06 Impala and Monte Carlo gets 5.3L V8

[GnatGoSplat]

Old news perhaps? Maybe I've been asleep, but just today I noticed the 06 Impala and Monte are on the Chevrolet.com website.

 

The new Impala resembles an Altima.

Monte looks the same, but appears to have the same front clip as the new Impala.

 

Both get the available 5.3L V8!

I can't wait till these engines start showing up in junkyards. I want one!

[slick]

I don't really care for the front ends....

[Justin]

Those are horrible looking. I never liked the Monte's much, but I like the looks of our Impala, and that new one looks like some Jap car. I guess that's what people want though, so I can scratch off Chevy if I ever am in the market for a new car.

 

Are they still fwd? Nothing on there says, and these are the first pics I've seen of them. Also, there is no 3800 option, they're going to lose customers there.

[NOHC_WBody]

Are they still fwd? Nothing on there says, and these are the first pics I've seen of them. Also, there is no 3800 option, they're going to lose customers there.

 

Yeah. Here's the baby Ellis Juan in the GXP GP.

 

 

THANKS to a clever collection of technologies, the 5.3-litre "small-block" engine in the 2006 Pontiac Grand Prix GXP will deliver great V-8 grunt and money-saving V-6 fuel economy, which should be attractive to people with one eye on the speedometer and one eye on the fuel gauge.

This is, by the way, the first time in a half-century of powering endless numbers of rear-drive GM cars that the company's famous "small-block" V-8 will turn up in a front-drive model. General Motors' new Gen IV 5300 5.3L V-8 (LS4) engine will power the 2006 Pontiac Grand Prix GXP next fall, and Dave Muscaro, the assistant chief engineer of small-block V-8s for passenger cars, says it was "engineered specifically for front-drive layouts," of which GM has many.

 

Because its primary responsibility is performance, the LS4 has been tweaked to deliver 290 hp and 325 lb-ft of torque, though those are both called "estimates" this soon in the development process. Don't be surprised if the production model's numbers go even higher.

 

Most impressively of all, the LS4 V-8 delivers 90 per cent of that torque between 1,500 and 5,200 rpm, which ought to deliver very satisfying acceleration in the Grand Prix sedan at any speed and in any situation. Not so long ago, this kind of grunt would have been impossible because of the likelihood of the dreaded "torque steer," which is auto-speak for a vehicle having so much power that it affects the steering system and makes the steering wheel twist. That apparently is not an issue in the Grand Prix GXP.

 

To get those V-6 fuel economy levels, the 5.3-litre V-8 uses Displacement on Demand (DOD) technology, which helps the vehicle realize fuel economy gains of up to 12 per cent on the American fuel economy test procedures. In the real world, this engine or any other with DOD delivers fuel economy gains in virtually every situation except those acceleration moments. It's particularly good at using less fuel in constant speed situations, when it can turn off half of those fuel-using cylinders.

 

Muscaro underscores the point that "the engine returns to V-8 mode the instant the controller determines the vehicle speed or load requires additional power. The process is seamless and virtually imperceptible." That is certainly the way it works in GM vehicles already using DOD, and there's no reason to imagine it won't also apply here. "There's nothing like the satisfying feel of a V-8 engine," says Muscaro, "and the 5300 provides a level of performance rarely available in competitors' vehicles. But when all eight cylinders aren't required to maintain performance, DOD technology effectively turns the engine into a more efficient V-4."

 

Muscaro points out that the all-aluminum 5300 V-8 is the third displacement offering of the Gen IV small-block, which was introduced in the 2005 Chevrolet SSR, GTO and Corvette, as well as several 2005 GM SUVs.

 

"The 5300 V-8 shares a common architecture with these other versions," Muscaro says, "including a deep-skirt block, six-bolt cross-bolted main bearing caps, and structural oil pan, but is modified to accommodate the 'east-west' mounting position of the Grand Prix's front-wheel-drive chassis."

 

To fit the "sideways" positioning in the Grand Prix, several changes were made to shorten the engine's overall length. The crankshaft was shortened by 13 mm -- 3 mm at the rear and 10 mm at the front -- and the entire accessory drive system was designed to reduce space. The accessories, including the water pump and the power steering pump, are driven on a single-belt drive system, which Muscaro says is the longest drive system in a GM vehicle.

 

Engineers created an elongated water pump manifold, which features a remote-mounted pump that feeds the stock Gen IV coolant passages via the unique manifold. The design allowed the drive system to be mounted closer to the engine block. Because of the 5300 V-8's relatively low inertia, which can be up to 50 percent less at the crankshaft damper than a 6.0L V-8, a hydraulic belt tensioner was used instead of a conventional rotary tensioner.

 

Because of the Grand Prix GXP's performance attitude and the sideways position of the engine, Muscaro and his team went to great lengths to revise the V-8's lubrication set-up. "We tested the small-block on racetracks, subjecting them to high-load turns that guided the development of special oil pan baffles that ensure lubrication during cornering," Muscaro says.

[GnatGoSplat]

I don't really care for the front ends....

