Type S

i was just entered the freeway entrance and a pontiac firebird speed up to catch my cls .as we all speed up the uphill freeway entrance.and i was on ss mode with 2nd gear till 6500 rpm and switched to 3 gear.and we were parallel.as we encounter the merge lane.and nobody seemed to slow down.i think he must got the Trans Am Coupe version as it got 310 HP..finally he passed me and i was a bit pissed off.god damn it......if i would had speeded up a bit earlier.i would had won that S O B ...once on the highway.he is still going.but i passed him thanks to my VTEC engine and SS mode .... he tried to catch up but due to the traffic ahead of him..he just could not see my tail light ..hahaha...

JRock

There's the Firebird, Formula Firebird, and the Trans Am.

The Formula has 310hp, the Trans Am has 335, IIRC.

They both have an assload more torque than our car. (350)

Rescuer

don't forget about the Ws6 and the firehawk!

one of my buddies has a 99 firehawk. that thing has sooooo much power :P

gjr2001

Those RedNeck Rockets are FAST!!!!

Scorpius

All those headers, NOS, better exhaust might as well be ingots of lead against a Trans-am.... With 300hp and RWD they will whoop us like a bad cold. If they start. If they don't loose control on the first turn due to the 15 year old suspension.

JRock

WS6= the package name for the ram-air upgrade aka the TransAm, unless you can get that on the Formula too now?

FireHawk is special edition from SLP (some are through the dealer if available though).

JRock

People love to talk shit about the f-body's suspension. My dad's stock '97 Z28 can outhandle a stock CL-S any day. The myth of terrible f-body handling is so overblown it's not even funny. Sure, it's not QUITE as good as a Corvette through the twisties, but it's still damn good. And you can always upgrade it aftermarket much like our car.

CLasified

ive seen a 99 tl race a trans am... the tl has cai, and exhaust, and the firebird was all stock. well throught the first 2 gears, the tl had him, but right when he shifted into third, that was it, he was GONE... dosent reallyhave anything to do with your loss, but just thought id share

Pull_T

Just to clear up a few facts here:

There are basically three types of LS1 F-Body:

Camaro Z28, Firebird Formula and TransAm fall in one category with current versions pushing 305-310 hp and tq to the wheels

Camaro SS, Firebird Formula WS6 and TransAm WS6 falling in another category with current versions putting down 315-320 at the wheels

Then there is the Firebird Firehawk putting down 325-330 at the wheels

98-00 versions do not mae as much pwer as the 01s, usually 10 hp/tq across the board for equvalent models.

The only difference, power wise, between the Firebird Formula and TransAm is the extra body cladding on the TA, with the Formula being lighter (and faster) than the TA in equivalent versions, WS6 or non WS6.

I agree with JRock here that the F-Body doesn't have as bad a suspension as many think.

patsmere

My stepdad has an '01 Trans AM and that car handles pretty good. I was racing him in the twisties and I gained on him a little not much. All I have is springs, thats it. These were 40 mph twisties and we were going 100 mph. Once it straightened up he took off. I have no chance in Hell.

moomaster_99

What Pull??? No drivetrain loss?

Pull_T

There is drivetrain loss, but the motors are very underrated by about enough to make the rear wheel hp/tq equal advertised crank hp/tq.

Mostly the reason they underrate the LS1 in the F-Body is due to the Corvette. They don't underrate it in the Vette, so the buyers don't get too pissed about a "mere Camaro" having basically the same power they do. Of course, the Vette is lighter and does have a bit more power, so it performs considerably better, but that is of no concern to the average Vette buyer who is more show than go.

Gabo3k

Don't most these cars still have "live axels" in them? Designed back in 1894 I think.

I'm glad to see Ford is finally going the "dead-axel / rear independent suspension" route.

Sure, American muscle cars are quick and loaded with power. It's the outdated technology, or lack of leading technology that I can't understand...

Pull_T

Correct, the F-Body still uses the live "axel". The 99+ Cobras use IRS. Mostly it depends on what use you want to get out of a vehicle. IRS is "better" hadling, esp. on rough roads, but with a vehicle that has a lot of power and good traction, wheel hop and broken half shafts can become a problem.