So I'm thinking of looking into buying a firebird.

I'm saving up for a new car over the summer and am planning on selling my civic. So I'll have around 10k to spend by the time I'm ready to buy. I was primarily looking at turbo'd I4's (Eclipse mainly).. but was recently thinking of jumping to a V8.

So what do I need to know about firebirds? Are they reliable cars? Obviously they're fast. What about traction.. I live in CT and winter isn't too fun (not to mention, in the summer I do sometimes like a little slide on turns.. am I gonna lose the backend completely?). How do they handle (keep in mind I'm used to nimble little 4 cyl)?

how new of a firebird are you looking to buy?

p.s its good to see someone convertin over from rice haha

I would prefer a 98+, just because in my opinion they look so much better. But otherwise it would have to be a 93+.

And I don't distinguish between "rice" and whatnot. I like all cars. Well, fast cars that is.

Actually I'll admit the real reason I'm considering a firebird is because my best friend is planning on buying a z-28.. I thought it'd be fun to cruise around together, and work on our cars together. Besides.. I love the sense of satisfaction I get from beating him.

Btw, what is the deal with the "skip-shift"?

I would prefer a 98+, just because in my opinion they look so much better. But otherwise it would have to be a 93+.

And I don't distinguish between "rice" and whatnot. I like all cars. Well, fast cars that is.

Actually I'll admit the real reason I'm considering a firebird is because my best friend is planning on buying a z-28.. I thought it'd be fun to cruise around together, and work on our cars together. Besides.. I love the sense of satisfaction I get from beating him.

Btw, what is the deal with the "skip-shift"?
i have a 95 firebird and i live in iowa we have pretty good winter storms and it handled pretty good on the snow but they arent good for deep snow becoz the ride close to the ground so if theres like a snow dusting itd be cool to drive but wouldnt recomend in deeper snow...

Camaros, Firebird, Corvettes, anything basicly rear wheel drive is not good in the snow. You put wider tires on the car (aka camaros, firebirds, and corvettes) and it becomes worse. Put more power, and its a nightmare.

No matter what anyone tells you, its not going to handle as good as a front wheel drive car in the snow / rain for that matter. But on dry land, you will be very happy that you picked an american v8.

As reliable, I wouldn't trust any jap car over an american car, period. Thats just me tho, and I wont buy anything thats not American. Mods can look down on me for saying this, but I refuse to support the jap government by purchasing their cars.

Now onto stuff about the cars :) If you want to really beat him, I suggest getting a 2000 - 2002 WS-6 Transam. It will have the LS-1 engine in it, which has 350 hp stock. A few mods will get you into the 400 hp.

Why would wider tires make traction worse? Wouldn't it be better with more rubber down on the road? My only rear-wheel drive experience comes from my mom's 1990 Volvo 240 DL, which obviously has quite a weak engine.

What should I look out for in terms of major things to check? Obviously for rust and t-top leakage and normal wear and tear, but is there anything TA specific I should look out for?

Camaros, Firebird, Corvettes, anything basicly rear wheel drive is not good in the snow. You put wider tires on the car (aka camaros, firebirds, and corvettes) and it becomes worse. Put more power, and its a nightmare.

No matter what anyone tells you, its not going to handle as good as a front wheel drive car in the snow / rain for that matter. But on dry land, you will be very happy that you picked an american v8.
This is wrong information. While the FWD car will so better, the Trans Am will do just fine with some allseason tires or snow tires for the winter. I know plenty of guys that do it. Just don't try it on DR's or a good performance tire. Then you are up shit creek.

Nothing to really look out for in the later model Trans Am's. I would avoid 98's seeing as they were the first year for the new models. They have a couple minor things that set them apart from the rest of the late 4th gen T/A's. Just things that could affect tuning later on. Listen the the motor on a cold start up. If it ticks slightly and fades away, that is okay, but if that tick persists, I would skip that car.
Good luck!!

don't forget, if u get a 93-97, you can same some serious coin and only lose a small amount of power that can be made up quickly. And if u are in love with the 98+ style ram air hood, plenty of places make em for 93-97 bodies. You can pick up a low mileage 93-97 with front end damage for peanuts. Then order your after market hood, stock bumper and bam your in good shape. Corse, just buying a high mileage 98+ is easier. But what fun is that!

Have you test driven one? The car below is a v6 I test drove a 00 formula yesterday. from a dead stand still the car laid 4 car lengths of rubber from both tires. I'm currently in the market for a 99 or newer v8

It will be a big difference going from the honda to the f bod.

As for the skip shift its for manual transmissions it allows you to shift from 1st to 2nd with the rpms up. Stock the 2nd gear is locked out preventing abuse to the transmission. Obviously you don't want to buy a car with this already done.

Good luck I'm sure u will have fun blowing the doors off imports.

As for the skip shift its for manual transmissions it allows you to shift from 1st to 2nd with the rpms up. Stock the 2nd gear is locked out preventing abuse to the transmission. Obviously you don't want to buy a car with this already done.
Locks out 2nd and 3rd. $20 fix. I did that almost right after I bought the car. I couldn't take it anymore.

Oh, and they have some torque......
http://home.comcast.net/~mrluos/burn.wmv

Have you test driven one? The car below is a v6 I test drove a 00 formula yesterday. from a dead stand still the car laid 4 car lengths of rubber from both tires. I'm currently in the market for a 99 or newer v8

It will be a big difference going from the honda to the f bod.

As for the skip shift its for manual transmissions it allows you to shift from 1st to 2nd with the rpms up. Stock the 2nd gear is locked out preventing abuse to the transmission. Obviously you don't want to buy a car with this already done.

