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3/20/07
Just ordered the GM performance handling upgrade kit today.

http://www.gmpartsdirect.com/results.cfm?singlepart=1&partnumber=pk12456148

Shipping included, it's only $167. Even for a little difference in handling, for a strut tower brace, front and rear sway bar, links, and lateral links, that's not bad at all.

3/21/07
Today, I put some new spark plugs and wires in. Last oil change, I noticed the car still had the original wires. I could tell because from factory GM has numbers on their plug wires. The wires are only supposed to last 70k miles, 100k tops. My GTP is pushing 140k. The wires crumbled when I took them off. The plugs didn't look original, but the gaps in them were huge. Definately weren't changed in a while. I put some Denso Iridiums in their place. I'm amazed the car ran at all with what it had. Haven't driven it yet, but man, it starts up a hell of alot faster and idles really smooth.

4/4/07
Installed the lateral links and front sway bar today. Stupid rear bar is the same as the one that's already on it. Front one is way bigger though, in fact, too big, it bounces off the cat converter when I floor it. I'm gonna have to tweak that. Hopefully tomorrow I can get the strut tower brace in too.

5/10/07
Just got an email back from GMPD, apparently the rear bar is the same diameter, but mine is hollow, theirs is not. As far as the bouncing off the cat issues go, I need new exhaust hangers ans a new front motor mount. w00t. I ordered up some polyeurethane motor mount bushings, hopefully they'll be in soon.

5/14/07
Got offset polyeurethane motormount bushings from ZZP.

Installed in about an hour using hand tools. Mental note: when installing polyeurethane, GREASE IT! The squeaks made me want to run people over. Definately recommend these mounts though, acceleration is instant and will throw your head back. They make you feel the engine idling, so it does have some vibration to it, but I personally like it that way. I got the rear sway bar in too. Just as the GMPP rep I spoke to says, it makes the car handle like a cat on carpet.

5/16/07
Before I forget, Calmini braided brake lines are a godsend for this kind of car.

Everyone that owns a car needs these. They help the car stop like it should. I'm very happy with mine.

...now where's my endorsement check?

Seriously though, I never thought just changing brake lines would make such a difference. I only paid $86 through Tirerack.com, and for the money, I'd say they're definately worth it.

5/23/07
I'm sick and tired of putting air in my tires every other week because the damn stock crappy aluminum wheels leak air. Yeah, that's right, the wheels are leaking air. GM did such an amazing job chroming the wheels that once the chrome starts peeling (which in GM cars is usually 5 minutes after it's driven off the new car lot) it lets all the niceities of New England get trapped against the wheel which in turn oxidizes it and makes them leak. They're so nice that they have a bulletin out at GM dealerships for this. Know what it says? Basically it tells you to replace the wheels with the same ones. Yup, they know they screwed up, they want you to pay for new rims with the same problems. awesome huh? Well, I'm all set with that, so I got these from Discounttiredirect.com.

I'll get pics up once they're installed.

8/29/07
Alright. As you can tell from the pic on the other page, I got the rims put on. I really wish I went for 17's. I also really wish there wasn't such a pothole problem around here. I'm really happy with the way they look. The polished lip matched the GTP badges on the door really well. Anyways, when I was putting the rims on, I noticed the front bushings on the front control arms had collapsed on both sides. To fix this I ordered some race control arms from Wbodystore.com. Apparently they're on intergalactic backorder, so a month and a half later, I'm still waiting for them to come in. I also bought some of their 1" lift springs for the rear. Why lift the rear of a FWD car you ask?

Simple.

1) Tilts the car to the front so it puts more weight on the drive wheels, helps for traction in the front.

2) It'll help when I'm carting my friends around, which tends to be almost every day.

3) That nose down/ass up stance just looks sweet.

