race with at the track, and other than being dirty and needing some maintenance items, it’s in pretty good shape. It is 100% stock and I don’t have a lot of plans for it, just Exhaust, Intake, and tuning. That and I am taking all the precautions with the transmission as I know that is the iffy part.
So the front tires were BLASTED. Have the rims off getting cleaned up and new tires put on. In the meantime, I had a set of Bullets off of my Mustang I threw on for a week or so until I get that done.
Working on Plastidipping the wheels
Some of the parts going on, already changed the brakes as they were toast. Got the B&M trans filter and the electra cooler, figured it would work better than one without a fan, just going to wire it into a switched source. Have a W Body store CAI and a ZZP Downpipe on the way, just need to figure out what exhaust I want.
That’s about it for now. Thinking about using HP Tuners for the tuning, as I can get the credit for it pretty cheap from a friend, does that also tune the transmission?
I’ve been on web forums for a while and people might have seen pics/vids of my Turbo Stang, but just recently, I picked up a 05 GXP.Must say, I really like the car a lot. Pretty much is everything I wanted in a daily driver. I used to have a 97 GTP and it had 215k miles on it when I sold it and I really wanted to get back into a new style Grand Prix. So, picked up the car from someone I race with at the track, and other than being dirty and needing some maintenance items, it’s in pretty good shape. It is 100% stock and I don’t have a lot of plans for it, just Exhaust, Intake, and tuning. That and I am taking all the precautions with the transmission as I know that is the iffy part.
So the front tires were BLASTED. Have the rims off getting cleaned up and new tires put on. In the meantime, I had a set of Bullets off of my Mustang I threw on for a week or so until I get that done.
Working on Plastidipping the wheels
Some of the parts going on, already changed the brakes as they were toast. Got the B&M trans filter and the electra cooler, figured it would work better than one without a fan, just going to wire it into a switched source. Have a W Body store CAI and a ZZP Downpipe on the way, just need to figure out what exhaust I want.
That’s about it for now. Thinking about using HP Tuners for the tuning, as I can get the credit for it pretty cheap from a friend, does that also tune the transmission?
TECH Enthusiast
Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 528
Likes: 0
From: louisiana
haha you wasted no time making her faster.
yeah you can adjust your shifts and make them firmer. i recommend ordering the transgo shift kit from trippleedgeperformance . you can just install that whenever you drop the pan to replace the filter/ fluid ( which i highly recommend doing asap ). a big thing with our trannys is to not flush them. just drop the pan and drain it, then add new fluid.
as for exhaust the only company that still makes a complete cat back is magnaflow,looks and sounds nice but is over priced. i just did a muffler delete; it sounds good since i still have the resonator and i do mostly city urban driving, but when i go on roadtrips i want to shoot myself 3 hours into it.
yeah you can adjust your shifts and make them firmer. i recommend ordering the transgo shift kit from trippleedgeperformance . you can just install that whenever you drop the pan to replace the filter/ fluid ( which i highly recommend doing asap ). a big thing with our trannys is to not flush them. just drop the pan and drain it, then add new fluid.
as for exhaust the only company that still makes a complete cat back is magnaflow,looks and sounds nice but is over priced. i just did a muffler delete; it sounds good since i still have the resonator and i do mostly city urban driving, but when i go on roadtrips i want to shoot myself 3 hours into it.
TECH Enthusiast
Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 528
Likes: 0
From: louisiana
does your gxp not have a sunroof???? if so you and me are now the only ones on this site without one. no sunroof is a near 80 pounds or more lighter. to get a gxp without one the dealership had to order it as a delete
Thread Starter
Staging Lane
Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 68
Likes: 0
From: Dayton, OH
It has a sunroof, just cant see it in the pics. In fact, I tapped into the sunroofs fuse to run my PAC AAI-GM12 for IPod interface. Only wire I had to run, the rest is plug and play. Works like a charm.
Now, I did not buy a shift kit as I read here that you dont want both a shift kit AND tunning on the transmission. I am planing on tunning it, wither with HP Tuners or a InTune. Is that not the current thinking now?
The rims are off of a 2002 Mustang GT.
The Plasti dip is just like spray painting your wheels. Buddy of mine is helping me, just have to put multiple coats on it. Has a rubberly feel and my buddys car has had his wheels dipped for a long time and still look good. I bought 5 (Lowes) cans which is overkill and I have $35 in it.
Downpipe came in:
Now, I did not buy a shift kit as I read here that you dont want both a shift kit AND tunning on the transmission. I am planing on tunning it, wither with HP Tuners or a InTune. Is that not the current thinking now?
The rims are off of a 2002 Mustang GT.
The Plasti dip is just like spray painting your wheels. Buddy of mine is helping me, just have to put multiple coats on it. Has a rubberly feel and my buddys car has had his wheels dipped for a long time and still look good. I bought 5 (Lowes) cans which is overkill and I have $35 in it.
