PaulW

Hi Folks,

I've been lurking here for a few weeks and I've made the plunge. I'm trading in my son's Wrangler to get him an 09 SS/TC. We're picking it up on Saturday and I had a few questions for you experts.

What things should we do immediately? We'll get the Stage 1 kit once its out and my son has broken in the car a little but should I do anything right away like the charge pipe mount fix, etc.? When should I do my first oil change (500 miles or 1,000 miles), should I use full synthetic? Do I need to bed in the brakes (I've seen some posts about problems with the pads, rotors and caliper alignment)? Any other little tips or tricks I should know about (like special tricks to set up certain functions in the system, alarm, stereo, etc.)?

We'll need some all season tires too so what do you folks suggest (235 40 18?)?

Thanks for any advice and tips.
Paul

OK, and I guess you can tell from my duplicate posts, I suck at posting on forums. Sorry.

SSlobalt

Duplicate posts aren't your fault. It's this site. It's always slow and having server errors, so everyone does multiple posts at some point.

You don't need to bed the brakes. If your car is like most others, the rear brakes are going to be trashed in the first 10K miles. You'll start seeing scoring on the rear rotors almost immediately. There's nothing you can do about it at this point, though.

Don't get the Stage kit immediately. You should wait a couple of thousand miles, at least, to see what kind of issues the car will have, if any. I know that the Stage kit is a GM product, but it's just easier to get warranty work done if you have a stock car. You need to break it in anyway.

The charge piping recall work might have already been done to the car. If not, be sure the dealership does it before you leave with it.

If you son is a teenager, don't buy him this car.

Force

1) Use Mobil 1 5W-30 Synthetic, as recommended by GM. You can follow the oil life monitor in the car for change intervals, provided you check it manually on your own every once in a while to make sure. I did my first change at 3,000 miles just to eliminate any metal shavings there may have been from break-in.

2) Definitely bed the brakes, it COULD help eliminate future problems. You may have issues anyway, many of us have torched both the front and rear brakes with zero abuse and proper break-in performed.

3) The USB port is incredibly cool if you have an iPod... Little know fact: you can use the steering wheel controls to navigate menus. Use the arrows to scroll, hold up arrow to select, and hold down arrow to go back a menu level.

4) As for tires, it depends on what you want. If you want to mount them on the OEM wheels, I'd just go 225/40R18 like the stock Continentals. If you want a second set of wheels, I'd recommend a dedicated winter tire... But be careful, as VERY few wheels clear the big Brembos up front.

Zander916

You can delete your other two duplicates by going to those posts. Go to THREAD TOOLS at the top of your post and delete.

Congrats on the new SS/TC!!

steven6870

iTrader: (1)

Damn it, it's time like these I wish I had a dad, lol. Thats pretty cool of you to get him a tc. I do somewhat agree that if hes young and dumb, dont get him this car, but in all honesty you know your son, and this car is fairly safe for a performance vehicle. I think you have covered the basis of everything.

As far as oil, me personally I waited untill around 8000-10000 miles to change it. Its just what I was always told regarding first oil change. To each their own.

Permafried-

Being an 09 you shouldn't have to worry about the charge piping mount, but ask the dealership to run the VIN against its available TSBs. It's a quick check and a visual inspection will confirm whether the car has the updated mount of the older "bolt and grommet" setup.

PaulW

Thanks for the tips guys. Will his iPhone work in the USB port?

I'll ask about the charge piping mount. What does the new mount version look like so I can confirm it's been done?

I'm looking for all season tires since we live in NJ and he'll need to drive in some snow in the winter. I'll just mount them on the stock wheels for now.

He's over 20 and been driving for 4 years so he has a little experience but I know I'll need to remind him often to be careful.

I'll drop in the Mobil 1 at 1,000 miles as I'm over cautious with oil changes, especially on a turbo car.

Thanks again!

1BADSS/SC

delete teh dooplahkits

Shez

Yes, you can use the iPhone with the stock head unit. You can use anything as long it connects through usb.

ninja44

iTrader: (1)

Car already has synthetic from the factory and is the recommended oil

PaulW

They were already deleted before you posted your reply, but thanks for the reminder!

Permafried-

I don't recall seeing an up-close pic of it on this site before; if I remember I'll snap a picture of the new one when I get home from work and link it into this thread.

If you have to purchase some all seasons, why not go with a true winter tire? Yes it's going to cost more (especially because nothing smaller than a 17" wheel will pass, mine are 18s) but the pros of this outweigh the cost imo, and I'm in SW Ontario so we also get dumped on hard all winter .

BLACK2007LS

lol...im 19. i wish my dad would buy me a ss/tc


oh wait, hes paying for most of my $38,000 tuition lol

BLACK2007LS

lol...im 19. i wish my dad would buy me a ss/tc


oh wait, hes paying for most of my $38,000 tuition lol

1BADSS/SC

stupid server

1BADSS/SC

stupid server

1BADSS/SC

stupid server.....

SSlobalt

raynrishad

I did my oil at 1k and then again at 3k. Better safe than sorry. Specially with performance cars. I also put in a pretty good filter as well. Worth the price in the long run. If he's a teenager he's going to run it decently hard. You can generally tell how hard by the mpg indicator on the dash.

Hope he enjoys his tc as much as I'm enjoying mine!

Mindrot

iTrader: (1)

I took a chance and got my car used. I to this day have no clue what the moron before me did to this car..

FRQ FLYR

iTrader: (1)

Welcome and congrat's to both of you! I can see it now," Son,can I borrow your car tonight?"
I've got a set of Bridgestone Potenza Pole Position all season's in OEM size.They're quiet,ride good and handle great. You may need dedicated snow tires up there though.

Permafried-

As promised, here's a pic of my '08 with the TSB performed on the charge pipe attachment; sorry no before pics but this should be good enough for comparison . It's located almost directly above the high-pressure fuel pump, just slightly to the left:

PaulW

Awesome, thanks for the pics!

And thanks to everyone for making us feel welcome here and all the tips and advice. I'm sure I'll have more questions but hopefully I'll be able to return the favor sometime.

By the way, my daily driver is a Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT-8 with the 6.1L HEMI. I'm sure I'll take him from a dig but he'll prolly kill me at a 40 mph roll, though (but I don't want him street racing).

Thanks again,
Paul

raynrishad

The TC's are pretty burly on a roll. Wait till you get it tuned I'm not real impressed with the GM stage1 kit. 280hp isn't all that impressive for 600$ I've got just a Trifecta tune and I'm putting doen 300hp and 375 torque. To the wheels.

Slobalt09

iTrader: (1)

the charge pipe fix is just a safety clip to hold the bolt in place from loosening just checked mine and thats how it was... what rims do people get for winter tires? i want steels but 18 inch steels with 5x110 is hard to find