Congratulations to Las Vegas Chapter’s Mike Passarge’s 2008 Pontiac G8GT for being featured and written about in www.PASMag.com. For the exact link of the article, please visit http://www.pasmag.com/features/rides/2228-copperhead-2008-pontiac-g8gt?start=1
Title: Copperhead: 2008 Pontiac G8/GT
Written By: Dave MacKinnon. Photos by Mark Privitera | 24 January 2012
For those of us with a little bit of petrol flowing in our veins, it made no sense for General Motors to ax the Pontiac division, even if it made sense on paper. One of the coolest Pontiac products of the last decade was the G8/GT. The 2008 sample you see here is owned by Michael Passarge of Las Vegas NV, and he’s got a bit of a thing for high end audio, which we’ll get to shortly.
Over the course of the past four years, Passarge has been massaging this Ignition Orange Metallic 6.0 Liter GT into something that meets his needs and urges far better than what the General could offer. The car now rolls on S3 Sport Design wheels sized at 20 by 8 inches all the way around. Sticky BF Goodrich rubber keeps the car firmly planted to the ground. Speaking of the ground, a set of Road Magnet springs dropped the G8’s altitude for a little more attitude. A BMR Fabrication front strut bar and 14” Brembo brakes round out the handling upgrades. A Rotofab intake and Flowmaster exhaust help the mighty 8 breathe effortlessly.
Opening a door reveals some subtle and tasteful changes to the interior. The seats are adorned in new Katskin upholstery in Tuscany leather with an orange stitch. The dash and shifter trim were treated to orange paint details that accent without going overboard. In the center of the dash is a JHP HSV triple gauge pod that is home to Prosport EVO oil pressure, oil temp and voltage gauges.
The audio system install started with the vehicle’s interior being completely removed for three layers of Damplifier Pro and a layer of Luxury Liner Pro. The disassembly allowed the vehicle’s Stinger power, speaker and interconnect cables to be routed cleanly through the car.
The system uses the stock head unit which sends signals to an Arc Audio SRI line level processor and on to an Arc XEQ for fine tuning. In the trunk are three Arc Audio amplifiers: a four channel KS.300.4 Bi-amped to the front speakers, a two channel KS300.2 bridged to the subs and the ever-cool 125.2 Mini driving the rears for a total system power production capability of 1,300 Watts.
The front factory speaker locations are in the doors of the big Pontiac. In those spots is a set of Arc Audio ARC Series 6.2 6.5-inch component speakers. The tweeter from the set was mounted in the factory tweeter location at the base of the A-pillar. Out back, as set of Arc Audio ARC Series 602 6.5-inch coaxial speakers fill out the sound.
Bass frequencies are reproduced by a pair of Arc Audio ARC12D4 subwoofers that are mounted in a custom fibreglass enclosure. The enclosure was constructed out of ten layers of three ounce fibreglass mat so that it would be incredibly rigid. The subs fire down into the spare tire well but are visible through plexiglass windows
The trunk has been meticulously reworked with new trim panels. Perforated mesh combined with black vinyl and silver, black and orange accents create a very clean, tidy and modern installation. The floor, back wall and side panels were all addressed, and the results are amazing.
Hiding out of sight in the trunk, in the stock battery location, is a Stinger battery and a Stinger 70 Amp power supply. Stinger 0 gauge wiring feeds the amplifiers with 14 and 12-gauge speaker wires sending signals forward to the speakers.
The installation was handled masterfully by “2011 Installer of the Year” (Mobile Electronics Association), Jon Webb at Performance Audio in Las Vegas. As a current ARC Audio dealer, Webb choose this car to feature and showcase Arc Audio’s new line of ARC Series Speakers, which was unveiled at the 2011 SEMA show and displayed in the ARC Audio booth at the 2012 CES Show in Las Vegas. To top it all off, this car was lucky enough to get the prototypes.
Passarge points out that this is his daily driver, and even after four years, the car is still ding and dent free. He credits this to some obsessive long-distance parking and attentive driving while out and about. His iPod is filled with a diverse selection of music, but he is proud to say that thanks to the efforts of Webb and the Arc Audio gear, there is nothing that doesn’t sound good in this car. No one could ask for more!
Essentials
Engine Displacement: 6.0L
Horsepower: 373
Club Affiliation: Team Hybrid
Engine Modifications
Air Intake: Rotofab (CAI)
Exhaust System:
Exhaust: Flowmaster 40 Series & resinators
Exterior / Chassis
Grilles / inserts: Paint Gloss Black
Headlights: Spyber Auto w/ Projection
Lighting: LED side markers, tail light, reverse and license plate light
Custom Body work: Shark Fin Antenna
Suspension
Wheels: SE3 Sport Design
Wheel Size: 20 x 8
Tires: BFGoodrich
Front Rotor Size: 14” One Piece Slotted and Drilled
Front Brake Calipers: Brembo 4-Pistons
Rear Rotor Size: 13” One Slotted and Drilled
Springs: Road Magnet Springs
Front Strut Bar: BMR Fabrication
Wheels / Brakes / Suspension:
Dash: Custom painted dash and shifter trim
Upholstery: Katzkins Tuscany Leather with orange stich
Gauges: Prosport EVO Series
Gauge Pod: JHP HSV (3 cluster)
Audio & Video
Equalizers: Arc Audio XEQ
Processors: Arc AudioSRI for integration
Sub Amps: Arc Audio KS300.2 (2x)
Midbass Amps: Arc Audio KS300.4
Rear Fill Amps: Arc Audio KS125.2BX2 Mini
Sound Deadening: D’Amplifier Pro & Luxury Liner Pro
Additional install comments / upgrades:
Subwoofers: Arc Audio ARC 12D4 (x2)
Mid Bass: Arc Audio ARC Series 6.2 6.5” Component Speakers (x2)
Tweeters: Arc Audio ARC Series 6.2 Component Speakers (x2)
Rear Fill: Arc Audio ARC Series 602 6.5” Coaxial Speakers(x2)
Extra Batteries: V Performance
Back fuse holder: Stinger
Main power wire: Stinger
Interconnects: Stinger RCA’s
Distribution Blocks: Stinger
Sponsors:
Arc Audio, Performance Audio, Prosport Performance, BFGoodrich, Stinger, Spyder Auto, NOS Energy Drink, Meguires, K40 Electronics, Grafik Impact, US Speedo, Mobile Solutions, Mishimoto, Team Hybrid, Spring Mountain Auto Body, Clutch Masters