Hi I am andy, and I am from Clover Va. and yes it is as small as it sounds. I am a litte intrested in road and autocross races. This is the only F-body site dedicated to such racing I have found so I joined. I have a green 95 3.4L v6 firebird. Yes, yes, I know V6 and all that other V8 BS but is it a fun and CHEAP car. It is mostly stock at the moment with only a cold air intake and 245/50/16 BFG KDWS's all around. I am expecting to run into a good amount of money in the comming year and I plan to put a good amount of that into the car and go have some fun at the tracks. :drive:

Andrew,

Welcome aboard. I can tell you've been to some of the other sites. You do not have to defend a V6 here. They are great cars that do many things very well. There is one V6 on this board that was running a blower and making great HP, though I think the owner is about to do an LS1 swap (as I remember). Many of our members have owned and raced V6 cars and had a great time doing so. I'm sure you'll find lots of the information for which you are searching. So, relax about having a 6 cylinder. This is one place where you won't hear "sell it and buy a V8, then come see us". I think there are more than a few V6 cars around here. Still not a "bunch" of them, but a few. And, the new V6's are as fast as our beloved IROC's and such of days gone by. You can have a great amount of fun with them and we'll be happy to help any way we can.

We're glad you stopped in. :drive:

Welcome!

welcome aboard..

yah.. v6 is no big deal.. i'll drive/race anything... seat time is seat time..

allthough i don't really appreciate the implication that third gens are slow!... hehe..

welcome man

Don't discount the ole V6 ... get the car really light and the V6 will soooprise some folks.

Welcome to the site.

Glad you made it. Hope you can come down for our SE Divisional autocross toward the end of August (28-29th) in Norfolk at the Little Creek Amphibious Base. Nicew big flat piece of concrete. Great way to chew up tires.

Welcome aboard.

Welcome abord!

As for the V6, one of the better handling f-cars I know, is a v6 car. Less weight up front really helps.

Hey Andrew,I had a v6 also.Was the first car I took out to the road coarse. Oh I had my share of showing GTs and others cars that they are not to be underrated .When you can drive one good you can have alot of fun and keep up.

If I was you I would prob. take up Steve Brueck on that offer and get your feet wet in the sport. Or check and see what NASA is doing in your area for some open track(HPDE).BEWARE this is very addicting. Oh I can when I stop breathing !!

Josh he said "fast as"


Tony

I loved my '89 Formula, 305 tbi. That car is like an old friend and I've got a spot in my garage for another one. However, my 2000 VW GTI VR6 ran a better 1/4 mile time stock than my Formula ever ran (cam, exhaust, gears, 5 speed swap, etc). I wouldn't trade those cars for the world. Anybody know where I can find one like Glenns?

:drive:

My name is Andrew too! Welcome!

Kevin,

What did you car run. I ran 15.0 @ 91 with the stock cam, intake, heads, and exaust. with the cam/intake i'm darn near the 13 second mark. not too shabby for a 305TBI car. shoot low 14's is LT1 territory isn't it.

As a 3.42 geared automatic, it ran 16.30's @ 86, as a 3.23 geared 5 speed, it ran 15.49 @ 93.8. I had installed a stock 350 TPI cam in it, and a Dynomax CVX exhaust kit with no cat and a K&N and a Hypertech stage 2 with a 160 thermostat (chip was in it when I bought it), Underdrive pulleys, 1LE driveshaft, eibach pro kit, KYB rear shocks, Monroe fronts (college, I was poor....actually, things haven't changed much ). I was at 500 feet altitude (Mason Dixon dragway in Hagerstown, MD). I suspect it should have been faster than it was....but it wasn't.

I put a full cage in it, a 22 gallon cell, braided lines, Griffin radiator, ST 36/25 (I think) bars, Ground control kit with 1000 in lb front and 225 in lb rears and built a splayed main cap, solid roller, 353 chevy for it, Harwood hood, Baer brakes, etc. Then, as I was nearly done, I sold the whole thing? (really dumb move). So, it would have been faster at the end. That motor is in a friends 92 TPI car with 3.73's and a T56 and it will spin the tires in 2nd gear from a roll without being floored. It's great fun!

I only ran 14.04 @ 102.5 in my 2002 Z (1.09 light, 2.6 60 foot and a 14.04@102.5). I babied it (I hadn't mailed the first payment yet). That was at National trails in Kirkersville OH (Home of the pontiac excitement nationals) at SLP day in 2002. Of course, that was my first and only pass in this car and it was a really easy pass....

Oh, and the GTI went 15.10@94.8.

V-6... just remember a v-6 4th gen can still hold it's own against a huge portion of v8 3rd gens!! At the last autocross traction was a huge issue so keeping the tail end in a straight line was a challenge.

My 96 V6 was a blast. Sometimes I wish I still had it as a daily driver.

For autocross, you would be better off removing that CAI and running in G-Stock, where upgraded shocks, front swaybar, and catback exhaust are legal but V8s aren't The intake will bump you to E Street Prepared along with the V8s. OTOH, good shocks and a swaybar will make a HUGE improvement in the handling of a V6 car, especially the older ones with really soft springs like you've got. You'll be amazed by how fast your car can be once you get some practice.

Where you WILL hear "just sell it and buy a V8" is if you start thinking about swapping in a V8 or installing a blower. This NEVER makes economic sense, so unless you have a sentimental attachment or just enjoy the challenge (not knocking that either) "trade up" is good advice. However, you can have a ton of fun in the V6 as long as you don't start pouring money into it.

