New to me 2006 cyclone grey GTO
03-01-2019, 08:56 PM
#23
TECH Apprentice
Super clean man love that color. The thing with GTO's in the US is they are becoming harder to find everyday seems like every time I log on to Facebook there is another one being parted out or wrecked. To top it off they have a rep in the US for being slow and heavy and you have to pay the GTO tax on just about everything made for them outside of engine parts.
I don't think many people realise that the Monaro that the GTO is based on was actually released in early 2001 and based on a 4 door car that was released in 1997. The basic platform itself is actually even older! The Monaro was not expected to continue past 2004. It was only the GTO export program that saw the revamp of the car to run another couple of years.
So the Monaro and GTO are old cars now. So you have to compare the cars that the Monaro and it's HSV variants were competing against at the time, I see people comparing these cars to much newer and more purpose built vehicles which is strange to me.
Unfortunately that age and lack of big sales numbers in the USA does make parts harder to get, even over here it's getting difficult to buy certain parts for the 2 and even the common 4 door variants of this car which with GM closing down their Aussie Manufacturing arm and the closure of our whole car manufacturing industry will only get worse.
However there's no doubt that the Monaro and GTO are heavy cars compared to earlier cars like the F body cars. They are based off a large 4 door and are more of a GT car with stuff like electric operation of everything, big comfortable leather electric seats and dual zone climate control (although I know they stripped quite a bit out of the GTO but I'm not sure how much). Still, the new cars are even heavier again and thus more cubes were added to carry that weight.
That weight does affect how people should modify these cars though, particularly without a stalled auto to cover up for the weight. For example I believe that in a 6 speed you can't choose a cam that suits an F body and assume it will deliver exactly the same in the GTO. It will also be more tyre sensitive and chew through suspension parts quicker than some lighter cars.
However all in all these are lovely and fun cars and I've really enjoyed owning my example and thus owned it for a long time!
03-02-2019, 03:42 PM
#24
TECH Apprentice
Thread Starter
They definitely had a few years to perfect the chassis. I think down the road these will be desirable at least the low mileage ones will.be. Also at the very least even a clean higher mileage one will retain good resale value. Of course it will most likely take a decade or more to reap any type of return on investment.
I also plan on purchasing odds and end used parts here and there because of the parts availability thing also. I've looked on Ebay at least and the prices aren't too bad.
I also plan on purchasing odds and end used parts here and there because of the parts availability thing also. I've looked on Ebay at least and the prices aren't too bad.
03-02-2019, 05:37 PM
#26
In my opinion if you wanted to mod this car and was starting fresh, I’d put a very small turbo cam, a single turbo and upgrade the fuel system to support it and run it on about 8-10psi. Would be a fun, fast, quiet and reliable driver. You’ll need to upgrade the drivetrain to handle the power if you do sticky tires. I may would even leave the stock cam in it. Skip headers, intake, heads, gears, stall. It would be very nice with the aforementioned mods.
03-02-2019, 06:34 PM
#29
TECH Apprentice
03-02-2019, 06:44 PM
#30
TECH Apprentice
In my opinion if you wanted to mod this car and was starting fresh, I’d put a very small turbo cam, a single turbo and upgrade the fuel system to support it and run it on about 8-10psi. Would be a fun, fast, quiet and reliable driver. You’ll need to upgrade the drivetrain to handle the power if you do sticky tires. I may would even leave the stock cam in it. Skip headers, intake, heads, gears, stall. It would be very nice with the aforementioned mods.
Usually Turbos are chosen by those going for more power and strip times but certainly a small turbo setup could be a great option too, If it wasn't for the cutting required to fit an intercooler I would probably choose that path.
03-02-2019, 06:53 PM
#31
TECH Apprentice
I was considering the bolt on T800 single turbo kit shown here at one stage:
http://www.aseturbo.com/holden-commo...re/cat_53.html
http://www.aseturbo.com/holden-commo...re/cat_53.html
Last edited by Pulse Red; 03-02-2019 at 07:07 PM.
03-02-2019, 08:57 PM
#32
yea that’s aftermarket. The ones I bought didn’t call them spider tho. I got them off amazon and they had good reviews. Quality isnt quite factory but it’s not bad at all. I’ve seen much much worse aftermarket. I bought them from amazon because I was expecting to return them. I was extremely surprised and kept them. They put out more light than my faded factory lights and look much better. I don’t like ricey ****, but I do like the way the halos look. I was planning on leaving them disconnected but they do look good. I did leave the three little leds unhooked tho.
03-02-2019, 09:04 PM
#33
Interestingly a very common mod for these cars in Australia is a bolt on Positive Displacement Supercharger (Magnuson or Harrop). These are usually about 500rwhp with small cam and supporting mods and importantly have power from idle to move these heavier cars. That power level seems about right for a street car in this chassis.
