Has anyone owned both a Grand national and a GMC Syclone? I own an 87 GN, and am looking for a Syclone. I don't know much about Syclones. Can anyone chime in and give me a comparison of what to expect? What are its strengths and weaknesses? I do know that they have a wicked take off....but the top end suffers because of the awd. Are they harder to maintain than GN's? More quirky??
GN vs Syclone
- Thread starter ANDYS87
- Start date
The Darkside
Heavy Metal Thunder
- Joined
- May 25, 2001
There's a Cyclone/Typhoon tech section on this board, plus here's a website thats just for Cylones & Typhoons....SyTy/SGT Forums
I'm sure between our site & theirs, you can find out all the pro's & con's of owning one.... The Darkside
I'm sure between our site & theirs, you can find out all the pro's & con's of owning one.... The Darkside
The Sy/Tys are waaaayyyy more finikcy than a GN. A lot harder to work on than a GN. It seems getting a good chip is difficult too. If I got a Sy/Ty I would just leave it stock. My buddy has a few grand in his and cant get it to run right. Mostly due to finding someone to make a good chip for it. He is waiting for the TurboTweak chip to come out. Then is should run mid 12s. Which is what a stock GN can do on Ally, DRs, and a dump.
Syclone
I went 11.70 on the stock chip. left at 8-10 pounds. the truck had 100 miles on it at that point. It was VERY expensive to maintain back then. The front driveshaft was 1800.00. Puked 3 Trannys. Punched a rod thru the block, secondary to alcohol abuse, not razors kind either. But they hooked like a bear. I could floor it in the snow and just hold on. Man I miss that truck.
I went 11.70 on the stock chip. left at 8-10 pounds. the truck had 100 miles on it at that point. It was VERY expensive to maintain back then. The front driveshaft was 1800.00. Puked 3 Trannys. Punched a rod thru the block, secondary to alcohol abuse, not razors kind either
. But they hooked like a bear. I could floor it in the snow and just hold on. Man I miss that truck.I went 11.70 on the stock chip. left at 8-10 pounds. the truck had 100 miles on it at that point. It was VERY expensive to maintain back then. The front driveshaft was 1800.00. Puked 3 Trannys. Punched a rod thru the block, secondary to alcohol abuse, not razors kind either
Stock chip? That is awesome. My buddy has a small fortune in custom tunes/chips and the truck runs like crap at WOT.
What kind of gas did you run the 11.70 on?
I've owned them both and currently own a Typhoon. Kept stock (with reliability upgrades), they are no more expensive to maintain then a stock GN. Of course, all of my cars have been garage queens and not thrashed, so problems are few.
I find the trucks actually less "refined" than the older GN. They rattle more and are tougher to work on and things like fit and finish is low rent. And like GN's have a list of things that will go wrong (eventually) on EVERY vehicle (fuel pump, starter/relay, tranny, ball joints, etc). As long as you stay on top of things, they don't become a burden.
You should also sit in a Syclone and drive one. The cab is pretty tight and takes some getting used to.
That being said, they are a blast to drive and will eat anything off the line. All you need to know can be found at syty.net.
I find the trucks actually less "refined" than the older GN. They rattle more and are tougher to work on and things like fit and finish is low rent. And like GN's have a list of things that will go wrong (eventually) on EVERY vehicle (fuel pump, starter/relay, tranny, ball joints, etc). As long as you stay on top of things, they don't become a burden.
You should also sit in a Syclone and drive one. The cab is pretty tight and takes some getting used to.
That being said, they are a blast to drive and will eat anything off the line. All you need to know can be found at syty.net.
Turbo-Archie
Active Member
- Joined
- Oct 8, 2002
From what I understand, they can't make the HP a GN can make with out puking out the crank...
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Some of the early chips were trouble (pitbull, kenne bell), but the SyTy crowd have mostly figured things out including:
Code59 - Forum List - Code59 Forum
As far as puking cranks...I haven't heard too much of that. But they do eat (stock) transmissions and tranfer cases. But there are upgrades.
I don't mod or race and yield to SyTyers who are far more knowledgable on technical issues. Ask me how to detail a car, and i can help.
Again, search and read at Syty.net
I currently own both. First off, both in stock trim, the SYclone will mop up the GN all day long. As far as being quirky, the Syclone is no quirkier that the GN. Honestly they are very much alike. They even share the same fuel rails although the Sy has the TTA FPR. ANother big difference is working on them. There is absoluely no room to get to anything on the SYclone...its tight as hell. GN IMO has a ton of room to get to whtaever you want to. SYclone specific parts are scarce especially the body parts. If you do find some, your payin an arm and a leg. As for tuning, well sure you could throw a TT chip in your GN and go. Is it gonna be the most optimal tune for your particular vehicle...NO FRIGGIN WAY but it will be close. For the Syclone, there arent too many drop in chips so we us a piggy back emulator and rquires custom mapping with tuning software. Yes its harder but it gets your vehicle closer to a perfect tune. If this was dont to a GN, they would run even better than with a close enough chip. DOnt get me wrong, the TT chips are great. Very little guess work which is nice but theres a reason the guys who are goin real fast are running aftermarket engine management. My $.02
Dennis Kirban
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Mar 5, 2009
Lots of good points here....I personally have owned both actually lot more GNs but we did own one of the only 2 Syclones GMC used for all the magazine testing and it was the cover truck on Car & Driver back in the day.
My wife drove it as an every day truck for I think 2 years.
