Interesting thread. I can answer the original questions from my own perspective. I always liked the Solstice and was particularly interested in the thought of the V8 swap once I read about the first Malletts. I even looked online for cheap and clean 2.4's to possibly buy and do the conversion. I never pulled the trigger though as I have never been fond of soft top convertibles. And then the coupe was announced. I have always preferred a targa design over a full vert or coupe. And I liked the look of the Solstice Coupe better than the vert with the tops on or off. When I saw what was being done with fairly simple mods to the 2.0, I chose to go that route when I began looking for the GXP Coupe just after GM announced they were killing Pontiac and closing the Wilmington plant. My choice of mods (installed at Perf Autowerks) included a big wheel turbo, Werks i/c, Solo high flow cat and exhaust, big radiator and a Trifecta tune on top of the GM Perf tune/parts. The result was 326 whp on a "safe" tune -- call it a 7/10ths tune to handle AZ temps and 91 octane. My low-high boost goes from 19 to 24 at a push of a button. Car runs great, sounds great, has never thrown a CEL and is plenty fast. I only have to contend with 20-30 seconds of wonky idle at cold startup (from the big wheel turbo). It was all good.
For two years.
So, now, the car is driven occasionally and i still love it. It still runs great, sounds great and is no slower. But my daily driver went from a supercharged FJ Cruiser to a Pontiac G8 GXP with an LS3. A set of headers, cats, exhaust and intake easily pushed the flywheel power to around 475. Power and torque are everywhere. And that sound... As they sat side by side, I couldn't help thinking what the LS3 would be like if it slid a few feet over into the GXP. A project for another day, I thought.
And then Perf Autowerks contacted me about using the vehicle for their live install at the Nationals and the installed price instantly dropped by 20%, which is significant. PA is already many thousands less expensive than their competition by paying for the core pieces. Plus, I'm selling my mildly used mod parts, which brings the final price tag down even more.
I will admit that I never felt like the car needed more power. In fact, 90 percent of the driving I did was on the low boost setting. But the draw of the V8 was still very strong. When the car is completed, I will see around 70-100 whp, with the addition of only 150 or so pounds, and a better front-rear weight distribution (and no wonky idle at startup). If I was into racing around cones in a parking lot, I would have kept my 93 LE Miata with the 1.6 -- you know the one -- black with the red leather interior and BBS wheels (and oh, well, I guess I did put a supercharger on it, but it was still light and sprightly, just faster). If anything, I'd love to get some proper instruction on a nice, long road course in the LS3 Sol.
Additionally, I should add that I will go from very exclusive (1 of 350 or so GXP Coupe 5-speeds) to very, very exclusive (1 of 3 or so V8 Coupe 6-speeds). Modded versus bubble wrapped resale value is a fight for another thread. I was already modded beyond that issue with the 2.0 stuff, wheels and tan leather interior changes. My price justification lies in the fact that I would prefer to have this car than a Boxter S or Cayman or SLK55 or M Roadster or Z06 or ZR1 or 911 Turbo or Ferrari California or anything else. Just more my style. I love the look on people's faces when I tell them "It's a Pontiac." I can never quite tell if they are surprised or disappointed. And living here in Phoenix, if I ever decide to sell, it is a short hop over to Barrett Jackson where this kind of thing tends to find emotional buyers with deep pockets. I think at worst, I would do better with it on a percentage basis than if I had just left it stock and put the same amount of miles on it. I might even turn a profit. And I'm having a lot more fun driving it and updating it to my style and preference as the years go by.
So, in a long winded way, that is my answer as to why I am pulling out a perfectly good 2.0, modded to over 350 flywheel hp and putting in a new LS3 with over 450 flywheel hp. To each his own, certainly.
But, I can't wait 'til June.
