TransAmMike

Dont get me wrong, I love my v6 firebird.. but a couple of friends at skool keep poking fun about it, sayin their v8's would whoop me n wut not (which i have every reason to believe, right?). One kid with a 93 mustang v8 wants to race me real bad, and I wanna race him because I hate mustangs and I'm hoping for a slight chance that by some miracle I'd win.. how likely is that?

Anyways, I haven't gotten much of a chance to drive my firebird (currently replacing some parts.. starter, battery, plugs, tires and doin a tune-up) so I dont exactly know the full extent of what my car can do.

And while I'm here, any suggestions as to what else I should do while i'm in this repair stage?

Doward

Without a turbo, or nitrous?

A couple ways you can win -

1) Tie his rear axle to a tree
2) Remove his valve cores
3) Remove his distributor
4) Remove his wheels

That's about it, really... he should be low 15s, high 14s stock - you are high 16s, stock.

Nitrous would shoot you in front of him, though... so would a turbo

TransAmMike

Nah no turbo or nitrous. Haha, I thought that was the type of response i'd get. And by miracle I meant I was hopin somethin would blow up inside his engine lol.

I would like to invest in a turbo and nitrous myself eventually..

camaro350man

I get the same BS at my school. However its from a kid who has a 1970 Buick Skylark. He says he would smoke me. He let me drive his car and to say the least, I'd rather my V-6. More torque

Doward

Obviously, it was no Buick 455 under the hood of that '70 Skylark

camaro350man

No, its a 2 barral, 350 rocket. Stock besides exhuast.

TransAmMike

whats funnier is my other friend thinks that he has a good chance at beating me with his caprice.. not sure on the year mid 90's somewhere.. i drove it n the thing is a friggen boat, the speedo goes up to 85. it has a v8 but cmon!

cooltc2004

iTrader: (4)

If you had the 5-spd, you'd have a better chance.

I know my 3.1L V6 w/ 5-Spd can keep up with, if not beat any 305 of the same year with an auto.

AdmAnt13

I've always gotten that crap from kids in school. Some kid with a Golf GTI said he would beat me. In my school parking lot, there are at least 10 Mustangs, 7 or 8 of which are V8's. Then there is the kid across the street with a 96 Camaro LT1 extensively worked on. Its the loudest car I have ever heard. He has the same exhaust i do and his car deafens my V6 any day. Oh well, I love my car.

85berlinetta2.8

yeah you really have to experience first hand driving the types of cars that are fast, like LT1 camaros LS1, 5.0 mustangs... the fastest car ive driven was a 400hp/400tq bmw m5, and i swear that thing scared the hell out of me. ive driven every bmw from 1987ish to 2005. but really though, its quite a different feeling with the extra power. go for a ride in one of those guys cars that wants to race you, or even take a similar car out for a test drive from a dealer. it just doesnt compare. 2 seconds faster doesnt sound like much but 150hp-200hp more sure feels.

watafo

What is the funny thing of challenging a V6 when you have a V8?

oil pan 4

iTrader: (1)

If they have a problem with my V6 I will come back with my Z28.
I like my V6.

TransAmMike

Funny you should mention that, AdmAnt, a kid in my school wants to race me with a 2003 Golf that he is supposedly "going" to get. Screw it, I'll race anyway, I don't care if I win or lose. My v6 Firebird rocks.

rx7speed

speedo reading only 85 doesn't mean much

Xophertony

yeah, speedo reading 140 does not mean much (in my case) ether.

shrop

i dont know if you said you are out of high school but if thats what ur talking, kids trying to punk you and all,(college is a lil diff i guess) i say race him for ****s and giggles, your never gonna see him again after hs. im only 20 and have been out of school for 2 years now and only talk to like 3 kids fom hs. after hs you basically have no reputation you start all over in college.

i ran my 5spd 6cyl agains some 305 automatics and i kept up REALLY close consistantly and im stock too, except for an exhaust and couple other little things.

all in all RACE HIM, who cares, do it for fun.

