slp exhaust and intake, you are correct, buff must be off his game today lol

 

i have a 96 z28, just has exhaust and CAI, automatic, and i drive to class mon-fri and my college is about 40 miles from my house. i can fill up every three days and even then its only a half tank if im just cruising. thats 240 miles i can stretch on the highway and only burns half tank. if you take it nice and easy, they can get surprisingly good gas mileage and still enjoyable.

 

Shoot, how big is the tank on a 96? I get an average of 18 mpg. On a 14.5 gallon tank, I get about 260 miles to a tank

 

Are you talking about the SLP lid and cat-back? Those aren't from the factory.

 

im not sure how big the tank is, but when i have it in OD and just do 60-65 all the way there with very light throttle, i can stretch a tank of gas pretty far. thats only on the highway though. since i live in the mountains, around town my mileage sucks.

 

buff chevy sends a stock z28 over to slp, they bolt on the goodies and rebadge and then it goes back the chevy, so technically it is factory

 

SLP also puts a different fuel and timing map in the PCM for added HP gains. It is noticable even with out the added, extra price exhaust or intake lid.

I own both a Z28 and a 3.8L V6. I daily drive the V6 and love it, it is smooth reliable, great mileage, goes pretty good and will take most 80's and early 90's Camaros and Mustangs. To me it is a much nicer car as a daily driver than the Z28 is. With the Z you have a ton of power (which I love BTW) but with that power comes extra noise and vibrations, it is not as smooth and does not cruise as well. Dont get me wrong here I still love the car, I love driving it but I would not want it as a daily driver.

Z28 gets about 17 in town and 28 tops on long freeway hauls. Reliability is top notch and the worst problem I have had with the car in the last year was a pulley bearing going out on me. 142K on the meter LS1, A4 trans

The 3.8 gets about 24 in town and 32 on the freeway. My engine has 70K on it the car has 138K and all is well. The 3.8L engine has a weak intake gasket from the factory but once this is replaced you can rest easy. My engine was replaced because some one started the car with no oil and it spun a rod bearing. My new engine came out of a 2001 Bonneville and has been going strong ever since.

Any version you choose will treat you good. The convertables didnt get the heavier springs because it would increase body flex, you dont really want to push a convertable all that hard anyway. My vote is go for a T-top car. Best of both hardtop and convertable in one package.

Personally I would get a 97+ car... But that is just me... Lemme tell you why. 97 was the first year of the updated dash and integraded BCM. The BCM is the Body Control Module (if ya didnt know) and it controlls all the main functions and convenience options of the car. The VATS, Keyless entry, power windows, RAP, antitheft system are just afew things it handles. The other models had up to 5 seperate units for all the car's functions. First year of DRLs and also auto headlamps. It is also the last year of the wedge nose, 98+ is the catfish nosed cars.

Massey

 

The PCM part I get, but I read that the intake and the exhaust were not upgraded in the LS1 cars unless the owner bought those SLP specific upgrades.

 

^ they were if you paid the extra $$$ for the upgrades. It was actually cheaper in alot of cases to buy the exhaust from GM or SLP and have the dealer install it over ordering it, the lid was the same way. On the LT1 cars the air cleaner sits on top of the engine right under the scoop, that is why those intakes were different. Not sure why they didnt mod the exhaust for the LS1 cars... Maybe they thought it was good enough?

Massey

 

You get an exhaust and the ram air intake from SLP, but as far as I know, you can opt for another SLP exhaust (dual/dual on the T/A's I believe). As far as the ls6 intake adding 25hp, not sure I see THAT much coming from it; also the 01-02 LS1's received smaller cam than 98-00, so that hp from the ls6 intake is offset a bit.

Get a SS if you can find a nice one for a good price near you. The appearance mods make them worth the extra price alone usually.