How "current" are these cars?

[acslam]

That was probably a dumb way to phrase it. I currently have a B-body with an lt1. Beautiful car, I love it, and I once thought it was pretty capable of laying the smack down on most modern cars. Then, the reality of civics being faster than me stock eventually set in. The 95 is by a wide margin the newest car I've ever really owned in my life.

Would getting into a 98+ bird still feel "relevant" in terms of actual car capibility? Or am I going to get my ass handed to me by pretty much anything made after a certain year? I'm trying to get a real feel for the different flavors of "high performance" these days. My education was my father's modded 440 6-pack Charger R/T, 4 speed/4.10 Dana rear.

I'm looking for opinions on cornering, braking and acceleration. Maybe I'm inexperienced, but I'm not really sure how these cars still stack up. My car was a somewhat "performance" oriented car in it's day, but as of right now is just totally bested, stock for stock, by most anything else that's out there.

Car in question is a 98 T/A M6, all stock and I plan to keep it mostly that way, I probably won't go farther than headers/intake/tune. Car would be a DD and I've got other things to dump the big money on.......but I'd really like to know if this car would be a good all around benchmark to aim the build of my 68 Coronet at.

[whitdog54]

So ur wondering if a 98 t/a will be able to keep up with cars coming off the production line? if so then yes it will

[acslam]

Yeah, that's basically it. I've never gotten the chance to push one of these to it's limits and see what it will really do.

[The Batman]

throw some mods on that ol b-body and you could still have a screamer.

[acslam]

Unrelated question - whats the cheapest pricing generally to add the 17 inch wheels and RA hood to the car? I wasn't able to come up with a WS6 that I could afford, but a lookalike is good by me since they'd both go the same speed!

[Formula Freak]

From what I hear a stock LS1 of any year,A4 or M6,can still put the smack down on brand new 4.6 Mustangs.Which usually says enough for most people.With intake,full exhaust and a tune you could probably take 9 out of 10 or so cars on the road.

It's probably not going to have that kick in the ass low end torque a geared 440 6 pack has,but the top end on LS1's is killer from what I hear and seen.Some people will argue that the stock braking and handling isn't so great on these cars,but on my LT1 car I've personally found it more than adequate.I'm a straight line kind of guy though.

[EchoMirage]

any year LS1 is still near king of the street, especially when it comes to bang for the buck. you can pick up an early run LS1, high mileage for 5K, and still beat the snot out of 90% of anything new or newer today. anyone who knows anything about cars/engines/motorsports knows the LS1 is a world class engine. why else would it be found in nearly every conversion or kit car you can find today. it is, litterally, the new chevy small block. sure, the cobra nutswingers will say theyre faster, but look what it took to be faster then an LS1.....a blower. and try picking one of them up for the same price as a comparable shape f-body. good luck with that.

also, dont let the stab & steer people tell you wrong. even bone stock, theyre very good handling cars. with a simple shock/spring swap, youd be amazed at how well they can handle.

i would still put up an LS1 against anything coming out today, and have faith that the LS1 will hold its own. the brand new, top of the line camaro, SRT8s, CTS-Vs, roush/saleen/shelby/whatever muskrats might eek out better 1/4 times; but look at the time thats gone past since 2002. 6yrs is a long time in car development. dont forget the LS1 is also extremely tolerant of even minor upgrades/bolt ons.

to sum up, you will be more then happy and satisfied if you bought one now, and will continue to be for years and years to come.

[JD_AMG]

Originally Posted by acslam

That was probably a dumb way to phrase it. I currently have a B-body with an lt1. Beautiful car, I love it, and I once thought it was pretty capable of laying the smack down on most modern cars. Then, the reality of civics being faster than me stock eventually set in. The 95 is by a wide margin the newest car I've ever really owned in my life.

Would getting into a 98+ bird still feel "relevant" in terms of actual car capibility? Or am I going to get my ass handed to me by pretty much anything made after a certain year? I'm trying to get a real feel for the different flavors of "high performance" these days. My education was my father's modded 440 6-pack Charger R/T, 4 speed/4.10 Dana rear.

I'm looking for opinions on cornering, braking and acceleration. Maybe I'm inexperienced, but I'm not really sure how these cars still stack up. My car was a somewhat "performance" oriented car in it's day, but as of right now is just totally bested, stock for stock, by most anything else that's out there.

Car in question is a 98 T/A M6, all stock and I plan to keep it mostly that way, I probably won't go farther than headers/intake/tune. Car would be a DD and I've got other things to dump the big money on.......but I'd really like to know if this car would be a good all around benchmark to aim the build of my 68 Coronet at.

If you can afford it, get a C5 Corvette.
If not an LS1 fbody will do just fine.
Low 13s at 104-108mph stock, decent handling (at best), and ok braking.
The last two are easy fixes though, a set of brembo blank rotors and hawk hp pads will get you reliably stopping, and a set of koni shocks will get you handling like you wouldn't believe, while having a better than stock ride quality.

