The 3.8 liter engine is a nice, torquey engine with pretty good output - not a V8 perhaps, but no slouch. Remember, when it is in the Bonneville or Buick LeSabre - heavier cars, people call it mmore than adequate, even powerful. One good point about it is that its light weight (compared to any V8) makes the Camaro really handle much better than with a heavier V8 up front.

 

I had a 89 RS 2.8 V6 and that car was a blast to drive. It is what it is a V6 and it did handle great. It was my 1st camaro and it hooked me for life. Looking back I wish it wasn't an auto . I don't recall ever getting smoked by a Subaru.

 

I am just about to buy a V6 Camaro. I think it's the 3,8. I drove it last week and it's really great!
I will definetly buy it this week an i can hardly wait for the snow to dissapear again!

 

Crap? Hardly. The 3.8 is a great little motor. It's not a V8, but that can be a good thing (actually picked my present car over a Z28 this time, since I was looking for a daily-driver). The V6 is peppy, relatively easy to work on should it need something, gets 30 mpg hwy, gives the car a great weight-distribution, doesn't stress the frame as much, and it's virtually bullet-proof. And unlike the Mustang and econo-box ricers, the Camaro is a sports car in how it handles, how it looks, how the chassis was designed, how it feels etc. at 200 hp, 600 hp, or however you have it set up. V8 or not, Camaro is about a lot more than straight-line performance... especially when you're talking 3rd and 4th gens.

 

back to the topic at hand, the 3.8 is definitly a good motor, i owned a 96 with that engine and it ran consistantly well.

 

The 3.8L is definitely a good motor. I'm pretty sure there is somewhat of an aftermarket support for the 3.8L as well.

 

3800performance.com


all the stuff you need!!!

 

Damn, I'd hate to respond to this again, especially since we just got off of the "Subaru" speak, but I'm going to regretfully bring this up again, just to find out which sites you were visiting.

Which Subaru site was it? A LOT of Subaru sites out there consist of A LOT of tools. As for Audis, I've attended Volkswagen/Audi shows before in the past (used to own a 2002 1.8T GTI), and those people are undoubtedly the grouchiest "enthusiasts" I have EVER been in contact with.

I own a 2005 STi, and I don't think the 3.8L Camaro is crap. Some people just can't see past the V6, which isn't a bad motor anyway. I can find "the good" in just about any car on the road, regardless of what it is.

There are a lot of benefits to the 3.8L Camaro. The compression is lower, so you can do a nice turbo/supercharger setup, there is somewhat of an aftermarket, there is less weight in the front end so they handle BETTER than the Z28, they get better gas mileage, and they're cheaper.

The 1998+ 3.8Ls are exactly the same as the Z28s. They have the same suspension, same wheel/tire diameter, same steering rack, etc. The only difference is the drivetrain. All of the "dynamics" are the same. They're good cars, and they would probably accel over the Z28 in auto-x because of the better weight distribution.

Check out that site that Steve (nj85z28) posted. I took a peek at it last night, and while I didn't spend much time there, I did see some nice packages.

 

yea, they dont have alot of stuff, but the stuff they do have is worth it. cams, heads, exhausts, all kinds of goodies for the 3800

 

Some of the parts looked to be pretty expensive. You might be better off going with a custom cam and some other parts.