Life is Great with a 6.0-liter V8
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  • The Mod Bug has Bitten!

    Posted on August 30th, 2009 tcorzett No comments

    I was not going to do any performance mods to the G8, but that didn’t last long! I’ve really wanted to get the exhaust note of the G8 GT sounding more aggressive… and it has snowballed a bit.

    08-09_pontiac_g8_exhaust_system_hi-res

    So I decided to get a Corsa cat-back exhaust system after taking a ride in a G8 GT that had them. I’ve heard the car at idle and with the throttle revving, but I wanted to hear what things sounded like from inside… at various speeds. The last thing that I want is an exhaust that makes lots of noise (drone) when doing casual driving around town or on the freeway. The Corsa system sounded really great at all speeds and is just what I am looking for!

    1811s_proto_325

    Once I was going to do the exhaust system, I figured that I’d do some JBA shorty headers as well. The car that I rode in also had these headers and it sounded perfect. I could have gone with a long-tube header, but it relocates (or deletes) the catalytic converters… leading to issues with law enforcement and/or smog… this is just not something that I want to get into.

    volantg81

    Now that the G8 will be exhaling better, it needs to breath better. This leads to a cold air intake. I decided to go with the Volant system because of the enclosed filter box… the other ones have open tops and use the hood to seal, and I’d rather it just always be closed-off from the hot engine gasses. Also, the Volant uses a dry filter so I shouldn’t have to worry about getting filter oil on the MAS or other engine electronics (which dealers supposedly look for when it comes to voiding a warranty).

    And because it really wakes-up the G8 GT, especially with the aforementioned mods, I’m going to get a custom tune for the ECU. This tune will allow me to optimize the fuel system for 91 octane. I should also be able to have various transmission settings for ‘Drive’ and ‘Sport’ modes. And my main goal is to keep the car from wanting to stay in 6th gear all the time… and shifting first to 5th and then to 4th when you put your foot down. As it stands now I can’t get onto a freeway without getting mad that the car wants to jump to 6th gear all the time (which is why I now just use ‘manual’ mode).

    All in all, this should give the G8 GT a great sounding exhaust note… fix the downshifting issues… and a bit of a performance gain. Now I just have to get it all installed, which should be fun in itself!