So I didn't buy an RS6 after all...

[StormFront]

After an exhausting (pun intended) search beginning in January this year, I have finally purchased a car! I was looking for a fun to drive sedan that would be a good highway car to drive to and from events with my camera gear and any passengers I might need to pick up, flag girls, etc. I was originally looking for Audi RS6's but after talking to several sellers (no one on here) who got tight lipped when I started asking about service history and so forth, I got burnt out on them. Around that time, I rode in my friend Kyle's G8 GXP and realized it was exactly what I was looking for. So I changed focus around the summer to looking at GXP's and came across this one on Cars.com.

I spoke with the seller, Eric, and we coordinated via email for the past few weeks until we settled on a price and arranged a time to meet up. Dad and I flew up to Pittsburgh to pick it up this past Thursday and Eric picked us up at the hotel Friday morning. Eric was very friendly and it was obvious he took great care of this car. He was the 2nd owner. He said he was selling it so that he could move on to something else, possibly some classic muscle that he could work on with his dad.

This car is black on black with the 6 speed manual transmission and the sunroof (the only two options on GXP's). It had just a hair over 15k miles on it at the time of purchase. It is all stock except window tint.

We drove down to I81 and headed south through Virginia; made it to Dad's house in NC around 10pm. We averaged 26mpg on the highway. The car is a dream to drive. It feels raw yet just refined enough to be comfortable at the same time. The sound is fantastic, the torque is evil-grin-inducing, the seats are comfortable, lots of room inside and the trunk, and it turns heads. It's an amazing car all around.

I don't really have a lot of plans for it, I truly like it just the way it is but I'm sure I'll find some things to do. It will stay mostly this way until it's paid off, then I may do some performance mods but I'll figure that out later.

First bath:
http://jpmcgphotography.smugmug.com/Cars/My-09-Pontiac-G8-GXP/i-vQwz22R/0/XL/IMG_5251-XL.jpg

Eric let me borrow his tag since we couldn't get a transit tag
http://jpmcgphotography.smugmug.com/Cars/My-09-Pontiac-G8-GXP/i-nHFqS5z/0/XL/IMG_5254-XL.jpg

Me and the GXP
http://jpmcgphotography.smugmug.com/Cars/My-09-Pontiac-G8-GXP/i-VFXnCTV/0/XL/IMG_5260-XL.jpg

All cleaned up, at least for a few minutes
http://jpmcgphotography.smugmug.com/Cars/My-09-Pontiac-G8-GXP/i-TM9DMJ3/0/XL/IMG_5270-XL.jpg

http://jpmcgphotography.smugmug.com/Cars/My-09-Pontiac-G8-GXP/i-fbHF2tJ/0/XL/IMG_5271-XL.jpg

Thanks for looking, I will update this thread as I start to mod it. :)

[Ruergard]

Cool car, and congratulations! :cheers:

This is a first for me actually, can't recall I've seen one before.

[Ruergard]

Cool car, and congratulations! :cheers:

This is a first for me actually, can't recall I've seen one before.

[StormFront]

Yeah, they are very rare. Total GXP production was 1,829 units. 841 were manual. Only 81 were Panther Black Metalic with a manual and sunroof according to g8gxp.net. I think the seller said this one was #289 in the production run. I need to confirm this with a spreadsheet over on g8board that lists all the VIN's in order. The interior is definitely no Audi but it is a really nice place to be anyway and good Lord this thing is fun to drive! :incar:

[StormFront]

Bought a "GXP" tag for the front off of Amazon. It's definitely not OEM quality like you would have been able to pick up at a GM parts counter a few years ago but it seemed to be my only option these days. Today, the sun broke out for a few hours so I pulled the G8 out of the garage, cleaned the garage out and moved my car care stuff down to the garage. Parked the both vehicles together and stopped to take a quick pic before getting back to work...

https://scontent-a-atl.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn2/1454759_10151991176107622_632720640_n.jpg

[DHall1]

Well done! Congrats

I hear that is a fine chassis. Get some clear bra on that front end...esp those fender flares.

