whats the differnce between firebird formula and a transam

i was just curious

Pretty vague since they were made for a lot of years.
Which gen?

95 i dont really see a difference they seem like the exact same car to me

Trans Ams have the raised spoiler and the formulas just have the lip spoiler. And the front fascia form and fog light placements are different. And the Trans Am WS6 have the ram air hood. But I don't know a whole lot about the birds.

i was wondering more about the engine specs i have a firebird formula(ws6 clone)i even have a transam front end,rims,99 plus lights,ram air system and more the previous owner really wanted it to look like a ws6

Nothing really. Same engines.
93-97 TA's and formulas had the LT1
98-02 TA's and formulas had the LS1

Pics of your car?

aren't formulas a bit lighter than TA's (talking about 3rd and 4th gens)?

aren't formulas a bit lighter than TA's?
Most of the time.
100 pounds maybe.

It is in the options. Most of the time the T/A is fully loaded and the Formula is optioned.

yea thats what i thought. should note that WS6 was avalible on formula and TA.

The biggest difference is insurance...The T/A's vin has a code in it that tells that it is a T/A, the Formula has no special idenfiers in its vin.

The biggest difference is insurance...The T/A's vin has a code in it that tells that it is a T/A, the Formula has no special idenfiers in its vin.
both have the same letter for the engine in the VIN (P for LT1 and G for LS1) so rates should be similar.

There was no WS6 in 95 and as stated, just the front bumper (and rear spoiler/bumper on some models/years).

Also, Formula's never had factory foglights in the LT1 gen.

The bigger spoiler, rear bumper ground effect and front bumper with foglights added the extra weight but as Curtis stated, we are talking about like 100 - 200 lbs.

I got an '88 Formula 350 and wondered the same thing for a long time, but just recently I found a really good site that explained it.

Basically the Formula line of Firebirds was everything a Trans Am was except all the unneeded "fat". It was originally started to compete with the Mustang of the day. Formulas got all the power and handling options, without things like leather, ground effects, etc. They were the "hot rod" of the line up.

I'll have to find the site again, it had all the information you could want about it for each generation.

both have the same letter for the engine in the VIN (P for LT1 and G for LS1) so rates should be similar.
Not the engine vin..There is another char in the vin that ID's a car as a T/A.

both will have a similar "performance code" for the insurance.

No, they don't. For a T/A there is a char that identifys it as a T/A. On the Formula the ID is just for Firebird. I have owned a T/A abd went through the whole vin thing with the insurance co. and I currently own a Formula and the insurance co. can't ID it as anything but a Firebird.

My insurance cards for my insurance read 1994 Pontiac Formula/Trans Am

I would have to read my cards.

But since I am old as hell....my 1999 T/A is less than $50 a month full coverage anyways. :icon16:

my mom has worked in insurance most of her life. ive seen the performance code sheets and browsed through the company computer system (when i was looking for an f-body back in 04) and at the time a formula firebird and TA had the same performance code, for both 3rd and 4th gen. may very by company but im just saying thats what ive noticed.

The model conversion code is an RPO number, and is not necessarily in the VIN. I don't recall ever having to submit a RPO/SPID label or build sheet to the insurance company, but I've only been doing this for 30-some years.

The sequence for a GM VIN is as follows:

POSITION 1 - COUNTRY OF ORIGIN - 1- USA, 2-Canada, etc.
POSITION 2 - MANUFACTURER - G-General Motors
POSITION 3 - MAKE AND TYPE - 1 - Chevrolet, 2 -Pontiac, etc.
POSITION 4/5 - SERIES CODE - Sedan, Coupe, Compact, Hatchback, etc
POSITION 6/7 - BODY TYPE CODE -. 2 door coupe, 4 door sedan, etc.
POSITION 8 - Engine Code
POSITION 9 - CHECK DIGIT
POSITION 10 - Model Year Code
POSITION 11 - GM Assembly Plant - 1 - Oshawa, 2 - St. Therese, etc.
POSITION 12-17 - PLANT SEQUENCE CODE - Individual Serialized number