If I had been smart....or, my list of modification regrets.

[mfuller]

I'll be the first to admit my car ain't perfect - I mean I like it, but I've done some stupid things in the 3 years I've owned it. I thought I might share my experiences in the hope that it'll save others some headaches/money/time.

1. The RT cat/downpipe was a total waste of money.
2. The supercharger was a dumb impulse buy, and I've never lost $800 quicker.
3. Should've done my suspension right the first time. Coilovers right off the bat, and I wouldn't have to worry about swaybars. God, the front bar is a pain in the butt to change out.
4. Should have never "settled" for Konig Tantrums. Sure, they looked nice, but I knew they were heavier than what I wanted - I could've saved another month and had the Kosei's long ago.
5. Ported lower manifold was a waste of $100. My lower intake gasket wasn't even leaking at the time.....who knows how long it might have lasted?
6. That dumb ASE chip. One of the first to get raped to the tune of $450 for this thing. Once I had added my headers, this thing actually caused me to lose power. Go chew on that one.

It's sickening to think of how much I've spent, and how little of it I actually still use and enjoy. I always sucked at planning.

Anyone else have horror stories about modding their car that they want to share?

[ArcticGT]

White Face Gauges- pretty much ruined the car for me, I have been fighting with an inconsistant speedometer needle. At night only, the speedometer doesn't flow continuously like it should when accelerating and decelerating and the gas needle will do the same when starting it up from time to time :(

Spending what I did on various mods. Looking back it was way to much money for the products that are out there for these cars. Taking what I spent on this car and putting it into another car would have gone a lot further then it has in the Grand Am. I am not bashing the car, just wish I had looked more closely to whats out there (manual tranny) at the time of the purchase and the aftermarket that was out there for it.

[SilverGT1]

my only regret at this point is the $500 + i spent on sa's mainfolds :/

[SikMindz]

Nearly 2.5-3G's on the bodykit. If only I had known about the SC/T and AT way back when...and well, yeah..you know the rest.

Oh..and definitely the TPS-TEC!

[PACE]

lol lol EVERYBODY bought the TPS-TEC...and then EVERYBODY sold the TPS -TEC after they ran it for a month!! lol

Anyways-

I regret juicing the 2000 I owned....Sure I ran some wicked fast times in that focker...but I lost a lot of $$ buy giving it to the dealer for $7500.(even though the tranny was on its last leg) But I try to look on the positive...I had a lot of fun doing installs (I know you did too Matt) and now Because I was such an azz with the 2000 now I have a beautiful black 03 that I am going to baby!

THE GLASS IS HALF FULL!!!!:thumbs:

[luniz]

hmm, maybe the jet chip I bought used and then sold before I installed it. I hope the DHP is a lot better.

[papiogagt]

my lotec gauge pod. it just got in the way when making left turns and gave me a headache watching that pointless a/f gauge bounce uncontrollalby back and forth. other than taht, nothing really! well, yeah, the tps!

[MJE95GAGT]

My WAI and not getting a 4T65E when my tranny blew out and sticking with the 60E

[IrateSpeed6]

TPS-TEC!!!!! :p Other than that... I guess I wish I would have gotten a bigger tranny cooler... oh, the racing seats weren't for me - lost quite a bit there...

If there is one thing that I will never regret in my entire life, is getting the RSM SC... it has really turned my car into a kick-azz car. These past couple of weeks that I've been without boost has really reminded me of what my car used to be like... Frankly, I don't like getting beat by Maximas :rage: I'm counting down the days until I start pushing positive PSI again! :thumbs:

[Vintalage]

So there is still an SC available for the 3400 engine?

No regrets here. Well except maybe the alero. What a trouble maker! :rage:

[2002GT]

I regret buying my car... I love it and all, but it's just not me... I am more to the import scene... Much more to choose from and cheaper prices...

