Wondering what to expect...
04-15-2011, 02:33 AM
#1
Wondering what to expect... Here's the story...
A friend of mine noticed an 4th Gen LS1 Firebird Formula at the local dealership in his town and sent me some picture messages. From the pics I can see its Black, with the factory 16" Chrome Wheels and a Magnaflow Catback.
I'm not in the market for another car (unless, of course, its a steal of a deal), but I am partial to the Firebird Formula, so I call the dealership to get the low-down.
The car is a 2001 Firebird Formula A4 with 70k on the clock. Modifications include the previously mentioned Magnaflow CB with Headers. The dealer I spoke to didn't specify Longtube or Shorties and I didn't ask about them or the Y-pipe, not wanting to open up how truly ignorant he was about the car. It is also supposed to have a BBK Throttle Body and some type of Cold Air Induction System (again, I didn't ask for a brand name.)
These seem like a short list of your typical "Bolt-on"s, but this last one has me very curious. The previous owner had a set of 4.11 Gears installed in the rear end.
I remember saying to the dealer, "Really? 4.11's in an Automatic. Wow."
Needless to say, now I really wanna drive the car and am planning to do so this Saturday morning.
My question to you is what kind of RPMs vs. Speed and Transmission Gear Selection should I expect with the 4.11 gears?
I'd like to have some idea of where the R's should be so I can be sure it actually has the gears and isn't just a line of bullshit being fed to me by the dealer.
And let me make myself clear, unless I completely fall in love with this car, I have absolutely no intentions of purchasing it. The Stealership is living up to it's name by asking $13,000 for a car that is worth $10,500 tops. Modifications be damned. They don't add anything to the worth the car.
The reason I am interested in driving the car is to get a feel for these supposed 4.11 gears. I am on the fence for what type of gear ratio I'd like to go with when I upgrade the rear end in my M6 '99 Firebird Formula. I can't decide between the ever popular 4.10 (or 4.11) or if I want a little less steep gear like a 3.90. I have heard you can run out of R's in 4th Gear at the end of the 1/4 Mile with 4.10s and the 3.90 would keep me from doing so.
I am more than aware that the A4 of this car and my M6 don't have the same gear ratios. The A4 has a slightly steeper 1st gear. Again, I'm just looking for getting a feel for these gears.
Anyways, I'm gonna be behind the wheel of this car Saturday Morning. What should I expect guys?
A friend of mine noticed an 4th Gen LS1 Firebird Formula at the local dealership in his town and sent me some picture messages. From the pics I can see its Black, with the factory 16" Chrome Wheels and a Magnaflow Catback.
I'm not in the market for another car (unless, of course, its a steal of a deal), but I am partial to the Firebird Formula, so I call the dealership to get the low-down.
The car is a 2001 Firebird Formula A4 with 70k on the clock. Modifications include the previously mentioned Magnaflow CB with Headers. The dealer I spoke to didn't specify Longtube or Shorties and I didn't ask about them or the Y-pipe, not wanting to open up how truly ignorant he was about the car. It is also supposed to have a BBK Throttle Body and some type of Cold Air Induction System (again, I didn't ask for a brand name.)
These seem like a short list of your typical "Bolt-on"s, but this last one has me very curious. The previous owner had a set of 4.11 Gears installed in the rear end.
I remember saying to the dealer, "Really? 4.11's in an Automatic. Wow."
Needless to say, now I really wanna drive the car and am planning to do so this Saturday morning.
My question to you is what kind of RPMs vs. Speed and Transmission Gear Selection should I expect with the 4.11 gears?
I'd like to have some idea of where the R's should be so I can be sure it actually has the gears and isn't just a line of bullshit being fed to me by the dealer.
And let me make myself clear, unless I completely fall in love with this car, I have absolutely no intentions of purchasing it. The Stealership is living up to it's name by asking $13,000 for a car that is worth $10,500 tops. Modifications be damned. They don't add anything to the worth the car.
The reason I am interested in driving the car is to get a feel for these supposed 4.11 gears. I am on the fence for what type of gear ratio I'd like to go with when I upgrade the rear end in my M6 '99 Firebird Formula. I can't decide between the ever popular 4.10 (or 4.11) or if I want a little less steep gear like a 3.90. I have heard you can run out of R's in 4th Gear at the end of the 1/4 Mile with 4.10s and the 3.90 would keep me from doing so.