Downpipe came in:
Make sure when you get the downpipe installed that you disable the codes set your cot over temp to disable and set the cot enrichment to 0.00 and disable the rear 02 or else the car will run rich as hell
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Brett Foote Thread Starter
Staging Lane
Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 68
Likes: 0
From: Dayton, OH
Downpipe installed. Holy ****, that sucked. Had the header bolts off in about 4 minutes. Spent the next few hours, trying to get tools to cut the back ones off, then get new hardware, then fight the gasket leaking. Also, I knew the upstream O2 was broke when I got the car. The part that was left in the header had melted down so that you could not get a socket or a wrench on it! Ended up cutting up a 7/8 and somehow got that ****** off. Over all, shitty experience, but its done now.
See how it covers it up so you cant get a socket on it?
Impalazl108 - Just standard Bullet rims from an 2002 Mustang GT. What ever the bolt pattern is for a 94-04 Mustang.
See how it covers it up so you cant get a socket on it?
Impalazl108 - Just standard Bullet rims from an 2002 Mustang GT. What ever the bolt pattern is for a 94-04 Mustang.
You look just like me when I got mine last week. 2 days after...
My car has 125k miles on it when I got it 2 weeks ago. The previous owner said the TC went out at 90k. Which to me was a good thing that it was replaced. But also meant that it had 35k on the trans fluid. So first thing I did 2 days later was drop the pan and change the filter. Fluid was a little burnt smelling but not bad. There was a little shavings on the magnet but not bad either. Then I put a tranny cooler on after that. Went from running 200-210 fully warmed to 170-180. So cooler dropped it 30 degrees. I also had the trans tuned a few days ago which will help just as much as a cooler. Shifting firmer and faster means slipping the clutches less. This weekend im gonna drop the pan and change fluid/filter again since I only got about half of what the tranny holds the last time. Between those 3 things im HOPING I will not have a problem out of mine. I also suggest running through the radiator in addition to the aftermarket cooler. To me 2 coolers are better than one. Plus the more accumulation of fluid you have before it goes back into the tranny the better to me. What I did was have my tuner turn my coolant fans on at 195 degress since the fluid is still going through there. Before the car would get a hair above the 3 hash mark. Now it stays a hair below it. So that helps with the tranny also. Just a few things to think about.
My car has 125k miles on it when I got it 2 weeks ago. The previous owner said the TC went out at 90k. Which to me was a good thing that it was replaced. But also meant that it had 35k on the trans fluid. So first thing I did 2 days later was drop the pan and change the filter. Fluid was a little burnt smelling but not bad. There was a little shavings on the magnet but not bad either. Then I put a tranny cooler on after that. Went from running 200-210 fully warmed to 170-180. So cooler dropped it 30 degrees. I also had the trans tuned a few days ago which will help just as much as a cooler. Shifting firmer and faster means slipping the clutches less. This weekend im gonna drop the pan and change fluid/filter again since I only got about half of what the tranny holds the last time. Between those 3 things im HOPING I will not have a problem out of mine. I also suggest running through the radiator in addition to the aftermarket cooler. To me 2 coolers are better than one. Plus the more accumulation of fluid you have before it goes back into the tranny the better to me. What I did was have my tuner turn my coolant fans on at 195 degress since the fluid is still going through there. Before the car would get a hair above the 3 hash mark. Now it stays a hair below it. So that helps with the tranny also. Just a few things to think about.
You look just like me when I got mine last week. 2 days after...
My car has 125k miles on it when I got it 2 weeks ago. The previous owner said the TC went out at 90k. Which to me was a good thing that it was replaced. But also meant that it had 35k on the trans fluid. So first thing I did 2 days later was drop the pan and change the filter. Fluid was a little burnt smelling but not bad. There was a little shavings on the magnet but not bad either. Then I put a tranny cooler on after that. Went from running 200-210 fully warmed to 170-180. So cooler dropped it 30 degrees. I also had the trans tuned a few days ago which will help just as much as a cooler. Shifting firmer and faster means slipping the clutches less. This weekend im gonna drop the pan and change fluid/filter again since I only got about half of what the tranny holds the last time. Between those 3 things im HOPING I will not have a problem out of mine. I also suggest running through the radiator in addition to the aftermarket cooler. To me 2 coolers are better than one. Plus the more accumulation of fluid you have before it goes back into the tranny the better to me. What I did was have my tuner turn my coolant fans on at 195 degress since the fluid is still going through there. Before the car would get a hair above the 3 hash mark. Now it stays a hair below it. So that helps with the tranny also. Just a few things to think about.
