My brother in law just purchased a 96 Impala and it is in very good condition. The exceleration out of the hole as well as on the interstate is pretty stong. It seems as it is stronger than mt 04 TL. By the way I am new to this site, so Hi everyone and I 've had my car for a little over a month with 1500 miles on it already. My previous car was a black on black 03 TL Type-S. Anyway for a car(96 Impala)undefined that size with 260 hp vs my TL with 270 hp, it seems that I should run away from him. Can anyone explain this?

 

I used to own an Impala SS. I don't recall the exact ft/lbs of torque, but I suspect that the Impala V8 has significatly greater torque than your TL.

 

IIRC the Impala had well over 300 lb ft of torque and even with its 4000lbs that is still a lot of grunt.

Vandy

 

The Impala's engine is nearly twice as big, so the torque should be nearly twice as well. LT1 Impalas will feel much faster to drive than a TL due to the primative suspension having low limits. Higher speeds and corners will leave the Chevy far behind.

A sad fact: Most supercars are very boring to drive at less than twice the legal limit due to superior suspension control at high speeds.

 

I think you're right. I just went to yahoo and searched and I found a spec sheet on the 96 impala and it had 330 lb ft of torque. That would be the difference. Thanks for answering my question.

 

The superior torque sure would make it feel faster, and give it the edge right out of the gate. As for actual specs, the TL in auto with a 0-60 of about 6.5 and 1/4 mile of 14.8 takes the Impala at 7.1 and 15.4. Add in actual road conditions like twists, traffic, etc. and owning the TL becomes all the sweeter.

 

I owned a '95 SS and it was a fantastic car. A pig size-wise but a great performer with monster engine. Just the opposite of my '73 Vega!

 

I thought sufall96 was joking at first! I have a neighbor with a black Impala SS and that car is the shiznit as far as power goes. It is definitely fast, and I wouldn't even put my TL against it speedwise. I'd catch up in the curves, though, because even the "tuned" suspension of the SS is no match for the TL, as noted above. It's too bad the body was sooo ugly.

By the way, I have to move this "vs" thread to "Cars and Bikes".

 

While running an E39 540i (w/my 02 Maxima) on I287 last weekend, a prev gen Impala SS tried to keep up but had nothing for either of us. I'm sure it has decent acceleration and midrange but without mods, it's def far from being an Autobahn stormer (then again, so's my Maxima).

 

V8 versus V6....there's no replacement for displacement...

 

....boost?

 

Torque, Shmorque... It's all about power:weight, and by power, I mean horsepower. The Impala may have monster torque, but seeing as it's hp numbers are actually lower, and given the fact that it's heavier, forget about it. Sure, that low grunt helps the Impala out from a dead stop, as the TL needs to get its rpm's up, but other than that, having more torque is irrelvant if the Impala is significantly heavier, and has less horsepower. Peak torque in and of itself is no replacement for hp.

 

Yeh these things are fast. Last of the big V8 monsters.

 

Sorry for bringing this thread back up.

But, last year I ran up against a Impala SS on about a half-mile stretch of road. I would he was about 3 or 4 cars back in traffic when I broke from the light into the open road. I was about half-way down and all of a sudden in my rearview mirror, I see this SS just eating up the road. Note: I was just about redline in 3rd when the SS ate me up. He must have had some crucial mods under the hood to catch up in the mid-range.

 

 

A modded LT1 can make a serious beast out of the Impala SS.