When it comes to getting parts to fit one of the US Holdens, its hard enough as it is. But when you have a car like the PPV, that switches up between G8 and SS parts randomly, it’s enough to make you want to pull your hair out.
So, to help clear things up, here are some simple things you can look for to help along the way to ensure you purchase the right parts.
AIR INTAKES
Not every performance company makes an intake specific to the PPV, in fact, almost none of them do.
So, you will likely be forced into buying one for the G8 or SS, but which one?
The quickest way to tell it to take a look at your fuse box to see if you have a G8 or SS style fuse box. Both are located on the passenger side of the engine bay. But most intakes are vehicle specific.
THE G8 FUSE BOX
The fuse box on the G8 is a trapezoid shape, like a rectangle with the top left corner cut short.
THE SS FUSE BOX
The fuse box found on the SS is a square shape
SUSPENSION PARTS
When it comes to suspension this is where it get really confusing. The Chevy SS runs Magride, the PPV does not, but it does still use SS style suspension parts.
Why does this matter? Well, in terms of finding parts that fit, the SS and G8 suspension parts looks very similar. The key difference being that the SS started using aluminum arms for some key components, such as front radius rods. But, these newer aluminum arms might look similar, but they have a wider mounting base. This is where the issues start.
You cannot install coil overs meant for a G8 on to a PPV equipped with SS suspension, the knuckles are a different width and the mounts are not compatible.
The quickest & easiest way to tell which you have is to grab a simple magnet and see if it sticks to your front Radius Rods. If the magnet sticks, you have G8 suspension, if it doesn’t stick, you have the SS suspension.
Of course, there are a bunch more differences, but I wanted to help answer some of the more common questions be receive.
With this little bit of information, you should be able to be navigate your way through purchasing intakes and suspension parts.
We may very well revisit this post later on and update it with some more things to look out for, but until then, we think this is a good start for most.