New to me desert SHO

FearlessAZ · July 10, 2016, 10:12:59 PM

Hey everyone. I am a proud new owner of a 2010 SHO. I love it so far. I live in Phoenix, AZ. Seems like there is a pretty good amount of people here that share this desert. Any questions? Please feel free to ask. I was also curious if there are any other good helpful forums for these cars. I apologize if that is against the rules to ask. Just want to stay up to date on knowledge. Also, the pictures are the ones that the dealership took. Hopefully I can take some better pictures the next few months.

SHOdded · July 10, 2016, 10:25:03 PM

Welcome to EBPF, FearlessAZ, and congrats on the new ride, it looks BOFFO

Are you new to Ford/turbocharged vehicles? What other possible rides were in the running?

FearlessAZ · July 10, 2016, 10:34:19 PM

Been a few year since I had a "performance" vehicle. My previous vehicles are a 1970 Chevy Impala, 1987 Ford F250, and a 2004 Chevy Trailblazer. The only one I still have is the Trailblazer. So not my first Ford but definitely my first turbo vehicle.

I was really interested in the Pontiac G8 GT. Loved the performance and met all my wants. But I saw the SHO for about the same price and the interior sold me on it. I know the SHO is similar in performance and can be a beast with just a few simple mods. But the interior is just so darn comfy. When I saw this, I had to jump on it.

sholxgt · July 10, 2016, 10:42:39 PM

Congrat's on the "new" car!

glock-coma · July 10, 2016, 11:15:36 PM

Welcome!!

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

SHOdded · July 11, 2016, 12:07:06 AM

The performance mods are definitely much more available for the G8, but the SHO is no slouch even so.

AnotherGreenFusion · July 11, 2016, 12:13:03 AM

Very nice! Welcome!

FearlessAZ · July 11, 2016, 12:31:12 AM

Thank you!

It definitely is no slouch sitting at stock. I've only gotten hard on the pedal a few times but already tons of fun. Around March, I plan on doing a MDesign intake (heard it is good with isolating temperatures), catted downpipe, new exhaust, remove 3rd cat,170 thermostat, 3 map sensor and a tune. I think that will hold me over for a year until I decide to do more. I haven't been able to decide on what exhaust though. I hate looking through exhaust videos on YouTube because I know they all sound different in person. I love the sound of the MRT axle back but definitely want something more than an axle back.

SHOdded · July 11, 2016, 06:17:54 AM

Oh yeah, you gotta do all that at a minimum, to stay on this forum LOL!!! Seriously though, how many miles on your SHO? I am sure you already know the drill, but making sure the maintenance is up to date will give you more reliable forward momentum

PTU/RDU/trans fluid, at a minimum
Coolant and brake fluid flush would be great
Verify boost-related hoses are tightened properly and have not split (near the clamping area)
No leaks at the struts/shocks (usually age dependent)
Chafing knock sensor wiring, isolate them anyway if they are not already
Verify condition of control arms and tie rod ends. Swaybar links dont tend to go bad, but what the hey LOL.

List of TSBs/recalls you might enjoy reading through:
http://www.ecoboostperformanceforum.com/index.php/board,228.0.html

Add better brakes (a 2013+ update works well) and cooling (engine/trans oils, 2013+) to your list. Both are in the HOWTO section.
http://www.ecoboostperformanceforum.com/index.php/board,107.0.html

FearlessAZ · July 11, 2016, 11:49:10 AM

At the moment, it has 68,700 miles on it. That was the main reason I looked at it first. It had 15k-20k less miles then other stuff around here. I will have to check that stuff out. I was reading the maintenance stuff, TSB and recalls. I don't seem to have any of those problems though. I did forget that it I want to add the oil and Trans cooler. Out here, cooling is king. Very useful. And definitely want to upgrade the brakes.

My only complaint so car is the passenger chair with active motion. My wife hit the massage button and a few of the bladders stayed inflated. It's like sitting on some rocks. I'm sure I can get it fixed under warranty but was unsure if this is a normal problem or any fixes for it. I've read a few different forums and seen it mentioned a couple times but only one mentioned a fix of the module.

Also, do any of the SHO guys ever meet up around here? I would love to take a look at what other people have done to their rides and see/hear ideas.

SHOdded · July 11, 2016, 12:03:30 PM

I would imagine there's a Facebook group of AZ SHO (or regional SHO) owners that contains info re social activities. Don't see much on the forums. Mostly older Gens though
http://shoforum.com/index.php?forums/azshoc-arizona-sho-club.54/

BiGMaC is in the Phoenix area, you can look at his posts around this forum to see what all he has done. The founder of this forum, EcoPowerParts, is also in AZ. You can see his posts re: mods to his Flex, now he's more into the V scene (and possibly the Raptor, next).

EcoPowerParts · July 11, 2016, 12:04:41 PM

Welcome, thanks for joining. I'm local as well.

FearlessAZ · July 11, 2016, 05:07:21 PM

I will check out that forum as well. I have seen a few members around here.

EcoPowerParts, I notice you help with USA wrestling and Desert Vista. Just want to say thanks for helping with the sport and supporting all of us. When did you start helping with that? I graduated in 2008. Is Coach Matthew's still around there?

EcoPowerParts · July 11, 2016, 05:17:16 PM

Quote from: FearlessAZ on July 11, 2016, 05:07:21 PM
I will check out that forum as well. I have seen a few members around here.

EcoPowerParts, I notice you help with USA wrestling and Desert Vista. Just want to say thanks for helping with the sport and supporting all of us. When did you start helping with that? I graduated in 2008. Is Coach Matthew's still around there?

I started in 2009 when my son started wrestling there as a freshie, he ended up being a 3x state champion placed 5th as a 215lb freshie.
I still go in and help out when I can with the freshies and heavyweights. Matthews is still a counselor there and helps out, he has helped me with my greco so much when I competed in nationals for a couple of years in the veteran tourneys.

I'm on the board of directors for AZ-USAW and my wife/daughter run all the tourneys, I converted them from paper to electronic with laptops a few years back to make everything more efficient.

FearlessAZ · July 11, 2016, 06:03:49 PM

I probably saw you around at the freestyle tourneys then. I blew my knee out right after the season I'm 08. Unfortunately, the only kid that could beat me was in my own weight class at my own school. I was a heavyweight at Sunnyside. I used to love coming to Desert Vista for Fargo practice. Matthew's was one of my favorite coaches. Good times.