Was my V6 a mistake??

I bought my beautiful Arctic 2002 Firebird 5 months ago. At the time I was really happy with it but now I find myself constantly thinking that I should have gotten a T/A. Now, even though I want to trade it for a T/A, I don't think I will because I would loose too much money. Anyway. I thought I would share that with you and see what you guys think about this. Maybe after reading your posts I will be able to decide what to do. I guess I need to hear an opinion from somebody else before I go ahead and start intalling a few mods that I already bought for my car but I haven't installed yet.
Thanks.

Why would it be a mistake? Are you that unhappy with it already that you shouldn't have purchased it in the first place? I think there are always sentiments about wanting a V8, hell I had them when I had my V6, but I still thought my 95 V6 was a damn good car, and I appreciated the time that I had with it. I'd still like to have a car like that again. I saw nothing wrong with it...

aint nothin wrong with a v6 u can build them just as strong as a v8 and u get way better gas mileage and lower insuance

i personally wouldnt buy a v6 bird. the v8s get good gas millage and have alot more power, i dont suggest building up the v6, it might be alot more costly then trading in the v6 for a v8 t/a.

it no more costly than buildin an lt1 or ls1 and i've never sean a t/a get 27/mpg unless they were a 6 speed andnot beatin on em but it realy is only a mater of opinion and what you are happy with and what kind of driveing/raceing you want to do road race yer better off w/ v6 cuz uses less gas and they are lighter than a t/a,
t/a's i think wheigh in at like 4000lbs and mi 95 firebird at a truck stop wheighs 3700 w/out my system in and 3796 w/ my system in (both are w/me in the car)which isnt too much different but change a few things like suspention parts you can drop afew more pounds

no way the t/a's weigh 4000lbs my 76 was the heaviest generation (2nd) and it weighs 3650

it no more costly than buildin an lt1 or ls1 and i've never sean a t/a get 27/mpg unless they were a 6 speed andnot beatin on em but it realy is only a mater of opinion and what you are happy with and what kind of driveing/raceing you want to do road race yer better off w/ v6 cuz uses less gas and they are lighter than a t/a,
t/a's i think wheigh in at like 4000lbs and mi 95 firebird at a truck stop wheighs 3700 w/out my system in and 3796 w/ my system in (both are w/me in the car)which isnt too much different but change a few things like suspention parts you can drop afew more pounds


Well, considering that the EPA rated the LT1 f-bodies at 28mpg highway from the factory, with an auto, that is amusing. The city mileage is what really gets you with the V8's. Aside from spraying 100hp worth of nitrous into his V6, simply to match a stock LT1 engine, building up a N\A V6 to compete with a stock LT1 would be somewhat expensive. If your regreting your V6 purchase because your missing power, then you may want to upgrade to a V8 car. The same thing would go if your wanting that throaty V8 sound the 3800's can't provide. You may not get that shafted at the dealership during a trade in. Believe it or not V6 f-bodies sell much more easily than their V8 brothers and the right dealer might make you a sweet deal.

As far as the weight, an LT1 Impala weighs in around 4100 lbs. Saying an f-body weighs near that is ridiculous. In fact, you should really do some research before you post ANYTHING. The lightest V8 4th gen is the hardtop formula which weighs in a tick under 3500 lbs. The 3800 engines are not that much lighter either. They are iron block, just like the LT1 V8's, and they have IRON heads instead of aluminum like the V8's. The LS1 is ALL aluminum. The weight difference probably isn't very significant.

I bought a 97 Camaro 2 years ago and just recently a Firebird, both with the 3.8L V6. I drive a lot, so I wanted the V6 for the cheaper insurance and mileage. I'll probably sell one, put headers/flowmaster on the other and save up for a C4 Vette for when I'm not working.

Does anyone know about a rev-limiter or speed limiter on the V6 3.8L engines? My Camaro runs pretty good now with just a K&N filter and it's got 111k miles. I just got a great deal on a 99 Firebird with T-Tops, 5-spd and the same V6 with only 69k miles. It runs good, but not breathing well enough and seems to trail off at 65-70mph? I know that a K&N filter will help, and maybe a new fuel filter, maybe clean the injectors, etc.... still wondering if it may have some kind of governor or speedlimiter I've read about lately? This car seems to have been really taken care of, not thrashed... well-maintained... good oil pressure.

I never could find a chip for this engine when I looked for one in the Camaro either.

The 3.8 last a good long time. They are probably speed limited to whatever the factory tires are rated. You may be able to get some reprogramming done through pcmforless.com but I'm not sure if they do V6 cars.

I can relate to your problem, In late 90 I bought a new 91 XS with a 3.1 V-6, I could have bought the same car for a couple hundred more with the 305 V-8. I bought the V-6 thinking it would get a lot better MPG, it doesn't, around town it gets 17-19 MPG. Everyone I have asked who has the smaller V-8 (not the T-A 5.7) says they get 17-18 MPG around town. The big difference is power and sound neither of which come stock with the V-6. I still have the car, has 57K miles and looks like new (selling shortly if anyone is interested) I learned to live with the V-6 because like you I didn't want to lose money.

MACRET San Diego

Thanks for the feedback...

I tried to find a hi-perf chip for the 3.8L but couldn't find any so far...
Sounds like there are some things to be done, but I'm not about to mess with the electronic/computer PCM stuff without some help.

I've seen some good info here on the forums including; websites www.camaroV6.com and www.firebirdV6.com. I'm tired of being so cheap, but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do. Hopefully I'll make more $$ this year to get back into a V8 again, but I'm pretty happy with the 3.8L in most cases, I'm sure headers will make a big difference too.

I hope GM replaces the F-bodies with something other than that "SS" pickup truck! I really loved my Formula Fiero... another neat car they decided to cancel.... I may try to pick one of those up one of these days too if I can find one? Right now, there aren't too many new cars I'd even want to buy.