Because the G8 contains so much power under the hood, the suspension and chassis play a major role in how smooth the ride is when you're pushing the horses. You may not see it, but if something is wrong with the suspension, you'll feel it. Of course, everyone has a different opinion of how a car's suspension should be calibrated. Some like a smooth ride. Others want to "feel" the road under them. Different strokes for different folks.
But, when driving a performance vehicle like the G8 (especially the GT which has the V8 with the 6.0-liter engine), it's important that your car's suspension and chassis are well-made and properly adjusted. It's worth noting that the GXP's front and rear suspension was developed after testing the car's performance on racetracks like the Nürburgring circuit. Now, let's take a quick at how the G8's suspension and chassis are built.
Rear Suspension
Pontiac focuses a lot of the architecture of the G8's 4-wheel independent suspension in the rear. They know that many G8 owners will likely be driving aggressively. The design of the rear suspension not only compensates for any type of driving that hard-charging owners put it through but it'll ensure the ride is ultra-smooth. (It can be tuned to allow the driver a more tactile experience, if preferred.)
The G8's chassis is also constructed to deliver an extra level of "depth" to the driving experience. The tires maintain their grip on the road while the sub-frame of the chassis sits on a 4-point mount. Pontiac has also included both upper and lower control arms. You'll find that it helps increase the feeling of control while limiting the amount of lean you'll experience during the hard turns.
Front Suspension
The front suspension of the G8 is a huge improvement over previous models from Pontiac. There's a radius rod that mounts on the front with a hydraulic bush that's jacketed in steel. Plus, Pontiac has chosen to include a virtual pivot point in the front suspension. In our opinion, this is much better than the GTO.
The only point of contention with the G8's front suspension is that we've been hearing reports of a popping or creaking sound while driving. We haven't experienced it ourselves, but a lot of owners have. Fortunately, there's an easy solution. The popping sound seems to come from a shipping block left in the coil spring on the side of the car making the noise. Remove the block and that should eliminate the noise. Of course, that begs the question of why G8's are being delivered with the shipping block left in the spring. But, that's a concern for another day.
Overall Good Design
Pontiac refers to their suspension as the FE2 system. They're using springs that are a bit stiffer than other systems we've seen. Plus, the sporting dampers are a little tighter. Overall, the G8's factory-tuned front and rear suspension is one of the finest we've encountered in a performance sedan. Its ability to absorb the shocks of the road while testing the engine is superior to that found in cars at twice the sticker price.
Adding Pedders To The G8
Even though the stock suspension on the base G8 is extremely well-designed and tuned, you can add more control by having new Pedders inserts installed. Adding the inserts seems to reduce most of the residual noise coming from the sub-frame during extreme driving maneuvers. A Pedderised G8 can be driven like a performance vehicle while maintaining the feel of a luxury sedan. It's a quick modification and provides a lot of value if you intend to drive your G8 hard.
