Handling part2

Sorry to ask this again, I totally forgot. I remember someone saying the third gen had better handling than a fourth gen. Is that true and why was that? Someone said a fourthgen felt less stable in a corner...????

third gens are better for throwing around and crap but i personaly think that 4th gen handel smoother going down the road.

The 4th gens rode smoother, 3rd gens hugged the road better but rode rougher. Its all in the way the suspensions were set up.

Yea I think that was me. I took my friends '00 Z28 6 speed around a curvy rode near my house and my old '92 would have smoked in on that road. But my old camaro also had z28 suspension, the RS I have now has RS suspension with Koni yellow shocks and a pretty tall ride height. It takes turns almost as good as the LS1, but if I were to drop it about 1" it would own a stock LS1 in the twisties. The one thing that really stood out about the handling of the '00 Z28 were the brakes, those things stop on a dime.

if you have a srd gen i sugust that you have a rear disk, and switch all calipers to two pistin ones. that is one of my major handling plans i have for my camaro.

you know, ive herad that too that 4g suspension is worse than a 3g.. maybe that 00 was set up all wrong.. im pretty sure my 97 Ss handles way better than my 88 WS6..

I've driven many thirdgens and only a few fourthgens and from what I can tell, with both suspensions fresh and stock spec, the thirdgen out handles the fourth gen. But that's my opinion and my driving style too, and it may be because I am more use to the handling of thirdgens. To me, the fourth gens just seem heavy in the corners.

I've driven many thirdgens and only a few fourthgens and from what I can tell, with both suspensions fresh and stock spec, the thirdgen out handles the fourth gen. But that's my opinion and my driving style too, and it may be because I am more use to the handling of thirdgens. To me, the fourth gens just seem heavy in the corners.
I'm going to have to disagree I have driven 4 3rd gens and my 4th gen can out maneuver them stock for stock. Granted the 4th gen feels sloppy in the turns at the threshold. But the threshold is at a higher rate of speed than 3rd gens. But this is my opinion. I'll agree to disagree.
-Nate-

Actually I'll agree with that. I like the feeling of nice tight control, and in my thirdgen when I was pushing it, the back end would tend to slide around but, it never really felt out of control. When I push a fourthgen I get an uneasy feeling around hard turns and I tend back off when it probably could have been pushed harder. Plus every fourthgen I've driven was an LS1 6-speed that was just a downshift away from roasting the tires and throwing me into a tree, so that was always in the back of my mind as well. So I guess my best advice would be to drive both cars see which one fits your tastes better and which one your more confortable with. That is the one that's going to be the fastest in the turns.

yeah ,i agree..im more afraid of pushing my 4g too..since i feel like with the 3, although it would get a bit skittish into turns i could control the sliding.. i made my 4g slide out once, and holy shit i totally lost control.

yeah ,i agree..im more afraid of pushing my 4g too..since i feel like with the 3, although it would get a bit skittish into turns i could control the sliding.. i made my 4g slide out once, and holy shit i totally lost control.

It must be a combination of the weight on the fourthgen and the different front end suspension. A third gen has macpherson struts, while a fourthgen has a shocks setup, so maybe these two factors affect it 'on the edge'.

My original question wasn't really answered, because people have different driving techniques, but it might be safe to say that it's easier to drive the third gen faster in the corners. I just want to know why, what's the difference between a macpherson's handling and the 4th gens front end?

Well compairing my 93 z28 to my old 88 rs, the fourth gen handles a hell of a lot better. :icon16:

The best handling camaro I have ever driven was a stock spec '91 GTA with brand new suspension. That thing would manuver probably better a boxter through the turns, 0 body lean. And to more answer your question, I don't know. But I do know that the new Camaro is going to have macpherson suspension so GM probably thinks it's better than the fourthgen style.

Well compairing my 93 z28 to my old 88 rs, the fourth gen handles a hell of a lot better. :icon16:
Apples to oranges there

88 ws6 to 97SS, ss better. but then again the SS is 9 years newer and i have a feeling the ws6 had stock springs (i changed the shocks)...


i think the macpherson struts are the better suspension..or why the hell would most sports cars use it? i guess its just cuz it has more play than a normal shock/spring...

You guys are nuts. 3rd gens drive like boats, 4th gens are easy as shit to control

You guys are nuts. 3rd gens drive like boats, 4th gens are easy as shit to control

Keep telling yourself that. The only problem I see with them is the turning lock, but on an oval track it would be good. It is good, I've seen third gens, both firebirds and camaros race on ovals, normal cars.

if you have a thirdgen with suspension that 20 years old then it will drive like a boat. 4th gens do have a much nicer ride but when it comes to holding on to hard turns and such i have always understood the thirdgen to be slightly better. but in reality it wont matter once you start replacing components for harder stuff, both cars will do just fine. Not fantastic but pretty good for heavy solid axel cars.

Well, I am a little mixed on the suspension opinons...

My 3rd gen had much better traction and was glued to the road on sharp curves while my brothers 4th gen had horrible traction issues and his ass would slide on sharp curves... There is also one other major difference in our models. His had that Y76 or whatever it is that has the Trans Am suspension, while mine has a base model suspension...

A bit odd I thought but I figured I'd throw my experiences in on the subject...

Stock for stock, new against new, the third gen's top-o-the line suspension (IROC/TA) will/would run circles around the fourth gen's. The front strut, and live axle was/is the optimal set up. Stary modding the 3rd gen's suspension (solid pan hard rod, solid trailing arms, SFC's, etc) and it just gets better and better. The same mods on the 4th gens won't net you the same large increases in performance.

Well, seems like I was wrong. That sloppy feeling suspension in the '00 Z28, I guess, really was pushed to it's limits.

Poor 4th gens getting pwned in this debate... how's this, our engines sucked!

believe it or not, this knowledge is becoming very useful to me right about now.

haha.. ive had both.. and you know, i think i like the 4th g engine, 3rd g body.. the 3rd just looks meaner to me.. except for the WS6/SS firebird/camaro of 98+. those are mean @_@

Poor 4th gens getting pwned in this debate... how's this, our engines sucked!
Thats why you drop an LS1 in a 3rd gen. lol :icon16:

haha.. ive had both.. and you know, i think i like the 4th g engine, 3rd g body.. the 3rd just looks meaner to me.. except for the WS6/SS firebird/camaro of 98+. those are mean @_@

I feel the same way, that's why I got a 4gen engine in my rs :evillol:

I knew I liked these damn cars for a good reason.

http://files.automotiveforums.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=/503/358681z28side2.JPG

KICKASS!!!

I feel the same way, that's why I got a 4gen engine in my rs :evillol:

haha i wish i could do that.. maybe when i have time, one day.. mr.luos's engine in my a 3rd gen camaro.. sweeeeet. :D