# Getting into an 04- can it be 05 fast?



## Displacement (Jan 7, 2006)

Hey everybody - I'm in the middle of selling a MINI Cooper S right now and I'm thinking about buying an '04 Goat to replace it (anybody want to trade?  ) . So, with the money I'm saving not buying the LS2, what kind of power can I expect to make on a short budget? I was thinking headers, cams, intake, but I'm not used to tuning a small block.

Any advice for a newbie? Should I just save for an 05?

Great board- looking forward to arguing with you guys over petty stuff sometime soon arty:

Edit: I'll be taking her to the track, too, so things like brake quality are big factors for me, too. Is there any difference in the suspension? I looked at the brake thread and saw I'm probably going to want an 05 brake system


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## J.E.T. (Sep 30, 2005)

If you have to wait go for an '06 model. Doubt there will be any new '05's much longer. Don't buy used, whatever you do........

JET


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## EEZ GOAT (Jul 9, 2005)

if u buy used u will save lots of $$$ and can put more mods on it to run with the 06 goats. if warnty is not that much of a factor


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## Felix C. (May 18, 2005)

Buy a manual transmission car. More usable power. An 04 can be as capable as an 05 if your car is properly tuned and if you know how to handle a manual transmission. Learn to shift gears without removing your foot from the gas pedal under full acceleration. Made the difference in my car from 13.60 to 13.30 1/4 mile. Learn how to launch the car with minimal wheel spin. Worth another few car lengths. No reason a properly tuned and driven 04 6psd should not stand with a stock 05-06 manual/auto or auto. In short, a really good driver and tuned car just about closes the 50hp gap.


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## EEZ GOAT (Jul 9, 2005)

Felix C. said:


> Buy a manual transmission car. More usable power. An 04 can be as capable as an 05 if your car is properly tuned and if you know how to handle a manual transmission. Learn to shift gears without removing your foot from the gas pedal under full acceleration. Made the difference in my car from 13.60 to 13.30 1/4 mile. Learn how to launch the car with minimal wheel spin. Worth another few car lengths. No reason a properly tuned and driven 04 6psd should not stand with a stock 05-06 manual/auto or auto. In short, a really good driver and tuned car just about closes the 50hp gap.


true dat


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## blue04gto (Jan 4, 2006)

I just bought my 04 a month ago and although my friend has an 05 thats a little faster, i haven't looked back since. Personally i don't mind cause i got mine for $23000 and it was GM certified, so the $10,000 i saved for 50 hp less and and hood and bumper was a simple case of economics to me. You can easily put in just $2500 worth of mods for performance and buy the hood and bumper if you like and still save at least $5000. But its all your preference, some people don't like used cars, but mine came with 10,000 miles so it was barely broken in, i just feel that was just a great find and too good to pass up.

Either way you will be happy with an 04, 05 or 06 model. Its just a matter of how much you are willing to spend up front.


Good Luck


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## Displacement (Jan 7, 2006)

I'm buying a manual - there's no debate there. I'm glad to hear there are plenty of mods on the market to improve the car if I choose to do that.

Thanks for the advice guys. Now the question is what's the lowest price I can get on a clean, used manual...


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## blue04gto (Jan 4, 2006)

In my area of Los Angeles, The lowest i've seen for an 04 manual was $21,000 with 16,000 miles. For an 05 the lowest i've seen was $26,500 with 500 miles on it


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## Freakzilla (Mar 10, 2005)

I live near Salt Lake City, Utah. This is the lowest I've seen so far; 2004, Automatic, with only 843 miles on the clock. I know it's an auto, but they only want *$19,995.00*. Here's the link just giggles: http://www.kslcars.com/VehicleDetail.htm?vehicleid=2031552&sellerid=23113240&vehicleType=car#mainpic

I bought mine the last part of November 05. Mine is a 2004, Manual, with 5,800 miles and I paid $21,650.00.

The price is really good in this area for these cars, being rear wheel drive and all.


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## derf (Aug 3, 2004)

With a cold air intake, full exhaust and a tune from a handheld programmer, you should be well on your way to 400 HP pretty easily.

With only a little more effort (i.e. cam, dyno tune, maybe heads), you can get to 450+ pretty easily.


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## dealernut (Oct 22, 2005)

Displacement said:


> Hey everybody - I'm in the middle of selling a MINI Cooper S right now and I'm thinking about buying an '04 Goat to replace it (anybody want to trade?  ) . So, with the money I'm saving not buying the LS2, what kind of power can I expect to make on a short budget? I was thinking headers, cams, intake, but I'm not used to tuning a small block.
> 
> Any advice for a newbie? Should I just save for an 05?
> 
> ...


Change the rear end gears, some long tubes, good tune, and a decent exhaust will have you right at the LS2, if not a tad better. Should cost around 2500.00

There are also some amazing rear mounted super chargers for the LS1 setup.


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## HTRDLNCN (Jul 1, 2005)

I paid $20k 6 months ago on my 04 with 2800miles .
add $800 for a convertor $200 for xpipe installed and $200 for a Predator and from Ebay and it runs 12.9s which is enough to keep up with most 05-06s that are stock. And I still have $8000 left over to play with..


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## GTODEALER (Jan 7, 2005)

HTRDLNCN said:


> I paid $20k 6 months ago on my 04 with 2800miles .
> add $800 for a convertor $200 for xpipe installed and $200 for a Predator and from Ebay and it runs 12.9s which is enough to keep up with most 05-06s that are stock. And I still have $8000 left over to play with..


What he said... if you're gonna drag race get an automatic.


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## Displacement (Jan 7, 2006)

I'm not terribly interested in drag racing- I like road courses a lot more and I'm thinking about trying out :willy: drifting. I guess I just don't like the idea of having a bunch of other GTOs out there that could pick on me at stoplights.

Also, before I decided to go with a goat and a ducati I was deadset on a C5 Z06, so the 400hp mark is pretty promininent in my brain.

How much would it cost to swap the 04 brake kit for an 05? Is it easy to work on the small block? It's gotta be easier than working on my MINI - you have to remove the top-mount intercooler if you want to get to the spark plugs. :lol:


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## baron_iv (Nov 17, 2005)

If you come up beside another GTO at a stoplight, consider it a miracle. There really aren't that many out there, so I wouldn't worry about other GTOs picking on you. In fact, there's only ONE within forty miles of me!! 
As for making the 04 fast, the guys above are correct (as always), a good driver and a few performance mods can make you as fast as anyone else out there. If you want to get crazy fast, supercharge it and you won't have to worry about 98% of the other cars on the road. It's all about how much $$ you're willing to spend to be fast though.
I'd definitely go with the manual though. It's a helluva lot more fun.


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## putergod (Jan 12, 2006)

baron_iv said:


> .
> I'd definitely go with the manual though. It's a helluva lot more fun.


Werd...

Just driving one sold me... Should be taking delivery in a few days


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