DAILY GRIND
NZV8: Hi, Gareth. Nice car; what year is it?
Gareth: It’s a 2015 HSV — Gen F GTS.
This isn’t your first HSV — didn’t we feature you previously in Daily Grind with another Holden?
Yes, that’s right. That was in 2015, and I had a 2010 HSV GTS. I sold that car back in 2018 and bought this one. Both are white, but this one has a factory-standard supercharger, larger brakes, and an all-round better package.
You pumped up your last HSV from 436hp to 570hp with various modifications; have you done anything to this car?
Sure have. I recently took the car to Prestige Tuning in Lower Hutt. The team made a series of modifications, taking the power from a factory 430kW [577hp] at the flywheel to a dynoed 560kW [751hp] and 1040Nm [768lb·ft] of torque — 501kW [672hp] at the rear wheels.
Struth, that is a significant increase and a massive level of power and torque. What did they do to get that level of power?
Prestige planned a series of upgrades that meant the car is still very comfortable to drive around town, and at moderate speeds, but, as soon as you step on the gas, she flies.
They upgraded the headers to a set of XForce 17⁄8 inch. The rest of the pipework has an XForce three-inch Hi Flow cats and three-inch cat-back exhaust upgrade. The air filter was swapped out for an Xair OTR [over the radiator]. Much of the increase in power comes from an Aeroflow S/C pulley upgrade kit powering the supercharger. Prestige also changed the
How does it go?
Burying the foot is scary. The power comes on instantly and it doesn’t let up. The roar outside the car changes too, from a soft purr at normal revs to an intense whine from the supercharger and a heart-thumping growl from the exhaust. It has changed the car completely.
It sure is in beautiful condition; it looks as if you look after it.
It gets driven every day, but is pampered like a family pet. I have a set of track wheels and tyres, and I have had it out twice at Manfeild since December to test the upgrades. These have resulted in an increase of 30km [19 miles] on the straight and a considerable drop in the lap times in comparison with prior to the changes.
Any more upgrades to come?
No, I think I have reached nirvana with this car. It is such a good mix of normal driving, hardout power when you want to go fast, and a sublime track car for every now and then. HSV really got the formula right with the cars in its last few years; the inside is more European and incredibly well finished.
Could you see yourself in anything else?
I don’t think so. This car has everything I could want. The electronics were ahead of their time in 2015 and still hold their own today. Given these cars are not made any more, this is only going to go up in value as it ages.
Thanks, Gareth; we’re jealous of your daily driver.