# What Do I do with my car?



## majinvegito123 (Oct 27, 2015)

Hi guys. My name is Anthony and I am new to this forum. I am 19 years of age, and am learning more about these cars every day.

I recently purchased my first ever car, and yes it was a GTO.

I purchased an '05 pontiac GTO with 68,000 miles on it two months ago, and I am currently up to 70,462 and am loving the car. 

When I got it, the guy who owned it had installed a few mods such as:

SLP Long Tube Headers,
Some fancy stabilizer looking bar under the hood =)
some shitty rusted out side pipes :'D
Predator Tuned for the headers
a Cold Air Intake was also installed


Now, I'm at an impasse. I know the car has some miles on it now, and I brought it to my car guy who basically does all the work for every serious street racing car in my area, and he thinks I should install a Turbocharger.

I for one don't know what I should do. I'm going to be garaging my GTO for the winter and will be able to save up around 6000 dollars by Spring time, and so I really want to know what I should do to it. I love the way my goat sounds right now as the headers and exhaust make it sound beautiful, quite loud and menacing. I know the turbo will mean i have to swap out the exhaust with something fresh and will also redo all the plumbing to facilitate the turbocharger.

But I also know she's a somewhat old engine.. My dad suggested I Swap out the heads instead and maybe go down that route so I could potentially have a fair amount of extra horsepower as well, a relatively new top portion of my engine and all while still retaining some of the nice sound I have now.

I really don't know what I should do to my car to tune it up with a budget of around 6000 dollars. SInce you're all experts, what do you guys suggest I go with considering my current setup and mileage on my car? I drive the car a lot and during the summer it's going to essentially be my daily driver, but I want a good amount of power as well.

I should also mention that it's an automatic (I could not find a standard for the price i paid for it unfortunately), so I know that has some weight on opinion as well.

Yes I can drive stick, but I'm telling you this car is the most fun I've had driving an automatic!

Thanks in advance guys =)....


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## meckeard (Jul 5, 2015)

If it were me, I would not turbo it. These motors are strong but your mileage is creeping up and the motor may not last long enough to enjoy it.

6k is a very nice budget. You could get heads, intake and cam along with a tune and get very nice improvements from it. That could be had for 5k-ish with 1k left for other things. 

Find a reputable shop, stop in and chat with them. They should be able to give you detailed options.


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## majinvegito123 (Oct 27, 2015)

meckeard said:


> If it were me, I would not turbo it. These motors are strong but your mileage is creeping up and the motor may not last long enough to enjoy it.
> 
> 6k is a very nice budget. You could get heads, intake and cam along with a tune and get very nice improvements from it. That could be had for 5k-ish with 1k left for other things.
> 
> Find a reputable shop, stop in and chat with them. They should be able to give you detailed options.



Thank you for your answer. Indeed, this was what I was afraid of. Perhaps i will run your suggestions as I think it will make my engine last longer and still have a lot of power. If I was turbocharging, my guy was only suggesting 8 psi regardless, so I'm not sure how that would factor in to the longevity.


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## svede1212 (Nov 1, 2005)

You'll also need to budget a higher stall TQ converter and tuning, maybe even a beefed up transmission. Suspension and the rest of the drivetrain should be on the list. You'll quickly find out $6,000 isn't a lot with these cars if you're paying someone to do the work. Not counting the stroker kit I have over $10,000 in my engine and drivetrain just in parts and doing all the work and tuning myself. At the rate you're driving it the car will be gone or in for more maintenance in short order. Not disparaging you but generally 19 year olds and these cars seem to have a short life too. Be aware that the first fender bender will be a totalled car as body repair is almost never done due to cost. If you just want to get more power without spending a fortune put a cam, stall and tune in it and be done.


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## majinvegito123 (Oct 27, 2015)

Sorry, I have been busy. Anyway, I have been known to be a bore. I have a perfectly clean driving record and have been driving a 2001 toyota corolla since i have gotten my license. No speeding tickets at all. I am a gentle driver and I rarely push the GTO over 3000 RPM. I really care about my cars that much. People say I'm boring but i'm just scared of hurting the cars I drive.. Anyhow, I don't plan on accidents. Thank you though, I'll keep all of that in mind. I was thinking about replacing the heads


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## HP11 (Apr 11, 2009)

majinvegito123 said:


> Anyhow, I don't plan on accidents.


Now all you have to do is get everyone else on the road around you to not plan on them and you'll have it made......


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## SANDU002 (Oct 13, 2004)

Driving a GTO is not like driving a Corolla. The difference in hp & tq alone make the comparison useless. If you are only driving the GTO like you say, then you need not do anything to it. Just enjoy it. "Svede"'s advice is your best choice if you want to upgrade for your style of driving.


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## Gotagoat (Jan 6, 2006)

SANDU002 said:


> Driving a GTO is not like driving a Corolla. The difference in hp & tq alone make the comparison useless. If you are only driving the GTO like you say, then you need not do anything to it. Just enjoy it. "Svede"'s advice is your best choice if you want to upgrade for your style of driving.


What he said. I drive my '05 much as you described your driving style. I occasionally run it up to the high fours and it's never been above 5000 RPM. I simply don't need more hp or tq unless I'm going to push it harder than that. "Svede" is the resident expert so you're not likely to get more knowledgeable advice.


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