GTO Turbo - Thoughts

gline

Was looking at a cheap GTO twin turbo like 90-95

Whats your thoughts on them? Are they known for being unreliable? Cheap parts/repair?

Whats performace on them compared to similar twin turbo sports cars?

Anyone on here own one, whats their thoughts?

FearDark

A mate of mine has a twin turbo GTO about seven months, so far so good for him. He has had no problems yet anyway so id say its fairly reliable. Getting about 24-28 mpg which is fantastic considering the size of the engine, and my god does it move. Havnt a cule about parts though sorry.

gline

what are they like for comfort???

FearDark

Fantastic comfort, seats are great, theyre also completely adjustable. You get all the comforts of a jap car in fairness. The sunroof also pops straight off and goes into the boot, which is pretty small. Also the back seats are shocking, the roof curves back over your head and leg room is non existant, im sure that worries u a lot!!

gline

well i was hoping for a bit more room in the back, but wat can yeh do

S.I.R

gline wrote: »

Was looking at a cheap GTO twin turbo like 90-95

Whats your thoughts on them? Are they known for being unreliable? Cheap parts/repair?

Whats performance on them compared to similar twin turbo sports cars?

Anyone on here own one, whats their thoughts?

there very heavy , understeer worse then mk1 fiestas and did i mention there heavy ?? get a good set of tires on it and do whatever you can to lighten it up, will hold its own against some if not Most performance cars....

gline

S.I.R wrote: »

there very heavy , understeer worse then mk1 fiestas and did i mention there heavy ?? get a good set of tires on it and do whatever you can to lighten it up, will hold its own against some if not Most performance cars....

i got an mr2 tubby at the moment, a lot heavier then that?

S.I.R

there 1500 or there abouts afaik , the mr2 is about 1200, not too sure about them tbh... so yeah a bit also get used to turbo lag... you must buy a turbo timer and boost valve.... turbo time to delay the turbo after you turn it off ( keeps the turbo spooling for 30 secs after shut off , helps it cool down.... ) and a boost valve sounds nice and helps the extra waste go quicker as the reserc valves are quite restrictive.... can also benefit when say pushing the boost up higher and will benefit if you get her re-mapped or just get a Full tune up done.

ramanujan

my advice is be careful. never heard gto and reliable together in the same sentence...
basically its an old twin turbo, if it hasnt been looked after at any point during its life you could be looking at bills that cost more than your car.
lots of thing to go wrong with them.. 4wd system blah blah electric everything.

think getting a cheap gto could be a bad move, since even a well looked after gto might have you pulling your hair out.

gline

thanks for the advice.

S.I.R

theres a way to test for this abuse.


leave ther ticking over for atleast 5 mins so it begins to heat up....


now drive her down the road as you usually would.... check for self reving or backfeed from the exhaust.


take off again at full revs , regardless of gardi or whatever just stick to the speed limit.... w find somewhere nice a quiet and put her through all the gears at spped and and at pulling/towing speed

apart from turbo lag see what happens... also be sure to turn t from 4wd t rwd then to fwd then back to wd.... make sure its all A.O.K

gline

S.I.R wrote: »

theres a way to test for this abuse.


leave ther ticking over for atleast 5 mins so it begins to heat up....


now drive her down the road as you usually would.... check for self reving or backfeed from the exhaust.


take off again at full revs , regardless of gardi or whatever just stick to the speed limit.... w find somewhere nice a quiet and put her through all the gears at spped and and at pulling/towing speed

apart from turbo lag see what happens... also be sure to turn t from 4wd t rwd then to fwd then back to wd.... make sure its all A.O.K

cool man

how are parts like to get for them? might be one cheap that needs parts and get them myself.

Beta Ray Bill

Parts Generally are expensive new even for the most basic of things. high performance, high price; thats the way it is with hi performance cars, simple

now in saying that there are people who can get you 2nd hand parts that do be in good nick for a fraction of the price. (I got an AYC pump from and evo 6 there last week for €280.00 euro, they are like €1590.00 new from mitsubishi) So keep an eye out for people who deal with 2nd hand parts etc (most will give you at least a 30 day warrenty). but NEVER buy 2nd hand electrics.... ever!

