I have a friend that talks non stop about how much balls his 99 grand am gt has. so i told him i would race him this weekend. not sure on distance or anything. Am i gonna get my words shoved in my face?? Oh and what distance would benifit my car? Longer or shorter?? thanks all

i think he will beat you

It'* gonna depend on the driver. The cars are almost equal in a race.

Although I hate people who brag with a passion, GA GT'* are relatively quick.

Sol’* point is an excellent one. However, GA GT’* are not very difficult to launch IMO.

As I have said before, my mom had a ‘97 Bonneville SSE and it couldn't keep up with my ‘02 GA GT back when it was stock. After a few modifications on the GA, the gap continued to widen. However, that said, racing the GT in my SSEi would be a waste of premium gas. On a straightaway, the GA could never keep up.

As Sol said, the cars are fairly evenly matched. The start is everything. If he gets a better start, he will surely beat you. If you get similar starts, I predict that he will end up nipping you.

And, unfortunately, there is really no distance that will benefit you.

Hold on, buckos.

I just TODAY drove a Ram Air GA GT. It'* NOT a launcher. Pretty nimble, yes, but no match for a series 2 NA.

This GA GT Ram Air was BRAND NEW with only 64 miles on the ticker. Test drive at the dealer.

(you'd think the guy wouldn't let me drive it after seeing my car, but oh well!)

The GT will get blown away buy the Series II torque

We traded Kendras 02 GA GT1 (Ram air) in for her Bonnie. I will say that in the low end the GA was ok but it has no top end power. An SSEi will eat it up. A NA car should not have much of a problem either.

I drive my mom'* 03 GA GT quite a bit. I like that car alot.

Yes, nothing does compare to the Series II power, but the GT is lighter, has a 3.29 axle, and a pretty decent 3400.

Nothing against Bonnevilles or the 3800, but the GT is a good car.

Not sure about torque, but:

GA GT w/ramair = 175hp
Bonnie SE N/A Series II = 205hp

Boniie'* got 'er. As far a weight diff., close, but still the bonnie.

Let us know how it goes!!

I don’t know guys. A test drive is a test drive. I own a '02 GA GT & a '00 SSEi. My mom just sold her '97 SSE over a month ago.

Once, when she was out of town, I drove the SSE down to pick up the GA GT at the dealership after having some brake work done. My buddy (his ride is a GTI VR6 in 5-speed) came along to drive the GA GT home. Red light, look over, smile and nod, and we're off. Right off the bat, we were nose-to-nose for a while, and then he (in the GA GT) started pulling away slowly. By the time I dropped 3rd, he had just less than a car length on me and I shut her down.

Specs:

'97 Bonneville SSE = 205 hp, 230 lb-ft. tq, 3587 lbs

'02 GA GT Sedan = 175 hp, 205 lb-ft. tq, 3168 lbs


With the intake resonator gone, you would be surprised how much the top end opens up. And, as I said above, an SSEi would definately smoke an GA GT. Now, imaine taking 35 horsepwer, and 50 lb-ft. of torque away from your SSEi and then racing someone. That is what an SSE has to do, essentially.