Next, I'm thinking of investing in some headers, and either an underdrive pulley, which if I do, I'll have to plunk down some more money for an intercooler setup, or I could just bite the bullet and go with a turbo setup. I'm kind of leaning towards the turbo setup since it'll all be at once, the turbo puts less of a strain on the engine due to less parasitic power loss and Mass is thinking of instituting a law banning all aftermarket exhausts. Well, if I go turbo, the Impeller acts as a kind of muffler, so I could keep my exhaust and not worry about being hassled by a bored cop. Also, since the turbo works off of engine oil, There's less maintenance and moving parts than in a S/C setup. Now if only I had $3500 laying around...

11/23/07
Well, the race control arms never came. Issues with getting all the parts to make them, I guess. I got some cheapo aftermarket control arm bushings slapped them in and the horrid knocking noise in my front end is finally gone. I never realized how much I lost as far as handling goes with having bad bushings in either. Nearly zero body roll now. Next, I'm saving up for an exhaust. It needs a new cat anyways. Rotten egg smell after WOT sessions is starting to get on my nerves.

1/25/08
Finally bit the bullet and bought a new cat for my car. $375 later, I got a Random Technologies Catalytic converter from PFYC.com. Bolted in after a little tweaking. Had to replace the second O2 sensor as well. Feels like I picked up a few horses as well. SOTP, the car pulls alot harder. It has a nice mellow rumble at idle now too, but gets really raspy at higher RPM. It needs a resonator in the exhaust. I'm thinking of going with a Borla system, since they have a resonator built in, and it's stainless steel which will be perfect for the weather around here. The $1200 price is a bit much, though. Speaking of the weather, now I notice that the driver's headlight is filling with moisture. I ordered some blacked out headlights from Ebay, and am waiting for those to come in. I'll get pics up once they're installed.

EDIT:
Forget that. The headlights are in, and already leaking. I just wasted $160. Avoid these.

4/17/08
Aftermarket halo fogs still working. Well, the fogs are anyways, the halos are so dim, it's pointless to put them on. I think I have a crappy wiring harness. I'll have to rewire it with my own wiring. Also ordered and installed gmpartsdirect.com stainless steel cat-back kit. I was on the fence about the 4 inch tips that came with it initially, but it looks amazing once installed. All the rasp I had when I installed the new cat converter is now gone and it has a nice, mellow, bassy tone to it. For the price, best kit out there IMO.

6/17/08
Installed MSD ignition coils today. Car fired up instantly, and runs a whole lot smoother. Haven't got a chance to really open her up to see what drivability differences it made yet.

6/18/08
Installed GM auxiliary transmission cooler today. I'm planning on driving this car from here in MA to Ohio in mid August to visit family, so I'm beginning to go through it to make sure it's ready.

2/1/09
Alright, long time since last update. Since then, I realized that when I replaced my catalytic converter with the Random Tech cat, one of the studs backed out a bit, so it wasn't even flush on the exhaust manifold. I had the car up on a lift and was showing someone my exhaust when I noticed I had nearly a 1" gap between my exhaust manifold and my cat! I repaired that, and it feels and sounds like a new car again. Anyway, while I was driving, I've had the recurring problem of a surge in my transmission while shifting. Inbetween the 2-3 and 3-4 upshift, the car would surge back and forth like it couldn't decide weather or not to upshift. I heard all kinds of conflicting stories as to why it did this, but I was convinced that it was the PCM, since the problem did go away for a while. I disconnected my battery to replace my alternator, and when I hooked it back up, it started bucking again. I ordered a 1.0 PCM from ZZPerformance.com and installed it about 2 weeks ago, and I am VERY happy with the results. No more surging, and once I let off the gas after some WOT sessions, I don't get that annoying backfire fart out the exhaust anymore. Hands down best thing I've done so far. If anyone is having this problem with their W-body, consider the PCM.

5/7/09
I got sick of the leaking ebay headlights, so I ordered a second set and sealed the crap out of them before installing them this time. it's been a few months and no leaks so far. I got some HID's for them since with the blacked out background it makes it really hard to see at night. Now it's bright as day. Got the foglights rewired to the original switch like I should have done in the first place. It just hit 168k today, and still running strong. Next, I'd like to score some Recaros from a Limina taxi and have them recovered and installed. I don't like my seats. No support even with the lumbar all the way out. I know I keep saying this, but I'll get updated pics up soon.