PontiacBonnevilleClub.com

Almost four months later now, but here are a few shots of the 2007 Impala SS
I havent done a thing to the car, suggestions? I'd like to leave her alone for now, but the future Im all game.










Enjoy

Exhaust, lower it, smoke tail lights, HID if possible?

I like it...except the engine is facing the wrong way. lol

You should get the newer style Impala SS wheels (10 spoke).

besides some nice 18" rims i would leave her alone.

Those ARE 18" rims

From one SS owner to another, don't mod it at all. The trans is right at the limit for handling the LS4s power...in fact, that motor is HIGHLY torque managed because of the trans. And GM will try to find anything to try to deny any warranty claims. Even urethane torque strut bushings they will try to deny trans work. I would definately put a trans cooler on it...it really REALLY needs it.

Ditch the Eagle RS-As. They SUCK.

I put in some urethane sway endlinks...really tightened the frontend up.

As with any W-body, keep a good eye on that intermediate steering shaft. Mine was bad when I picked it up from the dealer...they fixed it a week after and it made a ton of difference in driving pleasure.

What was amazing when I bought this car...it was cheaper to insure than my Malibu LTZ. Which makes little sense to me...oh, btw....there is no limiter on the car. I've only been up to 130 mph, but it had more to give, and I didn't want to go faster. I've only done that once....

intake/exhaust.... i wouldn't mind the woodgrain being black or carbon fiber either. beautiful car though!

New Seats.

No but really. I agree with Brad for the drivetrain. I've yet to drive one, but just being in the car, to me, it feels like if you unleashed the LS4 torque, something would BREAK, quick. Its absolutely unreal that they put that little trans behind that engine.

Tires, definitely. If you've got the money for good ones, go for some Bridgestone Potenza RE-960AS, Michelin Pilot Exalto A/S, Or, if you want to go with a summer/winter tire set, go for some Potenza RE760s. Brad's got Falken Ziex ZE-912's, which are an all season that seems to think its a summer tire. They're *dang* grabby, last a LITTLE longer than a normal A/S, but not by much. Good thing is, they're always much cheaper than their expensive rivals because they're made by Sumitomo.

sandrock wrote:Those ARE 18" rims .

thats why I said "nice" rims i'de go with aftermarket just to make it his own look.

What trans' are in these things? I cant imagine torque is over what 350lb-ft?

And Id get some black steelies with beauty rings!!! County Mounty Special!!!!

exhaust,intake,tint tails,hid's, that would be a nice fun car

01bonneSC wrote:What trans' are in these things? I cant imagine torque is over what 350lb-ft?

And Id get some black steelies with beauty rings!!! County Mounty Special!!!!

4T65 last I checked.

Those things are fragile with that engine. Don't mod for performance.

01bonneSC wrote:What trans' are in these things? I cant imagine torque is over what 350lb-ft?

And Id get some black steelies with beauty rings!!! County Mounty Special!!!!

Just remember that it's FWD. Yes, it is the 4T65. It's not a -HD, but it's built better inside, instead of just the upgraded diff. I still wouldn't do any power mods.

Thanks everyone.....Let me go down the list of questions here:

1. I know 0.00% about urethane sway endlinks. Where are they located and what exactly do they do? Again, im electrical, not mechanical....yet.

2. I've thought about an exhaust. Im happy with what's on there now, when I get through some student loans, ill have fun with that. Im never getting rid of this car. I love it!

3. The HID's are available online, i found a site that has the projectors already installed but for $400 bucks, Im gonna ride that out and save. Perhaps by Christmas.
4. The rims...I love the new 10 spoke style, but really like the massive look of the aluminum wheel i have now, we'll see if one day something comes down the line.
5. Smoking the tails is slightly illegal in Langhorne, they practically nabbed me for the windows one night until I pulled PA state law out and showed how it was legal. Plus the dealership guaranteed me (in writing) that the car was sold that way and passed inspection. phew.
6. The car is the SAME as the Bonneville on insurance which was a huge plus. And yes, Sandrock, I've found that even at 110, the car still wants to go. I love the power, it throws you in your seat.
The intermediate shaft is brand new, ran into that already but warranty and guess what, if it goes again, they can replace it again. As far as im concerned, if they warranty a part to last 36,000 miles and it goes in 10, they can replace the part again. Its law 101 to me (perhaps Im wrong but hey, sounds good..ha)

Now let's talk power for a second guys.... I know that the LS4 is capable of some serious power...are you all telling me that GM put a powerful engine under the hood and purposely slowed it down / timed it correctly that it wouldnt hurt itself or other parts? In that case, why in the world did they put the 4T65 in and not the 4T65 HD? Besides cost, or is that it?

So that leads me to this... if i race it more and more, im more likely to hurt the tranny? Even if im always changing the fluid every 30 k? (which she's almost due).

also, those tires...yeah the RS A's suckkkkk. I cant get a grip in the rain or anything. Is a softer tread tire better because of grip? Or would i be looking for a harder tread tire (which to me would last longer but be lousy on grip). Is a stronger sidewall better or not? Educate me here please, I do need to get rid of those shoes before winter.

i still say those should have had either a 4t65HD or a 4t80(bonneville gxp IIRC)

even still your right...i drove a fully loaded one..identical to yours..tint and all cept the tint was darker and it was red..and man was that thing quick..hands down one of the fastest fwd cars ive drove..they had a ss over by me for sale for a lil over 9..i didnt look into it cause im balls deep in my truck already i dont need anything else atm but man would it have been a nice toy..

They didn't use the -HD because the only difference on those is the differential. They upgraded various internals instead.

ok..well then why didnt they use the 4t80 then..?

IIRC the LS series and the Northstar don't share the same bellhousing pattern, and the 4T80 wasn't designed for W-bodies.

that sounds about right...i could understand why the impala 5.3 and the gxp motor are different...kinda like the 3.8 and the 4.3 i suppose

Believe it or not, its the same bellhousing pattern. And it is the HD, but in a different case. Let me explain.

The LS4 4T65 is unique. Due to packaging, it is the only trans that has starter bosses. The starter is mounted the opposite way when compared to the 3800. This means this trans is not compatible with any other motor and you cannot use a regular 4T65 on an LS4. Due to this, it will be hard to come across a brand new LS4 spec trans over time...they will have to be rebuilt.

I have the original HPT file for my car that shows just exactly how its programmed. This motor is capable of so much but it must be restrained. What I originally thought was slippage in second gear was torque management! The Grand Prix GXPs are a little more aggressive, but not by much. Tuning allows the motor to run much better, but I would do that on a spare PCM instead of the factory. Even with flashing back to a stock tune, the dealership will know it's been flashed and void the warranty.

As for exhaust...I've heard people remove just the resonator and that makes a big difference in the sound. But that also messes with the 4-cylinder mode sound tuning (which really doesn't matter much since that only kicks in at highway speeds).

If you must mod anything...do the brakes. You can use the slotted rotors from the GXP models. The calipers are the same, and in case you didn't know, they are dual-piston.

I have my own reservations about the SS. The seats aren't meant for you to take corners well, the lack of gages compared to the 2000-05 Impala sport models is annoying to say the least, especially the lack of a trans temp gage (which even the base model Grand Prixs got). What I hate the most though is the lack of a trans cooler...hell even the 9C1/9C3 Impalas got them, and they only came with a 3.9 liter!! But, you cant argue with the power it makes, and that 100k warranty will come in handy more than a few times.