Accroding to Edmunds the Pontiac G8 can run toe to toe with the SRT8

[kobe8]

2008 Pontiac G8 GT Full Test



The conversation went something like this: "Hey, Steve, come by with the Bee. Let's see how it stacks up against this 2008 Pontiac G8 GT."

Motorhead Steve lives up the street. His dad was a Dodge dealer back in the 1960s. The guy knows option codes from the muscle car era like they're his kids' names and has a tattoo on his left forearm that reads "Mopar is Mom." More important, he just bought himself a screaming yellow 2007 Dodge Charger SRT8 Super Bee. We knew he wouldn't hesitate.

"Now?" he asked.

"Now."

"Be there in five."

Ten minutes later we were lined up.

Declining Numbers at an Even Rate
Honestly, we didn't think we had a chance. The 2008 Pontiac G8 GT is powered by a 6.0-liter V8 rated at 361 horsepower at 5,300 rpm and 385 pound-feet of torque at 4,400 rpm. Steve's Mopar, a virtual twin to the one we tested a few months ago, is packing a 6.1-liter V8 pumping 425 hp and 420 lb-ft of torque.

We clicked off the Pontiac's traction control with the clearly marked button ahead of its shifter and brake-torqued the big V8 to 2,000 rpm. To our right we could hear Steve do the same. On the count of three we went for it.

Both cars left clean, with just a turn or two of tire slip. Then Steve pulled a fender on us. No surprise considering his Bee's torque advantage. But that's all he had. Past 60 mph the Mopar was still just a fender ahead. The Pontiac's six-speed automatic clicked off clean, crisp gearchanges just before its 6,000-rpm rev limiter, and kept pace with that Charger well past 100 mph.

We raced again. And again. And again. It was like a scene out of Woodward Avenue circa 1969, only we were in sedans, with sunroofs and heated seats, on a deserted, burned-out industrial section of downtown Los Angeles. Every race was a carbon copy of the first.

We lost. But not by much.

[Moose]

Says curb weight at test was 4100 lbs. So I wonder what happened on that freindly test.

You notice they won't do a test like that for the Dodge Chrysler products? For instance, the same friendship street race with a stock SRT8 vs. an M5. And have the outcome, "wow, the SRT8 was right there but we lost. Good show SRT8."

[vvv90]

Something is truly amiss here.

Both vehicles weigh the same and the final drive is about equal given the height difference of the wheels in the 8.

The 20's do add more reciprocating weight, but not that much more over the GT's 19's. At a 64 HP disadvantage I think the Bee was soaked.

We've all seen heat soak hurt severely and that's my only explaination.

The performance numbers of the GT are very impressive at 105mph trap considering it's 11.4 lbs per HP ratio.

We're still not getting the full story here.

[kobe8]

Says he just got his Charger so maybe he hadn't had a chance to open it up yet. Plus other sites consistently have the SRT8 in the high 4's for the 0-60 time.

[kobe8]

Motortrend which has run both cars has it results as this ( Not side by side and not same runs)

SRT8
0-30 2.0
0-40 2.9
0-50 3.8
0-60 4.9
0-70 6.1
0-80 7.7
0-90 9.6
0-100 11.7

1/4 mile 13.2 @108.1


Pontiac G8
0-30 1.8
0-40 2.8
0-50 4.0
0-60 5.3
0-70 6.9
0-80 8.7
0-90 10.7
0-100 13.2

1/4 mile 13.8 @ 102.8 mph

so the lead after 100 mph should have increased to over 2 seconds for the SRT8

[Casey]

could a 6 speed make that much of a difference? what other differences does it have besides just that?

arent those G8 GT numbers very close to 300C/RT numbers? 300Cs/RTs cant hang with SRT8s, so why should this G8?

[Mike_Levy]

I think its pretty obvious that the Bee wasn't at WOT. The statement about "a turn or two of tire slip" shows that. When we go WOT the tire(s) will easily smoke for 200 feet or more, a turn or two is maybe 15-20% throttle at most.

[CanadaCraig]

Hi Guys!!

According to the Edmunds.com test of the 2007 Charger SRT8 SuperBee...

"One strange quirk is, even when you manually shift the five-speed automatic's selector lever to 1st gear (in normal driving, the transmission starts in 2nd to save gas), you still can't hold there while you accelerate. If you start to approach the rev limit, the computer will override your manual AutoStick selection and shift the trans to 2nd. This is very embarrassing in the middle of a burnout, which quickly turns into a bog once the trans shifts on you.

Hey, SRT engineers! We thought this is the SRT-8 version — the high-performance driver's version of the Charger. If we want to manually hold 1st gear, we should be able to manually hold 1st gear. Don't program the car's computer to override our selection if you've already programmed the rev limiter to save the engine."

All of the above confuses me. DO our cars START OFF IN SECOND GEAR?!

And WHO would WANT to rev an engine [Even if they could] beyond the rev limiter? [Even if they are trying to impress their pals]

"Despite its gigantic Brembo brakes, the Detonator Yellow Charger stopped from 60 mph in a rather long 135 feet, against Dodge's claim of "approximately 110 feet."

Hmm...

That all said.... I just can't see how a G8 GT could be the equal [Basically] of an SRT8. I suppose the G8 GXP with the 6.2 litre Corvette engine will just humiliate our cars.

Craig!!

[EricG]

I hope some eager owners show at the Cincy tracks when they come out.

A fresh pull of fuse 11 is as important as running a hot vs. cold motor. I suspect motorhead Steve does not have any clue how to get the most out of his new MOPAR.

Edmunds.com publishes the slowest SRT8 times I've seen, Car and Driver and Road & Track will likely be up to the same antics, they are much more reputable to me.

Eric

[srt8man]

Just keep in mind that in their follow-up test of the 300C SRT8, Edmunds was only able get from 0-60 in 5.7 seconds, and that was their BEST time.

Edmunds has no credibility, IMO.