[StormFront]

I'm afraid it's too late for clear bra, there's already a few rock chips. However, if I were to ever repaint the front end, I'd get all that fixed, ditch the front plate bracket and then put a clear bra on. I'm not even considering that at this point though.

[StormFront]

went to Cars & Coffee Upstate this morning and parked with some other fellow Holdens. That's Wendel's white GT on the right, Kyle's silver GXP in the middle and mine down on the end...

Kyle said his wheels were "competition gray" lol
http://jpmcgphotography.smugmug.com/Cars/My-09-Pontiac-G8-GXP/i-jWkZtWj/0/XL/IMG_5273-XL.jpg

front tag helps A LOT lol
http://jpmcgphotography.smugmug.com/Cars/My-09-Pontiac-G8-GXP/i-4g48dR8/0/XL/IMG_5276-XL.jpg

oh yea, there was a C6Z next to us as well :)
http://jpmcgphotography.smugmug.com/Cars/My-09-Pontiac-G8-GXP/i-M4hmRc9/0/XL/IMG_5277-XL.jpg

[Turbowned]

Nice! Another rare, powerful big saloon car :)

[StormFront]

Yeah I stayed in the same ball park, just switched to a different team. I'm not trying to stir the pot sticking around, I hope you guys can appreciate car enthusiasts, no matter what brand they drive. I'm a big Audi fan, this just made more sense to me both short term and long term. Securing a loan was not nearly as much of a problem either.

[StormFront]

Pulled the GXP out of the garage during the warmer part of today (55*) to give it a bath so I could install my new VG SharkFin and replace the unsightly factory antenna.

http://jpmcgphotography.smugmug.com/Cars/My-09-Pontiac-G8-GXP/i-thxdjXz/0/XL/IMG_5415-XL.jpg

Before SharkFin
http://jpmcgphotography.smugmug.com/Cars/My-09-Pontiac-G8-GXP/i-Lh5L8jK/0/XL/IMG_5420-XL.jpg

http://jpmcgphotography.smugmug.com/Cars/My-09-Pontiac-G8-GXP/i-LRRTSCM/0/XL/IMG_5424-XL.jpg

http://jpmcgphotography.smugmug.com/Cars/My-09-Pontiac-G8-GXP/i-hpj7kPW/0/XL/IMG_5431-XL.jpg

http://jpmcgphotography.smugmug.com/Cars/My-09-Pontiac-G8-GXP/i-FdrLd7b/0/XL/IMG_5432-XL.jpg

After!
http://jpmcgphotography.smugmug.com/Cars/My-09-Pontiac-G8-GXP/i-XCgbJTx/0/XL/IMG_5437-XL.jpg

Mileage: 16,510

[Ruergard]

That old antenna just didn't fit that car at all. :thumb:

[StormFront]

Tell me about it... It's not like sharkfin style covers are expensive either :facepalm:

Oh well, got that remedied. Dad ordered me something pretty cool, but small, for the car for Christmas. It should be here next week. I'll post that up once I get it in the car :)

[G2]

Curious, how many Rs'6 were driven before changing direction?

[StormFront]

Curious, how many Rs'6 were driven before changing direction?

I never drove one, if I'm honest. There were a lot of things that contributed to me swaying to a different car, the biggest two were factory manual transmission availability and the difficulty in securing a loan on a 10 year old car. I had money to put down but it seemed like everyone wanted 5-10k over book value.

[Erik]

Never seen this car before. Enjoy in good Health!

[StormFront]

Never seen this car before. Enjoy in good Health!

Thanks! Y'all don't get the Vauxhall VXR8?

