4 0 P e r f o r m a n c e a u t o & S o u n d

or 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

F

Copperhead the ultimate daily driver navigating

the streets of sin city.

WordS by dave macKinnon PhotoS by marK Privitera

One Of the cOOlest pOntiac prOducts Of the last decade was the G8/Gt.

4 2 P e r f o r m a n c e a u t o & S o u n d

2 0 0 8 P o n t i a c G 8 / G t

The Trunk has been meTiculously reworked wiTh new Trims To creaTe a very clean, Tidy and modern insTallaTion.

dash and shifter trim were treated to orange paint details that accent without going over-board. 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 tun-ing. In the trunk are three Arc Audio ampli-fiers: 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 com-bined 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.

4 4 P e r f o r m a n c e a u t o & S o u n d

after four yearS aS a daily driver, thiS car iS Still dinG and dent free thanKS to obSeSSive lonG-diStance ParKinG and an attentive drivinG Style.

2 0 0 8 P o n t i a c G 8 / G t

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 master-fully by “2011 Installer of the Year” (Mobile Electronics Association), Jon Webb at Performance Audio in Las Vegas. As a cur-rent 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! PAS

> www.pasmag.com/copperheadarcaudioG8

EnginE ModificAtionS:air intake: rotofab (cai)ExhAuSt SyStEM:exhaust: flowmaster 40 Series & resinatorsExtErior / chASSiS:Grilles / inserts: Paint Gloss blackheadlights: Spyber auto w/ Projectionlighting: led side markers, tail light, reverse and license plate lightcustom body work: Shark fin antennaSuSPEnSion:Wheels: Se3 Sport designWheel Size: 20 x 8tires: bfGoodrich front rotor Size: 14” one Piece Slotted and drilledfront brake calipers: brembo 4-Pistonsrear rotor Size: 13” one Slotted and drilled Springs: road magnet Springsfront Strut bar: bmr fabricationWhEElS / BrAkES / SuSPEnSion:dash: custom painted dash and shifter trimupholstery: Katzkins tuscany leather with orange stichGauges: Prosport evo SeriesGauge Pod: JhP hSv (3 cluster)Audio & VidEo:equalizers: arc audio XeQProcessors: arc audioSri for integrationSub amps: arc audio KS300.2 (2x)midbass amps: arc audio KS300.4rear fill amps: arc audio KS125.2bX2 miniSound deadening: d’amplifier Pro & luxury liner Proadditional 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 Performanceback fuse holder: Stingermain power wire: Stingerinterconnects: Stinger rca’sdistribution 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

essenTialsVEhiclE: 2008 Pontiac G8/Gt oWnEr: michael PassargelocAtion: las vegas, nv EnginE diSPlAcEMEnt: 6.0lhorSEPoWEr: 373cluB AffiliAtion: team hybrid