As regards to the car itself, make sure that 4WD system is working. Cause believe me, if it brakes it could cost MEGA bucks to get it fixed.

and follow S.I.R's checks also.

Another thing to watch for is rust. Especially on the underside. JAP car arent rust proofed like they are here and they can rust if left un protected in as little as 2 years.

Also have a look at the bolts on the panels and see if they have been movedif the have its prob means new panel which probably means the car had a knock, this is very common.

if you know how to check the Camber check that too. different settings on opposite wheels (IE rear wheels) often means chassis damage (Steer clear)

Timing belt also.

DO NOT buy off someone with No Nct, No Tax and No Insurance.... bad idea... trust me.

As regards to the car usage. look for wear on the seats, stearing wheel. etc. and look at the person you're buying it off, do they look like someone that does doughnuts in tesco car pack on saturday night/if they do... walk away.

As regards the Engine itself it can be difficult to see whats wrong with it just by driving it. my mate is a mechanic and he said there is no way to be 100% positive.

Best of luck mate they are a fantastic car.

let me know how you get on.

gline

ive been offered a cheap one, but it needs 2x turbos, they are gone. But cant turbos be re-conditioned instead of buying new ones? also i might be able to pick up 2x used turbos somewhere.apart from that a lot of time has been put into this car to get it up to a decent standard, for the price im being offered it at, it wouldnt matter if I had to sped 1k+ on it for the turbos

Beta Ray Bill

gline wrote: »

ive been offered a cheap one, but it needs 2x turbos, they are gone. But cant turbos be re-conditioned instead of buying new ones? also i might be able to pick up 2x used turbos somewhere.apart from that a lot of time has been put into this car to get it up to a decent standard, for the price im being offered it at, it wouldnt matter if I had to sped 1k+ on it for the turbos

They Cant really be reconditioned.
They are essentially a pump and once they're gone, they're gone. you will need to get replacement ones.

To be honest mate, thats a major amount of work you're taking on there. Fitting a Turbo isn't like fitting and induction kit or exhaust. Its a tricky job thats requires a bit of tuning and if you do it wrong you will literally blow the engine apart. I defo think a job like that should be done by someone who knows exactly what they are doing. if you want to do it yourself then buy a good manual and read it a few times and make sure you know exactly what to do. if you're unsure about something then stop and go and find out what exactly to do... don't just assume (if you getting my meaning)

Make sure also you have the correct tools also... makes life 100% easier

how much are they offering the car to you for if you don't mind me asking?

gline

grahambo wrote: »

They Cant really be reconditioned.
They are essentially a pump and once they're gone, they're gone. you will need to get replacement ones.

To be honest mate, thats a major amount of work you're taking on there. Fitting a Turbo isn't like fitting and induction kit or exhaust. Its a tricky job thats requires a bit of tuning and if you do it wrong you will literally blow the engine apart. I defo think a job like that should be done by someone who knows exactly what they are doing. if you want to do it yourself then buy a good manual and read it a few times and make sure you know exactly what to do. if you're unsure about something then stop and go and find out what exactly to do... don't just assume (if you getting my meaning)

Make sure also you have the correct tools also... makes life 100% easier

how much are they offering the car to you for if you don't mind me asking?

a bit over 2k

Beta Ray Bill

gline wrote: »

a bit over 2k

hmmm, what year?

and you are absolutely positive that its only the Turbos need doing, does it start like? or are you going to need a tow away? if it needs a Tow well then you can knock a good bit off that price

I would look at that like an investment on a project rather than buying a new car ya know? and accept the fact that it could be 2k down the drain if it all goes belly up.

gline

ah thats the way i would be looking at it.

it drives not bother, just when u plant the foot and the turbos are suppost to kick in, it cuts out. if u dont plant it, it drives fine so i was told, so no tow needed.

it has at least 1k of extra's in it, so worse comes to worst i can sell them off to pay for the repairs

Beta Ray Bill

Then go for it mate.

See if you can get it for 1500 though

gline

lol i wish :P

gotta try get the cash together anyway :P

FearDark

Its... quite fast!

ramanujan

I like the wheels, 3 spokes really suit it.

i dislike the "fins" on the bonnet.

If your considering buying it remember to price in vrt, as they are really clamping down on the uk regs over the last few weeks.....