9th Sep 2011, 01:04

I have a 1998 3800 V6 Camaro, and I love the thing. Sure, it doesn't have a ton of power, and things have gone out on it due to poor ownership before me. Once all the kinks are worked out, it runs strong. I can tell you from experience as a V6 Camaro owner and a technician's point of view, that cars break, but cars only work as strong as the time and effort you put into them. Sure, it may cost a bit of money, but all cars have problems, it's a way of life. So most people need to realize that if you are going to own a car, you need to fix it and do constant maintenance. If not, take the bus. Or walk. Remember, it doesn't matter if it's a VW Bug, a Camaro, or an Audi, they all need TLC. Even clunkers can be great cars with time and effort. That's what my Camaro was, and now it's a champ, I wouldn't give up that V6 for anything.

9th Oct 2014, 15:06

Let me start off by saying LS1s and LT1s don't warp, and are in fact rather reliable and powerful engines.

That aside, there are so many things wrong with what you said about the L36. I love the 3800II in all its forms, and think it may be one of the most reliable engines of all time, but they are not very powerful. For one, they have never produced 200 HP to the wheels, that is at the crank. You are lucky if you get 180 HP. You also grossly over estimated the power increase from the mods you added. Full intake and exhaust 3800 Camaros tend to get about 220 HP to the wheels. Fully built motors with everything including a stroker have barely reached 300 HP, and that is peak. The power delivery of an engine built like that will also tend to be incredibly peaky, and leave much to be desired at lower RPM. Compare that to the flat torque curve of the V8 cars and you will quickly see the disadvantage.

All this becomes moot once you go forced induction or nitrous on a 3800 though. Those engines can take one hell of a beating and keep running. I've seen cars hold up to 200 shots of N2O with a properly setup intake to reduce puddling. Likewise I've seen them hold up to 15lbs of boost and tear through the 1/4 mile in 11-12 seconds. Not bad, but take those same upgrades and perform then on a V8 and you could be in the single digits. What I'm trying to say is the 3800 is great, but it does not compare with the performance of an LT1, let alone an LS1. But what do I know, I've only owned both and modded my V6 to the point of full exhaust, a supercharger, and full suspension. All that and it was much slower than my lid and cutout LS1 car (14.2 for the V6, 13.1 for the LS1).