GTO quality compared to other GMs
04-18-2007, 11:23 AM
#22
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I've had mine since May 04, even with all the mods I have and the lopey idle and harsh suspension its still holding up fine. No rattles or squeaks.
Better quality than any of my other 10 or so GM's I've had in the past.
Better quality than any of my other 10 or so GM's I've had in the past.
04-18-2007, 01:45 PM
#24
I like the quality of the GTO. I've owned a '04 and '06. If you have rear center section problems you can upgrade to a Harrop made 12-bolt or Ford 9". I agree that the suspension could have been tightened up to handle better, but there is lots of aftermarket stuff out there to make it better.
04-30-2007, 07:26 AM
#26
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i love the comfort, i'll do 200mi on it in the same sitting position, no rattles, got over 80 1/4mi passses dumping the clutch every time with a head and cam,long tubes, all since i had 9k miles, now i have 52k on it and still running, feeling, sounding strong. there is one ls1gto member who has been running drag radial and launching at 6k rpm cutting 1.5 60' with a h/c set up, and dd it, this car is the best of both worlds, very nice balanced strip/comfort street car, the back seats are way superior and spacious to any 2dr sports car with this power, i paid 35k, only to find out that in sep 04 they were selling for 27k, now you can get a used one for 21k 6.0l in like new condition , i did have clutch pressure plate bolts not tight enough,fixed under warrty, and a reverse synch replace under warrty, probably due to the loose bolts, and the hyd. clutch system some how someway air gets in the lines, migtyvac takes care of that for now. if this car was a lemmon i would have burned it a long time ago, my payments are 540 and do not regrett any bit of my buying this car. i love the fast streamlined look but the mean bulldog look like the new mustang is all american!!!!!!!!!!
04-30-2007, 12:11 PM
#27
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Quality, yes, they are INFINITELY better when compared to an F-body and hold their own against pretty much anything else on the road. That doesn't mean they're perfect though. Like someone mentioned a lot of the issues with the car are from the North Americanization of them. One example on the interior, my HVAC ***** wiggle the whole unit under the decorative trim piece. Down under they get the cool digital HVAC system. 
Then there are a few places along the brushed satin trim piece on the center stack where it meets the dash that leaves a little to be desired.
There is also something that makes a noticable squeaking noise under my dash. I have yet to find it because it only happens when driving on certain road surfaces. So it's hard to duplicate in the garage.
The doors close with a solid thud, albeit kind hollow and cheap sounding, but solid. And you don't need a lot of force (as mentioned) to close them.
I saw talk about the IRS being stronger than the F-Body 10 bolt. Some clarirfication. The CENTER differential (being a Dana Product) is stronger than the F-body 10 bolt. Not the IRS portion. The IRS is about what one can expect in terms of strength from an IRS.
Also, we don't have a standard U-Joint. Since the pumpkin is stationary in the IRS, it is just mounted via a hard rubber coupler. Also it has a two piece driveshaft.
Then there are a few places along the brushed satin trim piece on the center stack where it meets the dash that leaves a little to be desired.There is also something that makes a noticable squeaking noise under my dash. I have yet to find it because it only happens when driving on certain road surfaces. So it's hard to duplicate in the garage.
The doors close with a solid thud, albeit kind hollow and cheap sounding, but solid. And you don't need a lot of force (as mentioned) to close them.
I saw talk about the IRS being stronger than the F-Body 10 bolt. Some clarirfication. The CENTER differential (being a Dana Product) is stronger than the F-body 10 bolt. Not the IRS portion. The IRS is about what one can expect in terms of strength from an IRS.
Also, we don't have a standard U-Joint. Since the pumpkin is stationary in the IRS, it is just mounted via a hard rubber coupler. Also it has a two piece driveshaft.
04-30-2007, 12:17 PM
#28
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Originally Posted by branden7
I gotta tell you, according to that link the other guy gave with the list of common GTO problems, they don't sound very well built at all.
I was actually checking this forum out to ask the exact same question. I'm sick of my T/A falling apart. Every time I fix one thing another breaks. 40K on the car and I've had to replace two lights, two window motors, two door panels, I have some sort of problem with my rear differential which I don't know much about, and the dealer tells me I have something wrong with one of the sensors in something or the other that I can't recall now. Thats just the stuff I can remember I'm sure theres much more. I buy a 30K+ dollar car, I don't want to replace that much stuff within the first 5 years.
I was actually checking this forum out to ask the exact same question. I'm sick of my T/A falling apart. Every time I fix one thing another breaks. 40K on the car and I've had to replace two lights, two window motors, two door panels, I have some sort of problem with my rear differential which I don't know much about, and the dealer tells me I have something wrong with one of the sensors in something or the other that I can't recall now. Thats just the stuff I can remember I'm sure theres much more. I buy a 30K+ dollar car, I don't want to replace that much stuff within the first 5 years.
This thing is a car. It is a mechanical machine that happens to be of higher power than most and is driven more aggressively than most. As such, faults are quick to show. I have yet to find a mechanically perfect automobile!
As someone mentioned, you don't here all the good stuff posted about a car because generally anytime someone on here (or LS1GTO) posts, it's about replacing OEM parts or broken OEM parts, or weaknesess in the car.
Mine is one of the first 465 built for the U.S. market and was on the first boat over. I am UTTERLY pleased with this car. Has it been perfect? No, I got the typical '04 gauge cluster freak out in cooler weather, I have the "thunk in the trunk" issue, and I blew the clutch on a 5* day with 73 miles on it after doing several burnouts right after buying it. But that's not worth fretting over! Just fix it and move on.
Once again, I can think of quite a laundry list for the F-Body!!!
