Living with a G8 GT

Welcome Back OnStar

My battle to get Bluetooth in the G8 has been a crazy one. While I was looking forward to getting the BlueStar system, I was a little disappointing that I would loose the functionality of OnStar. Today I happened to get really lucky and was able to purchase an OEM OnStar module with Bluetooth! After reprogramming, this will give me all the functionality that I was exited to have all the way back in October. When I get everything together I’ll reactivate my OnStar subscription.

One Year Later

It has been one year since I purchased my ‘09 Pontiac G8 GT… after 16,264 miles and everything is great!

I really think I made a great decision getting the G8. I have lost count of the number of times I’ve been glad to have four doors and a huge trunk. I have a real sense of pride for my car and really enjoy the car culture that surrounds it. So much of my life revolves around the G8 and the people I have met through cruises and car club events.

While some things have changed, like my desire to modify more and more of the G8, some things have stayed the same. The G8 still has a split personality. I am surprised today, as much as I was when I first drove home, just how refined the car is for daily driving around town… yet give it some more throttle and it just takes-off. It’s always a total blast when I go for a drive… just remote starting the G8 and hearing the engine roar to life puts a smile on my face.

The next year will be different… I’m not going to have as much time with the G8, but as a result (indirectly) I will be able to perform more extensive modifications. I’m sure that, despite the changes, the next year will be just as enjoyable as this one.

Valentine’s Day for the G8

Because I love the G8 so much, I decided to buy ‘her’ a Valentine’s Day present… a Carbon Fiber Rear-Lip Spoiler!

Not that I don’t love the G8, but V-Day wasn’t the real reason for buying some carbon fiber. The G8 is a rare car, especially being discontinued, so there are very few aftermarket companies producing parts. One person who has been a stand-out in the GTO community is Maverick Man. He has produced some really high quality, pre-preg autoclaved CF, parts for the GTO… and when I heard he was looking into making parts for the G8 I was very happy!

I’ve always been a fan of the look of un-painted Carbon Fiber and I think it would go perfectly on a MGM colored G8. The CF Rear-Lip Spoiler attaches to the trunk using all the OEM hardware, but has a slightly more aggressive/taller lip. The mod should be subtle (far from a multi-level ‘ricer’ wing), but just a little touch of style to set my G8 apart from the rest.

Unfortunately the lead time on Maverick Man’s products are several months, but I should be towards the top on G8 waiting list. I really can’t wait to get this spoiler on my car… and hopefully enough people purchase it, encouraging MM to develop additional products (like CF Kidney Grill surrounds).

Header Swap

I have been having a rubbing issue with my JBA Shorty Headers since they were installed over six-months ago. The steering shaft has been coming in contact with the driver’s side header, mostly when turning right while accelerating. It had not caused any handling issues, but it did produce a noise that was very annoying.

With the help from a member of the G8Board I was able to get in-touch with Pertronix, apparently the company that makes JBA headers, and aquire a re-designed shorty header. The replacement header arrived a few weeks ago, but I’ve not had the chance to get it installed… until today.

While I did the install of the headers originally with a group of friends, and it wasn’t too difficult, but getting people together for another Mod-day (without a garage) wasn’t possible. I decided to head to Synergy Motorsports to get the work done.

The experience was just what I expected from all the comments I’ve heard about Synergy. It took a little over an hour to get the header out and the replacement header installed. I was really impressed with the service that Rick provided… I called today at noon and he was able to get me in/out quickly. It was also nice to pick his brain about different Mod ideas I’m having for the coming months.

After the work was completed I headed home with a detour on Palomares Rd. In the past when I’ve driven this road there were several times the header would rub. Today, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t get the header to rub against the steering column! I’m going to have to make a trip up Mines Rd. just to make sure, but it seems like everything is good to go.

