G8 GT

rocket5979

Gearhead
Nov 15, 2005
6,576
18
Round Lake, IL
hello tcg! i just recently bought a 2009 G8 GT Auto
was just wondering what the best route would be to take to upgrade..not looking for insane power just some more sound and a little bit more power!
and what the best site is to get parts for this car!

Welcome. Like Slow Chevy said, the best initial mods for your G8 will be CAI, Exhaust, Tune to start with. Then if you want to get more serious you can do long tube headers, perhaps a larger stall torque convertor, etc. Exhaust note is something that is subjective. What one person loves another hates. But my preference has always leaned towards Magnaflow and the Borla exhausts for these cars. Just the right amount of meanness without it being annoying. Of course if you decide to go with LT headers then the note will be different and a bit more aggressive.

There are quite a few options for performance for your G8GT from mild to wild so you really have the pick of the litter which is nice. The best G8 specific site to go to would be www.Grrrr8.net. I have been a member on there for about 3 years now and we concentrate on a decent amount of tech talk. PM me if you have anymore questions about what you can do to your G8.
 

blakbearddelite

I'm not one of your 'shit-hole' buddies!
TCG Premium
Jun 28, 2007
29,183
8,985
FL

Chrisco

is a work in progress
Jan 26, 2008
3,813
0
Downers Grove, IL.
IMO skip getting a catback exhaust and just do what blackbeard did and go with an OTR intake and have the car tuned. The intake he has came off my old G8, and so I can vouch for the consistency of excellent gains by installing one; and with a tune.

All a catback will give you is exhaust drone and maybe 5-10 whp, while robbing your wallet for $500-$1000. Bang for the buck isnt worth it. If you wang more power and sound, spend that money on good long tube headers and an offroad X/H pipe that will bolt to the factory catback. Huge power gains and only loud when you put the hammer down.
 

rocket5979

Gearhead
Nov 15, 2005
6,576
18
Round Lake, IL
Yup, long tubes are where it is at. I was considering them this year, but I won't pull the trigger unless I get some crazy deal on a used set.

LT's and a mid-pipe will run $1,600+ if you get decent ones.

Yeah ARH has some real nice offerings in that department. Are you a member on Grrrr8? There are probably some members on there that are selling their LT's.

Whether the OP goes straight to LT's or first with a catback depends on his wallet and goals. I know it is hard to believe, but not everyone is out to make as much power as we want. LT's will cost about $700-$1000 more than a decent catback and install is more involved too; which means the project will be harder for a beginning DIY'er or he will have to pay more labor charges for someone else to do it. I personally feel that LT's are totally the way to go but not everyone wants the same thing.
 

Chrisco

is a work in progress
Jan 26, 2008
3,813
0
Downers Grove, IL.
Yeah ARH has some real nice offerings in that department. Are you a member on Grrrr8? There are probably some members on there that are selling their LT's.

Whether the OP goes straight to LT's or first with a catback depends on his wallet and goals. I know it is hard to believe, but not everyone is out to make as much power as we want. LT's will cost about $700-$1000 more than a decent catback and install is more involved too; which means the project will be harder for a beginning DIY'er or he will have to pay more labor charges for someone else to do it. I personally feel that LT's are totally the way to go but not everyone wants the same thing.

Of course not everyone wants the same thing, but if someone is looking for performance per/dollar, a catback is stupid on those cars as the factory one flows fairly well.
 

rocket5979

Gearhead
Nov 15, 2005
6,576
18
Round Lake, IL
Of course not everyone wants the same thing, but if someone is looking for performance per/dollar, a catback is stupid on those cars as the factory one flows fairly well.

Ugh, apparently you don't understand the point I am trying to make. Think what you want. But if you want to tell me what is and is not good on these cars then you have another thing coming. lol.
 

9DSM7

Regular
Mar 25, 2009
203
0
another question i have is with the transmission..all these bolt on and all the added power the transmission will be able to hold with no problems cause of the local people i chatted with around my town said go with the transmission first this start with the motor. i just don't want to throw all the money in my motor then a couple months later my transmission start slipping or blow and have to spend numerous amounts of money on a P.O.S GM tranny when i should of did the safe thing first. but overall i want is a SAFE manically sound car with some very nice pick up and aggressiveness sound
 

98GTPDriva

TCG Elite Member
Jun 24, 2008
1,473
0
I wanted just a bit more power with my G8, so I picked-up the following:

Rotofab CAI ($275 shipped - new)
Cortex Superchips 2950 Tuner ($200 shipped - used)
Cortex 93 Octane Rotofab Tune ($5)
PM-FL Axleback ($250 picked-up - only 200 miles on it)

So, for $730, I have gained ~30+ rwhp and a sexy exhaust note. I will admit, the PM-FL is loud because there are no mufflers with it. With the above mods, the power difference over stock is amazing.

That is all I really plan to do in terms of performance. My 5 week old keeps me pretty busy so I drive it even less than normal (which was not much to begin with).

I have been contemplating selling it, but I can't pull the trigger just yet. I'm not even sure anyone would want a 3,950 mile SBM GT with a roof, a 4 year/40k mile B2B warranty left that has never seen rain anyway...
 

Chrisco

is a work in progress
Jan 26, 2008
3,813
0
Downers Grove, IL.
Ugh, apparently you don't understand the point I am trying to make. Think what you want. But if you want to tell me what is and is not good on these cars then you have another thing coming. lol.

I'm not arguing personal preference. If you want to tell me that a catback exhaust is a good performance per dollar investment for these cars then you, sir, have another thing coming.

OP, as Syp said, the stock 6l80 trans is plenty strong enough to hold any mild to moderate hp increase you're looking to make; and most of the slopiness he spoke of can be fixed just through tuning.
 
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