1999 Pontiac Grand Am GTP from North America - Comments

Driver's side window cable pulley system motor failed, causing the cable to wrap around the damaged motor at 34k miles (covered by warranty).

Passenger side mirror flap and the plastic piece which holds the visor on the ceiling broke at 38k (bought an entire visor from the dealer for $10).

Front brake rotors eventually became warped causing the front wheels to vibrate rapidly when slowing down at speeds of over 65 MPH (replaced the stock rotors with performance drilled/slotted rotors at 40k miles for $50 each, no problems now).

The thing about GM cars is that you have to maintain them; every GM owner I have ever talked to says this, if you take a serious sense of pride and ownership with these cars they will last a long time.

GM cars weren't meant to be neglected, I always take my car to have a complete service job at Jiffy Lube; a Pontiac owner can't forget to do this, sure it maybe costly, but it's worth it in the longterm.

The car is very quick (0-60 in 5.1 seconds) and handles with pure agility.

The Ford 3.8 supercharger (same one used on V6 Mustangs) was bought used with about 20k miles on it for $238 and installed for less than $400, a ASE perfomance ECU chip was installed for $309, and an exhaust system was installed for $245 (car was dyno-tested at 281 hp).

Now my tiny V6 can beat a Mustang GT, Firebird V8, any BMW, any Lexus, all for less than $1000 in after-market products.

The Grand Am is a great "supe up" car, with new Grand Am after-market products coming on the market everyday (check out partsforyourcar dot com).

Like I said, "You can't get a better car for your money."

Just for note: Ford never offered a Mustang with a supercharger. Ever. You must have gotten the Eaton supercharger from a Thunderbird Supercoupe. That was a V6 with the supercharger. It sounds like a neat build-up. I just can't figure out how you attached the supercharger to the engine.

Best car for the money? Not a chance in hell. Any other car is of better quality and I really mean any other car!

Responding to the first comment, the supercharger that was bought is a Ford 3.8 supercharger used by a Ford Thunderbird. You're right! The gentleman who sold it, told me he had taken it off a smashed Mustang. Not knowing much about Ford products and what parts can fit what car, I took the guy's word for it.

To answer your question about how I got the supercharger on: Me and a few friends of mine had the stock intake manifold removed. A steel adapting piece which made from a piece of a chassis by a good friend was welded onto the intake port. Then the supercharger was bolted to the adapter. Because the supercharger was so large, I also had to cut a space in the hood and had a cheap fiberglass scoop I ordered from JC Whitney attached using an epoxy adhesive, then heated for 12 hours. A circular K&N filter was fitted to a 2.5" long, 3.5" piece of PVC onto the intake of the supercharger. The price for all this could be kept to a minimum because of the materials used and the labor was done by friends who didn't charge me that much (they get to borrow the car when they want, though). Total time for all this was about two weeks. Most of the time was waiting for the adapter and the scoop.

Any other car is better? ANY other car, huh? Let's talk about GEO, Chevy, Ford Focus, just about any Ford for that matter! Pontiac may not be the top of line when it comes to durability, but you aren't paying top of the line prices, either. If you do finance your Pontiac, don't do so through the dealer and opt for a 10 year warranty you can get from a credit union. I bought one for $897 which was added into my loan. Besides, everyone knows if you want a long lasting car with very few mechanical problems buy a Honda or a Toyota!

I've been looking into different ways to boost the 3400SFI engine for a long time now.. I don't want to shell out $3500 for a SC.. I'd like to see pics or some sort of visual of the Thunderbird SC installed... I almost bought one to install on my Jeep Grand Cherokee, which has a ton more room in the engine compartment.. Please let me know what you can help with! Rwlib3@aol.com.

SEptember 5, 2002

My Grand Am SE, 4 door was purchased used in March of 2001, with 26,000 kilometers on it. Although I have had a few problems, most that could be warrantied, I still love my car. Some of the problems I have had include the display on the radio not working properly, radio replaced. There was a very persistent and annoying ingnition problem. As the garage worded it,"hard starting". It would crank and crank and not turn over, not a starter problem, not a fuel module problem, although they changed that. Turned out it was a fuel regulating problem that needed to be adjusted. I was a few months past the warranty expiry when they finally got the problem fixed. Still not perfect, but find that if I put a bottle of injector cleaner in once a month it is OK. The one problem that I have had that is not a warranty issue is the rotors. I had them replaced at around 30,000 kilometers, and already at 45,000 they are in need of replacing again... less than 12 months. The mechanic who replaced them last year says that I ride the brakes.. funny I have never had rotor or brake problems on any other vehicle I have ever owned.

Last small issue is the way the front tires throw stones toward the back of the car, which on my car has done significant damage to the body just ahead of the rear tires. Larger mud flaps would be a good idea.

All in all I do love my car, and would not trade it for anything at this point in time.. and my daughter wants it when she's 16..guess I can't get rid of it yet anyway.

I have a 2001 Grand Am GT and I have already put 34,000 miles on it, with no problems, yet. I am very interested in installing a Supercharger, but I don't want to buy the one made by GM because it is very expensive. I wanted to know if I could see the work that you did to install yours and I want to know if I can see your dyno results printout. I want to compare it with other results of my friends.

Does anyone have any more information on this Ford 3.8 supercharger? It would be great to know more about how it was installed, or at least see photos. Let me know at djbarnett13@yahoo.com Thanks DJ.

I've had my '00 Pontiac Grand Am GT since it had 6 miles on it, literally 6 miles. Bought it through GM's 1,500 off deal, as well as a few offers at the dealership for $16,000. That was 3 years ago, and 78k miles later it still runs like brand new. I had the water pump go out, as well as the intake manifold gasket, but both were covered under warranty. Other than that, no problems. It's an amazing car, esp. for the money. STFU.

0-60 in 5.1? Seriously, you'd be lucky to break 7.1.