Goodbye OnStar, Hello BlueStar

I’ve been looking for a Bluetooth solution for the G8 for quite some time. While I don’t spend much time on the phone in the car, with the new hands free laws in California, I need something that works. The performance of Bluetooth headsets are poor, especially compared to the factory phone system. I refuse to pay OnStar for phone minutes (I already pay for too many minutes on my cell phone) and was not impressed with their service when I needed a tow (AAA arrived faster).

My OnStar subscription is running out in a few days, so now was the perfect time to cancel it and go with the BlueStar system. The loss of OnStar means that I will not get phone alerts telling me my oil life and tire pressure (which I can do anytime I’m in the car), unlock my doors if I get locked-out (which is basically impossible in the G8 anyhow), or turn-by-turn navigation (but that’s what the GPS is for).

There is a group buy on the G8Board, so I’ll even be getting a discounted rate on the BlueStar (only a couple of bucks more than a year’s worth of OnStar). It will be nice to have a phone in the car that actually works without having to spend more money on minutes.

GM Service Manual

Today I received the GM Service Manuals for my ‘09 G8 GT!

Some may think that $150 is too much for a manual, but the amount of information that are in these books is just shocking. At first I thought they made a mistake and sent me more than one… stacked upon each other they are almost a foot thick! There is enough information in these books to take my car apart and put it back together again.

Looking inside there are very detailed descriptions and figures for everything. I really wished I had these when doing my GPS install… the manuals show the proper way to remove each of the pieces, where all of the clips are on all the panels (including the hidden pin that caused me to break a piece).

I’m sure I’m going to get a bunch of use out of these in the future!

Wiper Blades & Rain-X

I finally had enough! The driver’s side windshield wiper on my G8 (and many others as well) has been leaving about a 3″ streak directly in my field of view. It has been doing this for almost the entire time I’ve owned the car, but since it rains so little in California it’s not been top on my list to work on.

The recent week of rain has been getting to me, and I became fed-up with the streaking. When the wiper went up it was great, but it was the downward pass (the one that should make things perfect) that was a problem. Because of this I had to run the wipers faster than I’d like just to maintain visibility.

I went to the dealer to order the re-designed set of wiper blades (they should be here tomorrow, given they make it over the Sierra’s with all the bad weather). I’ll see if the work will be covered under warranty (the parts guy suggested it), but if not it’s not that expensive.

The other thing I did today was apply a few coats of Rain-X to the front windshield. I’ve never used the product before, but I’ve heard lots of good things about it.

After a good cleaning I applied the first coat, let it haze-up, and buffed it clear. I could really tell the difference in the way the towel slid over the glass after even one coat. I then repeated the application just for good measure.

When I went out for dinner it was raining lightly and able to see the difference the Rain-X made… WOW! When driving the rain just shot up the window… it reminds me of the ’starry night’ screen saver. The wiper blades moved quickly and smoothly across the glass and there was absolutely zero streaking. When it stopped raining it was obvious the difference between the windshield (no drops at all) and the other windows on the car. I really want to put an application on my rear window, as when it rains there are always water drops that never seem to go away, and the other glass.

NCG GTG: Marin Brewing Co.

Today the NorCal GOATs has a get together at the Marin Brewing Co. for lunch. As always, there were caravans from various areas of the bay to the meet. I connected with a few people from the central valley and a new CGM GTO owner from Castro Valley.

After a brief stop to get some fuel, the gang headed out. The drive up went smoothly (some random person in front of me even paid my toll on the bridge) and we made good time.

The rain that hammered this area over the past week was sticking around just long enough to rain on our parade. It wasn’t too hard (nothing compared to this past week), but it was consistently sprinkling over most of the drive. I didn’t wash my car for this meet (again), and was glad of that when the rain was coming down. But on that note, I really need to spend a couple of hours washing and detailing my car!

When we arrived at the Marin Brewing Co. the rest of the group was already in the restaurant. It was a little disappointing not to get there earlier for the typical talk in the parking lot, but we were able to get some of that done after the GTG. We went in and joined the rest of the group just in time to order food.

