i recently had a discussion with one of my buddies at work who owns a 3rd gen camaro. He knows that my 97 firebird is faster than his car now but he said that in general camaros are faster than firebirds. I argued that they are the exact same car it's just a matter of opinion on style. Is there any weight difference between the two that would cause this him to be right? Or are they the same car?

 

yea so i hear the same thing about the firebirds being slower, i have no idea if its actually true though, i doubt it though

 

Firebirds might be a little heavier, but I don't think it would be enough to make much of a difference.

 

does it really matter that much..its a style preference...and lets face it..Fbodys are cannibals anyways...

 

Same chassis, engine, transmission, brakes, cigarette lighter......yeah of course the Camaro is that much quicker. Actually, the Camaro would blow the doors off of the 'Bird...

 

Anybody who thinks one is faster than the other is out to lunch, the cars are all the same and make the same HP. Any differences would be in the driver.
Although through most of the second gen years the Firebirds were usually faster.

 

the weight difference is neglible, esp. on an LS1-equipped car. any Camaro v. Firebird race is going to be a driver's race, plain and simple

 

Your friend is an idiot... plain and simple. I would advise him against having kids.

 

Ha Ha, i let him know you said that

So it seems what everyone is saying is the same thing I have been trying to tell him, except for the no kids thing It's just up to the driver!

on a side note on my way home from work today i raced my other buddy who has a Beemer and smoked him off the line by 4 lengths. He was talking a little smack........that stopped

 

On the 3rd gen cars, the intake track to the throttle body is a little more restricted so that the Firebird was down a few hp over a similarly equipped Camaro. That may be what your friend was refering to. This doesn't apply to the 4th gens though since the intake track is the same for both F cars.

 

All depends on options for the weight. I do remember reading a while back that the 98+ bird was .02 more slick in the air chamber, can't remember what you call those ratings.

If he wants to talk third gens which is faster, look up a 89 Trans Am Pace Car, have never heard of the Camaro ever coming with that option that did.

In reality it all comes down to which style you prefer, some say the TA front end is to busy, others say it is on its way to kick your ***.

 

motor trend test...

On the dragstrip, our Trans Am ripped 0-60 mph in 5.0 seconds and cleaned up the quarter mile in 13.5 seconds at 107.4 mph. (Funny how it beat the same-engined, similarly weighted Camaro SS by 0.2 second and 1.8 mph.) In handling, it mercilessly matches its Bow-Tie relative by pulling 0.84 g on the skidpad and zipping through the slalom at 64.6 mph. Mash the brake pedal to the floor, and the large 11.9-inch front and 12-inch rear vented disc brakes bring the Pontiac to a halt in 121 feet (11 better than the Camaro). For purists, these acceleration stats also beat virtually every Pontiac musclecar, including the legendary '69 GTO Judge with its 370-gross-horsepower 400-cubic-inch V-8. And in handling and braking, it wouldn't even be a contest

food for thought...full article here

http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/..._trans_am_ws6/

Enjoy!

 

They are the same car for all intensive purposes, its a drivers race. Although i always found it amusing how in the magazine car comparisons the camaro would place first followed by the mustang followed by the trans am. Never figured out why

 

Also to add to the fire, every time they would test the Camaro and Firebird heads up in any magazine, they would always say that the Camaro had a lower top speed, more food for thought

 

I have driven a lot of both Camaros and Firebirds that were stock and the Firebirds always felt faster. I can't remember what magazine it was that described it as the Firebird being raw power when the Camaro was more contempary. I also saw that about the top speed being 162 in a Bird and 160 in a Camaro in that same magazine. I don't think that 2 mph actually matters though. I'd say it's basically up to the driver if comparing similar years. I'm always going to like Firebirds more though. I just love the style.

Both are great cars.

 

Generally speaking, since '82 they were the same mechanically, so they should perform about the same. Though, the Pontiacs are usually more aerodynamic like mentioned above.

One thing I found interesting though, is when I had my car back in highschool with the original LG4 305 chevy/ 700r4 I'd always race my friend who had a stock base '85 camaro with a 2.5 litre mpfi and a 700r4. When we'd race our cars started equally until we hit third gear and my car would then always pull ahead (more torque, obviously) but, my car would never shift into 4th while mashing the pedal. His would. So, every time we'd race I'd pull ahead until my 3rd gear was wound out, then he'd slowly cruise by because he could use 4th gear. As a result, technically, his camaro was faster, even though my Trans am could accelerate quicker.

 

The 700R4 will not shift to 4th gear at WOT. I remember that well from my 87. I'm surprised you coldn't take him off the line though. I had an 87 with a 305, 700R4 and 3.08 rearend. It was really quick off the line for it's time. Sometimes I miss it.

 

Yeah, this argument always boils down to one thing....

I have a Firebird. I'm a better driver and therefore, faster than you. Thus, the Firebird is faster than the Camaro. (Note the period at the end of the last sentence.)

 

One more objective piece of info if you are comparing the WS6 to the SS is that the nostrils on the WS6 are actually in contact with the pressurized air stream in front of the car while the SS scoop sits under the aerodynamic flow. This only makes a difference at high speeds obviously

 

Mechanically there the same car. . .same engines since 1982, same trannys, maybe slight difference on the suspensions, but same chasis. The only difference are the body panels.