3.8L questions

[MPe488]

I've been saving up money all summer to get one and have over 3k in the bank, so hopefully she'll be within reach soon. I just have 2 questions:

1. what octane gas would the V6 run on?

2. say it was driven fairly roughly, how many miles should it drive until some major components start falling apart? I'm no car expert but I've heard of a lot of older cars needing to completely rebuild transmission and other things.

[Mr. Luos]

1. Mid grade should be fine.
2. Depends on maintenance.

[Rally Sport]

You can use regular unleaded if you're asking.

About longetivity, depends like Luos said, as long as it has good oil/fuel/air levels. It should be fine and last for a while. Just gotta watch out for heat, the major killer and running it too cold.

[666_speed]

i have a 98 3.8l camaro and after putting dual exhaust, slp cold air induction, k & n air filter, and a few other things i have given my 3.8l hell, all day every day and its held up great all things considered....but little things are starting to go wrong that shouldnt at 72k so thats a bad sign i guess (better reason to get an ls1 when this blows).....for gas my car will not run at all on 87, it loses all power, misses, and just runs horrible not to mention horrible gas mileage and isnt so great on 93 either so im with Mr. Luos 89 seems to make my car run the best.

[Rally Sport]

Well this the same for all engines, it depends how you treat them, how they act up later in their life.

[DaMoNe6969]

a n/a engine should have absolutly no problem running on 87 octane fuel (regular)
higher octane fuel is for turbo/supercharged engines and high compression performance engines..
In every n/a vehicle ive ever owned, there has been no noticeable difference between 87 or 91 octane..

and, as with any vehicle, use common sense.. if you drive it hard, you'l be making major repairs much much sooner than if you didnt drive it hard.. But if you must, proper maintainance will help a lot

[MPe488]

quite personally I don't make a habit of speeding (then again I drive a Corolla.) But I'm looking to buy used and I'm assuming the worst from my previous owner...

but, no ones really thrown out a number, whats an average lifespan for a 98-00 3.8? because I plan to put about 8-9k a year on it and it has to last 7 years of college, and if I buy it before next summer its gotta last all that and my last year of high school as well.

[Xenostalgia]

3.8 average mileage ~150k driven with some roughness

gas - 87 should be fine, thats what GM recommends (I'm 99% sure of that not 100%)

[Savage Messiah]

Regular 87 octane gas is what your car runs on. I myself get better fuel milage and power with 93 octane. Despite what anyone may tell you, you have 2 different spark tables in the computer's programming, a low octane and high octane. Your computer senses what grade gas you are using and adjusts timing, fuel and spark accordingly, giving you more power with higher octane. Bt, it will run just fine on 87.

[Savage Messiah]

OH and I have about 163,000 miles, original tranny and engine, no major problems on em.

[philly rs]

yeah im with rs, my car is a 96 and i have 160,000 on her also. she just got a rebuilt engine not because she was falling apart but because i wanted more power out of her, but the car ran great. regular gas is what the book says to use but sometimes i use mid grade. it drives a little different but not so big that it matters. plus i have hp tuner so i can set the car to drink what i give her and like it. that car if taken care of should and could run to 200,000 miles without a rebuild. now miner things will go but nothing big if u treat her right.

[Savage Messiah]

yep, the 3.8 is a workhorse. Very reliable engine as long as you tke good care. and hptuners > ALL

[blindeyed]

Originally Posted by philly rs

so i can set the car to drink what i give her and like it.

Now if only man had that kind of control over women, then we'd be set

[philly rs]

hell yeah thats so true