[*WILDSTYLE 5.3*]

The other day a new Mustang GT (think he just had exhaust dont really know though) anyways started picking on my stock TA so i finally i spread my wings and gave him a run from a roll. It was a close race his front bumper stayed at my door the entire time. I think if i didnt granny shift and maxed out my rpms i would have killed him. Anyways i think i pissed him off bc i went to try and talk to him and he just took off. oh well. Point is yes these babies will hold there own. And with just a few bolt on's sure will ruffle their feathers....So how soon you getting one

[PontiacSpeed91]

From what i have gathered...Stock WS6 or even a regular Trans Am SHOULD get into the 13's stock. An A4 with like a little help (like mine) I have bested a few 4.6's New Mustangs and kill Civics and other little Fail wheel drive cars most teen agers are rocking these days.

Forgot to mention, when i took my car to the local track (1/8th) i beat an R/t Magnum!

[squee]

Originally Posted by PontiacSpeed91

From what i have gathered...Stock WS6 or even a regular Trans Am SHOULD get into the 13's stock. An A4 with like a little help (like mine) I have bested a few 4.6's New Mustangs and kill Civics and other little Fail wheel drive cars most teen agers are rocking these days.

Forgot to mention, when i took my car to the local track (1/8th) i beat an R/t Magnum!

Should? A STOCK M6 car should run around 13.3ish with a good driver. Lowest I've seen on a stock car is around 13 flat.

[Flaring Afro]

yeah, if you aren't in the 13's, theres something wrong with the car. honestly, the fact that these are domestics may make you think they would handle badly, but look at how long a firebird hood is. very long, and still half the engine is under the windshield/dash. these cars are very wel balanced. no the shocks aren't as good as a beamer's nor do we have a sophisticated suspension system. but neither does the zr1 and that thing kicks other exotics. old = reliable, but not bad.

these things will definitely out handle a new civic si a nd easily out break. and 1/4 throttle would out accelerate it no problem.

[2K2WS6TA]

An LS1 Fbody is still quite relevant in terms of straight line performance, SRT8s while boasting more HP also have alot more weight than the average F body, Mustangs, with the exception of the top of the line Shelby are not really a problem, and the others mentioned (CTS-V and C5/6 vettes) the F body can hold its own
As for cornering, the stock Z28/Trans Am can go around a road course in a time equal to or better than the Honda S2000 ( one of the better handling cars out there) and with some mods, both suspension and HP wise are easily the equal of the above mentioned vehicles at a fraction of the cost
They may be saddled with some older tech (live axle) and have some questionable build quality (mostly creaks groans and rattles) they are a damn fast car for not alot of money
As for the little FWD rice burners, unless they're highly modded, they aren't even worth the time to step on the gas, unless you just get annoyed at the bumble bee on steroids exhaust

[95RamAirNC]

I have a 95 bolt on with exception of header, true ram air, and 410 gears.... I hung with an auto srt 8 new challenger, thats right challenger not charger... it was an auto but kicked from 55 to 120, that thing was screaming but the lil 170,000 bolt on ta SAID I DONT THINK SO MR. 50 GRAND.

[1 Bad Ass Formula]

It's all about power to weight ratio. With the weight & power of the newer V8 cars and trucks, the LS1 FBody's hold their own just fine and the rice burners will always have the FWD power loss, and they are probably at the max of the HP they will see with new Fuel Mileage standards coming down the road.

[JD_AMG]

Originally Posted by Flaring Afro

yeah, if you aren't in the 13's, theres something wrong with the car. honestly, the fact that these are domestics may make you think they would handle badly, but look at how long a firebird hood is. very long, and still half the engine is under the windshield/dash. these cars are very wel balanced. no the shocks aren't as good as a beamer's nor do we have a sophisticated suspension system. but neither does the zr1 and that thing kicks other exotics. old = reliable, but not bad.

Actually the ZR1's suspension is extremely sophisticated. It uses double wishbone suspension front and rear, like previous Corvette's, and has Delphi magnetic dampers which are also used by the likes of Ferrari.
If you are referring to the transversely mounted leaf springs, those are also sophisticated in the fact they are made of composite materials and are lighter than conventional coil springs, while also acting like swaybars. They are in no way like leafsprings found on trucks.
GM has done their homework on the Corvette.

[Gottahavels1]

If ur looking for a faster car and already considered an ls1 f body. THEN GET IT! they are pretty damn fast bone stock and bolt ons make it even better... never mind h/c which would get you around 500 hp.

[94rt10ohio]

You are safe until 2010/2011. Unless the car makers fold the new Camaro will kick the LS1 behind. The upgraded SRT Challenger engine will kick its behind, and maybe the GT will finally keep up But you will also pay 35-45K for the cars. WIth that said it is not fair to compare prices as the LS1 cars will be about 10 years old. If the FBody was still in production the top of the line car would be pushing 40K by 2010.

[squee]

Originally Posted by 94rt10ohio

If the FBody was still in production the top of the line car would be pushing 40K by 2010.

The 2010 is already said to be around $35k fully loaded.

[Gottahavels1]

Originally Posted by 94rt10ohio

You are safe until 2010/2011. Unless the car makers fold the new Camaro will kick the LS1 behind. The upgraded SRT Challenger engine will kick its behind, and maybe the GT will finally keep up But you will also pay 35-45K for the cars. WIth that said it is not fair to compare prices as the LS1 cars will be about 10 years old. If the FBody was still in production the top of the line car would be pushing 40K by 2010.

Dude, i doubt it. All these new cars are heavy as fuck!! The new camaro is 400-500 lbs heavier than the 02 f body. Depending on the hp numbers of the new camaro/challenger the f body should still keep up pretty well