Hey so ive been lookin at firebirds/camaros/mustangs lately and im leaning towards purchasing a 93-99 camaro. I dont know much about camaros and I know even less about firebirds/mustangs. I was wondering if a V6 3.8L manual is good enough for me. I am SO tempted to get a V8 but god damn 5.7L?? that is HUGE Im only workin fulltime during the summer and back to school for the fall I dont think I can afford the gas. What do you guys think, will I be content with a V6? Ill likely put dual flowmaster 80, air intake, tires, and american racers on it, which won't do much, but will improve sound and look.

Whats the main difference between the 3 cars mentioned above, and most importantly, how is the maintenance and upkeep on these sexy beasts? im lookin for buyin one with around 100k miles (160k km).

Thx for any feedback

 

the 3.8 was available in mid 95-02. good little motor, cheap to fix. great gas milage. you cant really do exaust work cause it will rasp a lot like a ricer... when i bought me 3.8 i was all happy. then like everyone else who gets board with them they get a v8 lol.

im going to be honest with you. the 5.7 is a gas hog. my z28 gets about 13-14 mpg... parts are very expensive because its a corvette engine... chick like them though, and youll get laid more lol

 

The V6 is a good engine -durable, reasonably powerful (and light, so the car really handles well) and very toquey, a good drive. It gets okay gas mileage. IU'd recommend it as a good, low cost car all around -- frankly, if you find one in good shape it would be hard to find a car that will cost you less, overall, to own for the next few years, economy, maintenance and all taken into account. Parts for both V6 and V8 are mostly standard Chevy stuff, although there are a few expensive Corvette piecesin there, they are few and tend never to break, so the two engines aren't really that expensive from a maintenance standpoint, but the V8 has more parts and is a bigger engine so it will require a bit more maintenance cost.

One area where the V6 often really beats the V8 is in insurance cost: check before you buy: a V6 is often noticeably less to insure than a Z28 or SS.

Butthe V8 with the manual does okay on fuel economy if you drive it for economy, particularly the LS1 (from '98 on). For that, you shift at low RPM, you learn not to fight (or disable) the skip-shift feature that forces you into fourth gear from 1st when just running around town (the car has the torque to skip 2nd and 3rd if you learn to usethe engineright -- andyou can get good economy this way -- remember, pressing down on the throttle nearly all the way if you need to at 1500-1800 RPM does not use a lot of fuel, despite what you might think), and you learn not to tap into the power all the time (sort of hard to remember, it is so much fun). My '98, when stock, got 19-20 as a daily driver, a mix of local street and limited highway driving, to and from work, etc.

Either way, the final recommendation for overall "economy" is: leave it stock, just maintain it well.

 

I really enjoyed my v6, but the two things that took a toll on me was people constantly saying "nice car is that a z28?" and i'd have to say no, and also when mustang gt's and other cars rev their engines at you trying to race. I go tofarmingdale college on long island and there's a TON of ricers and mustangs that I just couldn't wait to get a Z. Finally got one yesterdaysoonce i get her all set up i'm going on a monstrous killing spree in my area.

but if alls u canafford right now is av6,gettingcamaro is better than getting most other v6's.

 

dude I have a 98 Z28 and I get 22 mpg mostly city/town driving
get the Z28 you just cant beat an american GM V8

 

awesome thx for the feedback, also 2 more things:

Anybody know 0-60mph and 1/4 mile estimates of 3.8L v6? what about 5.7L V8 Z28?

And I was considering buying a '99 V6 rebuilt title, how should I go about this, completely disregard it cuz its rebuilt title or what? Hes askin 3500 but I dont think I would give him more than 2500 rebuilt, even after a thorough inspection.

 

blah if you already are worried about gas then dont get a V8. and personally i wouldnt get a V6 any "muscle" car for the fact that i would feel like a wannabe with a ricer sounded exhaust

if you want a fast car and get great gas mileage

go buy a nice

Honda Civic and then throw on a crap load of stickers and you will beast any camaro, rustang, or bird out there while still getting that 30+mpg

 

^^^not helpful at all and a waste of time. anyway, a 3.8 is a solid motor and you will be happy with it if you're not really looking for the horsepower. don't get me wrong, it does well for what it is, but obviously a v8 is going to get you faster. my gas mileage is about 20 in my 97 ss, but i don't drive her very hard at all. if i were you, i'd probably just get a v6. you'll be happy and still have a camaro

 

Im in your exact situation, work full time summer, part time and school the rest of the year. I owned a 3.4 V6 for 3 years and have recently upgraded to an LS1 V8. First of all, for the price and the year a Mustang is no match for a Camaro weather it be the 3.8L or the 5.7. Depending on how much your looking to spend a 3.8L would be a good bang for your buck and I would advise getting the manual. If your looking to get a V8 do not waste your time with the LT1, go with the LS1. 93-97 has the LT1 5.7, 98-02 has the LS1. The LS1 gets about 18 mpg reg, 20 highway which is not bad at all for a car with 300 HP. If you just want a daily drive the V6 will do you good, just beware of Eurpoean sports cars and Mustang GTs. If you buy a mustang, your going to have a lot of fun trying to get the same power you could get out of a stock z28. IF YOUVE GOT THE MONEY GO WITH A 98 or ABOVE CAMARO Z28! If your tight on money for the car itself you can find a very clean low milage 3.8L Camaro for a decent price. Gas should not be a problem for either, its the initial cost of the car. Don't waste your time on a 3.4L...the back tires will spin as much as you want but other then that its just a pretty looking car.

 

I would get the V8 personally but depending on just how tight money is you may want the V6. AS far as times go I don't know about the 6 but an LS1 should go 0-60 in about 5.2 seconds I believe somewhere around five and a half and the quarter mile times would be low 13's fairly consistently. I think the lowest time ever for a stock LS1 was 12.9, but like any other record you will likely never see those times.