[StormFront]

My father ordered me an dash plaque from Third Shift Studios as a Christmas gift. It was finally delivered today in the mail. Here's some pics, came out pretty nice I think!

http://jpmcgphotography.smugmug.com/Cars/My-09-Pontiac-G8-GXP/i-sCPKMGD/0/XL/IMG_5458-XL.jpg

Before (above the air vents)
http://jpmcgphotography.smugmug.com/Cars/My-09-Pontiac-G8-GXP/i-fJfbm3N/0/XL/IMG_5461-XL.jpg

Installed
http://jpmcgphotography.smugmug.com/Cars/My-09-Pontiac-G8-GXP/i-BNdV8Hr/0/XL/IMG_5462-XL.jpg

After!
http://jpmcgphotography.smugmug.com/Cars/My-09-Pontiac-G8-GXP/i-X9RfNwq/0/XL/IMG_5465-XL.jpg

[stef2.7t]

Very nice purchase! I looked into these a few months ago. All we get to Canada however is the GT. I sat in it and found that it didn't hug me like I wanted it to, felt a bit oversized on the inside. I did love the appointments on the interior though!

[StormFront]

There were a precious few GXP's that made it to Canada, literally just a handful I think. I like the spaciousness of it, personal preference though.

[nistah]

G8's are real nice and have a good community, some folks doing really amazing mods to G8's. I predict they will become the new American cult tuning classic car similar to the Impala SS and Taurus SHO back in the day! Enjoy

[StormFront]

Thanks nistah, I see that too. Lots of 500+whp guys out there already. I'll probably get there eventually, but not anytime soon. Baby steps...

Finally got a tag for my car on Friday. Long story but a lot of stuff got screwed up on the bank's side of things and had to get resolved, protracted by the holidays and vacation time people take towards the end of the year. Regardless, the car is now street legal and just in time. The driver I shoot for in Pirelli World Challenge, Brian Kleeman, flew down Friday night to hang out for the weekend. We took the car to an AutoX over in Clemson to finish off the OEM Bridgestone RE050's which were pretty much shot when I bought the car. We had a great time tossing the car around and I think we did pretty decent considering. Times have yet to be posted but I'll follow up on that along with a video (we had all three of my GoPro's going). Here's one and the album if you want to see any of the other shots:

http://jpmcgphotography.smugmug.com/Cars/Clemson-Sports-Car-Club1-25-14/i-j2BJ9mS/0/XL/IMG_5554-XL.jpg

Clemson Sports Car Club AutoX - 1/25/14 - JPMcG Photography (http://jpmcgphotography.smugmug.com/Cars/Clemson-Sports-Car-Club1-25-14/36633230_M3rCn2)

After the AutoX, we drove down to Z1 Motorsports in Georgia for a meeting about the upcoming year in Spec Z racing and hung out with our ATL friends the rest of the weekend. Capped it off by meeting up with some G8 owners in Duluth on my way back home last night (excuse the poor photo quality, Facebook upload here) :

https://scontent-a-atl.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/1743496_10152156321912622_1764029272_n.jpg

[StormFront]

Here's the autox video!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_BfDK_jQzs

Read below video for description of laps.

[StormFront]

After finishing off the OEM tires last weekend, I ordered a set of 255/35/19 Michelin Pilot Super Sports for my car and they arrived today. I got them installed after work, gave the car a quick bath (you know... 2.5 hours or so), and snapped a few pictures to show off the new shoes:

Weird reflection on the front fender by the headlight, not a mark on the car
http://jpmcgphotography.smugmug.com/Cars/My-09-Pontiac-G8-GXP/i-TN2JfGd/0/XL/IMG_6084-XL.jpg

As it should have been factory...
http://jpmcgphotography.smugmug.com/Cars/My-09-Pontiac-G8-GXP/i-sTzWDP8/0/XL/IMG_6086-XL.jpg

http://jpmcgphotography.smugmug.com/Cars/My-09-Pontiac-G8-GXP/i-PWrd6f6/0/XL/IMG_6089-XL.jpg

Rear view
http://jpmcgphotography.smugmug.com/Cars/My-09-Pontiac-G8-GXP/i-8hQ56b5/0/XL/IMG_6092-XL.jpg

Mileage: 17,1xx

[StormFront]