You gotta be a short person to sit comfortably in it....
labor is more costly unless you are handy......even doing spark plugs is a major job. The stock wheels in my opinion are ugly and look worse over time.
Off line acceleration is tremendous with all wheel drive over the GN.
Parts related specifically for the Syclone can be difficult to obtain.
Fuel rail is basically the same as the same adjustable fuel regulator we hd made for the Buick works on the Syclone.
As a rule thinking ahed performance trucks don't seem to hold their value as good as performance cars. Look at the Viper powered truck and Ford Lightning trucks etc.....
Vehicle is fairly air tight my wife broke the indoor door handle off. So the Syclone excells for body fit compared to the Grand National!
More thumbs up with a GN......
Just my thoughts....my wife loved the truck though license plate read ZRl KLR
denniskirban@yahoo.com
I know when the turbo went bad the labor to remove & install was more than I paid for a rebuilt turbo.
My wife drove it as an every day truck for I think 2 years.
You gotta be a short person to sit comfortably in it....
labor is more costly unless you are handy......even doing spark plugs is a major job. The stock wheels in my opinion are ugly and look worse over time.
Off line acceleration is tremendous with all wheel drive over the GN.
Parts related specifically for the Syclone can be difficult to obtain.
Fuel rail is basically the same as the same adjustable fuel regulator we hd made for the Buick works on the Syclone.
As a rule thinking ahed performance trucks don't seem to hold their value as good as performance cars. Look at the Viper powered truck and Ford Lightning trucks etc.....
Vehicle is fairly air tight my wife broke the indoor door handle off. So the Syclone excells for body fit compared to the Grand National!
More thumbs up with a GN......
Just my thoughts....my wife loved the truck though license plate read ZRl KLR
denniskirban@yahoo.com
I know when the turbo went bad the labor to remove & install was more than I paid for a rebuilt turbo.
i have a typhoon with a motor on the engine stand,all forged parts are going back in as it broke a crank and trashed the motor.so far mine has been a hell of a lot more work than my gn.but then again im having some issues with my gn.not serious though.they are fun as long as they dont grenade like mine did.i love the gn and the sy ty my v8 and v10 toys seem much less troublesome.i have always loved the sleeper factor of both and respected gm for making them
nonova0074
Member
- Joined
- Aug 13, 2006
OK as most I own both, fast wise my Gn rips up the TY hands down. My ty has a few more miles but both are up there. The ty is a complete rattle box, you almost have to ignor the rear window or buy a new $200 latch. (its creaks like an or floor). The ty is my daily driver and winter ride for now. I wouldnt say the top end suffers b/c of the AWD. The one this is Gn's pop head gaskets and SY/TY's explode. I would sit in a sy first b/c they are tight, I leaned toward the ty being I need to have a carseat in it.
I'll reply here as i have both
My Sy has 114k on it now i bought it with 100k 4yrs ago. The mods i have done to it is a cat back and adjustable reg and a chip. The truck has been pretty dang solid. The handling is unreal for a 80's truck. Working on them is not all that hard it looks intimitadating at first.
I get way more comments about the sy when i take it out VS the buick.
To maintain a sy/ty is no harder than a GN they respond to the mods the same. The biggest problem with a sy/ty is they have 5 bolts per cylinder so spitting a head gasket out is real hard, so pistons and rods take all the abuse and can fail. If you don't knock it they can make alot of power.
Philip long consistantly ran his sy in the mid to high tens on a stock engine for a few yrs and never broke anything.
Just remeber these trucks are 20 yrs old.
My Sy has 114k on it now i bought it with 100k 4yrs ago. The mods i have done to it is a cat back and adjustable reg and a chip. The truck has been pretty dang solid. The handling is unreal for a 80's truck. Working on them is not all that hard it looks intimitadating at first.
I get way more comments about the sy when i take it out VS the buick.
To maintain a sy/ty is no harder than a GN they respond to the mods the same. The biggest problem with a sy/ty is they have 5 bolts per cylinder so spitting a head gasket out is real hard, so pistons and rods take all the abuse and can fail. If you don't knock it they can make alot of power.
Philip long consistantly ran his sy in the mid to high tens on a stock engine for a few yrs and never broke anything.
Just remeber these trucks are 20 yrs old.
I own a T-Type, a Sy and a Ty. The Buick floats along and doesn't handle well compared to the Syclone. My Ty has 150k miles plus and is an all stock drivetrain, no problems except replaced the transfer case a few years back, the chain was slipping. The Sy runs mid 12's with a chip, fuel pump, cold air and afpr. The Buick breaks stuff regularly. Many drivers side exhaust manifolds, master cylinder, water pump, fuel pump. As was stated, Buicks lift the heads, SyTy's break rods and pistons. The SFI on the Buick is far more sophisticated than the batch fire on the trucks. Liquid vs. air intercoolers is a matter of opinion. I like my Buick as a cruiser but it is not as stable at high speeds as the Sy or Ty, and it would not autocross even close. And what you can do light to light on street tires in the trucks is amazing. 1.6's for 60 foot times.
It's is way cheaper and easier to make the Buick fast. Just follow well proven combinations and you know what you'll get. With only ~9000 total trucks there is much less support, parts are scarce and to get the best out of them you need a custom tune specific to your truck.
It's is way cheaper and easier to make the Buick fast. Just follow well proven combinations and you know what you'll get. With only ~9000 total trucks there is much less support, parts are scarce and to get the best out of them you need a custom tune specific to your truck.
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