Good luck I'm sure u will have fun blowing the doors off imports.

i doubt heavily that adding a skip shift eliminator lessens the integrity of transmission. I put mine in and barely noticed a difference. But then again, i drive my car like i stole it--everyday.

going from a civic to a T/a will make you realize what power is. yah i could build-up my lawnmower and make it quick like a civic, but the V8 comes with the power. you dont feel that in a fwd 4banger.

Camaros, Firebird, Corvettes, anything basicly rear wheel drive is not good in the snow. You put wider tires on the car (aka camaros, firebirds, and corvettes) and it becomes worse. Put more power, and its a nightmare.

No matter what anyone tells you, its not going to handle as good as a front wheel drive car in the snow / rain for that matter. But on dry land, you will be very happy that you picked an american v8.

As reliable, I wouldn't trust any jap car over an american car, period. Thats just me tho, and I wont buy anything thats not American. Mods can look down on me for saying this, but I refuse to support the jap government by purchasing their cars.

Now onto stuff about the cars :) If you want to really beat him, I suggest getting a 2000 - 2002 WS-6 Transam. It will have the LS-1 engine in it, which has 350 hp stock. A few mods will get you into the 400 hp.

cooltc2004...you're talkin' out your butt on snow days. I lived in Delaware and PA. I drove my car through snow/sleet/rain/name it. RWD is just different then FWD in snow. Light foot and if the back end kicks out, you steer to that side while rolling out of the throttle. I have had NO problem going up and down the moutains of northeast PA(bloomsburg/danville area) in my years of driving with 2 fox bodied 5.0 Mustangs and my Trans Am which was procharged at the time. Its all about patience and ability to handle your car.

Now, Vtech......As far as getting 400hp out of a LS1...its going to take more then boltons. You can get there with boltons + cam(if you're talking engine not at the wheels). 00-02 WS6s are nothing more then a hood and different lid(ie. air intake) over a Trans Am. its not 350hp stock either...310(TA) and "325"(WS6). usually close to that at the wheels. mine made 290rwhp/331rwtq stock and 310rwhp/337rwtq with a lid/cutout(otherwise all stock).

These cars are reliable. If you do get an LS1 with a 6 speed and want to race it, I would suggest a clutch(spec/mccloud/etc) and always be ready for a 12 bolt swap just incase your 10 bolt decides to go to 10 bolt heaven. Mine lasted but I didn't do any 5k clutch drops either. The only thing about the cars that you might have to replace is the window motors. they're very small and trying to push the big window back up takes a little bit. I've replaced my drivers side window 2 times in 5 years, but its up and down all the time.

As far as handle'n. They handle alright stock. Much different from a FWD car. You can get it to oversteer very easy by just laying into the gas. If you want to make it a corner carver, add subframes, lower control arms, pan hard rod bar, strut tower brace and poly bushings.

If you have any questions feel free to AIM me(darkblueta). I'm currently working in CT, so if you want someone who has experience with looking at these cars(LS1s) I'll help you out any way I can. Good luck with your search.

See the main thing is handling. I mean I like high top end and the idea of having a V8, but I'm not sure if I like it enough to sacrifice the AWD and tiny frame of the Eclipse (plus, I've always loved Eclipses). So it's a toss up for me: do I want a lot of straight power, or do I want to be able to whip around curves and glide in and out of highway traffic.

Plus, who doesn't like that vroooooom psht of a turbo eclipse? :grinyes:

I'm also a little wary still of the RWD. I've only driven one RWD car and have slid with it with almost no speed, and that was a Volvo. So I am a little worried about going WOT with a LOT more hp than I am used to on a RWD.

You'll be able to "glide in and out of highway traffic" just fine in a Trans-Am/Formula Firebird. 80 mph on the highwway is nothing for these cars so passing on the highway would be like passing pedestrians in your civic now. I've had various year F-bodies for over 8 years now and Ive never had any real problems with traction rain or shine...unless I was being an idiot and flooring it in the slippery conditions or something. Honestly, its gonna be up to your personal preference...do you want V8 power or 4/6 cylinder power. Personally, Ive always found that theres no substitution for a v8 when it comes to the sound of the exhaust...I love my car to sound like its got power sitting at a stoplight...

What's the difference between a Trans Am Formula and a Trans Am WS6? Obviously the Ram Air.. but if I put the ram air system on a Formula, wouldn't they be exactly the same thing?

Ws-6 is a suspension package for the most part...

Ws-6 is a suspension package for the most part...


Its suppost to be. I've had my car and my buddy's car(Ken)(98 TA vs 98 WS6 Formula) and the suspension was the same. Exhaust wasn't, his was one in one out..where mine was(not currently) one in two out. Other then the cat back, hood and airbox, I didn't see a difference in our cars outside the obvious TA vs Formula thing

What's the difference between a Trans Am Formula and a Trans Am WS6? Obviously the Ram Air.. but if I put the ram air system on a Formula, wouldn't they be exactly the same thing?
Hood.
Wheels. Taller and wider. WS.6 specific.
Suspension. You could get the WS.6 suspension on a regular T/A. I believe it is the 1LE package.
Exhaust. Less restrictive on the WS.6.

Once you start modding, they are the same. The only difference is that the WS.6 holds its value a bit better.

if i only ever driven a car and wanted to buy a bike, i would think the same as you. the thing is you can play more with the rwd car. its like an automatic vs stick, more play more fun. if your scared of driving a rwd on snow, ice, ect... like my mother than buy a awd or 4x4. if your not driving like Mario when in poor driving conditions youll be fine. it's the driver that makes poor decisions not the car. are you planing to ice race your T/A on the freeway?

Well I won't have the money to buy a winter beater + a TA.. no obviously I'm not planning on being an idiot in the snow but we do get some BAD snowstorms up here in CT and I still have to get to work during them.