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What did you do to your solstice today?

541K views 5K replies 413 participants last post by  billdaman 
#1 · (Edited)
I don't now if there is a thread like this, nor do i really care. if there is then take this as me loving the #$%^ out of this car. if not let's make it Official with little updates here and there to know what fun we had with our cars on the current day.




^ This is my 2008 Pontiac Solstice a.k.a leila. She's a 2.4 liter 53 yes 53 thousand mile, daily driven, civic eating, roadster. :cool:. I have been the owner of this vehicle since April of this year, and to me this was an upgrade from a 2002 Mazda Miata Se with the best 6 speed manual transmission i have ever had. For the 1st couple of weeks i was happy because i got a new car. With that being said after that the problems started to show. The tires had been abused, the dealer (ford) could not replace my key fob, and they gave me this excuse. " it's a Pontiac, they don't make it anymore."

With that being said i said *&^% you and walked out. Everybody at that dealership was to busy with their head up their own ass, and fords in general that nobody could help me, not even the gm. With that i took matters into my own hands and just drove to my Local GM dealer, and they gave me a new key fob and an oil change for free :) . Shortly after my visit, i started to get a coolant light come up, and of course me being a member and reading, i quickly found out that i might be in trouble. i filled it up, checked after long drives, and when the car sat in the garage for 2 weeks. No puddles, and no marks on the engine, or frame. I feel like i lucked out, an stopped to worry about it.

Next thing was the fact that the passenger seat would not move forward. I took the seat out, jammed the rail free, and sadly i now have a check airbag sign, but that doesn't bother me. After that i got the brake light, and esc/tc light coming on like no tomorrow. This is my current issue, and i found that my hub bolts are tight, so it's going back to the dealer to have it checked out. ( about to make my point). My car was due for an oil change, and i put it upon myself to change it. I don't know why, but the oil filter location to me is something that could have been altered, or improved. Regardless it was done. I took the keys and let her idle for a couple of minutes, checked for leaks, and tightened the drain plug.

With that being done i went inside got a clean shirt, and took the car out for a spin. ( here it comes ) This car is so much fun to drive, it's not even funny. I now know for sure that i made the right choice in trading in my Miata for this amazing car. Yes you can complain about the interior and all of those damn check this check that lights, but the fact that this car is the best roadster i have owned to this day. I had the pleasure of driving many cars, such as the crossfire, miata, s2000, and a 350Z. yes the car is underpowered, but i would pick this car over any of the ones mentioned above. I would probably pick up a gxp if given the chance, but as far as fun and pleasure, this car is IT! :thumbs: As with everybody the mod bug has hit me, and in this picture you can see an obvious mod. regardless, this car will never leave my side. I love it, and i appreciate it's little faults more everyday. It's a beautiful relationship, and it's growing stronger every day.


Ok i'm done :)
 
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#1,647 ·
I finally got frustrated enough with the stock Console mounted cup Holder, and bought one of the nice metal ones from Satnana. Installed it yesterday, took longer to remove the rererebroken stock one, than to install the new one. Only downside so far is having to put 2 small holes in the center console to retain it. But I do not think I will ever put a stock one back in so that should not matter. Only tool required in a Phillips Head screw driver.
 

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#1,649 ·
Just curious: did you order directly from Santanainteriors and how long did it take to get it?
 
#1,650 ·
Yes I did order it direct from Santanainteriors, took about 5 weeks to deliver it.
 
#1,651 ·
Today was just clean up day after Sundays car show.
The show was our annual church picnic / car show. I help with the show and it's a pretty long day but worth the effort.
I usually take my Firebird to any shows but for this one I also take the Sol to boost our numbers. Normally we get 250+ cars there. To my surprise I won a 3rd place trophy with the Solstice! I was surprised because the class (sports & foreign) had a lot of entrys including one Lambo, 3 Alphas some Triumphs an Austin Healy and some BMWs.
 
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#1,652 ·
What I ALMOST did with my Solstice this weekend was pick up some fresh ground turkey. Came around a bend by our place and there was a truck stopped in the oncoming lane and a wild turkey off to my right. I don't know if the bird decided to charge the truck or was just trying to beat me across the road, but he was trotting at full speed as I was getting on the brakes.

He decided to pull up into flight at the last minute and my bride felt the "whoosh" of his wings flapping directly over her head!
 
#1,653 ·
He decided to pull up into flight at the last minute and my bride felt the "whoosh" of his wings flapping directly over her head!
Lucky that it wasn't a 'chicken'... crossing the road! :wink:
 
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#1,655 ·
What did you do to your sols

Tons of work but this week Catalytic converter high flow Magnaflow direct fit and found a P0455 Code so getting that fixed this week also. But had radiator light come on 2 times for no reason also having them check that out also. Im going broke fixing my 07 GXP. Seems to be a lot of problems when over 80000 miles. So far like 4k to 5k of work done. Got lucky warranty covered turbocharger. But again she is my baby and want her to be perfect. Love the car will put anything she needs into her.
 
#1,656 ·
Okay, not today, but last Monday and Tuesday we took the NA to an HPDE event at the National Corvette Museum.

It was a very hot and humid two days. The NA held up well but we had a problem with the power steering overheating, changed out the fluid with some high temp stuff and it pretty much solved the problem. We'll be relocating the reservoir before the next event. Also had some brake fade, even with new DOT 4 and the GMPP reservoir. Even with the heat he was able to hit 109mph on the straight and 1.3g's in a couple of the turns.

