2009 Pontiac G8

[mrweather]

Recently acquired a new Pontiac G8 (a V6 model) and had to move some of the radio gear from my previous car (Saturn Aura, see pictures elsewhere).

As with almost all new cars space is at a premium. I reinstalled my Kenwood TK790/890 dual-band kit but had to change out the full-featured head for a basic one because there was no place I could find to put the external speaker.

I installed one NMO mount on the trunk and it supports a Larsen NMO2/70 dual-band antenna:

The G8 dash and console leave little room for radios but just beneath the HVAC and stereo stack is a small storage bin just wide enough and deep enough to accept the control head. How lucky is that...

The mic hanger is mounted on a trim piece just to the right of the ignition. It's positioned out of the way so that it doesn't interfere with my starting the car.

The 790/890 drawers are in the trunk. Since the G8 has its battery back there as well it was really easy to grab power. I'm still cleaning up the drawer wiring so no pic of that part of the install yet.

The setup works great and the car is very quiet: no spark hash, no alternator wine.

 

[j86u]

Nice install and car!

 

[kenisned]

Looks GREAT!

Nice job!

 

[OpSec]

I don't buy the "couldn't find a spot to place the speaker" line...

Package tray? Behind the center console? Under a seat?

 

[mrweather]

Keep in mind the Kenwood external speaker is about 6x6x2.5". I've tried under the seat before and the audio is too muffled. Plus, the G8 has powered seats both sides and there is almost no room due to the seat hardware.

Don't know what a "package tray" is.

The speaker in the control head is firing forward towards me without obstructions which, to me, gives the best audio quality.

 

[commscanaus]

Very nice install!!

Great to see the left hand drive Pontiac version of one of our locally produced cars.

These are produced and sold here as the Holden Commodore. It is the VE model and is sold in the US under the Pontiac badge.

I think the US version gets more power- in both the V6 and V8!

Glad to see you can still squeeze a radio into the console! The antenna install compliments the car too.

I do not want to hijack the thread- but here is a picture of the local version in Police uniform.

Enjoy the car and thanks for sharing the pics.

 

[N1SQB]

Kudos to you, you manned up and drilled a hole. Thats gutsy!

Manny

 

[geoff5093]

That is an amazingly clean setup! Great job!

 

[eddie412]

Clean install!

 

[mrweather]

Thanks all for the comments

Kudos to you, you manned up and drilled a hole. Thats gutsy!

Manny

Absolutely! I had the car less than 24 hours and already had the Antenex hole saw out.

 

[b7spectra]

My Sport Trac was less than 48 hours off the lot when 3 holes went in the roof!

Cool looking job!

 

[bezking]

Sweet. I *really* want to get that car before GM spins off or just kills Pontiac...

 

[dlbutlien]

I had my Suburban less than 45 minutes when the headliner was down (6 holes) and the console was out. ;-)

 

[firetaz834]

Nice install and I had my vehicle less then 10 minutes when the antennas got mounted (total of 6 with a 6th for a GPS antenna.

 

[nyscan00]

very nice install. I have an altima coupe and am doing a scanner install w/ BC RH96 head in a very similar location - under climate controls.

 

[tekshogun]

Clean install. I would like to see pictures of the drawers in your trunk.

Commscanaus is right is saying that your antenna compliments the car. It does not look bad at all.

I have a Chevy HHR and am planning, carefully, a couple of antennas to install. One of them though may be a stealth antenna setup for a scanner. The other I would need to mount up and very visible for a dual-band ham rig.

 

[mrweather]

Thanks again all.

There's nothing really special about the drawers. They're a pair of dash-mount (45/40 watts) drawers mounted side-by-side on a piece of 3/4" unpainted plywood. Not the prettiest but it keeps everything sort of organized!