I have no idea what the appropriate forum is for this topic, so I apologize if a mod does not think it belongs here.

I am curious to hear from people who daily drive (during the nicer months) their thirdgen. Do you ever find yourself disliking the driving experience that your thirdgen offers? What have you done to the car to make the most of your comfort and enjoyment behind the wheel?

 

I'll let you know shortly.....I just totaled my daily so I am going to use the IROC as my daily for awhile and see how it goes. I think the biggest issue will be the T-Tops and rain.

 

Well, the formula isn't my daily driver... It's my ONLY Driver. Rain or Shine off we go. I love it. I don't really love my gas gauge though...

Improvement: 4th Gen Leather Seats, Grant Steering Wheel, Nice CD Deck, Good Speakers!

Also, SFC, Strut Tower Brace, and a Wonderbar...

 

I've put 2,500 miles on my '90 in the 8 years I've owned it.

She would make a great daily driver, though.

 

I drive mine daily, a nice stereo system is fun to play around with, a nice sounding exhaust, riding around with the t-tops off is pretty awesome, but one thing i hate right now my breaks are pretty bad off they don't feel to bad for slowing down but if i needed to stop in a hurry they only have the one slow down speed (if that made any sense lol).

 

Mine is a daily driver in Los Angeles with 124,xxx. The car is completely stock. It's not the best made car on the road. Lots of road noise. Poor handling and unresponsive steering. NO CUP HOLDERS! I did a few things to make it better. Fan Switch! Helped my car run better and cooler. Covers for T Tops and tinted rear window which is a must in California. I would love to upgrade the brakes and suspention.

 

Mine is a daily driver. I got it at 168,000 miles 3 years ago and completely re-did the interior, new carpet, new door panels, headliner, weatherstrip, 4th gen seats, stereo, then it was a slippery slope and I've done suspension, exhaust, rims, all kinds of other stuff and i've probably spent close to 10 grand on it. C5 brakes are in the mail too. Still have multi-colored body panels too. Now knocking on 190,000.

 

I drive mine everyday, quite a few times in the snow

Here is a 38 page thread about dislikes:
https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/auto...o-you-not.html

Check my garage to see all the mods I've done.

But best comfort things:
SFCs
4th gen seats
Mint Dash pad
New headliner
Tinted windows
Stereo - Just got a in dash DVD/NAV to replace the head unit, but haven't installed it yet
All new suspension
HIDs

oh yeah- the AC works greats

My t tops don't leak, but I can't even crack the windows in the rain, but as long as I keep them closed, they don't leak. And I also have the t top inserts, I keep them in during the summer and winter.

 

Yeah dude getting my back window tinted tomorrow! As for daily driver i keep it parked alot. Its my second car. I started a thread about the cabin noise! But,, I really dont mind too much. I get alot of compliments when i take her out for a spin,,, and that makes up for whatever problems there are.

 

I just put in my AC delete and have black leather seats. I am going to have to get TINT Asap... haha

 

i started driving my 86 iroc daily, but i used to before the tranny went out, and everything else. lol.

pros, i get some stares and compliments for the car, aswell as that awesome torque it has, my old daily driver was a 93 corolla, that thing was a trooper, but slow as hell.

cons, it makes tons of wierd creaking noises. the t tops leak, the door seals leak at the t tops and spill water on my arm while driving if its raining, i have a hurst dual gate shifter and it has no lights, so at night i cant see all the gears, my steering linkage could use an overhaul since im sure its all bad, my shocks in the rear are toast.

but all in all, i baby this car, i try not to do tail whips, or burnouts or anything like that if i can help it. i could also use some new tires, mines are sun cracked and i have lost all faith in them.

 

Thirdgens have been my daily drivers for the last 22 years!!!! All have been 2.8L/T5 combos (with T-roofs) and every one has gotten over 450,000 km (95% highway and regular maintenance).

My current daily driver is my 1989 Firebird, T5 tranny and I just rebuilt the engine (450,000 km) with a built 2.8 Stroker.

Do I love driving Thirdgens - yes!! Would I rather have anything else - no!! To get this much enjoyment out of a daily driver - priceless!!