[Panacea]

Spending $200 on various headlight bulbs!!! Then changing them out and aiming them so much that the aimers stripped... Shouldn't have messed with it because I do not believe oyu have to readjust them when you change the light bulbs.

I wish I didn't buy my GTS headlight covers, it was a teenager thing and yeah.

Wish I wouldn't have used anything other than Zaino on my car. Now I'm left with wax buildup around the badges that never goes away.


As for Arctics problem with the WFG's, you just have to take all the old tape off and put new stuff on there! If you go to the picnic I'll be glad to fix it for you! Also, if the poster tape isn't working for you I may have found a solution 10x better, and it won't damage your cluster like the glues will. PM me for details!

[SpyhunteR]

Biggest regret ever...... Buying Konig rims... than suffering w/ them and eventually buying the 5zigen Copse, much happier now thank you.

Buying the exhaust flange from Mantapart, they make great parts and all, but this exhaust flange is not one of them. $90 bye bye.

Buying Autometer Gauges, blech, I was always a Greddy type guy.

Installing my oil pressure regulator, goddamn sending unit is still giving me troubles.

and to top it all off. PICRACING, biggest scam artist ever, he still owes me $800 in parts, and I still am very ****ed till this day.

The best part to ever happen to me. My #3 bearing go out, it's the best thing to ever happen. Rebuilding a bottom end that can handle 25psi and lots and lots of abuse is the greatest thing I will ever be able to do to this motor. :)

Next best thing ever to happen to me. Buying a stick vs. getting an auto-snore-matic... Yeh, so what you're more accurate, but I gaurantee you'll never have as much fun as I do going through some curves up in Mount Charleston, or at the road coarse at Las Vegas Motorspeedway.. mwahahahah

[DumpsterDamon]

so far my biggest mistake was trying to paint my interior without ever painting anything else before. my door handle outlines are sitting in a bucket of mineral spirits right now.

why does everyone hate konig rims? i planned on getting those :rage:

[IrateSpeed6]

Originally posted by SpyhunteR
Next best thing ever to happen to me. Buying a stick vs. getting an auto-snore-matic...
:cough:slow:cough:



:D

[SpyhunteR]

Originally posted by IrateGT
:cough:slow:cough:



:D


lol... it's the bad drivers that make manuals "slow" and inconsistent.

it's good drivers (points at self) to work on accuracy and efficiancy. Ex: going to the track and being w/in .2 of all runs in a night.. :D

[iceman]

As of this weekend.. Taylor spark plug wires.. just coz they are blue doesn't mean they won't make your engine do funny things.. they are hittin the trash real fast.

[Jagey]

reinstalling painted interior pieces before they were completely dry and trying to change my dome light, breaking it in the process, and costing over a 100 bucks in repair.

[sicc]

Originally posted by Jagey
reinstalling painted interior pieces before they were completely dry and trying to change my dome light, breaking it in the process, and costing over a 100 bucks in repair.

bahahahaha lol i did the exact same thing... still havent fixed it... how much iz that piece anyway? bad thing iz... i installed it in tact, but the light didnt come on.. turned out to be a fuse, but i didnt learn that until after i took the light bacc out again and broke it ;[

[teambeechstreet]

Originally posted by 2002GT
I regret buying my car... I love it and all, but it's just not me... I am more to the import scene... Much more to choose from and cheaper prices...

I feel the exact same way. I like my GAGT, but really wish i coulda bought an import!

[2002GT]

I'm glad someone agrees with me!

[Kalvin97GAGT]

my biggest mistake was getting this car in the first place

[Doug]

Painting my interior.
Turbocharging my car- what a waste of money.Coulda bought a TT supra if I would have saved a little more.

[MetaGTP1]

My regrets are :

1) Buying those ARE Tuner wheels(I gave them away).
2) TPS-SEC(got suckered into that one and sold it.)
3) Taylor Wires


The best modification was, of course, the SC. It totally changed the character of the car. :thumbs:

[athomas]

My regrets:

Juicing the 2000. Yeah it was quicker...but I'm realizing now it's the "baby bottle" mod. There's so much more that goes into a solid nitrous setup than what it is ever worth. With all the money I spent on the kit, fill ups and various other things, I could have bought an SC, that could have transferred to my current car.