In other words, nobody will look down on you for having fun in a V6. We may offer advice on alternatives if you start thinking about spending more than the cost of a V8 to upgrade it, but it isn't intended as a slam.

looks like a welcome party... where's the

You're in Canada, I guess you get to bring it. (I've been drinking Molson XXX lately, the version they send to the "States"....they may be different, it's the first Molson product I've liked in a while). So, you're in charge!!!

Wow, and the thread changes direction again....

Forget buying beer, I prefer to brew my own. :-D

(my friends call it 'Dew Brew')

They seem to do that around here....(and it is probably my fault).

We now return you to your regularly scheduled posting.....

I am newbie also. I don't want to jack your thrend but I would like to say hi to all. I mostly been reading. Alot of good info on this site. I have my 1st autocross this weekend in atwater ca. I have a 98 z28 lightly modded

Hello all
Floyd

Welcome Floyd. You're first event is this weekend? Thus the addiction begins. Have fun!

I don't know if we have any members near Atwater (besides you). Is anyone else running Atwater, CA this weekend?

Anyway, I'l try to stop hijacking this thread now.....

WooHoo! another home brewer ...

I have 9 cases of ale ... Coopers nut brown and Cooper's blonde cream ...

I also messed around with some prickly pear cactus mead ...

Hi Andy! I'm a little late jumping in here. I'll catch up now...

I autocrossed my '98 v6 in STX class last year. It was a lot of fun. Usually I was the only car in that class, with the occasional WRX showing up. STX had a better pax index than ESP, so that's why I landed there. Running street tires was a lot easier than switching to race tires and back at each event too.

I've had the car since it was new, and have always enjoyed it. I did a few things to it along the way. Headers and exhaust. Springs, shocks, sway bars. (Sam Strano was a big help there.) Nitrous. All good learning experiences. Took the Phase 1 and Phase 2 Evolution driving classes last year with it too.

Over the winter I happened to run across an $1800 blower kit, so I bought it and installed it. That was a good learning experience too. I put a little re-engineering into it too, and improved the belt layout and the ductwork. My best stock 1/4 mile time was 15.7 and my best blower time has been a 13.6. I was pretty happy with over 2 seconds of improvement in e.t. from stock for the mods I had. And I got fastest time of the day at the only autocross event I've been to this year, so I liked that a lot too.

But in the spring I ran across an LS1 engine and trans from a wrecked '98, so I decided to go in a different direction, and jump into another learning experience.

I'm almost finished with the swap. I tweaked the LS1 a bit while it was out (heads, cam, rod bolts, bearings, mild torque converter, etc.) Finally got around to yanking the v6 out over the July 4th weekend. Just a little bit to wrap up now (exhaust, tranny cooler, gauge cluster, piddly stuff).

I still go over to the www.firebirdv6.com board a lot, there is a lot of knowledge over there about the v6 cars.

Welcome to our group here!!

yeap. here is a link to there site http://www.americanauto-x.com/
Sounds like fun. I am also going to have my 1st track day at thunderhill september 1st .
I did a pretty good suspension set up. gc 550 with koni da in the front with a spohn 32 mm front sway bar.
some slp subframe connectors. a spohn tq arm for long tubes. rear suspension 1le rear springs and bilstien
shocks. Now I just need some stoptech brakes

Floyd

Very nice.

I only have a 5 gallon system (2 cases) right now. and with the rate of consumtion, i rarely have more than a case or 2 in storage.

Currently servering

A very nice amber based, with a hint of blueberry extract in it (gives it a little sweeter flavor, but not the a berry taste, you can't go overboard with it in an amber). it is a fairly light amber, so that coupled with the sweetness, make it very very yummy.

and a stout that will give you hair on your chest. tested at 12.5%

Another project for me for another day. I'll get to that one eventually.

Thats where I got this link from And thanks for the warm greetings all, I apreciate it.

Hi Andy, Welcome to the place where driving is our favorite tool! You'll be surprising folks in V8s in no-time.
Check our events calendar for some NASA VA activities. SCCA autoxes are just about everywhere, and that will be a cheap and fun way to get started.

What about my 245's? Will they bump me? the stockers were 215's. If they will I guess I could go to 235's since some v6's came with them.

Edit: Oh yeah, I also have an 80 series flowmaster but still the stock 2.5' piping, but if catbacks are ok than i am I guess.

For SCCA autocross Stock classes, you can run any DOR-approved tire that you can cram on the stock, stock option, or equivalent dimension rims. The only exception is tires that aren't made in enough sizes, but the Nitto 555R2 is the only tire I can think of with that problem.

245s on any 16x8 4th gen wheels are fine. The exhaust is ok too as long as the cat and everything forward of it is still stock.

A few people on this board are running under Canadian or other non-SCCA rules, which might be a little different, but most events will probably be SCCA.

At the induction end, you can run any filter you want but it has to be in the stock airbox.

Money is a little tight. Don't know if I can. But after the first of next year I will see if I can't get out there some.

Tire size won't matter but wheel size must be stock to stay in the stock classes.


.... man, I'm WAY behind here. I come home and do a refresh and I STILL don't see the last post!!! Sorry!!!

What about some of the V8 rims? the 17's? Are they allowed on a v6? Not sure if v6's come with 17X9's or not. If not I guess I could go with 255's

I don't think any of the v6 cars came with 17's.

I got the performance handling package on mine (a '98), and it was still 16's, just upgraded to 235's.

If I remember right all of the V-6 cars had the 16 inch wheels.

Well... I don't like beer.
I just finished drinking a Martini...
The best part, is that it's at the office, paid by management.
This week, we don't need to wait to friday for open-bar