3800 series II? whats so special about them?

[Ali1]

I currently have the 98 lumina LTZ witht he 3800 v6, 82k miles. I hear alot of good things about this engine, but whats so special about it? Its a slow car. is there anything i should know about this vehicle?

[Ali1]

here's a pic under the hood......

[tblake]

its a slow car? have you driven something quicker? Maybe your problem is the weight of all the amps and subs in your trunk wieghing you down.

[Ali1]

so they're fast cars? i drove my moms 03 cavelier, and it picks up faster. if i ever needed to do a few erons, i would take the cavelier


i thought about the subs and amps, but i removed them out for one day. I noticed a slight difference, but not much.i got a redtop upfront, yellowtop in the trunk. 4.3cubicft box, two subwoofers and a medium-sized amp in the trunk......I have realized that this car still has the same spark plugs since factory because the numbers on the wires. If i changed them, should i be seeing a noticable difference as far as gas milage, quicker?

[gw84]

I have the 3.8L in my '99 LTZ and love it. It's not the best for gas mileage, but I love the power for passing and merging. If you goose it it takes off pretty good IMO. I have another lumina with a 3.1 and I can tell a big difference in the two as far as power goes. Of course we're talking 200hp as compared to like 140. Basically I always say "for a family car...a sedan...it's got balls" gw

[Corndog Man]

Originally Posted by Ali1

I currently have the 98 lumina LTZ witht he 3800 v6, 82k miles. I hear alot of good things about this engine, but whats so special about it? Its a slow car. is there anything i should know about this vehicle?

My 1999 LTZ has one. I have only one complaint. The oil pan leaks and its an engine pull to fix it.

Corndog...

[Eurosport94]

they're not that slow. Coming from my first car that was a 94 3.1 Lumina my GP is a rocket. It'll pull mid 15 second quarter mile times. Which isn't really slow....