I'm E and I currently own a black 98 Prelude, yes it has an H22 VTEC (NO, it doesn't have a fart can muffler). I'm shipping to Parris Island in 2 weeks and counting for USMC boot camp, but when I finish all my training and get into the fleet, I want something with a bigger back seat, more power and torque, and something I can modify for even more power. I've been in Hondas all my life (My mom has been in Accords since '85) and while an Acura TSX is one of the cars I'm considering, I've always liked the body style of the 2000+ Monte Carlo. Of course, being centered in the import world, all I hear is "American cars are unreliable" although my dad had an 01 Silverado for a few years and never had a single problem. I'm also a rotor-head. Anything RX-7 related, I'm there. I don't care for the RX-8, but I won't get into that, haha.

I'm an admin at www.preludezone.com so I know proper forum behavior.
And I know a good bit about my way under a hood, just never worked on an American vehicle that wasn't one of my friends' 350 Silverados.

I probably won't be posting much but I'll be reading and maybe these cars will convince me to buy one around the end of the year.

Some quick questions though:

Was there a manual tranny available for the 00+ models?

Is there somewhere I can check on all the recalls?

What methods do you guys use for tuning?

What are the blocks made of and what about the sleeves?

How's the aftermarket suspension support? My Lude handles almost like it's on rails, so I'd like to make my MC come somewhat close it that if at all possible.

Are the supercharged models worth it? I want something that will run low 13's in the 1/4. If it can't out of the box, I want to be able to make it get there and still maintain daily drivability.

 

Welcome to the forum. For you I would recommend a 2004-2005 monte carlo SS supercharged. Reliable and powerful. Plenty of back seat room and trunk room. Comfortable and fun to drive. Unfortunately there are no manual transmissions available for the monte carlos. I believe all the monte carlos came with cast iron blocks. Im not sure about tuning. ZZPerformance is the main performance source for the monte carlos so I would talk to them if you cant get a good answer from the forum. I know alot of people buy their PCMs.

As for american cars being unreliable, my old F150 had 170,000 miles and still ran strong when I sold it. My old silverado had 125000, my moms f150 has 130,000, my brothers jeep has 156000, our suburban has 160,000, our caprice wagon has 120,000. All of these with little to no maintenance.

Many people on the forum have over 100,000 miles and their cars still run just fine. And the bodies are still in great shape. If you can find as many imports with high miles and bodies in good condition as you can domestics then ill eat my words about domestic reliability. I am a body man and I see numerous imports come in with horrible rust and mechanical problems. At least twice as many as I see domestics. Its all about how you treat your car tho. Someone who can get 200,000 miles out of a domestic probably will get the same out of an import. Dont let the import guys talk you out of buying american.

My roommate at school has a 06 TSX 6MT. It is pretty quick but the auto ones are slow as *****. So if you do decide to go with a TSX, I would say get a manual. His car is a blast to drive. I wouldnt mind having one. They are overpriced IMO tho. Remind me too much of a Honda to justify spending 30k on one.

Hope this helps your decision. If you get a monte carlo I know you will be happy with your purchase. Most people are. I know I was.

 

If this forum had a rep system, I'd certainly give you some. (I may recommend that to the admin and mods, haha)

Yeah, I think that's just something people ride, like many American muscle enthusiasts think any money spent on an import goes directly to Asian, when most of them are built in the US today. I think the US companies had to step up from 40 years ago when they were considered unreliable. My dad had a 67 Chevelle SS 396 in college and said he spent more time under it than he did driving it, and it was bone stock. But yeah, I think most of it has to do with how well it's taken care of.

My mom had an 07 Accord (Wrecked it due to seizing while driving) and it's the same platform as the TSX. The TSX IS the Accord everywhere else in the world anyway so I know where you're coming from with it being an over priced Honda.

What's the reported 1/4 time on the 04-05 stock supercharged SS? I'd like to start with a stock car so I can do the work myself and not be at someone else's "master mechanic's" mercy and have to undo some of their handy work.

Did Chevy offer any kind of OEM car cover specifically made for that model MC? I'm assuming that once I get to the barracks, I won't have a garage anymore. :/

 

Was there a manual tranny available for the 00+ models?-Not stock, some have modded the car to fit one but it is labor intensive and very expensive.

Is there somewhere I can check on all the recalls?-Just search 2001 monte carlo ss recalls on yahoo and carfax should some up (substitute ur make an model)

What methods do you guys use for tuning?-Many people send their pcms out to places like zzp performance to have them retuned. Others like me have an hp tuner and tune themselves.

What are the blocks made of and what about the sleeves?-The blocks are cast iron, i do not know about the sleeves...

How's the aftermarket suspension support? My Lude handles almost like it's on rails, so I'd like to make my MC come somewhat close it that if at all possible.-Others will b much better off answering this question.

Are the supercharged models worth it? I want something that will run low 13's in the 1/4. If it can't out of the box, I want to be able to make it get there and still maintain daily drivability.-I feel that they are worth it, the added power with the reliability and the abundance of mods to increase power for the l67 engine make it a worthwhile engine.

 

The ZZP guys, do they reflash the ECU to optimize the mods you tell them you have, dyno tune, or do you guys do OBD1 conversions?

Is the 04-05 supercharged Monte Carlo engine the same as the Grand Prix GTP?

 

Yes its the same engine. The zzp guys just flash the ecu for the mods that you have.

 

Alright, I'll check it out. Thanks!


Are there any reliability mods that should be done first to any MC or do I just need to get them as I go along to support whatever build I make?

 

Stock they run from high 14s to 15 in the 1/4. They are really cheap to mod tho and you could be seeing 13s without spending alot of money. Im not sure if there is an OEM car cover for them but Im sure you could find a nice one for it somewhere.

 

I can't think of any at this time. A few of the common problems are thermostats, which are easy as cake on the monte, instrument clusters, which now has a fairly priced solution, and the occasional head gasket. That is all i can think of at the moment.

 

Sounds about like what I have now.
What octane does the SC's models use? I already have to use 93 in the Lude.

That would naturally be replaced when I tore the motor down anyway.

Would it be cheaper just to get another gauge cluster from a wrecked one if it broke?