What exactly is the differance between a Firehawk&WS6?

[superman4evr]

I always wanted to know what was different about
them, other than price and production quantity.

[Keego Ridah]

Different hood, different suspension i believe, they rated the Firehawk at 340 hp and the WS6 at 320, but i dont really know the big differences

[DETROITMUSCLE]

SLP did the firehawks and they have a different hood, rims, some have a different rear spoiler, and I think thats about it.

[Keego Ridah]

yep what he said lol

[jjsnyprus]

none

one is harder to find than the other, i dont like the hoods on them.

SnypruS

[phoenix_rising]

Firehawk = Bad Ass!

The Firehawk is a Formula not a T/A. A WS6 is a rarer T/A. Also the Firehawks are revamped cars from SLP. SLP is to Pontiac as SVT was to Rustang. As far as parts go your guess it as good as mine. I talked to a guy at the Nesting of the Bird who had one. He said SLP added a lot of parts to the formula to make it better.

'97 Firehawk...


'97 WS6 T/A...

[Superman09]

Actually Ben, they make a formula firehawk and a TA firehawk. The formula's are actually more rare (in the LS1's, not sure about LT1's) however there is both. The most rare would be a formula hardtop firehawk. In the LS1 version as stated... diff hood, wheel, some spoilers, and they have a few more options like embroidered parts on interior, SLP exhaust, an SLP lid i believe, few minor bolt ons.

[02hawk796]

In 1991 & 92, SLP got some Birds and made them into Firehawks, as sales orders were placed. As a 2nd-sticker manufacturer, they had to Sell them all as 1992 models, even though about 8 of them had 1991 VINs. Many options were available. Typical combination of options was priced around $49K. Things like Recaro seats, 5 point harness, roll cage, etc. Each one was personally tested and further tuned by Ed Hamburger himself, who was SLP. Because an engine swap was one mod, GM would not warrantee the 3rd gen Hawks. 28 orders were placed, 3 of them cancelled. The last one was a convertible T/A, the rest were Formula hardtops.

In 1993, SLP came out with a newer version of the Hawk for the 4th Gen Birds. 1993 production number 001 is in WI, currently has about 600 miles on it. From 93-97, Hawks were normally only available in Formula trim (it's a performance machine, no need for luxuries or extra weight). In some years convertibles were available, with limited options. Once the RV6 RPO was selected, additional Hawk-specific options were available, which could add hp (like the Two On The Left exhaust option, referring to the tailpipe position) or other performance enhancements. About 1,700 Hawks were made during this period.
In 1995, after many years (decades) of trying to kill off the muscle car, GM decided to kill the F-Body at the end of the 2000 production year. They didn't make this public.
In 1996 & 1997, SLP resurrected the Camaro SS and WS6 performance package for Formulas and T/As. SLP had growing sales and success with the Hawks and buyers were hungry for the performance cars SLP was making. Sales took off for the WS6 and SSs, and Hawk sales dropped tremendously for these 2 years, with SLP making all 3 model upgrades, plus others.
GM had noticed the increased sales of higher powered F-Bods, and an inside guy convinced GM to extend the F-Body into the end of the 2002 production year, and to change over the LT1 engine to the LS1 in both of the F-Bods.
For 1998, SLP designed the new upgrades for WS6, SS, and Firehawk. Lowest bidder for WS6 turned out to be American Sunroof Corporation Global, SLP got the SS work, and the Firehawk mods got tied up with U.S. DOT headlight regs. No production Hawks were made, and the 8 Pilot cars were un-modded and sold as regular Formulas. WS6s were still available in Formuls, T/A, verts in either style, hardtops or T-Tops, too.
In 1999, SLP started making the Hawks, over 700 of them. Either WS6 or Hawks could be had in Formula or T/A, verts, TTops or hardtops. Plain Formulas were rated at about 295 hp, T/As were about 305, WS6s around 320hp. GM requires that no GM car can be rated higher than the vaunted Corvette, so the Hawk was underrated at about 330hp.
From 1999-2002, about 3500 Hawks were made. In 2001, the special 10th Anniversary Firehawk was produced, about 139 units.
In the final year, about 1500 Firehawks were produced. Of all the 72K+ F-Body production that year, something like 35-40% were Pontiacs. Of the Pontiacs, about 1/3 were V6 Birds. Of the 2/3 that were V8s, about 900 were Formulas, about 1000 were plain T/As (not Hawks or WS6s). The rest were WS6s, more than half of the Birds that year, and more than any other F-Body style that year. The most expensive, fully loaded WS6 CETA Vert listed at less than $41K, and a fully loaded Hawk (not allowed to have the CETA package) listed at $1,300 more. In the final year, plain Formulas were rated at 310hp, T/As were about 325, WS6s were 330, and Hawks were 345.
A total of about 5200 Firehawks were made from 1991-2002. I don't know the total for WS6s, but in 2002 alone, about 17,000 were made.
Some of the Hawk-exclusive upgrades available for the final year: standard cat-back exhaust with resonators and dual dual tips, suspension upgrades, hood with hoodscoops and heat extractors, intake upgrades, 275/40R17 Fireastone Firehawk SZ50s; and optional chromed wheels, Bilstien Ultra-performance Suspension or 1LE suspension, AAt/Auburn Rear Diff., rear spoiler with LED brakelights, and Hawk floormats, deckmat, portfolio, carcover.
WS6s got a hood, tires, and I heard a different exhaust tips.

This subject has come up many times at www.firehawk.org and a search can be done there. There might even be a FAQ section with this topic.

[Insomnya3AM]

Firehawks cost more.

[phoenix_rising]

Firehawks cost more.

LOL! Couldn't Have said it better!!

[02hawk796]

For the LAST TWO POSTERS who CAN'T READ, let me repeat the quote of the thread-starting question.

... what was different ... other than price ....

Ahem, (cough)postwhores(cough).

[jjsnyprus]

none

i will keep my trans,
i paid less and made it rarer than a firehawk, cause its custom to me.
CYP edition, turbo and all. i like the firehawk rims though. wouldn't mind getting them, but then i wouldn't have the vette rims. tis for tat,

SnypruS

[9T8W66]

`98-`00 Z28, Formula, and Trans Am are rated at 305HP
`01-`02 Z28, Formula, and Trans Am are rated at 310HP
`99-`00 Firehawks are rated at 327HP
`98-`00 WS6's Formula and Trans Am are rated at 320HP
`01 Hawks are rated at 335HP
`02 Hawks are rated at 345HP (Unrestricted air lid)
`01-`02 WS6's are rated at 325HP

These are the factory ratings from GM and SLP and they are BS
ALL LS1 F-bodies realy make about 340-350 HP.

[superman4evr]

I have this thing about wanting
the raised deck lid spoiler on my next car.
I don't see any Firehawks with those, none the less,
they are bad ass anyway..

[02hawk796]

I have this thing about wanting
the raised deck lid spoiler on my next car.
I don't see any Firehawks with those, none the less,
they are bad ass anyway..

You mean the raised spoiler like the LS1 Trans Ams?
That spoiler was an option on LT1 Formula Firehawks in 96-97 and maybe 95 too.
That spoiler was also on every LS1 Firehawk Trans Am coupe that didn't have the most functional SLP spoiler option. The LS1 Formula Hawks and verts could not have the raised spoiler. Any one of the versions of the optional SLP Firehawk spoiler would have the raised spoiler removed during upfit.