 

Me neither, but I'm more surprised these days if I LIKE a new car.

Back in the late 90's, I liked the styling of almost every new car. These days, I don't care for hardly any of them.

 

That engine though... I MUST have one... or two.

I hope lots of people buy the GXP's and SS and lots end up in junkyards.

 

An FWD V8 is still better than no V8 at all!

[rudefyet]

i wanna know what their doing to the 3500 to get 211hp out of it...

 

 

 

so i can put it on my car of course

[DiscoStudd]

That engine though... I MUST have one... or two.

I hope lots of people buy the GXP's and SS and lots end up in junkyards.

 

An FWD V8 is still better than no V8 at all!

This swap will kick so much more ass than swapping in the ole standby L67, that's for sure!!! Hopefully within the next 5 years these baby LS1's will be plentiful in the boneyards. Upgrades should be plentiful as well, seeing as there's a whole smattering of Gen III smallblock "speed" parts on the market now...

[GnatGoSplat]

This swap will kick so much more ass than an L67, Northstar, ASG 5.0L, or ANYTHING currently available!!!

 

Yep, upgrades will be plentiful, it might even be possible to use a real LS1 or LS2 engine by transplanting some LS4 parts.

 

I bet this swap could really roast a tranny too. It would really take some restraint not to drive it in a way that would kill the puny FWD tranny.

[Stealth]

hmm I think they look pretty good tho the impala looks like a g6???

[GnatGoSplat]

I'm no fan of the G6 either. It has that narrow and tall look that all new cars have.

[J]

i like the monte, but why do comapnies insist on making new cars seats flat as hell, barely no side bolsters or contour, i hate that.

On a side not it's funny to see all the radio stations and now what type of music it is on the pictures of the cars in the gallery.

I'd buy a new monte with the 303 hp 5.3

[GnatGoSplat]

i like the monte, but why do comapnies insist on making new cars seats flat as hell, barely no side bolsters or contour, i hate that.

 

Peoples' butts are getting too wide, so flat seats are more comfy for them.

A lot of peoples' butts are already too wide to fit in a normal car seat.

[Trep]

Me neither, but I'm more surprised these days if I LIKE a new car.

Back in the late 90's, I liked the styling of almost every new car. These days, I don't care for hardly any of them.

Same here. There is only one new car that I like and that is the Dodge Magnum RT AWD.

[MonteCarloChick]

It looks like complete shit.

[EurosportZ34]

at least they are getting V8s...which is overdue if you ask me for the MC

[BurneroftheRice]

I am not likeing the way Chevy is transforming their four door cars into Toyota Camry wannabes. It was bad enuf that the Malibu has almost no relation to its classic incarnation, but now they have to totally "Futurize" the Impalla, atleast the 04 still had classic taillight style. Im suprised the only thing they changed on the Monte is the headlights, which i can live with...heck im suprised they even want to keep the Monte as in its the only midsize two door left, save the small-ish GTO. Isnt Dodge sayign that coupes dont sell anymore? bull shit.

 

However i have to respect the 5.3 v8 coming out. I would like to see if anyone trys to transplant it into any older FWD cars.

[GPdriver1986]

Are these things along with the Buick, considered a new gen for w-body?

 

BTW I still haven't seen any site of them and I live like 1 minute away from the assembly plant!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :x

[Prospeeder]

i freaking love the Monte, but u notice there using the same wheels for the Cobalt SS, Impalla SS, and Monte Carlo SS, my mom says its much prettier than her pontiac, and shed get a big old V8 one in a heartbeat when they come out, hehe, awsome, she likes the cherry red also, i think there awsome, front end is the best part!! so cool!

[Brian P]

i wanna know what their doing to the 3500 to get 211hp out of it...

 

 

 

GM's finally letting it breathe?

[THe_DeTAiL3R]

i wanna know what their doing to the 3500 to get 211hp out of it...

 

 

 

GM's finally letting it breathe?

 

 

Yeah it's not like Nissan's 3.5L is any better.. it's only getting near what, like 300HP terratory?

[rudefyet]

Honda and Nissan both have 300hp 3.5L V6's

[Dirty Rockstar]

:bawl: :bawl: :bawl: :bawl: :bawl:

 

THEY RUINED MY MONTE CARLO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! MY DREAM CAR!!!!! OH MY GOD!! THE PRICKS!!! What in the hell are they thinking?!! I LOVED the older style.. (00-05) The V8 is sweet enough, and I'm sure can be swapped into a Monte I LIKE.. If they changed the tail lights.. Oh man... I'm gonna start shootin..

[slick]

I'm no fan of the G6 either. It has that narrow and tall look that all new cars have.

 

My dad and stepmom test drove one. Said it was really plasticy feeling inside the car. They didn't like it at all.

[Trep]

Said it was really plasticy feeling inside the car.

Isn't that how most new cars are these days?

[slick]

Said it was really plasticy feeling inside the car.

Isn't that how most new cars are these days?

 

They test drove the new bonneville and the new GP too. They loved the GP.