[T.O.Dillinder]

This should be fun.
Your opinions on the pros and cons between the 3rd and 4th gen F-bodies.
These are my opinions, and I could be way off with a couple of items.

Engines:
4th gen wins this one. Racing groups keep forgetting that the LT1 350's were a option in the later 3rd gen years, but keep forcing the 305s of being the only option for racing.
The 4th gens have the 350s as the only V-8 option.

Transmissions:
5-speeds; Tremec and the World class T-5's help make it a 3rd gen pro.
Dependable enough, weighs less, and since when do you need 6 speeds for road racing.
The only time I have actually shifted into fifth is at Road America running a 3.73 gear ratio.

6-speeds; weigh more, more dependable than regular BW 5 spd.


Front Suspension:
4th gen hands down.

Rear Suspension:
Tie, they are the same for both generations.
I do use the 4th gen Koni Yellow rear on my 83 Z-28 because I do not have to remove the rear shock to adjust it.

Overall Weight:
In stock trim I know for sure the 3rd gen has the advantage. I have not seen actual weights for stripped down 4th gens so it may be close.

Brakes:
Out of the box I would give the 4th gens the advantage.

Parts Availability:
4th gen. They are everywhere.
Aftermarket parts were really not available for the 3rd gens compared to 1st and 2nd gen cars. It just seems the Aftermarket Companies really never worked hard for the 3rd gens.
The 3rd gens are still competing in large numbers and you have to look hard for performance parts. If I had the money......

Ease of maintenance:
I give the pro to the 3rd gens.
The 4th gen engine compartment is a pain, and the dash is as big as a pain.

Overall Looks:
The 3rd gen looks sleek and fast.
The 4th gen looks like a beast and would grab the competiition and beat or eat it.
My favorite 4th gen commercial was the Pontiac Ram Air Trans-Am.
Pulls up behind a Ferrari, revs and swallows the Ferrari and sends it out through its tail pipes. (IMG:http://www.frrax.com/rrforum/style_emoticons/default/lmao.gif)
I love the looks of the 2000- 2002 RA TA's. They are just plain mean lookin'.

Interior:
Pro to 4th gen. The interior just seemed more refined compared to the 3rd gen.

Your turn.

This post has been edited by T.O.Dillinder: Dec 6 2007, 05:40 PM

[firehawkclone]

One more thing......PCM's

4th gen is much easier to reprogram.

[1meanZ]

One more thing......PCM's

4th gen is much easier to reprogram.

You sure about that? I dropped $300 at Moates.net and I can now tune and datalog any OBDI GM car there is.....

[trackbird]

One more thing......PCM's

4th gen is much easier to reprogram.

You sure about that? I dropped $300 at Moates.net and I can now tune and datalog any OBDI GM car there is.....

I have the osterich and all that good stuff, and I haven't bothered to learn to tune the 3rd gens. My solution is likely to involve Motec or similar (or a carb...bwhahahahahahahahaha). I do hate the ECM's in these cars.

[1meanZ]

I do hate the ECM's in these cars.

Of course you do, the Ostrich is NOT the best setup. If you had this, you wouldn't mind it at all. I enjoy tuning.
http://www.moates.net/product_info.php?cPa...;products_id=54

[nape]

I do hate the ECM's in these cars.

Of course you do, the Ostrich is NOT the best setup. If you had this, you wouldn't mind it at all. I enjoy tuning.
http://www.moates.net/product_info.php?cPa...;products_id=54

I had that setup and I still hated the EFI. TPI sucks and everything else is a band aid. I put a $65 Performer RPM intake and a $300 Holley 600DP and made 50RWHP more and now I don't have to worry about 20-25yr old modules and wiring either.

My T5 has survived for a year behind a Firehawk motor, which is as strong or stronger then a stock LS1.

Are you doing many track days? I'm not trying to get into a "road race vs. auto-x" dick swinging contest, but a weekend on the track is probably a year or more of autocross duty. That's not even mentioning the extra heat in running it that hard for that long.

If AI could run dog-ring gearboxes, I'd probably have a dog ring T5. Dog rings would get rid of a lot of synchro issues and the straight cut gears get rid of the gear weakness, then you're only dealing with heat and case flex.

[axoid]

Are you doing many track days? I'm not trying to get into a "road race vs. auto-x" dick swinging contest, but a weekend on the track is probably a year or more of autocross duty. That's not even mentioning the extra heat in running it that hard for that long.

My T5 hasn't seen any track time since the 350 got installed last year (persistent oil leak on the engine), but it has seen track time behind the pervious 305. I can see that all the shifting would be a different type of stress on a transmission than what autocross causes, but most of tracking and road racing doesn't launch from a dead stop as autocross does, even if it isn't as hard as a drag race start. I've always believed that it is hard shocks that break transmissions. I wouldn't think that there would be anything preventing putting an oil cooler on the T5.

Ether way, my trans has 105+ K miles on it, 25+K under my ownership.

I'm sure some day it will blow, I'll just fix it and throw it back in again.