Not everyone was so lucky. At least 3 guys ended up with serious engine issues. My son was following a C7 Vette that left all its engine oil on the track, a C6 Vette put a hole in his oil pan on his first session on the first day. I'm attaching a link of his instructor's Camaro 1LE that is now waiting at the dealer for a new engine. The video is long but if you fast forward to around minute 26 you can hear it start to knock then die.

Also attaching a funny video of Andy Pilgrim on the same track in a ZR1. On-Star keeps calling him because they think he's been in a wreck.



 
#1,657 ·
...attended a car show in Glassboro, NJ on 8/30/2019.

...did not win anything, but the car looked good.



Lots of people coming up saying "What is it ?"
 

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#1,658 ·
Drove the GXP to the National Corvette Museum for the 25th anniversary of the museum. Huge turn out and a great show, we went to see the new C8 display. The car is gorgeous but good luck finding one for $59,995. The cheapest they had on display was $78K. A few photos below:
 

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#1,661 ·
It's only got 4 radiators and hoses that run front to rear, I don't see why it would be any more difficult than a Solstice to bleed the coolant. As you can see from the engine bay it should be easy to work on for your average DIY guy:grin:. I still want one but haven't seen it in yellow.

Below is a photo of a black C8, it really should be called the F-117 option. I don't know anyone in these photos, it was a crowded place.
 

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#1,662 ·
Haven't posted anything in this thread for over 6 months.
I bought my GXP 11 months ago, and over the first few months got all the mods that I wanted done and have just been driving. And reading this forum. So happy with the car.

But thinking this car performs too nice to be living with such severe understeer. A few forum searches later I see a ZOK rear sway bar will help. So today I simply ordered 25919110 from the Chevy dealership. How nice is that, that I can get a performance part on a 12 year old car right from the dealership, and at a very reasonable price!

I'm interested to see how the Solstice stability control likes this new part. I might have to spend more time in Competition mode to save my brakes. I should be mature and experienced enough to avoid spinning out, time will tell :driving:
 
#1,664 ·
Never messed with alignment. Tires are wearing perfectly and car is not used in competition.

But with that said, I better spend some time learning about what rear caster does. I think I understand how front castor affects steering return to center, and steering dynamics, but never gave a second of thought to rear caster. Who knew it was even adjustable? Thanks @JohnWR for presenting this learning opportunity.
 
#1,665 ·
Rear caster, in my case, caused rear tire wear and bumpsteer, so may not be an issue for you. I would still have the alignment done. My shop did a slightly "more aggressive" alignment that helped with turn-im, so that may be an option.

Try to find the alignment shop that the local autocrossers use.
 
#1,669 ·
... great day for a car show in NJ.
I was able to take the roof off the coupe...

 

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#1,671 ·
Running out of days

We are running out of days to enjoy the Solstice up here in North West Minnesota. So today, I washed, clay-bared, polished, and waxed up the outside. I also went thru and detailed the inside. Tomorrow they are calling for 83 degrees and sunny up here, so she's heading to work with me. She's meant to run and likes the 60 mile commute to work. And Tuesday they are talking 85 degrees up here, so maybe another run. :grin:
 

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#1,676 ·
Cleaning the car today, put on 1,600 miles over the weekend going to Branson MO and back. We had my VietNam army unit (84th Engineer Btn. Construction) reunion there. It was a great time and next year the reunion is in Cody WY a week before the NASSAM at Rapid city SD. Looks like a busy June for me.
For the trip home on Sunday we averaged 75mph and 28.0 mpg. Did not see another Kappa on the road!
This weekend is the Kappa meet at the Dells. Weather looks great!!
 
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#1,677 ·
Passenger seat sensor recall

Had it done today on the OH car. One hour, in and out, at the local Buick GMC dealer.
 
#1,678 ·
Replaced my coolant overflow tank due to the coolant level sensor going bad. Initially the coolant dash light would light up when I decelerated going down hill. Then it started showing up more random on level roads. Finally it was on every time I started the car. It was a easy swap old to new. The only challenge for me was keeping the hoses up so no coolant leaked out out of the hoses and introduced air to the system.

Also replaced my battery. Thanks to this site, I was able to swap batteries with no issues. There are multiple approaches to accomplish this. I chose to remove the fender, swing out the brace to have easy access to the battery.
 
#1,679 ·
Actually it was last Thursday... got the PPS recall done after much effort and a year's wait. At first the dealership couldn't get the parts. Then they got the parts. Then they lost the parts. Then they reordered/found the parts. And after starting this process last October - finally got it done! :grin:

Headed out tomorrow with the wife for a 300 mile cruise. The new passenger seat cushion should help her be more comfortable - or it could be a looong day and a very chilly night... :wink:
 
#1,680 ·
Made the ride today. The day was glorious! Sunshine - top down. Ran across another Solstice owner who was admiring my windscreen. Invited them to visit this forum and pointed them in the right direction to purchase a windscreen of their own. Ran with the bra on. We have a nasty insect here called a Love Bug. They mate in swarms and attach themselves to each other. Love the color white for some reason... anyway when you hit a swam of these suckers they splatter your car like #8 shotgun pellets. It's nasty! They are darn near impossible to clean off and leave an acid like substance that can really mess up your paint if you don't quickly remove them. The bra saved me a lot of work!

https://justoffmainstreet.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/050111brandon-066-l.jpg
(Not my vehicle)
 
#1,681 ·
First and Last...

... went to an All Pontiac/GMC Car Show in Lebanon, Pa on 9/22/2019.
... took a "First & Last" photo - a 1926 6640 Coupe with a 2009 Solstice Coupe...



 

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