There was a discussion, some time ago, on these boards about the TPI top speed limiter which, if I remember correctly, was the fuel cut-off (perhaps it was a high rpm limit). However, if memory serves, the L98 cut-off was factory pre-set at an extraordinarily high number, way past 120 mph, and nearer 200 mph. The factory 16" wheel L98 cars came with Z-rated tires, way above the 120 mph limit spoke of. I don't recall reading of any L98-equipped car not being able to exceed 120 mph, unless their transmission wouldn't allow them to have full throttle in overdrive. Posts pop up periodically discussing top speeds and I don't recall ever seeing a 120 mph figure given on L98 cars. Also, if I recall correctly, the throttle body and carb cars have a 116 mph limiter (or there-abouts). jms

Ok, I apologize.... I was confused. You did say L98 (350 TPI) and that may be true about the speed limiter on those. My '86 TA with Tuned Port has the 120mph speed limiter on it and that's what I was referring to. However, I just remembered that my TA wasn't an L98 but rather an LB9 with the 305 TPI. The LB9 and the LO3 (TBI) do indeed have the 120mph speed limiter.

GN's stock limiter is 120mph due to the 15 inch rims/tires combo that came on them, I believe the GNX did not have a limiter because of the 16 inch ZR rated tires that came stock on them.
TTA has no limiter also because of the tires that came on them. Top speed is around 170mph, although some on the TTA board have seen them in the 180s.
*
Rev/speed limiter from the factory are almost always set to the top speed the factory tires can handle safely.

Arent the thirdgen camaros lighter than the thirdgen firebirds? Thus making the camaro faster if you were to compare a 92 L98 Z and a 92 L98 Bird.

I got arrested one night for going 137 in a 40 in my stock 91 z-28, So I don't think they were speed limited to 120

WOW! look at all the imaginitive posts in here.

take a look at the question...

"what is the fastest stock 3rd gen you can get your hands on?? and i mean totally stock, im thinking a 92 L98 Z28, well not counting the 89 turbo trans am, i wuz just wondering are there any special edition thirdgens that had more hp than others???"

Fastest STOCK thirdgen... no TTA's... That you can actually find and get your hands on... Well lets take a look. Considering the TTA is out, might as well forget the Firehawks, and the GM performance part test mules (86 5.7L Irocs, 92 Heritage Z's with the ZF 6 spd, the LT5, 454, LT1, Ramjet, Firefox, etc.) Forget about all of them cause you aren't going to find them on a carlot for any reasonable sum of money if at all (GM crushes these or stores them when they finish with them). So what does that leave? Next dreaming answer would be the 1LE's and B4C's... Well, no offense but shopping carlots they aren't going to show up. And since the question is about stock cars, and these cars were mostly sold to racers and gov't agencies, how do we know they're still stock? Besides that the B4C and 1LE numbers I've seen haven't been any better then typical L98 Z28 numbers. So then we move on to the next unrealistic suggestion... the cars that sold with the SLP option packages. Well these option packages did not ship to the dealer installed on the car. They were installed by the service dept at the dealership or by the owner and were also available over the counter at any Gm dealership thru GM performance parts. If you're going to consider them stock you might as well consider the ZZ4 conversion kit to be a stock option. So now that we have all the crap out of the way that doesn't matter to anyone except people enjoying pipe dreams...

90-92 L98 cars. Z28's, Formula's, GTA's, Trans Am's. All these cars share effectively the same power ratings (230-245hp depending where you look them up). They have the best setup GM offered in STOCK form. Typical times for these cars in stock trim are 14.0-14.4. I've run 14.3@98 with my bone stock 91 Formula with 110,000 miles on the odometer, clogged cats, and bald tires. I've seen and heard other people run 14.2-14.4 with the same cars. These cars do show up on carlots and can be had for very little $$$ and if they're mechanically sound they'll leave most other thirdgens behind them.

90-92 LB9 5spd cars. From what I've seen these cars are usually 3-5 tenths of a second slower in the 1/4 mile then the L98 cars.

90-92 LB9 Auto cars.

89 L98 cars. Iroc's, Formula's, Trans Am's, GTA's. Typically just behind the Speed Density cars.

89 LB9 5spd cars.

the rest goes about the same type of order, L98's first, LB9 5spds second... Newer is usually faster. Only exception is the 85 LB9 opposed to the 86-89 LB9's that got the crappy cam in most cases.

hmmm...lets see *looks into history book*
i raced my friends slightly modded celi gts 6spd (great driver). my car was absolutely untouched (125,000 miles). considering it still had original dirty ac delco air filter. took him by bout 3 car lengths on a strip. where would this put me considering his car does 14.9 stock. i wish i had timeslips.

yeah the TTA n' Firehawks were fastest but lets compare stock Z28's, Formula's, w/wo 1LE.

camaro lighter then the firebird......? could you get a L98 into a NON iroc or Z28 camaro?
gfx add weight.. as do options.. go Formula!
neways..
fastest car u can realistically get u'r hands on? 92 trans am (not gta) with the L98.. same for the 91 year... 90 formula L98..
the newer, the better camed/engine combo gm put out.. usully a 10 HP increase in the years.. (more or less)....

What about 91-92 G92 305 5 Spd? That one extra gear is definetly good for top speed!

They must rank up there...(not at the top, most likely, but discounting all the SLP cars, and specialty cars, what else is there?)

I've had my GTA up to 135MPH... so the 120MPH speed limiter is out of the question.... And I would have to say the Formula350 would be the fastest STOCK F-body... maybe tieing with the Z28 350...

i had mine up to 135 too...it tells you what my big block 305 can do. haa

I have heard that the camaro with targa roof had a lower 120 mph somehting speed limiter. It was because the targa locks could not take any more. At that speed the aerodynamics create big vaccum that tries to lift the roof.

