2009 White Hot G8 GT

[Spitzkindl]

Those rims look amazing on there! So jealous.

I think the oposite. Those rims make the car look ugly, they are way to big. It's not a lorry, is it? Not to speak of that such a low profile on tires make it look like the car is driving on rims only (like a medieval wagon).

Don't know what stock rims are, but as a rule on any passenger car: 18" max in any situation. Lamborgini or not. And the rule is also that stock rim sizes (includeing offset, spacing, etc.) are not there because GM don't want you to look the best. They are there because the sizes are proven best for the car.

BUT after this roast: in any other sense the car look very nice! I wouldn't mind having one.

[BonneMe]

The Camaro SS comes with 20" wheels, and is riding essentially the same platform.

It comes down to what the market wants really. Modern cars have become very tall, large, and heavy looking; they need big wheels to look alright.

[Spitzkindl]

It comes down to what the market wants really.

True of course. But what if the market is wrong?

The Camaro SS comes with 20" wheels, and is riding essentially the same platform.

On the new Camaro 20" it looks almost like they could be accepted. But only almost; the Camaro would look better and more muscle car with some more rubber ... But don't mind me, I'm probably just old fashion.

[2000Silverbullet]

Tall and heavy is not what the market wants. It's forced on us because of government safety standards. I still love the 15" wheels on my Firebird. Now that's old fashion. Lot more rubber to burn lol.

[gweg_b]

I sort of have the same feelings. I'm not big on huge rims with very little rubber. There would be too many things I'd worry about as well (pot holes).

However, my G8 has the stock 19's, and I think they fit the car perfectly. The rim's on Jerry's look great, but I'll probably never do 20's on mine. But at the same time, I think the OEM 18's look way too small for the size of the G8.

[CMNTMXR57]

I'm typically not a fan of aftermarket wheels. I'm an OEM wheel person. However, these are the right look on the right car, so I do like them.

The larger wheels we have today are the way they are for a bunch of reasons, but most can be lumped into the two following. 1) Looks. 2) Performance.

1) Looks: let's face it, the ricers have driven the market here. Next step, hella flushed and hella poked. Anyway, the proper wheel, tire, wheel arch relationship in regards to the stance of a vehicle is key in today's market. You can't have a great looking car like the G8 riding on 16's! It would just look plain out stupid.

2) Performance: Yea, a 15" wheel with a bunch of cushioney sidewal is great for launching at the drag strip, but most here, don't drag race their car at a dedicated track. Most would rather have a great handling and BRAKING car. Braking being key. Many cars, especially top of the line or special edition versions, come packing a lot of extra brake hardware, namely Brembo 4-piston at a minimum and in some cases, the 6-piston mono-block caliper. In addition to this, they also come with much larger rotors. Larger rotors and wider calipers as Brembo's are, require more room, in the name of wheel hub to wheel drum diameter, as well as a lot more positive offset and/or large backspacing measures to clear these larger calipers.

[2000Silverbullet]

I'm typically not a fan of aftermarket wheels. I'm an OEM wheel person. However, these are the right look on the right car, so I do like them.

The larger wheels we have today are the way they are for a bunch of reasons, but most can be lumped into the two following. 1) Looks. 2) Performance.

1) Looks: let's face it, the ricers have driven the market here. Next step, hella flushed and hella poked. Anyway, the proper wheel, tire, wheel arch relationship in regards to the stance of a vehicle is key in today's market. You can't have a great looking car like the G8 riding on 16's! It would just look plain out stupid.

2) Performance: Yea, a 15" wheel with a bunch of cushioney sidewal is great for launching at the drag strip, but most here, don't drag race their car at a dedicated track. Most would rather have a great handling and BRAKING car. Braking being key. Many cars, especially top of the line or special edition versions, come packing a lot of extra brake hardware, namely Brembo 4-piston at a minimum and in some cases, the 6-piston mono-block caliper. In addition to this, they also come with much larger rotors. Larger rotors and wider calipers as Brembo's are, require more room, in the name of wheel hub to wheel drum diameter, as well as a lot more positive offset and/or large backspacing measures to clear these larger calipers.