Made it home from work (in the truck, of course) with just enough light left to wheel the GXP out of the garage and snap a quick shot at the end of the neighborhood across the road during Snowmaggeddon 2014:

http://jpmcgphotography.smugmug.com/Cars/My-09-Pontiac-G8-GXP/i-DmDKhQM/0/XL/IMG_6128-XL.jpg

[StormFront]

Attended the Cars & Coffee Upstate show this morning with the GXP along with my friends Andy, in the GTR, and Geoff, in the Nismo 370z. Today was the largest turnout thus far that I've seen at the "new" location, Michelin HQ. By 8:45am, the entire parking lot was full and people were having to park on the roads that circled the lots. Had a great time and stuck around till around 11, then we headed for the Carolina Ale House an exit down and had lunch with a big group of various car guys and gals. Weather looked gloomy in this snap but it cleared up not long after and turned out to be quite a beautiful day!

http://jpmcgphotography.smugmug.com/Cars/My-09-Pontiac-G8-GXP/i-77w89WV/0/XL/IMG_7010-XL.jpg

[StormFront]

I finally got to put the new Super Sports to the test this weekend as I traveled up to Asheville for Cars and Coffee yesterday morning then joined a group from WNCRides on a cruise from Asheville to Brevard and then on to Caesar's Head then down. I have to say, these tires are absolutely amazing. Granted I never drove my car with the OEM tires in good shape but these tires just grip for days. I simply could not get the car to break loose within my own personal limits of what I feel is safe. They may have had more to give but I wasn't ready to test it and I was keeping up with the leaders of the pack and not holding anyone else behind me up. All in all, had a great time driving my car yesterday and the weather couldn't have been better for this kind of thing!

Album:

WNCRides Cruise to Caesar's Head - 3/15/14 - JPMcG Photography (http://jpmcgphotography.smugmug.com/Cars/WNCRides-Cruise-to-Caesars/37718313_9mKxzH)

Car:

http://jpmcgphotography.smugmug.com/Cars/WNCRides-Cruise-to-Caesars/i-L23RmX9/0/XL/IMG_7223-XL.jpg

Video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4JcszwZFK04&feature=youtu.be

[StormFront]

Haven't posted anything recently because I've been so busy. The GXP made the trip to St. Petersburg for race a little over a month ago. I took my friend Dustin (from Z1), his wife and myself along with all our luggage and my photo gear. Both Dustin and Erin were really impressed with the car as we all three took turns driving the beast. On the highway the new Super Sport tires really showed their advantage providing a quiet, comfortable ride. After St. Pete, I took it to Stone Mountain to meet with the Georgia G8 club for their first big meet. That was a lot of fun and I got to meet a lot of really nice G8 owners!

https://scontent-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/t31.0-8/736127_10201809343130462_4649712034277844902_o.jpg

That's me standing almost dead center with my friend Ryan on the left and my car just above and to the left.

Somewhere during this time, my dad bought me a set of Lloyd Premium floor matts for the car. They came out great! (see pics in link below)

A few weeks later I drove the car to Barber Motorsports Park for the next World Challenge race. Once again proving to be exactly what I wanted in a car, I ended up with 3 other people along with my luggage and photo gear comfortably whisking us back to Carrollton, GA, to drop a few friends off at Z1. For this leg of the trip back I decided to let Jon drive as I was pretty beat from walking every square inch of Barber and insanely long days in the paddock (see my post about the race for my info on why!).

https://scontent-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/t1.0-9/1461623_10152360001292622_8777984349769378183_n.jp g

After all this running around the car was really starting to look worse for wear, despite my best efforts to keep it clean. In the capable hands of my good friend Andy, I dropped off the car last week so it could be detailed just in time for ZdayZ next weekend. Andy made a post about it over on DetailersBliss. Here's a link to that so y'all can see the paint correction process, it came out amazing from what I can see!

Pontiac G8 GXP correction - Show and Shine - Detailing Bliss powered by Detailer's Domain (http://www.detailingbliss.com/topic/29158-pontiac-g8-gxp-correction/)

Mileage: 22,242