Hello everyone, just signed up and saying hi!
Been thinking of buying a GTO, so hopefully this forum will be a big help if I bite the bullet and get one.
Seems like a good place to be so far from what I’ve seen.
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Good luck on the hunt. Whereabouts are you based?
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Hi @gaz1 welcome to GTOUK 
We have lots of information about these cars as well as experience in what to look for when going to view one - take a look at our buyers guide this will help.
James
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Thanks for the welcome(s) 
I’m located near Shrewsbury Shropshire.
Been considering a few different cars lately, porsche 928 S2 , Nissan 300zx and mitsubishi GTO.
These were all school boy favourites of mine growing up, can’t buy them all though unfortunately 
lol . Be nice to test drive all of them and pick a favourite … they are all unique in their own ways. 
I always liked the 928, but like all Porsches they need money spending on whether you drive them or not, with lots of paper work and OPC / approved specialist stamps to sustain their sky high asking prices and apeasing the fussy buyers in that market.
It sounds like you want a standard Twin Turbo model? You’ll find they are surprisingly comfortable if you’re under 6 ft in standard form. And turbo models (and UK spec cars) only come in manual, unlike the 300ZX and 928.
There are some differences between the Import GTO and UK 3000GT models, but not night and day stuff. Just look for history, receipts, overall condition and avoid the hyper marked up ones floating around by those back street dealers & flippers.
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Hi and welcome.
Good luck with the hunt.
There are a few for sale over here in Ireland, I can send you a link if you like.
Enda
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Is there a list on here of those differences?
Twin turbo is the one for me I think, they are quite heavy so need as much oomph as possible 
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What power do they make? I know the book figure is 270bhp or there abouts, but was this a lie to keep in check with the ‘gentleman’s agreement’ ? .
I think the USA models are listed as 320bhp aren’t they? Does this mean the UK cars are also this power? Or are there actual engine differences?
I thought the mk1 3000gt had 300bhp and the GTO 280
due to different size turbos, but the 3000gt has a cat and egr( to meet eu emission standards )so there’s probably no real word difference in power.
Welcome aboard Gaz. You have come to the home of GTO ownership. I don’t think there’s much that our members don’t know about these cars.
You have done exactly the right thing, and there’s nothing you cannot ask us about. We are all very keen to help.
I have owned my little late '92 NA for over 16 years now. Always appreciated a car with some unique styling. Still turning heads, despite the old fella behind the wheel . 225hp off the factory floor, but must be less than that now, but she still does it for me. At circa 280 - 300-ish horses for the TT or 3000GT, it’s easy to get carried away on our roads and end up in tears. Ok if you’re on an autobahn, but there’s really nowhere in this country to give these cars a good run without breaking the rules. Also, yes, they can be tweaked quite a bit, but they are quite a heavy car generally.
Good luck with your search Gaz, some great advice already given. Keep us posted on your proposed purchase. Happy to help fella.
Mike
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I believe the UK had slightly bigger turbos but lower boost still making the 286(how ever much it is) and the 2nd gen onwards made 320, but mist of these figures will be irrelevant as most would have dropped slightly with wear and increase with aftermarket exhausts.
The main thing is they still shift when you want and gives you that smile per mile.
The difference that I can remember is 300gt was more of a higher spec car while the gto had to be added if they wanted it, but all 3000gt had washers instead of sanke eyes.
Good luck with the search, and if you do find any you like, post them on here and we will help you as much as we can
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Ah… so with an exhaust/intake mods and a remap, what is a ‘safe’ power figure for these cars when upping the boost on standard turbos and internals?
I’ve heard the 3.0 v6 isn’t the strongest of engines when asked for more power?
Your not able to remap the ecu
from speaking to Rob at evil empire, a few mods, fuel rail, bigger turbos, intercooler, ecu and a few other parts will easily see you 450 safely, but at the same time he said people have got more without the engine going, it just depends who who creates the map and how well they know the car.
I have not yet done any power increase, bit still enjoy the car, they have really long gear ratios so you will have power no matter what speed your at.
First tip is to stop googling about the 3000GT/GTO, as 90% of the info out there is bolleaux and cut & paste jobs.
They are a bit heavier than the Supra and GTR Skylines of the day, but a straight line race shows nothing in it. I’ve owned other tweaked and standard turbocharged cars back in the day, R32 and R33 GTR Skylines (320-450 hp), a Soarer TT (300 HP), MK3 Supra Turbo (360 hp), Focus RS (350 hp), it’s right up there with them.
The TTs are reasonably quick in stock form - but these cars are old, and you cant just remap them during your lunch hour like a 6 year old Audi. Modifying them for more power without disapointment and breaking stuff needs a fair amount of money, quality parts from reputable suppliers, time and an understanding spouse.
But if you happen to ever drive a 400-500+ HP GTO/3000GT, its a drug. Cannot beat old school turbo type power delivery.
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So how do they do the map? … is it a flashed ROM that is physically soldered on to the ECU board?
I think people tend to run aftermarket standalone ECUs. Personally I’d just up the boost slightly and enjoy the 350ish bhp it will give you. I haven’t even bothered doing that on mine and the standard 320bhp is plenty to have fun 
(seriously, my other car has 500bhp and very similar weight and the GTO feels just as lively!)
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Up the boost? Is there a simple manual adjustment on the waste gate? Like on my daily L series diesel MG ZS ?
Or do you guys fit a basic boost controller to the vacuum line?
I guess it’s going to be fairly brisk in standard tune.
Any mods Would have to be done properly,
I certainly wouldn’t want to brake anything.
Out of interest, are any of the cars currently for sale had any power increases ?
Mine is a 1996 MR model and will be on for sale soon - but I would recommend going for a clean standard car - maybe another member here will have one for sale soon? Enjoy it for what it is, and take the time to learn the platform if you decide you want to mod the car to your own liking.
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These cars feel very planted and in tour mode ride our roads and speed bumps more comfortably than my 1 series!
If you want one to launch all day and thrash then prepare for bills.
If you want to cruise and stretch its legs on the motorway or every so often then in my.opinion that’s what they are great for in a more reliable manner!
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Yeah… tbh that’s more up my street driving wise .
My friends would probably call me captain slowly lol , I enjoy the occasional squirt of the throttle but not interested in hard launches or flat out thrashing, just enjoy the torque when giving a car bit of welly from time to time.