Clearning the Tails on the 2000, I don't really like the look of the LED's, I like the full bulb. Spending 20 bucks on bulbs once a month added up over time!

Selling crap as cheeply as I did off the 2000. I really could have made more money :(

[Skillet]

I don't regret anything as of yet. I researched my CAI for 6 months before getting it. That just gives you an idea of how picky I am. I have been around for close to 2 years now, but I still listen to the veterans of the site to see what they liked and didn't then make a good decison on it.

[WhiPontiac]

I don't really regret having my 98 but i wish I would've gone about buying a car differently. i had only taken 2 days from when I first saw it to decide on taking it. shouldn't have bought an Extended Warranty. (DU'H!) I should've looked at it closer and noticed the cracked spoiler, cracked bumper paint and scratches all over the car.

Also, i wish I could've find a 99+ that i liked. A lot of them were 4 cyl and the only V6 that weren't expensive had a hell of a lot of miles on.

Should've said screw it and bought a more expensive GTP or an Accord and just dump a ****load of money into it to make it fast. But, oh well.

[RedGrandTour]

PIAA bulbs = Not worth $69 bucks.

TPS-TEC = Does more bad than it does good.

[luniz]

Originally posted by Black4drGT
How about exhaust? Does anyone regret their SLP or Borla?

Not a chance!!!!:D Smiling ear to ear for a couple of weeks from the SLP

[sarahs00ga]

Originally posted by sicc:
bahahahaha lol i did the exact same thing... still havent fixed it... how much iz that piece anyway? bad thing iz... i installed it in tact, but the light didnt come on.. turned out to be a fuse, but i didnt learn that until after i took the light bacc out again and broke it ;[

Somebody is selling the whole dome light on ebay....here's the link:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=33695&item=2424043130

[teambeechstreet]

Originally posted by Black4drGT
How about exhaust? Does anyone regret their SLP or Borla?

hell no! I love my SLP. It sounds great when im cruisin at about 30-35 mph! Sounds even crazier when running through tunnels! I kinda wish I hadnt paid so goddamn much for it, though. The Flowmasters for my Thunderbird were only $199, brand new!

[ryGT1]

Originally posted by 2002GT
I'm glad someone agrees with me!


I'm not really into the import stuff, but all I have to say is I will never buy another GM again.

The Evo is looking better and better...

[JS4KIKZ]

I had bought the borla exhaust, taylor spark plug wires and K&N drop in air filter for my '99 V6. Big thumbs down performance wise, but it was a good beginning since I didnt know much about cars back then. But, I will say that my best modification was selling it and buying my 95 SupraTT:thumbs:

[dearim]

My biggest regret is that I bought an Acura Integra back in 2000 instead of a GAGT or Alero; the Integra sucked compared to my current car.

It's nothing but GM for me from now on...

[Slim]

The WFG overlays I just bought. They don't quite match up and the fitment isn't the best. At least they were only $40.

Looks like I'm going to hit up DRJ for some true WFGs.

[PontiacGT2K]

Taylor wires, NGK plugs. Ugh, what a waste.

Warm air intake (ie cone on the MAF). DId nothing but soak the heat.

Gut the MAF (take out center post and mesh).

When everyone on the board thought it'd be cool to put duct tape between the Ram Air ducts to push more flow through, back in like '00. How dumb was that?! (not like i did it.....um...yeah)

Some things I don't regret. KYB Struts and H&R Springs, and TNL sway bars. Powerslots. SLP Exhaust (w/magnaflow muffler) sounds so beastly. Headers :-D.