Usually Turbos are chosen by those going for more power and strip times but certainly a small turbo setup could be a great option too, If it wasn't for the cutting required to fit an intercooler I would probably choose that path.
Usually Turbos are chosen by those going for more power and strip times but certainly a small turbo setup could be a great option too, If it wasn't for the cutting required to fit an intercooler I would probably choose that path.
what cutting are you referring to? I’ve seen people cut through the frame but that’s not necessary at all. I routed my pipes without cutting. The only thing I had to cut was in front of the driver fender. That area where if you wanted a true cool air setup you’d cut to run the filter outside. I did make it to where I can put a piece of sheet metal to cover it up. You can look through my built thread in my signature.
Last edited by Kfxguy; 03-02-2019 at 09:16 PM.
03-04-2019, 06:01 PM
#34
In my opinion if you wanted to mod this car and was starting fresh, I’d put a very small turbo cam, a single turbo and upgrade the fuel system to support it and run it on about 8-10psi. Would be a fun, fast, quiet and reliable driver. You’ll need to upgrade the drivetrain to handle the power if you do sticky tires. I may would even leave the stock cam in it. Skip headers, intake, heads, gears, stall. It would be very nice with the aforementioned mods.
03-05-2019, 02:11 AM
#35
TECH Apprentice
The supercharger stuff is much easier I agree. What I like is how you can control boost however you like with a turbo. I have a street neutered tune that I can leave on like 2psi and not spin on regular radials. I tested it at the track and it runs 11.50 @ 123 like that. The reason I didn’t go much faster after Turing it up is I broke the v band cheap *** clamp I had.
what cutting are you referring to? I’ve seen people cut through the frame but that’s not necessary at all. I routed my pipes without cutting. The only thing I had to cut was in front of the driver fender. That area where if you wanted a true cool air setup you’d cut to run the filter outside. I did make it to where I can put a piece of sheet metal to cover it up. You can look through my built thread in my signature.
However I have done all these other mods now that I would have to undo so that and not wanting to cut the car (even though it's just a small cut as you have done) has made me stay NA. Maybe if I get bored in the future that will change.
03-05-2019, 08:57 AM
#36
Yeah, I like that aspect of a Turbo too, plus to me the Turbo sounds better. However the Supercharger is so simple to fit, makes it tempting.
However I have done all these other mods now that I would have to undo so that and not wanting to cut the car (even though it's just a small cut as you have done) has made me stay NA. Maybe if I get bored in the future that will change.
However I have done all these other mods now that I would have to undo so that and not wanting to cut the car (even though it's just a small cut as you have done) has made me stay NA. Maybe if I get bored in the future that will change.
the supercharger is easier, no doubt. but after experiencing how a good boost controller works vs having to change pulleys and dealing with belt slippage, id throw a rock at a superchager lol
03-05-2019, 09:02 AM
#37
They can be made fast NA just takes a well thought out build. Problem with GTO's honestly have been the owners who tossed hot air intakes and Shorty's on there cars and wonder why they perform poorly NA. I mean just look at ls1gto and the advice that gets given. Boost definitely will produce results but it can be done NA
Heres how quiet and tame my cam is. 222/233 in a 115 lobe separation
Last edited by Kfxguy; 03-05-2019 at 09:07 AM.
03-05-2019, 05:42 PM
#38
yea and no. with the stock engine, to make it as fast as my car, it going to have to be lightened a good bit and have a rowdy cam. mine, is quiet, tame and full weight. it'll be in the 10's on the next outing. I fixed my exhaust leak that was killing my boost. It was my fault, long story short, I ended up putting the v band flange too close to the block and it never would seat correctly and i tightened the crap out of it causing the clamp to break.
Heres how quiet and tame my cam is. 222/233 in a 115 lobe separation
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lur17L9d77o
Heres how quiet and tame my cam is. 222/233 in a 115 lobe separation
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lur17L9d77o
03-10-2019, 03:36 PM
#39
TECH Apprentice
You can certainly make these cars go, here's a very quick version of our Australian GTO (Monaro with a body kit), just ran a new best quarter mile time of 7.79 @ 189mph exactly as shown below and as you can see it is street driven and not that removed from the factory car body wise (drive line is a different matter 
).
http://www.speedhunters.com/2017/12/active-automotive-hsv-gto/
).http://www.speedhunters.com/2017/12/active-automotive-hsv-gto/
03-12-2019, 06:44 PM
#40
TECH Apprentice
You can certainly make these cars go, here's a very quick version of our Australian GTO (Monaro with a body kit), just ran a new best quarter mile time of 7.79 @ 189mph exactly as shown below and as you can see it is street driven and not that removed from the factory car body wise (drive line is a different matter ).
http://www.speedhunters.com/2017/12/...otive-hsv-gto/
).http://www.speedhunters.com/2017/12/...otive-hsv-gto/