GreyFox

here is what you do, challenge him to a long distance race he'll beat you straight out but when he has to stop for gas all you have to do is wave on by him

TransAmMike

yea i agree shrop, im gonna race for the fun of it, not to win.. well, to win too but mostly for fun haha

LOL grey

Coult_91

the mustang would stomp you ! and a 3.1 5 speed keeping up with and stock 305 stock for stock is a joke! the 305 isnt the fastest but it at the bare minium has 20 -30 hp more.....THe 350 rockets aren that fast i have a friend with one in a 69 cutlass! but have fun racing.... race a focus you'll win for sure.

AdmAnt13

ive raced a 305, it was in ok shape, and I beat him. Oh yeah, he had a manual and I have an auto. 305 have torque to peel tires, thats about it unless they are well taken care of and/or modded.

pvt num 11

I guess they only want to race if they know they can win. Which is totally unfair, it's not like your ignorant about his Mustang having a V8 in it. Now, if he said it was a sixer, it would be a fair race. That or go bracket racing at the track. As long as you know your ET's real good and are consistent, you'll win, even if you're driving a Yugo. If that fails, you can always take a graphite pencil and draw a real thick line down one of his spark plugs, so it grounds out...

pvt num 11

Speaking of underrated, the TTA's LC2 was officially listed at a lower HP number then what it actually made on GM dyno's. So yeah, sort of, V6's are underrated. That or those HP's are of higher quality then normal ones.

shrop

and a 3.1 5 speed keeping up with and stock 305 stock for stock is a joke!



thats what i though too but i dont know. one of the ones ive raced i did twice, the first race he beat me by like half of the front quarter panel so i wanted another go cause i didnt think it would be that close. we went again and it was about a dead even tie. go figure.

Coult_91

OK maybe some... but my friends 3.1 is slow as hell me and my buddy both with 305 walk pass him at a stop light and when talk he just put head down and said his car is slow as heck.... the car weight almost the same and their is a power difference too! the torque of the helps alot ! Have a 5 speed makes a difference but not a huge amount like some of you claim... i may be wrong though maybe it is my friends car..it is slow really slow! Now if the car is beat to crap well yeah you'll beat it!

BCdawg57

iTrader: (1)

are you guys talking about 305 TBI's or TPI's? i can belive the TBI, but even a 305 auto i think would beat u pretty good, and the 5spd wouldnt even be close.
just my 2 cents

AdmAnt13

the one i raced was a 4barrel carb, not tbi, It looked like it, but the kid who owned it said it was a 4 barrel. I never bopthered to look at it closely to see if he was bs'ing or not. Did they ever produce the 4barrel 305's? His was 1986 Camaro.

mw66nova

iTrader: (13)

you wanna put your money where your mouth is?

BCdawg57

iTrader: (1)

correct me if im wrong but i think the LG4 came with a 4 barrell...which is about the same as a TBI engine anyway.

mw66nova

iTrader: (13)

no, the lg4 got WAY better heads.

Coult_91

actually the lo3 has more tq and hp except for one year only 5 more pounds of torque
....https://www.thirdgen.org/newdesign/tech/techdb.shtml...

mustbeatmopar

coult_91 is right the 3.1 is not underrated. its right on the money....slow. it can beat other six's and the like, but put it up against a v8 and your toast, unless the v8 is a piece. i should know, i drive on every day. i even have an aftermarket rachet shifter so i can dirve it like its a manual with out a cluth its not going to keep up with a 305.

UK Speedbird

Guys Guys,

All this talk about speed and “he’ll whip my ***” and all that, just stand back and listen to yourselves.
Ok so a V6 Firebird isn’t going to win any V8 races but who the hell wants to when your cars as sexy as ours is? No ones going to be able to appreciate the classic flowing lines of the bird if it’s doing 100mph down the street. It can only be appreciated whilst doing 15mph with the tops off and preferably some appropriate sounds coming from the sound system if you know what I mean. Just remember that when you see this guy that wants to show you how fast his little stang is just go park your bird a little distance away and cordially invite him to take a look at what a proper motor vehicle should look like. When the unfortunate young man grows up and acquires a few more brain cells may be he’ll be able to have one!
Speed it may not have, but beauty, poise and presence it has in abundance.