My car has 125k miles on it when I got it 2 weeks ago. The previous owner said the TC went out at 90k. Which to me was a good thing that it was replaced. But also meant that it had 35k on the trans fluid. So first thing I did 2 days later was drop the pan and change the filter. Fluid was a little burnt smelling but not bad. There was a little shavings on the magnet but not bad either. Then I put a tranny cooler on after that. Went from running 200-210 fully warmed to 170-180. So cooler dropped it 30 degrees. I also had the trans tuned a few days ago which will help just as much as a cooler. Shifting firmer and faster means slipping the clutches less. This weekend im gonna drop the pan and change fluid/filter again since I only got about half of what the tranny holds the last time. Between those 3 things im HOPING I will not have a problem out of mine. I also suggest running through the radiator in addition to the aftermarket cooler. To me 2 coolers are better than one. Plus the more accumulation of fluid you have before it goes back into the tranny the better to me. What I did was have my tuner turn my coolant fans on at 195 degress since the fluid is still going through there. Before the car would get a hair above the 3 hash mark. Now it stays a hair below it. So that helps with the tranny also. Just a few things to think about.
Your fans are set at tthe factory to come on at 192* not sure what youre tuner did exxactly but you can scale the percentage of power applied to the fans i have mine set @ 192@36% and going up accordingly from there. BTW having your trans fluid running back through the Factory radiator cooler defeats the purpose in a sense. Your just heating up the fluid that the system is trying to cool down in the first place. and btw the three hash mark is right at 200+degrees i stay well under that mark with my setting out here in AZ
Thread Starter
Staging Lane
Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 68
Likes: 0
From: Dayton, OH
I will be running mine with the factory cooler. Plus, the one I got with a fan is a monster, its better than what is on my Mustang and it traps 140, lol. Still pretty mild here, highest I have seen so far is 179 on the DIC. But, we have not really had a hot day yet.
Well, something I noticed about my stock DP when I got it off, its been gutted. So the car really is not louder with the stock catback. (Never heard it with a full cat) Then again, this is just driving the car, maybe its louder outside???? Either way, its getting something. Mufflers welded in, Catback; something.
Well, something I noticed about my stock DP when I got it off, its been gutted. So the car really is not louder with the stock catback. (Never heard it with a full cat) Then again, this is just driving the car, maybe its louder outside???? Either way, its getting something. Mufflers welded in, Catback; something.
Yea. I've already ran that setup and then just ran standalone configuration. Having your trans fluid run through the radiator period offers no advantage unless your somewhere like Alaska or a colder environment. You're ruining the efficiency of the trans cooler. Not to mention pumping fluid through two coolers is making it work harder anyway. And if your radiator should ever fail say goodbye to the trans when coolant finds its way innside the transmission
I will be running mine with the factory cooler. Plus, the one I got with a fan is a monster, its better than what is on my Mustang and it traps 140, lol. Still pretty mild here, highest I have seen so far is 179 on the DIC. But, we have not really had a hot day yet.
Well, something I noticed about my stock DP when I got it off, its been gutted. So the car really is not louder with the stock catback. (Never heard it with a full cat) Then again, this is just driving the car, maybe its louder outside???? Either way, its getting something. Mufflers welded in, Catback; something.
Well, something I noticed about my stock DP when I got it off, its been gutted. So the car really is not louder with the stock catback. (Never heard it with a full cat) Then again, this is just driving the car, maybe its louder outside???? Either way, its getting something. Mufflers welded in, Catback; something.
Yea. I've already ran that setup and then just ran standalone configuration. Having your trans fluid run through the radiator period offers no advantage unless your somewhere like Alaska or a colder environment. You're ruining the efficiency of the trans cooler. Not to mention pumping fluid through two coolers is making it work harder anyway. And if your radiator should ever fail say goodbye to the trans when coolant finds its way innside the transmission
Accumulation you have or the longer the fluid stays out of the tranny the better. The only down side I like you said the pump has to work a little harder.
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Joined: Oct 2003
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Originally Posted by 91parkave
And if your radiator should ever fail say goodbye to the trans when coolant finds its way innside the transmission
i actually noticed mine leaks coolant from my transmission cooler lines of the radiator when i bypassed mine. i did it just due to miles and the fact that my transmission was toast. didnt want to flush the cooler so just bought a big enough one to bypass it. good thing i did.
not sure if the leak caused my transmission to fail or it started after i swapped it out... either way glad i bypassed it.
mine runs about 30 degrees cooler now.
Nope, think about it like this, the fluid comes out of the tranny hot as hell, then through the factory cooler. Comes out of that warm or not as hot then through the aftermarket cooler which takes it down to cooler then back to the tranny if you didn't have the factory cooler, the fluid going to the aftermarket one is a lot hotter and less efficient. The more .
Accumulation you have or the longer the fluid stays out of the tranny the better. The only down side I like you said the pump has to work a little harder.
Accumulation you have or the longer the fluid stays out of the tranny the better. The only down side I like you said the pump has to work a little harder.