When the average person sees four doors, he doesn't often think about performance. Though the two just don't seem to go hand-in-hand, there's quite a Pontiac history of four-door performers. Back in the '60s, you could order a 421 Tri-Power in a four-door Big-Car if you desired. The 428 and the 455 D-port engines could be had in the later ones as well. Next came the four-door Grand Am of the '70s that could be ordered with a 455. The front-drive era brought the Bonneville SSEi and the Grand Prix GTP.
Today, a quick look down the roster of every major auto manufacturer reveals that each one has a performance sedan, be it the AMG Mercedes, M-powered 3- and 5-series, or the SRT-8 Charger. For the '04, the Bonneville GXP debuted with a DOHC 4.6L Northstar V-8 and 275 hp. A Grand Prix GXP followed for '05 with a 303-horse LS4 V-8 with Displacement On Demand. While both were fantastic cars, they were still front-wheel drive when the others in this league had reverted to rear-wheel drive in search of more spirited handling.
The D-1SC sits in a precarious...
The D-1SC sits in a precarious location due to space constraints. G8 kits come with P-1SC models but Tom's is upgraded to the D-1SC. It flows 200 more cfm and is built to handle a maximum of 925 hp. The best part about this kit is that it gives Tom the option to apply more boost and power if he builds the engine to handle it.
After the Aussie-based GTO went away, GM executives looked once again to the land of Oz for 2008, and the result was the rear-drive G8 based on the brilliant new Holden VE Commodore. This muscle sedan had a few powerful engine options and near 50/50 weight distribution, making it attractive as the Pontiac flagship.
The base engine is a 256-horse V-6 backed by a 5L40-E five-speed automatic transmission. Those looking for more power only had to check off the GT package, which came with a 6.0L, 361hp L76 V-8 with Active Fuel Management and a 6L80-E six-speed automatic. The 3.99-inch-bore x 3.62-inch-stroke aluminum engine employs a 90mm throttlebody, high-flow composite intake with acoustic shell, 40-lb-hr injectors, 2.165/1.59-inch valves in the 68.4cc chamber heads, a 200/208-degree duration at 0.050 cam with 0.472-/0.480-inch lift with 1.7:1 rockers, coil-near-plug ignition, and 10.4:1 compression.
Performance of the GT was jaw-dropping- and so was the price tag, which was approximately $32,000.
Get-up-and-go is a bit quicker...
Get-up-and-go is a bit quicker with 8 psi of boost. (Yes, it was raining.)
When 52-year-old IT professional Tom Scott needed another car, at first he didn't even know where to look. "At the time I was driving an '01 Hyundai Tiburon," he says. "It was pretty worn out and started having the issues that high-mile cars normally have, so I wanted to get rid of it." Tom's first choice was actually a Dodge Charger R/T. He hadn't even heard of the G8 until the night he made a quick Google search for "modern muscle cars." It looks as though GM's aggressive advertising with the new G8 paid off, as the first thing to come up was a link to the new Pontiac. "Once I saw the G8 GT, I was hooked. I knew within a few minutes that I was buying it!"
The only sticking point was the color. Tom's wife, Dee, firmly believes that red attracts more attention from police, so he selected Magnetic Grey Metallic. The G8 GT was perfect for a guy with a wife, three kids, and a need for speed. Tom purchased it through Coral Springs Pontiac/ Buick/GMC on May 24, 2008.
With the Magnetic beauty sitting in his driveway, Tom positioned himself behind his keyboard and perused GRRRR8.net, a G8 online forum. There he found copious goodies that he wanted to install on his G8 GT, primarily a ProCharger kit.
This dual gauge pod was sent...
This dual gauge pod was sent from Australia by JHP, an importer of Aussie goodies. It houses an Auto Meter boost and fuel pressure gauge.
Tom dressed his engine bay...
Tom dressed his engine bay up a little bit once he installed the ProCharger. The fuel rail covers were tossed, and red tubing replaces the factory EGR pipes for a sportier look. ProCharger includes an HO air-to-air intercooler in its kit, which the company claims can reduce intake temperatures by as much as 87 degrees over a non-intercooled system. This greatly reduces the onset of detonation, while increasing reliability and performance.
A small hint of the ProCharger...
A small hint of the ProCharger air-to-air intercooler can be seen peeking out from behind the front bumper.