Gas Mileage

[TylerT/AZ28]

im 17, and my mom wants to buy me a car, so i suggest a 3rd geb V8 camaro or firebird, and she automatically turns it down, she says she wants a more fuel efficient car like a V6. so my question is what do stock V6, 5.0 and 5.7 litre camaros and firebirds get in terms of highway and city mileage, just to compare them to each other.

[Joedashredder93]

I have a 3.8 v6 with over 160k miles and it's still kickin'

I suggest you get one compared to the v8, gas mileage is amazing with that thing most of the time its high twentys and low thirties. It has been a while since I calculated the mileage but last time I did I had like 29 Mpg. The car is very peppy with it's light weight. My car has the best gas mileage out of all of our cars (5.3 suburban, and even the ford ranger) and is the fastest by far. Horsepower is just over 200 which isn't bad either. I have heard that the 3800 series II is the best out of the v6 camaro's with the exception for the new 5th gen. the 3800's with an angled throttle body were said to have poor gas mileage, and a 3.4 is nice but for around the same price you can have a more efficient platform with the 3.8.

you can pick up a v6 98-02 camaro for 3k easily, that's what my best friend and I did and we have never looked back since. With a set of headers, CAI, and tune you willl be more than happy for a while, until you can afford an lt1 or ls1 that is. I noticed that plugs, filter, and seafoam helps alot as well

[TylerT/AZ28]

are v6's both automatic, and manual

[BP_Z28]

Yes.. A4's and 5 speed sticks


3.8 would be the way to go for good mileage. Or if you want less power..then the 3.4.. hell why not even a 2.8 3rd gen.. or the iron duke!!!

[93formulalt1]

I have a 3.8 v6 with over 160k miles and it's still kickin'

I suggest you get one compared to the v8, gas mileage is amazing with that thing most of the time its high twentys and low thirties. It has been a while since I calculated the mileage but last time I did I had like 29 Mpg. The car is very peppy with it's light weight. My car has the best gas mileage out of all of our cars (5.3 suburban, and even the ford ranger) and is the fastest by far. Horsepower is just over 200 which isn't bad either. I have heard that the 3800 series II is the best out of the v6 camaro's with the exception for the new 5th gen. the 3800's with an angled throttle body were said to have poor gas mileage, and a 3.4 is nice but for around the same price you can have a more efficient platform with the 3.8.

you can pick up a v6 98-02 camaro for 3k easily, that's what my best friend and I did and we have never looked back since. With a set of headers, CAI, and tune you willl be more than happy for a while, until you can afford an lt1 or ls1 that is. I noticed that plugs, filter, and seafoam helps alot as well

Agree with everything he said. Don't get a 3.4 4th gen, you will never be happy with it. Even a modded 3.4 will have trouble keeping up with a stock 3.8. The 3.8 is an efficient engine, gets good gas mileage and makes decent power, and with the 5 speed, you'll still have some fun with it.

3rd gen V6's I know nothing about, but I would probably go with a newer (96-02) V6 F-Body if for no other reason than lower miles, better reliability, and likely better gas mileage. Not to mention they can be had pretty cheap now.

[BP_Z28]

If shes that concerned about gas mileage.then get a focus But you should be able to squeeze the 3.8 out of her. Hell..theres V8's on the site that get better mileage than I do!!!

[TylerT/AZ28]

thanks for the information guys

[Fbomb]

When I had my 3rd gen 5.0/auto it got ~19 city and 26 highway. My LS1 with boltons/6-speed got around 22 city and 32-33 highway. I'm curious as to what it'll get now.

[Joedashredder93]

O and if it is going to be a daily driver like mine is, another benefiet to the 98-02 besides reliability would be the available traction control and second gear start options, a larger gas tank, and alot of other stuff. I think ABS came standard from 93-02 though

[TylerT/AZ28]

thanks for all the help Joe

[nascarnate326]

Don't get a 3.4 4th gen, you will never be happy with it. Even a modded 3.4 will have trouble keeping up with a stock 3.8.

What the hell are you talking about? 3.4 cars are FUN, thats why they were created. Who the hell buys a 3.4 and expects to race it?
These cars arnt all about the 1320, its about the drive.



My 3.4 car got between 17 and 26. Granted a 4th gen V8 will do similar, the 3.4 is by no means a "bad" motor. Most have tons of miles and are not taken care of.

[JoeliusZ28]

I had a 99 3.8L with a 5 speed and i think the worst mileage i ever got with it was about 22. It averaged about 27 city and 33 highway. VERY easy to maintain too, the only thing i didnt like about the car was the electric throttle body. The response is terrible and you really notice it with a manual trans... auto is probably not so bad. it was still a fun car to drive though and i wish i still had it.

[Joedashredder93]

I had a 99 3.8L with a 5 speed and i think the worst mileage i ever got with it was about 22. It averaged about 27 city and 33 highway. VERY easy to maintain too, the only thing i didnt like about the car was the electric throttle body. The response is terrible and you really notice it with a manual trans... auto is probably not so bad. it was still a fun car to drive though and i wish i still had it.

True on the throttle response, I too wish it wasn't drive by wire. esp when working under the hood and not being able to mess with the throttle. But if you do what I did by shaving the lid it helped alot. I can't wait to eliminate the silencer/baffling and free ram air mod. which I hear improves throttle response and HP.

Like nascarnate said "It's all about the drive" I have never raced my car before, but it still has alot of pep for what it is. I have heard of it being easy to beat 5.0 fox bodys though.

I[m really interested on hearing what you do buy though, so keep us informed. If you find one you like and your mom says no, it helps to go look at it and take it for a test drive cause it does change alot of minds.
It's still nothing to compare a stock v8 camaro and a highly modded six but in the end it's still an F body which to me makes it worth every penny.

[JoeliusZ28]

True on the throttle response, I too wish it wasn't drive by wire. esp when working under the hood and not being able to mess with the throttle. But if you do what I did by shaving the lid it helped alot. I can't wait to eliminate the silencer/baffling and free ram air mod. which I hear improves throttle response and HP.

oh an aftermarket lid will definitely wake up the car in power and response, but TB lag is still TB lag. To paint a picture for you: Id be going full throttle, quick let off and gearchange, and then stab it again letting the clutch out and id feel myself jerk forward because the car was engine braking for a moment even though my foot was already to the floor. And then if i tried to powershift to overcome this issue the synchros in the trans couldnt handle it and id get blocked out of the shift. So basically you just cant shift the 5 speeds quick like you can a T56. Granted, its not my first rodeo and i can shift the average manual trans faster than it wants to be

Like i said though. ONLY thing i didnt like about the car was that. I still cut a 15.8 quarter mile with that car, and it had a plugged fuel filter at the time.

[93formulalt1]

What the hell are you talking about? 3.4 cars are FUN, thats why they were created. Who the hell buys a 3.4 and expects to race it?
These cars arnt all about the 1320, its about the drive.



My 3.4 car got between 17 and 26. Granted a 4th gen V8 will do similar, the 3.4 is by no means a "bad" motor. Most have tons of miles and are not taken care of.

I was never happy with my 3.4, after I got into f-bodies, I was always looking for something more. Granted, I miss the manual trans and t-tops, but I was just never really as happy with my 3.4 as I am with my LT1 now. Gas mileage wasn't great enough to really warrant choosing the 6 over the 8, performance sucked, the car was too slow to get out of it's own way on the highway, and when one thing went wrong mechanically, it seemed like 10 more problems appeared out of nowhere.

I'm just saying, for the price of a lower mileage 3.4 vs. that of a comparable 3.8, I'd go with the 3.8.