Through the Cones Part 4

Too much time away from the track.

Posted July 20 2009 10:41 AM by KevinDiOssi
Filed under: Editorials, Kevin DiOssi

I've been having autocross withdrawals.

The next event isn't until October and I, along with other co-workers, have been chasing cones. Thankfully, our job allows us the luxury of track rentals. Our Florida office has established a relationship with Gainesville Raceway, one of the finest dragstrips in the country. They have a road course/vehicle testing area in the rear of the their facility that we’ve been supplementing our addiction with.

At some point I would like to get out there and just flex the muscles on the GTO but it’s been all business these past couple visits. Lucky for me, all of this testing involved pushing my GTO and other Pontiacs to their limits.

In my most recent visit we were testing Hotchkis adjustable sway bars around the skidpad and road course. Our testing results were very impressive and really show the benefits of the bars and their adjustment settings.

(Photo: Evan Smith) Yes, that's me on my back, in the sun, adjusting the easily accessible sway bar settings.

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Reader Comments:

1. This car has nothing to do with Pontiac, and for real True Blue Pontiac guys this car is nothing more then an Import with a Chevy Small Block.

Have a nice day

RAMairGTO72 - Posted July 23 2009 12:57 AM

2. I totally agree.

Pontiacman8 - Posted July 23 2009 01:22 PM

3. And the new G8 has a Chevy motor. Awesome car. The 4th gen TA's had Chevy motors. Also awesome cars. Even though it is imported, it's still an awesome performing car. Have you ever driven one? Even 2nd gen Firebirds had 305 Chevy motors and 403 Olds motors. Are they any less a Pontiac?

taman - Posted July 23 2009 06:12 PM

4. And the new G8 has a Chevy motor. Awesome car. The 4th gen TA's had Chevy motors. Also awesome cars. Even though it is imported, it's still an awesome performing car. Have you ever driven one? Even 2nd gen Firebirds had 305 Chevy motors and 403 Olds motors. Are they any less a Pontiac?

taman - Posted July 23 2009 06:12 PM

5. You have the wrong track. Autocross is a european thing like soccer. Americans and pontiacs go to dragstrips and watch the NFL.You did find why Pontiac has been shut down though. Americans don't want Autocross cars they want quarter mile monsters or circle track cars. Take the yuppie autocross with the ugly 20 inch wheels back to europe!!!!

creepyracing - Posted July 26 2009 08:34 AM

6. Well seeing that I built a 10-second naturally aspirated Camaro SS and an 11-second Trans Am, I'm a little tired of drag racing. I decided to go down a different avenue with my next car, the GTO. When I purchased it, I soon realized that it's strong suite wasn't the dragstrip, it was around corners. Since I was already becoming jaded with having a car that couldn't take a corner to save it's life, I thought it would be a cool idea to modify this one to do just that, and I couldn't be happier.

You are correct that it's nothing more than an import with a Chevy motor. One of the best imports to make it to this country and one of the best small blocks ever made. The package may not be to your taste and but it is to mine. Now I still love pure Pontiacs just as much, if not more, than the rest of you guys. I grew up under a ’77 SE T/A and was around Goats and Catalinas all the time. When it came time for me to get a car the LS1 was just coming out and I was mesmerized by the high-tech potential the engines had. Sue me?

As far as autocross being for yuppies, I take strong offense to that. Autocrossing a car is one of the most enjoyable things you can ever do with your car. I really think you should try it out sometime before you bash it and label it as a "yuppie" thing to do.

For the record, the wheels are 18-inches and are factory.

KevinDiOssi - Posted July 30 2009 09:37 AM

7. I drive a '08 ford police interceptor at work and have had so many 'autocrosses' in my 20 year career i've lost count. None of these were enjoyable and I still prefer the drags. No offence but you might want to talk to your publisher and transfer to one of their tuner magazines as your roots may be Pontiac but you are now into the modern cars.My whole point is the "yuppies" drive "beamers" and thats what the late model pontiacs tried to compete with.I did not mean to offend you with this term.HPP sponsors one of the biggest pontiac drag shootouts around.If you want a challenge get your holden out there and into the 10's that would be impressive!

creepyracing - Posted August 5 2009 11:30 PM

8. Well seeing that I dislike Japanese/Euro imports, I don't feel a "Tuner" magazine would suite me well. Your arbitrary disdain for late model Pontiacs and the LS1 is unfortunate. The reason for me liking the newer Pontiacs is the simple reason that they are very refined with all the new creature comforts. I appreciate BMW's for what they are, but they aren't my style. The GTO, on the other hand, sort of blends what I want in a car into one package - a powerful LS-engine, comfortable ride, and a nice interior that's very comfortable.

On a side note, I have plans to buy and build a ’73 Firebird/Trans Am since it's my favorite Pontiac of all time. I assure you that it will stick with Pontiac power. I may do fuel injection, but I couldn't tell you that now. So while I'm more biased toward late model cars, I still love and appreciate the true-to-heart Pontiacs.

I have no intention of making the GTO a 10-second car. These are terrible chassis to make into full-on drag cars and aren't up my alley. Who knows, I may just squeeze some mega power out of the LS2 and knock on the door. haha

So please, try to understand where I'm coming from and why I bought the car. These were the Pontiacs I was "raised" on and I just think the LS-engines are killer.

KevinDiOssi - Posted August 27 2009 10:08 AM

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