Bonneville GXP

[Silver_04]

Hey all. A guy at work will be picking up a Pontiac Bonneville GXP with the Northstar V8. The car is still FWD and has 275 horse. Has anyone gone up against one of these yet? I'm begging him to give me a run when he picks it up. I'm not so sure who will win given the Bonnie has 300 ft-lb's, weighs 3790lb and has a 3.71 axle ratio, but the race should be close based on the numbers.

Thanks,
Chris

[bigslim]

The numbers I have read on it put about 7.5 seconds to sixty, quarter mile at 15.3. Close to ours. If you have mods you will beat it.

[RCSignals]

4.6l DOHC V8. Too bad it's FWD

[Patrick]

Hey all. A guy at work will be picking up a Pontiac Bonneville GXP with the Northstar V8. The car is still FWD and has 275 horse. Has anyone gone up against one of these yet? I'm begging him to give me a run when he picks it up. I'm not so who will win given the Bonnie has 300 ft-lb's, weighs 3790lb and has a 3.71 axle ratio, but the race should be close based on the numbers.

Thanks,
Chris


:flamer: HIM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[TripleTransAm]

4.6l DOHC V8. Too bad it's FWD

So was the 1966 Oldsmobile Toronado...

About the race... tough call, I don't know how the Northstar is going to fare in the Bonneville's chassis. The engine feels like it has a nice powerband and 'wakes up' sooner than a Marauder's (possibly due to the weight difference). It will all come down to the launch, and how fast you will run. I suspect the Marauder's top end will prevail, but it might be a game of catch-up if he gets the jump on you.

Also, to make the match-up as representative as possible, I'd recommend you run him once his engine breaks in. If the Northstar behaves anything like my Marauder and my WS6 did when new, it might need some mileage to open up. When my Marauder was new, I felt nervous running against the odd Escort now and again!

[RF Overlord]

So was the 1966 Oldsmobile Toronado...

/Steve:

If my few remaining functional brain cells are operating correctly today, I seem to recall the Toronado was a HUGE car...even with the FWD one could still walk around under the hood...today's smaller, lighter, more fragile FWD transaxles may not live up to that amount of power. I looked at the SAAB Viggen (seriously) before I found the MM, and it had a torque limiter in first gear, I presume to protect the transaxle from damage...

[TripleTransAm]

Most cars nowadays seem to employ some sort of output power limiters at some point during the operation of the car... it all seemed to start when manufacturers realized they could effectively shut down portions if not all of an engine at a predetermined 'redline' in order to protect against overrevving.

Within a decade, larger PCM on-board memory and faster processors allowed engineers to ease up on the power output during upshifts (initially claimed for "smoother upshifts" but I suspect it allowed them to go cheapie on drivetrain components because of the decrease in driveline shock during a shift).

For some reason, I'm thinking Ford was one of the first to do this back in the early 90s with the mod motor. Or perhaps Cadillac and their Northstar... can't remember.

In any case, it's something that can be reduced through PCM reprogramming (chip, etc.) although I wonder if I'd want to do it on my 4R70W lest I end up with a deformed C-clip firmly impaled where the sun don't shine. :eek:


The size issue made me realize something... a few days ago I spotted a late 50s Buick in my neighborhood, and my first comment to my wife was "man, look at the SIZE of that thing"... but then I truly gave it some thought: I think my MM is much bigger! And that put things into perspective. A lot of those 50s and 60s cars LOOKED large, but were just bulky looking and had empty engine bays.

The Toronado was definitely a large car by today's standards, but after having spent some time looking over a late 60s (I think 1969) example that is being rebuilt in my neighborhood, I realized that a lot of its size is 'perceived'.

Nowadays, with DOHC valvetrains and a myriad of electronic doodads under the hood, there isn't any room to sit on an inner fender surface and work straight on the engine like I used to on my Grandfather's 1981 Malibu 267 v8.

[RCSignals]

/Steve:

If my few remaining functional brain cells are operating correctly today, I seem to recall the Toronado was a HUGE car...even with the FWD one could still walk around under the hood...today's smaller, lighter, more fragile FWD transaxles may not live up to that amount of power. I looked at the SAAB Viggen (seriously) before I found the MM, and it had a torque limiter in first gear, I presume to protect the transaxle from damage...
Yes they were, and completely different fish than any of todays FWD cars. Still I don't want a FWD '66 Oldsmobile either.

For a FWD car I'd much rather have an original Mini. (the new ones are just gigantic! :eek: )

[Silver_04]

Didn't get to run against the co-workers Bonnie this evening because of all of the orange, red and yellow on the radar today. Very exciting weather here.

Anyhow, here are some details on the ride;
The car has painted calipers from the factory-very cool
Suede inserts in the leather seats-very comfortable
Heads up display-every car should have this
Pretty good exhaust note from quad tip exhaust but not a true dual from the engine
Strut tower brace
I pity the person that has to change the rear 4 spark plugs.

Hopefully we'll run before I move.

[MENINBLK]

I pity the person that has to change the rear 4 spark plugs.

You shouldn't.
It is done with a long extension, and with the car raised in the air.

[BillyGman]

Interesting.....please keep us posted on this. That should be a good race.