Enough said.

TransAmMike

Well we all have our own opinions, and I'm not saying yours is wrong UK Speedbird, but I have more respect for cars that look like **** but are fast as hell than cars that look really nice and are slow as ****.

Thats why all my money is gonna be put into swapping in a 350 and other speed/performance enhancing modifications. Of course, when you're relying on the paycheck of a lowly McDonalds employee, all that may take awhile.

Then again, I wouldn't mind the renowned firebird across my hood.

runnriottt

I second that!

mw66nova

iTrader: (13)

looking good does not win races. i will not own an fbody that doesn't get beat on at the track on a regular basis. i may pick up another v6 car down the road, but even that will get beat on as much as possible!

~87Bird~2.8~

I agree with speedbird...if ur not fast u might as well look good...sure the v6 is fun to beat on...but dont ever kid urselfs...there not fast...my dad owns a 1970 Torino GT with a 429..thaz some speed right there!!

so dont worry about this mustang guy...if u want race him...but u will lose...enjoy the fun of it...

besides its a FIREBIRD there not meant for draggin...there road race cars first and formost, T/A and Z'ers were built to race in the SCCA not the NHRA

ur v6...if its anyting like mine...it schould be able to handle any conor u throw at it...wich is a hell of alot more fun then goin straight all day long

mw66nova

iTrader: (13)

says who? the suspension on the back of these cars is ideal for drag racing! why do you think all the crazy fast drag radial/stock style suspenion guys are running 3rd and 4th generation f-bodies? the three link suspension is really easy to work with and with some simple bolt ons can make the car plant the tires pretty hard. yes, they do OK in road racing, but i'd say the suspension is more ideal for drag racing.

and once you've ridden in a REALLY fast car (11 seconds or faster) you'll realize how much more fun a straight line can be.

reference on how well stock style suspension puts power to the ground:

~87Bird~2.8~

thaz great the these cars are good for drag racing...but my honda acord will drag my firbird up and down the track anyday...and my firebird is a 5spd his is and auto...but what my honda cant do is beat it through a corner

keep in mind anycar can be made for goin straight fast...

all im saying is if u want a beter chance agenst this mustang...try to get him to put a couple of coners into the mix and u miht be surprised how much u can gain on him...maybe even beat him...depending on how well u get outa the coner and how well u can block

GreyFox

i know one thing i have learned from getting tickets and going to jail over stupid pety street races, it wasn't worth it, get a little bit of guts talk some trash to the guy and suggest a real track race no stupid street race street racing is stupid i just had to buy a new car to fit my baby in and the insurance on a ford escape and a 91 v6 firebird is 3500 a year and i have no proof but my word on how fast i went or who i beat, look GO TO A TRACK GET A TIME SLIP and see what both your cars can really do, all i know is all the street people i used to hang out with have never been to a track because their car is to SLOW and they are afraid of knowing the truth, and if he doesn't want to go to a track with you forget it he backed down from you, and if he beats you on a track WHO CARES YOU HAVE A V6 and he has a V8 which by stock stats alone he is going to beat you which we already know, BOTTOM LINE IS DO IT ON A TRACK


or what you can do it line up to race and when he gets carted off or his car impounded you can always offer his girl a ride home

mw66nova

iTrader: (13)

hehe, alright dude...

typical v6er answer: "hey, i gotta really slow car and i can't go fast in a straight line! but i'll try to come across like i can beat you in the twisties!"

who cares! you can make a v8 car handle just as well, if not better! then, blow by the v6 car on the straight away, never looking back! and don't pull the "i weigh less" BS. my car is down to 3045lbs with an iron headed small block chevy, which is WAY lighter than most all v6 cars i've seen.