Yes the B4C police package is a L98 in an RS but it had the same ground effects.

In my opinion this post as I read it asked what the quickest 3rd gen was, not the one with the highest top speed...how many times do yuo ever get to test that anyway vs. the straightline acceleration between point A and B, or in a race?

That being said, my final opinon says that the quickest 3rd gen if put under a really big microscope here would have to be the 91/92 L98 Firebird Formula. The reasons I will list are hardly quantifiable on the track vs a car such as a 91/92 L98 Z28, but like I said, under the big magnifying glass, this would make them the 3rd gen to answer the posts' question. 1. No GFX 2. No GFX 3. Any with the Diamond Spoke wheels

My main consderation here is the weight argument, but it is almost impossible to see a huge difference or any at all in a Formula vs. a 91/92 TA/z28 that has GFX. They do weigh more with the GFX, but not considerably enough to skew the 0-60 and 1/4 times for test purposes. I did not include the 1LE b/c they are rare, just as many special edition or anniversary/tuner car are, and many of the 91/92 cars had many of the same options as them anyway. It is easy to find a 91/92 L98 with an aluminum driveshaft,baffled gas tank, and oil cooler. The only thing you wont see is A/C delete and 1LE brakes, neither of which really matter, except you save more weight again with the absence of the A/C.

For my .02, the 91/92 Formula L98

In response to the LT9, I did some research and you've been given an award for intelligence. ENJOY

edit...sorry but pics like that don;t belong here...

LMFAO at Don. That's a good one. A$$CLOWN LMFAO!!!

I will say the fastest is the 92 Z28. Camaros are usually lighter, have less options, and tighter rougher riding suspension compared to WS6. There have been some 92 Z28's that have run 14.1 stock, even on this board. Also, some don't think the air intake of the Camaro is an advantage, but I definetly do. More the earlier Firebird TPI intake than their newer 1 compared to the Camaro.

Don't think the Formula is heavier?? Lots wouldn't by appearance, but take this into consideration. Would u think an IROC-Z is lighter than a Formula?? Not much difference ext. and int. between an IROC-Z and a 91-92 Z28, though their definetly is some. (The 92 Z could be a little heavier than an IROC and probably is) In 87 when an IROC 5.7, IROC 5.0 5-Speed, a 5.7 GTA, and a 5.0 Formula 5-Speed were all thoroughly tested, it was noted that the IROC 5.7 WAS faster than the GTA and that the Camaros were at least around 130lbs. lighter than Firebirds when both cars were base. The IROC 5.0 had 105lbs. of options and STILL weighed 28lbs. less than the base Formula 5.0.

Tighter suspension on the Camaro vs the WS6 on Firebirds? I though WS6 was the suspension for both chevy and pontiac. If it isn't, then what does the camaro use instead of WS6?

since nobody has mentioned this i will add it.every one is talking about factory cars here,myself included.however the times that are listed for roadtests on these cars should be considered as non stock.when the press fleet is given a car to put through it's paces they are 99% of the time tweaked.there has been many an interview with gm brass in the past where they've said those cars usually were tuned for better performance to entice the public.it would be hard to say whch car would be fastest without quoting a magazine article(as i have previously).

i had the same theory as well...

"Tighter suspension on the Camaro vs the WS6 on Firebirds? I though WS6 was the suspension for both chevy and pontiac. If it isn't, then what does the camaro use instead of WS6?"

People, WS6 is a just the Firebirds RPO for their top suspension. (Which Pontiac allowed to be ordered on lower model cars) When u get a Z28 u get the Camaros top suspension, (Which is the only way to get it) or Z28 suspension, which has been available on Camaros since 67. When u get an IROC-Z, u get IROC suspension which was better than the regular Z28 suspension. The Camaro suspension is tighter than WS6 suspension, allowing tighter turns, but a rougher ride than a WS6. I know having driven both, and the same was found on every single test I can find on these cars. I don't think both cars ever had the exact same suspension or feel in all gens.

"since nobody has mentioned this i will add it.every one is talking about factory cars here,myself included.however the times that are listed for roadtests on these cars should be considered as non stock.when the press fleet is given a car to put through it's paces they are 99% of the time tweaked.there has been many an interview with gm brass in the past where they've said those cars usually were tuned for better performance to entice the public.it would be hard to say whch car would be fastest without quoting a magazine article(as i have previously)."

It is unlikely considering how GM almost always doesn't even want the public to know what their cars can really do, and is known for underrating their cars constantly. It wouldn't matter though, if it were the case then both Chevy and Pontiac would equally fine tune their cars. Don't u think?? It might be F-Body vs. M*****g, but it has always been Chevrolet vs. Pontiac in GM over the F-Body in many ways since they 1st came out and were being designed, and until even now.

PRO 1LE is above and beyond the normal Z28 or WS6,
And if ordered with PRO B4C was available on an RS.

STOCK no special editions

So where is this proof of the "LT9 H.O" engine???

I don't think there is 1.

haha, maybe there is one, really

http://tech.firebirdv6.com/generalspecs.html

Its a 1981-86 truck motor

More on it: http://www.chuckschevytruckpages.com/enginespecs.html

RPO Code: LT9
Size: 350 cid V8
HP: 160
Torque: 260
Years: 81-86
In truck models: K20, K30


....just thought Id throw that in


Sounds like a beast to me lol



-Bud

LOL!!!!

still no proof eh?

ROFL

wait...so where do the G92 cars stand???
just curious

350's with G92 are the fastest. It came standard on them some years.

I think he found out his friend was full of it and wont reply back now.

hehe ya think?