The early 2000s were tumultuous years for GM. Most of the company’s brands were in disarray, and buyers were deserting by the thousands. The Camaro and Firebird were dead, SUVs and trucks ruled the product mix, and car line innovation was sorely lacking. GM leadership had to do something, or …
The LNF engine with the GM Performance kit was pretty darn good. I had the same engine in my 2009 Cobalt SS. Did before and after dyno runs the same day as the dealer install and reflash. Huge increase in low and midrange torque. If I recall it was $781 for the kit, plus $100 for the 2 dyno runs at my local tuning shop. Disregard the Z06 comparison (my other car at the time) in my test results.
shop.
Forgot to add that almost doubling the torque off idle made drivability and taking off from a stop so much better. Launch mode also was much better. I don't know if the Soltice/Sky offered Launch mode? If they didn't they should have.
The car in the header looks exactly like my car except that mine is gray rather than silver.
I have lightly massaged mine - now had 375 bhp and 375 tq, but still gets around 30 mpg if you keep your foot out of it, does 0-60 in 4.5 and 1/4 mile in 12.9. It is one of the 226 cars that have the 5 speed manual box.
Grab one when you see it at a reasonable price - they are getting pretty rare.
I think these are bargain priced right now. I would question parts availability going forward, however. My few insurance claims on them have already revealed discontinued body items.
Body and trim items will definitely be bottlenecks for future refurbishers/restorers, and I doubt that the cars will attract the same sort of after market support that classic cars made in similar numbers (e.g. MGA) have, so it would be prudent to acquire a few spares if you intend to be a long term owner (I picked up a pair of spare side windows as they are different from the converts, for instance).
In reply to wspohn :
What modifications did it take to get to the 375/375 numbers?
Somebeach (Forum Supporter) said:In reply to wspohn :
What modifications did it take to get to the 375/375 numbers?
Pretty straight forward - eliminate any restrictions - high flow CAT, replace shoddy looking intercooler tubes with crimps in them, swap out for an intercooler with a higher capacity to shed heat, use a bigger turbo (in my case I was being conservative and opted for a stock EFR turbo with a larger impeller fitted) and then revise the computer tune to suit.
Dyno results: 324 hp 347 Tq at the wheels. Usual conversion is around a 15% drop on a chassis dyno, so that would equate to around 370 something at the flywheel.
I saw a hard top GXP solstice just yesterday in the grocery store parking lot!
I said something to the guy about him having a "pretty rare bird". He said not many people knew what he had! He was good to talk to about it, though!
In reply to BA5 :
Was it a manual too? Cause that's a damn unicorn.
Somthing about the proportions on these cars has always seemed "different"? Not bad. Not sure what I am trying to describe.
My friend described it to me as a Ferrari and a MR2 being mixed together.
I'm seeing a lot of these pop up on Facebook Marketplace for cheap money (less than $5K). They're not the best examples, but they would be perfect to have some fun in. I don't know how I fit in them, but it's been tempting.
In reply to BA5 :
I always assumed that the GXP cars would hold their value to the extent that they'd compete in price with a C6 Corvette, at which point the Solstice becomes a hard sell. I've always wanted to drive one though, I drove a base model non turbo car briefly and was impressed with the torque and the feel of the chassis, though the interior was a little sad.
SWMBO was given a Sky Redline by her parents that rarely drove it. I believe it's a 2008, I remember rolling it over 10K a couple years ago on a drive, it's probably around 12-13K at the moment.
I didn't really care for it, I think the auto kills it for me, she loves the thing. It was originally for SWMBO's daughter (who is now 19) but she didn't want it. Time to see if she wants to boost it up a bit. 
In reply to Jerry :
I'm seeing hard tops ones go for over $25000 these days
J.A. Ackley said:I'm seeing a lot of these pop up on Facebook Marketplace for cheap money (less than $5K). They're not the best examples, but they would be perfect to have some fun in. I don't know how I fit in them, but it's been tempting.
Up here (Michigan) you won't see anything that cheap because they all get put away for four or five months a year ,and only have 15-60K on them.