I am more than aware that the A4 of this car and my M6 don't have the same gear ratios. The A4 has a slightly steeper 1st gear. Again, I'm just looking for getting a feel for these gears.
Anyways, I'm gonna be behind the wheel of this car Saturday Morning. What should I expect guys?
Last edited by Mumbles; 04-16-2011 at 07:28 PM.
04-16-2011, 08:01 PM
#4
Drove the car this morning. The dealer, Brian, was cool enough to let myself and a buddy, Dave, take it out on our own. 
We put about 10 miles on it in like 15 minutes.
The car was definitely a different kind of animal.
The Speedometer wasn't calibrated for the 4.11 Gears. I'm sure this and the gears themselves had something to do with this car burying the needle in a blink. Wow.
Shift points definitely kept you in the powerband, but the RPM's seemed to be at Redline really fast. Almost too quickly. I'd definitely be interested in driving an A4 with a 3.73 gear to compare.
With the Speedo being off you were never quite sure how fast you were going, but Dave has an Auto in his 98 Z28. He mentioned 4th Gear in this car felt like you were driving his car, with 3.23's, in 3rd Gear. So we kinda gauged our speed off of that.
All around the car was in pretty good shape for being 10 years old. Typical of 4th Gen Firebirds, it had cracks in the Door Panels. Power Antenna was pretty faded. And at one time or another somebody had used the lower fender mount as a jack point. The lower portion of the passenger fender didn't meet the rocker panel properly.
Had a K&N Flo-Pak Cold Air Induction. The Filter looked as though it could use a cleaning. The BBK Throttle Body seemed touchy. Enough to make the throttle stiff or sticky when you left from a stop. It was mounted to a TB Spacer. Which I am sure is what gave the car all its power.
Looked to have Hooker, Jet Hot, or Pacesetter LTs with the emissions fittings that exited into a Hooker or Jet Hot ORY and the Magnaflow CB to give it some nice tone. Had a Spohn Adj. Torque Arm and some Boxed LCAs of an unknown manufacturer.
Again a pretty cool car, but not worth the asking price of $12,950. But I'm glad I got to drive it.
We put about 10 miles on it in like 15 minutes. The car was definitely a different kind of animal.
The Speedometer wasn't calibrated for the 4.11 Gears. I'm sure this and the gears themselves had something to do with this car burying the needle in a blink. Wow.
Shift points definitely kept you in the powerband, but the RPM's seemed to be at Redline really fast. Almost too quickly. I'd definitely be interested in driving an A4 with a 3.73 gear to compare.
With the Speedo being off you were never quite sure how fast you were going, but Dave has an Auto in his 98 Z28. He mentioned 4th Gear in this car felt like you were driving his car, with 3.23's, in 3rd Gear. So we kinda gauged our speed off of that.
All around the car was in pretty good shape for being 10 years old. Typical of 4th Gen Firebirds, it had cracks in the Door Panels. Power Antenna was pretty faded. And at one time or another somebody had used the lower fender mount as a jack point. The lower portion of the passenger fender didn't meet the rocker panel properly.
Had a K&N Flo-Pak Cold Air Induction. The Filter looked as though it could use a cleaning. The BBK Throttle Body seemed touchy. Enough to make the throttle stiff or sticky when you left from a stop. It was mounted to a TB Spacer. Which I am sure is what gave the car all its power.
Looked to have Hooker, Jet Hot, or Pacesetter LTs with the emissions fittings that exited into a Hooker or Jet Hot ORY and the Magnaflow CB to give it some nice tone. Had a Spohn Adj. Torque Arm and some Boxed LCAs of an unknown manufacturer.Again a pretty cool car, but not worth the asking price of $12,950. But I'm glad I got to drive it.
Last edited by Mumbles; 04-16-2011 at 08:08 PM.
04-18-2011, 02:58 PM
#5
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guy i bought my z28 from said it has 4.11's (its an a4) and i was like hmmm ok and i run 2500rpms at 65 at 75 im running 3100. my cousins old a4 z28 would run around 2000-2100 at 65 and 2300-2400 at 75 (dont remember exactly but way different). i do not know for sure though what gears i actually have but im going off what im told lol