The GTO awoke from her winter slumber about a month ago and the "Mod" disease is back. We have a lot of rain predicted for the next week so I am putting her under the knife again.
Some background on the GTO to bring you up to speed:
In July of 2013 I bought it with 13,000 miles on the odometer and was 100% stock. Original everything!
Since thenā¦ about 3 months later I installed the K&N CAI (at the time I was driving the car a lot and didnāt want to go with the Over the Radiator kit), Diablo tuner and loaded the 93 octane tune, white line radius rod bushings, Energy suspension poly bushings for the front and rear sway bar, Pedders diff insert and a B&M shifter.
On the appearance front I installed the JHP gauge pod, front splitter and LED lighting.
The only mod I regretted is the B&M. I plan to change it out but I want to retain the factory shifter.
In spring 2014 some Falken AZENIS RT-615Kās found the way to my stock 17ā rims. This was a MAJOR improvement in handling.
My son and I did a road trip to Tail of the Dragon and tested out the GTOās cornering ability. I will say I was pleasantly impressed with how poised the car is for being as heavy as it is. I still wished for a bit more sharpness in the steering and it still tended to push in the corners, but a quick hit of the throttle changes all that!
Late last summer / fall I decided to do the first moderate upgrade. I ended up with the Motive 4.11 gears in the car. This really livened up the response. The power out of the corners or from a dead stop is fantastic.
Next I installed Lovells 20mm drop springs in the rear, Koni adjustable shocks, Spohn toe bars and poly cradle bushings. Winter was approaching so I put her in hibernation.
This brings us up to the current date and last night I tore into the car to do the next phase. The list for this go round:
New Koni struts
New Lovells front springs (20mm drop)
Poly steering rack bushing
All new Hawk pads and braided brake lines
FINALLY install my new shifter and ditch the B&M
Install the new (to me) long tubes and cats
Install the Harrop diff cover
I managed to get the passenger side apart last night in about 1 hour, much easier than I thought. It is nice working on a clean car for a change.
I'll post pictures as I progress, here was the outcome from last night.
I know this won't 'cure' my 'Mod' disease, but I'll have a quick fix for a while. I am resisting the temptation to go into the engine...for now...
Some background on the GTO to bring you up to speed:
In July of 2013 I bought it with 13,000 miles on the odometer and was 100% stock. Original everything!
Since thenā¦ about 3 months later I installed the K&N CAI (at the time I was driving the car a lot and didnāt want to go with the Over the Radiator kit), Diablo tuner and loaded the 93 octane tune, white line radius rod bushings, Energy suspension poly bushings for the front and rear sway bar, Pedders diff insert and a B&M shifter.
On the appearance front I installed the JHP gauge pod, front splitter and LED lighting.
The only mod I regretted is the B&M. I plan to change it out but I want to retain the factory shifter.
In spring 2014 some Falken AZENIS RT-615Kās found the way to my stock 17ā rims. This was a MAJOR improvement in handling.
My son and I did a road trip to Tail of the Dragon and tested out the GTOās cornering ability. I will say I was pleasantly impressed with how poised the car is for being as heavy as it is. I still wished for a bit more sharpness in the steering and it still tended to push in the corners, but a quick hit of the throttle changes all that!
Late last summer / fall I decided to do the first moderate upgrade. I ended up with the Motive 4.11 gears in the car. This really livened up the response. The power out of the corners or from a dead stop is fantastic.
Next I installed Lovells 20mm drop springs in the rear, Koni adjustable shocks, Spohn toe bars and poly cradle bushings. Winter was approaching so I put her in hibernation.
This brings us up to the current date and last night I tore into the car to do the next phase. The list for this go round:
New Koni struts
New Lovells front springs (20mm drop)
Poly steering rack bushing
All new Hawk pads and braided brake lines
FINALLY install my new shifter and ditch the B&M
Install the new (to me) long tubes and cats
Install the Harrop diff cover
I managed to get the passenger side apart last night in about 1 hour, much easier than I thought. It is nice working on a clean car for a change.
I'll post pictures as I progress, here was the outcome from last night.
I know this won't 'cure' my 'Mod' disease, but I'll have a quick fix for a while. I am resisting the temptation to go into the engine...for now...