camaro350man

We like our V-6s. I was actually thinking about selling mine and just saving for the v-8. But i cleaned her up today and damn. I love the thing. Everyone likes different things so why are we knocking eachother. A V-6 is not a fast car. I have a Saturn that is quicker okay. However the saturn does not even compare with the firebird. You start that thing up and hear the rumbling and the respect that it gets is amazing

Tha_Villain

Are you serious??? a Saturn is quicker than V6 with a 5 speed

TransAmMike

I'm not tryin to say that my v6 is fast or my v6 can beat a v8 ****stang. I know my v6 is slow and I didn't originally want a v6, but now I'm glad I got this car cuz A) its a freakin' firebird, my dream car since as far as I can remember and B) I need to practice driving with a v6 before I get into a v8 or else I'll end up killin myself tryin to do somethin stupid.

And yea, I'm aware of the street racing penalties. But unless Ive got a car that can get a respectable time in the 1/4, I'm not payin to race on a track. Besides, me and my friends know all the quiet roads out here in the sticks.

TomP

Hm.

Whenever I went to the track, it was about $25 for one hell of a fun night. That's probably the cheapest you can find for a Friday night out. Plus you get a TimeSlip, which sets a baseline for any future mods you do.

You don't get any proof racing on the street.

And you might even beat your V8 friends (friends?) in bracket racing. More info here: http://www.1320pi.com/ahra/brack.htm and a ton of more info here: http://www.asmartin.com/b_et.htm Doesn't matter how fast your motor is, it's based on how good of a driver you are.

In Fact, I bet if you went bracket racing without telling those guys, got good at it, and THEN challenged them to bracket racing- if they've never done it before and you have, I bet ya win. Bragging rights on the track!

camaro350man

Yes the saturn is quicker

TransAmMike

Awesome, I just learned a whole bunch from those websites and first thing tomorrow I'm callin up my uncle and tellin him I want to bracket race with him next time he goes.

Whereabouts do you usually go? Englishtown? Thats where my uncle goes normally, or sometimes Albany.

One more thing, whats a TimeSlip and what do you mean it sets a baseline for any future mods?

AdmAnt13

It means that say you want to do the 1/4 mile, they print you timeslip of how fast you did it. Then when you put on any future mods to the car, you can race again and see if you got faster or slower. You'll know whether you gained horsepower or not. Its basically like going to the dyno, except much cheaper.

Azrael91966669

i really dont know how everyone thinks the v6s are so slow
ive beat mustang 3.8s and ive beat some older z28s
maybe the key thing is my car is a hard top with no options
i dont even have rear defrost lol one thing i can tell you is this
my rs stomps my girlfreinds firebird both have the same engine
but her car is fully loaded every option and has t-tops

ive took my car to a truck stop just for fun to see how heavy it is
mine is 2957 with me in it and no i havent removed anything
her firebird is 3339 with me in it
i know the firebirds already have more weight to them from the start but when you add in t-tops power everything you end up with a tank of a car

no you wont beat a mustang v8
but thats not to say you cant beat other cars


the fact that there V8 is heavier to start just because its an 8
also add in the fact that most likey they will have t-tops and some options now there 20 extra horsepower dosnt mean anything


but no these cars are not underrated just some are slower because of options

Coult_91

right............ V6 birds arent slow...... I had a car similar to what you just described no options.... and it was slow... i sure it is lighter than V8 but not as much as your tryin to claim..and no where near being faster!

TomP

Or you may keep your engine/drivetrain in good shape! The v8's I remember from high school were barely running- but their owners thought they were still fast. All they needed was a good tuneup- but hey, I wasn't gonna tell 'em that!

I've been to Englishtown before, but there should be some local tracks up by you, too. Ask on the Racing forum; I think there was some website that you'd put in your zipcode and it'd show you the nearest racetracks.

Too bad Coult, sounds like you had a lemon.