[93 GT]

nothin yet I`m still bone stock :)

[ryGT1]

Why does everybody not like their Taylor Wires? I've had no problems with mine :confused:

[PontiacGT2K]

Switch to maganacore's....you'll see why. It's one of those things you don't know you have a brain tumor until you get a cat-scan, you don't know taylor's suck until you get good wires.

[SpyhunteR]

Originally posted by dearim
My biggest regret is that I bought an Acura Integra back in 2000 instead of a GAGT or Alero; the Integra sucked compared to my current car.

It's nothing but GM for me from now on...

Nothing but import for me after the grand am. Wow, I'd love to get an Integra. So many ideas I have for that car that involve the name C-West and 250+ to the wheels......

[kubiache]

I'll agree with the NGK and Taylor wires. Replaced the plugs already, and once I find some new wires, the Taylors are trash. Good for nothing but misfires.

[ryGT1]

Originally posted by PontiacGT2K
Switch to maganacore's....you'll see why. It's one of those things you don't know you have a brain tumor until you get a cat-scan, you don't know taylor's suck until you get good wires.


Ok, so what did the Maganacores do for your car?

[Rba007]

I wish i would have saved my money on most of the mods (HID's, Rims, Etc...). They look awesome, and I love my car. But, ive invested nearly what I payed for it into new parts, which really dont increase the cars value. its got 87000 miles on it, and that is going up real fast. In two years, when im done with school, it will be time to buy a new car, and all the mods wont help trade in.

[kubiache]

Originally posted by Rba007
I wish i would have saved my money on most of the mods (HID's, Rims, Etc...). They look awesome, and I love my car. But, ive invested nearly what I payed for it into new parts, which really dont increase the cars value. its got 87000 miles on it, and that is going up real fast. In two years, when im done with school, it will be time to buy a new car, and all the mods wont help trade in.

yes indeed, but now that you've done all them, and I assume enjoyed doing so, you'll just mod the next car you get, too...and then complain a few years later when it's time to trade that one in. I know I'm stuck modding anything I own for the rest of my life.

[Rba007]

Youre a wise man dave... You can see into the future perfectly. Tell me, what are tomorrow's lotto numbers? :thumbs:

[GTMIKE1]

Bringing the dead to life, but I agree with the TPS and I also got the SLP IAT override. I must have sucker plastered all over my fivehead.

[n43210]

I dont have any regrets, yet. but i do plan on keeping by GAGT and gettting an import. Ive already spent over 3 grand on my car and it really doesnt look all that different or perform that much better. with 3 grand i could have bought a lot of stuff for an import. I guess ill just try and get the best of the import and domestic world. later

[Silver02EX]

my regret.. is buying the car because of the problems and I got bored with not being able to shift after awhile. and at the time there was hardly any mods out. but it was cool to be the first to do some of the mods on this site like the HID conversion and ZEX kit. :p

[ryGT1]

Originally posted by Silver02EX
my regret.. is buying the car because of the problems and I got bored with not being able to shift after awhile. and at the time there was hardly any mods out. but it was cool to be the first to do some of the mods on this site like the HID conversion and ZEX kit. :p


I remember that... your car was sweet...

[Dr_Kyle]

Wayne's car was awesome! Definitely in the top 10 hall of fame, simply for the fact that he tried so many new things.

My regrets are:

1) Porting the MAF - seemed like it made sense... after about 100 miles "Bank 1 Lean" was all that was going through my mind (as well as the PCM).

2) Civic intake - great mod but I really wish I hadn't cut up my car. Every time I look at it, I get disgusted at the nasty cuts.

3) K&N Drop In - see TPS-Tec

4) Replacing my RSA's - What a joke $160 a tire for THAT!?!!

6) 55 watt fogs - Should've just got the blazers, now I've got three burnt out 885's and two melted stock housings.

[XMBlackGT1]

Originally posted by teambeechstreet
I feel the exact same way. I like my GAGT, but really wish i coulda bought an import!


I went from a 01 GT1, to an import, and back to the 03 SCT coupe. I absolutely hated the import, and wont go back to them.