After a GTG at the Marin Brewing Co. a few of us headed to the Golden Gate Bridge to take some photos. The drive to the bridge was terrible… being the leader, trying to keep everyone together, and not knowing the area is just a nightmare situation. After driving around and circles (at least three times) trying to get everyone together… I was finally able to find an area to pull over and regroup. From there, things went a little smoother, which was nice.

The parking area at the Coast Guard harbor was very wet and full of many puddles. One nice thing is that the center ‘road’ portion of the lot is paved, so despite having dirty puddles, it wasn’t too much of an issue. The parking lot was quite wet/muddy and I was really surprised that everyone came in for photos. I think it was the dirtiest place most of these GTOs have ever been!

The lighting was far from ideal (everything was backlit), but I don’t really think you can take a bad photo with the Golden Gate Bridge in the background.

Because of the earlier rain, people’s cars were dirty… so I wasn’t too worried about getting the perfect picture. I mentioned to people that we need to be here at sunrise to get the best light, and didn’t get many people who seemed interested. I totally understand not wanting to make an hour (or longer) drive before the sun is up just to take some photos, but sometimes that’s what it takes to get the really spectacular images.

The drive home from the Golden Gate Bridge was typical Northern California driving… patches of really heavy traffic even on a Saturday! A few of us stopped briefly at the Dublin Hooters to deliver a NCG jacket and calendar to a member who was unable to make the cruise.

The day was very enjoyable. Great conversations as always and really good to see everyone and what they have been working on since the last time. I think there should be a few good photos for those who made the trip to the Golden Gate, so that was cool too.

Traffic School

I’ve been putting-off taking the traffic school to keep the point from appearing on my driving record for too long… so today I bit the bullet and got it out of the way. The ability to do things online is MUCH nicer than the classroom sessions (driver’s education) they I had to do when getting my license. The information was basically the same, but being able to go at my own (faster) pace was nice. I more than likely could have just taken the final test and passed with the 80% required, but I do like to know the specifics of the laws (ie that it is legal to make a left turn on red, as long as it’s not a red arrow). Took me ~3hrs to read through all of the sections… and I actually learned a couple of things. It wasn’t a fun use of my time, but it could have been worse!

$300 later and the G8 is fixed

Cutting to the chase… when I installed my Volant CAI I started a chain reaction that resulted in where I am today.

The problem ended-up being a damaged wire harness leading to the Mass Air Flow (MAF) sensor. The wire was damaged when it came in contact with a pulley on the front of the engine. The resulting damage caused a short and damaged the fuse block. The second time the car died the fuse block wasn’t damaged, but the PCM (ECM?) went into a fail-safe mode (not letting the car restart).

To fix things the damaged harness was repaired and the PCM was re-programmed. The new harness is shorter and is being routed in a different position such that it will not contact the pulley.

So the problem is solved, but it wasn’t (really) covered under warranty. What am I talking about? Well, the car is covered under warranty, but only against factory issues. Installing after-market equipment (like the cold air intake) starts to get into the gray areas of warranties. Because the damage was caused due to the install of the CAI, it wasn’t covered… but the dealership worked with me and only charged me for the parts that were replaced ($300).

I tested out the car in the acceleration department on the way home and there is definitely a stock tune in the ECM. I haven’t been able to determine if the TCM was re-programmed as well. I would tune the ECM again, but (thinking they were being nice) the dealer filled-up the car with half-a-tank of 87 octane (Yuck!). Looks like I’ll have to burn-off what is in the tank before I can get things back the way I really want them.

In the end, I’m actually kinda glad that there was something that was fixed. When they first said that it was ‘just the fuse block’ and that everything would be OK… I still had some doubts that everything was going to be OK. Knowing that there was something broken (the MAF sensor harness) that was repaired gives me greater confidence that there will not be a problem in the future.