mero99

Hows it going everyone, i am daniel I have a 99 camaro (3.8 auto). I am wanting so much more with the car but I dont know what would be a better idea. Drop the ls1 in or just buy a new camaro. Today is my birthday and I just turned twenty woot woot one more year and six more before insurance drops! Anyway hope to meet alot of people and learn and teach.

ChocoTaco369

buy a new one. the V6 simply can't hold up as well and will be significantly slower.

-V6 has an open differential. you'll have to swap that
-V6, if you have a 5 speed, that tranny DEFINITELY won't hold up to an LS1. the V6 has a shitty manual transmission. if you have an auto 4L60E, you're without the corvette servo
-you'll not only have to swap the engine, you'll have to swap the whole intake system (V6 has a small, small throttle body) and the fuel system and all that jazz. take that into account
-the V8 model has SIGNIFICANT suspension upgrades. no way will you be able to hold down the rear on a V6 - that'll only blow your rear even faster.

you can't just "drop in" an engine and go. there's a lotta work swaping parts over or else you're gonna be running awful times and breaking a lot of stuff. remember, they look the same on the outside but internally they're two completely different animals.

it's just so much easier to go out and buy a car. then you at least know everything's compatible and done right from the factory. well, done right for the most part...

staringback05

iTrader: (8)

im with the taco....ud be better off just buying a ls1 car, just keep the v6 for gas and dd

Smoke Panther

iTrader: (10)

Agreed. Although swapping an LS1 into a V6 chassis is reletively easy, it's not a simple slap job. Just get a LS1 car

TransAm8723

Just the thought of all the work needed to drop in the LS1 "the right way" makes me cringe when it would be so much easier to just go buy a new car. It's not only easier to buy a new car, it's probably also cheaper. Think about 3-4K for the motor/trans, another 2-3 grand in other parts (fuel, rear end, suspension, computer). Making sense yet?

Jeremy

blkZ28spt

Buy an LS1 equipped vehicle.

ChocoTaco369

not true. my 3.4L V6 got 21-22mpg in the summer, 18-19mpg in the winter time. although i have only owned my LS1 for a little over a month, i have never seen below 21mpg and my daily commute is all stop-and-go for an hour each way. this gets the same if not better mileage than my old V6. the reason being. i used to have to wind my V6 to AT LEAST 3000rpms just to go anywhere and if i need to get in front of traffic, 4000rpm's+. i take my LS1 to 2100rpm's for normal acceleration and to 2500rpm's if i wanna be the man in front. granted my V6 has 3.23's stock and my V8 has 2.73's, the V6 f-body is not the car for saving gas, it's a high school kid's starter car. that's why i bought it. it looked nicer than 90% of the other kid's car's, ran great and got acceptable mileage.

ChocoTaco369

just to let you know, my insurance went up $50 annually moving from my 1995 3.4L 160hp V6 firebird to my 2001 firebird formula 350hp V8 - and i live in NJ, the state with the nation's highest insurance premiums. i turn 20 in 3 weeks. the excuse "V8's are more expensive for insurance the V6's" is BS. it's the model. my insurance went up because it's a newer car, not because of the over DOUBLE the horsepower. the title is also in my name.

BrandonDrecksage

iTrader: (1)

this is a very simple question....if your doing ALL of the work yourself and have EVERY tool avalible...and know a lot about cars..do the swap..with the tranny and a built rear. IF you don't knwo a lot and want this to be a learning expierence..save yourself the time and anger by jsut buying a ls1 car.

StealthZ06

iTrader: (1)

Buy a different car.

BigFrosty

Buy an ls1 car i was in the same situation as u i traded in my v6 and got an SS.

02camaroburn

iTrader: (1)

Most definetely just get an ls1 car. I love my v6 for gas and I'm going to try and keep that and get a T/A for the weekends.