Pontiac Solstice GXP (and other Pontiac) discussion thread.

[Mephistopheles Janx]

Holladay and I own the same car so I made this thread for he and I to chat about it but wanted to open the talk for anyone else who has driven the Solstice/Sky (Kappa platform) and has something to say about it.

I then figured I would just open it up to any chat about the Pontiac brand as I'm fairly certain that it was probably a pretty popular brand among CP'ers at some point in their lives.

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Originally Posted by Holladay

Correct 260 hp. 78k. Only had is for 6 months, thus no clue

We could have a 2 hour convo on the car, but not in this forum

BTW, the car is a BLAST, stupid, no trunk, but a blast...

Ok, whole thread for just Pontiac stuff and we can have that convo.

Mine is an 09 and it had 91k miles when I bought it. Got it for a song at $7,250 though I had to fly to Roswell, NM to go get it then drive it back.

If you have only had the car for 6 months and don't know much about it... I have some thoughts.

If you have access... check maintenance logs if your dad kept any. The timing chain/water pump/tensioners are a $2,500-$3,500 job. If your dad already did it then you are golden. If not, the manufacturer recommends changing out those components at 100k miles or 12 years... whichever comes first. It is *MASSIVELY* important you get this done because our cars have an interference engine which means that if the timing chain goes... you are buying a whole new engine or having that one rebuilt.

I recently upgraded the suspension on the car and if you are needing to do the same... let me know because there is an absolute shit ton of information I have related to it that will not necessarily save you any money but it will make the money you spend vastly more worthwhile.

Is yours manual or automatic?

[Holladay]

Of course, this is a great thread

Holy heck, $7k with 91k miles....woww.

2007, 5 spd stick, 78k miles. GXP turbo...obliviously.

I was looking to buying Rainmans chartreuse BMW coupe years ago. Alas the trunk wouldn't carry a golf bag nor a bag of dog food. I declined. So I ended up with a GXP that can't hold clubs nor bag of dog food = TOY, though fun as heck.

The engine was revolutionary in that it produced 2.1 hp per cubic inch. The highest output by cubic inch in GM history.

From what I understand, there were only 13,000 GXP Solstices made...not sure.

I have the first year GXP. You have the last 2009 (20 were made in 2010)

FYI: Franz von Holzhausen was the body designer. He also did the Tesla design.

In the end, my CST-V is more fun to drive...V8 beats out 4 banger, though not a rag top.

https://media.ed.edmunds-media.com/c..._oem_1_500.jpg

BTW, did not know about the maintenance issues. Mine is a little banged up (Dad was 86 yro) which I will need to fix over time.

[Holladay]

A Pontiac Holden (Australian) G8 would be a blast.

[New World Order]

Had a grand am coupe circa 2002 in high school.

Ahhh good times

[Mephistopheles Janx]

Originally Posted by Holladay

Of course, this is a great thread

Holy heck, $7k with 91k miles....woww.

2007, 5 spd stick, 78k miles. GXP turbo...obliviously.

I was looking to buying Rainmans chartreuse BMW coupe years ago. Alas the trunk wouldn't carry a golf bag nor a bag of dog food. I declined. So I ended up with a GXP that can't hold clubs nor bag of dog food = TOY, though fun as heck.

The engine was revolutionary in that it produced 2.1 hp per cubic inch. The highest output by cubic inch in GM history.

From what I understand, there were only 13,000 GXP Solstices made...not sure.

I have the first year GXP. You have the last 2009 (20 were made in 2010)

FYI: Franz von Holzhausen was the body designer. He also did the Tesla design.

In the end, my CST-V is more fun to drive...V8 beats out 4 banger, though not a rag top.

https://media.ed.edmunds-media.com/c..._oem_1_500.jpg

BTW, did not know about the maintenance issues. Mine is a little banged up (Dad was 86 yro) which I will need to fix over time.

How is yours currently banged up?

So... there were about 65k Solstice made all in all not including the Sky/Opel/Daewoo variants.







There really aren't any maintenance "issues" with this car... all cars with a timing chain/interference engine should have those components swapped on that schedule. The water pump was the biggest source of failure when they first released but if it made it past 30k miles then you should be good to go until you get that maintenance done.

The biggest problem with getting the car back in shape is going to be securing parts that are specific to the car such as the Tulip flaps which GM no longer makes. There is a dude in Brazil (I think) that makes bang on replicas and sells them. Lots of people have created 3d printing files for some of the plastic pieces that are no longer available.

Call your local GM dealership and have them confirm that all recalls have been completed. There are two that are pretty important... the airbag and the passenger seatbelt seat sensor.

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I daily this car and have taken it to the feed store and brought back 4 50lb bags of goat food with no issues. I take it grocery shopping, I have even hauled my two dogs around in it with no issues. Long distance trips requiring luggage and a passenger gets stuffy unless you travel light with a pair of backpacks and keep the top up while you drive.

Mine is also going to be a toy though as I am getting it ready for Autocross. I will be returning to the track after a 10 year hiatus and I am really looking forward to tearing into the car in an aggressive fashion.

Also... since we are sharing factoids about the car. Did you know that it won the SCCA AutoX Solo Champinoship two years in a row along with taking a 1st place finish at Pikes Peak? A guy in KC is currently a very highly ranked driver in SCCA Solo and drives a Solstice. I reached out to him on FB to ask who he trusts to turn a wrench on his car.

The solstice forum has a lot of good information on the car as well if you wind up with any questions about the car, parts, or general maintenance.

[Mephistopheles Janx]

Originally Posted by New World Order

Had a grand am coupe circa 2002 in high school.

Ahhh good times

Pontiac had some amazing cars. Did your Grand Am have the bulletproof 3800 V6?

[TinyEvel]

Does this group include drivers of the PONARI?

[Mephistopheles Janx]

Originally Posted by TinyEvel

Does this group include drivers of the PONARI?

Hell yeah **** yeah it does. Do you actually have/had one of those?

[TambaBerry]

My first car was a grand prix loved that thing. It had the 3.1 when I first got it I took it out and just floored it got to around 118 mph and the thing just shut off. I thought I blew the engine or something. That's when I learned governors were a thing

[Wisconsin_Chief]

Originally Posted by TambaBerry

My first car was a grand prix loved that thing. It had the 3.1 when I first got it I took it out and just floored it got to around 118 mph and the thing just shut off. I thought I blew the engine or something. That's when I learned governors were a thing

Same here, when I was 16 I worked all summer 3rd shift at a plastic factory and my reward was an ‘88 Grand Prix with the 3.1, such a fun car. So many great memories.

After a few years, I was able to upgrade to a ‘97 Grand Prix GTP with the supercharged 3800. Holy hell did I have some fun with that one.

Such a great American brand.

[Buehler445]

Originally Posted by Mephistopheles Janx

Pontiac had some amazing cars. Did your Grand Am have the bulletproof 3800 V6?

I had a 98 Grand Prix with that motor. It was incredible. I with I could buy that car new. I probably would. I loved that damn thing.

I took back roads home late at night one time and pretty much went 100 the whole way except for a stretch of road I knew there was cops. Didn't blink. Hilariously I came up on this hillbilly souped up pickup that thought he was going to show me how things really were when I pulled out to pass him (I'm sure he was many beers in). I could hear him floor his pride and joy and it blew by him.

It obviously wasn't a race car or anything and I heard the GXP versions with the turbo were quite a bit faster, but bone stock it was a hell of a car.

Traded it off on a 06 G6 with a V6 that was a good car also.