Its worth noting that if you can get your hands on an 06 2.4 solstice, their bottom ends are forged from the factory. this configuration changed mid way through 2007 production. the 2006 2.4 has been proven to handle just shy of 400whp with a turbo set up.
All of the cylinder heads share the same bolt patterns in terms of intake and exhaust manifolds. So taking a 2.0 LNF turbo kit you can bolt it right on to the 2.4. the casting on the block even has the provision you drill through for the oil drain. and the oil feed comes right off the block as well.
I speak from experience as i picked up an rpm turbo kit second hand. this kit uses the stock oem lnf turbo manifold and all of the coolant lines. it even uses the stock thermostat housing and coolant tube from the water pump. really the only thing different is the intercooler piping. The car has been surprisingly fun even only on 5psi of boost. the added displacement yields more torque and the the 5 speed ar5 and stock LSD makes it a blast. I also think they are extremely underrated in terms of how well they can handle.
Last decent day of the year today in Illinois, saw a guy this morning about 7:30 in a Solstice, it was still in the 30s, he had top down, windows up and bundled up like he was in the Arctic. Respect
BlindPirate said:Last decent day of the year today in Illinois, saw a guy this morning about 7:30 in a Solstice, it was still in the 30s, he had top down, windows up and bundled up like he was in the Arctic. Respect
My heater feels like it'll melt my shoes on full blast in my Solstice. Windows up, you get some breeze through the middle that a wind deflector would take care of. I'm cozy well into the low 40s with a knitted cap on in mine with the top down.
I got a 09 GXP recently and I love the car. I've got plans to boost the handling and performance this winter. I can't wait to autocross it next year
In reply to tim300wsm :
just don't listen to phil1734 on the other forum
camopaint0707 said:In reply to BA5 :
Was it a manual too? Cause that's a damn unicorn.
Yes - only 281 GXP coupes made with manual gearbox made ( I own one of them)
tim300wsm said:I got a 09 GXP recently and I love the car. I've got plans to boost the handling and performance this winter. I can't wait to autocross it next year
Want to buy a new tunnel and diff brace kit, as swell as high flow catted DP? I bought them from RPM and never installed.
fatallightning said:tim300wsm said:I got a 09 GXP recently and I love the car. I've got plans to boost the handling and performance this winter. I can't wait to autocross it next year
Want to buy a new tunnel and diff brace kit, as swell as high flow catted DP? I bought them from RPM and never installed.
If you care about handling the Probeam (rear suspension stiffener) and tunnel brace make a very real difference. The high flow CAT won't make any difference unless you change the tune of the car and\or use a larger capacity turbo.
wspohn said:fatallightning said:tim300wsm said:I got a 09 GXP recently and I love the car. I've got plans to boost the handling and performance this winter. I can't wait to autocross it next year
Want to buy a new tunnel and diff brace kit, as swell as high flow catted DP? I bought them from RPM and never installed.
If you care about handling the Probeam (rear suspension stiffener) and tunnel brace make a very real difference. The high flow CAT won't make any difference unless you change the tune of the car and\or use a larger capacity turbo.
I have a Trifecta tune on my car right now. I bought the braces like 2 years ago, and just never found the time to install them. Did you notice a big difference on turn in and tracking? I bought the car with like 29k miles, so I'd assume the bushings and shocks were still reasonable. It always seemed like I'd turn in, there'd be a secondary body motion, and I'd have to correct the wheel.
Sadly, my GXP is used more of like a boring daily, and I'll probably sell it spring for something slightly more practical. The trunk really is an annoyance for doing any kind of actual grocery shopping or DD things. At the time, the "fun" car was a Caterham that was just awful to drive more than an hour, and I had just written off an X100 XKR and wanted something stick and sportier. I still wanted a vert, so the Solstice made sense. I've since gotten back into an Elise, which I can drive halfway far without wanting to end myself. If the Kappa had even like a Miata sized trunk, I could sort of justify. I also just have car ADHD and want something different.
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