Agree and disagree. It's all about safety and government mandated guidelines to the auto manufactures.
They have had to raise the belt lines of cars and improve crash standards and pedestrial impact safety.
Braking systems have had to change due to the banning of asbestos brake linings and anti-lock braking systems.
Larger wheels look better because of the taller belt lines and larger wheel openings. True they also need to be larger to fit larger diameter brakes but that is due to the greater clamping forces required to compensate for larger rotating mass caused by larger wheels.

BTW, I still use asbestos linings on my Firebird.

[repinS]

Did a suspension overhaul and took the camera with me on the shakedown run. Wound up at the RC Harris Water Treatment Plant and snapped a few pics.

- GXP FE3 struts all around
- BMR Polyurethane rear cradle bushing inserts
- Whiteline Polyurethane strut mounts
- new inner/outer tie rods
- new front lower control arms
- Still need to order up sway bar endlinks on all four corners and rear brake pads.

[PRD2BDF]

Is the front higher now?

[2000Silverbullet]

Like and Share.
Psstt. White hot!

[00Beast]

What did the struts and bushings set you back?

Looks great! Definitely would love to get mine and yours side-by-side soon enough.

[repinS]

Is the front higher now?

Being the shakedown run, I would expect the front end to settle a little more in the coming days. Afterwards, it should still sit a little higher than before. When the OE rubber strut mounts collapse, as they always do on the G8/GTO, the front ride height sags a bit with it. At the September Michigan meet, I still had the OE rubber mounts, and Kyle parked next to me with this same set of Whiteline poly. The front of his car rode higher.

Ed, I got my stuff from these links:

Struts: http://paceperformance.com/i-8118501-gm ... ckage.html
LCAs: http://paceperformance.com/i-7138834-92 ... m-kit.html
Strut Mounts: http://marylandspeed.com/whiteline-plus ... -3397.html
Subframe connectors: http://marylandspeed.com/bmr-sub-frame- ... -2093.html

[00Beast]

So looks like around $500 for the struts and mounts. Not great, but doable...

[gweg_b]

Jerry, those are some very awesome shots! I am loving the that building, and the fog gives each of the pics such a mysterious quality. I love them!

My front end has a little bounce to it, but not a whole lot yet. As much as I would love to upgrade, I'm going to try and hold off for as long as possible. But I bet it handles so much better now!

[Zeik75]

So looks like around $500 for the struts and mounts. Not great, but doable...

Cheaper than bonneville gxp stuff...

[2000Silverbullet]

There are many parts for my 00 that are no longer available.
GXP Bonne will be 10 years old next year = parts will become scarcer/costier

G8 parts will soon become very rare.
Rare = $$$$

[repinS]

Total G8 production was more than 38,000 cars over 2008/2009, with just over half being GT's. We're not even getting into Australian production yet, where the Commodore is very much a high-volume, bread and butter sedan. Bonneville GXP production was maybe 3500-4000 cars. SSEi production from 2000-2003 was about 5,000 cars per year?

I would expect parts costs and shipping delays to be higher coming from Australia - even tie rod nuts and subframe bolts are labeled Holden on the packaging - but I don't expect availability to suffer that badly.

[Hotwheels]

Great pics! Really like the contrast of the gray wheels with the white exterior.

[harofreak00]

SSEi production from 2000-2003 was about 5,000 cars per year?

Got any sources for that info? I'd guess it to be WAY higher. There are SSEi's all around here.

[repinS]

http://www.pontiacbonnevilleclub.com/fo ... c1672.html



Unfortunately there were no numbers for 1999+, but it would stand to reason that SSEi production didn't deviate too far from 92-99. You're in MN, Bonneville capital of the world - I see one SSEi every couple months, if that. I'm sure if someone ran an SSEi VIN from each year through compnine and matched some SSEi-specific RPO codes, you could figure it out. You probably have enough VINs to do it, Andrew