 

Just took my 84 out of the barn today and put the plates on it after it slept all winter!
Did some nice holeshots and shut down a few
r i c e r squirrels at a couple of stop lights!
Too much fun but didn't take it too far cause the weather was gonna be lousy and I noted a few lights were out and didn't need to chat with officer friendly after stopping for a "road soda" or 2.
So I grabbed my Cadillac for a afternoon tour!

Hopefully the weather will break and I can tend to the popped bulbs and get a oil change and give my Z a nice bath !!!!!!!!!!!!

 

The squeaks and creaks are annoying.

For those who have had both t-top and hardtop cars, did you find the hardtops to be noticeably LESS squeaky and creaky?

 

my 88 is my daily driver, i drive it like i stole it every where I go, and it keeps on going.

Cant beat the 16$ a month for Progressive full coverage for a 2d sports car.

 

Couldn't have said it any better myself...

I drive mine everywhere I go and can't help but to enjoy myself everytime i take it out... I've spent so much of my time, money, and effort into it I just wouldnt feel right if I didnt give it a chance to be driven like it should... I couldn't stand to have some kind of import as a daily... so what if it gets better gas milage...

It's also driven to college and back every other weekend with a 2 hour highway commute, Im also the only guy driving a Third Gen on campus

 

All I've owned since I started driving are third gens. I drive my 86 Trans Am everywhere even without a speedometer. It's not hard to do the speed limit, I pretty much know how fast I'm going. I drive my girl's 91 Camaro RS occasionally and I will say it is much more comfortable than my 86, but not nearly as powerful. Guess that's the difference bewteen 5 years and a carb'd 305 and a TBI 305 lol. Though I would really love to have an L98 Iroc in the near future for my daily driver and have my Trans Am for the track or weekend driver.

 

Mine's a 'vert - climate and geography have conspired up here (Northern New England) to make mine a three-season car. It is over in the garage under a cover, waiting for the first day that the Spring rains have washed the salt off of the roads. Everything else in my life has four wheel drive or all wheel drive, out of necessity . . .

 

My 1992 V6 is my daily driver. It has 210K miles on it. I just got done replacing a head gasket that blew, but other than that it has never given me any trouble. I have T-tops, and yes they leak especially on the passenger's side. The clearcoat is peeling off pretty bad, and the interior is starting to look really worn. The body is straight and rust-free, and I have owned it since it was new.

I have an extra set of Recaro seats out of one of my 15th anniversary cars that I plan on having recovered and then putting in there. First comes a new paint job and new T-top, door, and rear hatch seals.

As for comfort... I'd say a good radio is tops on the list. Next thing is to fix any leaks that the 17+ year old rubber might be allowing, and then make sure your A/C works if you are in a hot climate! Face it, even with the windows rolled down and doing 60 MPH, in July in the South it is STILL HOT!

Another really annoying thing that you can fix pretty easily is Sagging Doors! You can put the hinge rebuild kit in there and then readjust the doors and that will help with a lot of the rattling around.

 

I was thinking about adding these to my 83 TA as is seems like a pretty flexy car.

How much do they help tighten up the road feel?

 

I've been daily driving third-gens for five years. The one that see's the most road time is the 91RS hardtop, 3.1 V6 700-R4. It's my baby, gonna drive her till the wheels fall off. Cant say till the pain falls off because most of that is already gone. The other is a 92RS T-top, 305TBI T-5. It only comes out in the nice weather.


Max,

 

I drive my 85 305TPI IROC pretty much every day. The only thing I have to complain about the the awful dash rattle, but I think I can take care of that. I'm a bit worried about how its going to handle the summer heat though.......

 

i drive my 91 L98 everyday, Have too, even though i have a 94 silverado, i drive the T/A. Its just to much to get away from, plus, my truck doesnt have the power, sound system, radar, and enjoyment over the T/A brings. I drive it and i have to say the only thing that annoys me is the dash raddling, the side seals are starting to go next to both doors, so when im washing the car i get just a tiny bit of water on the inside window of the car. But other than that i love it. And mines a hardtop, i seriously dont notice much of a different of raddling from what t-tops would bring, but they are a little better, considering my friends 90 camaro has t-tops and they raddle, thats the only difference though, my hardtop just isnt as bad, but the raddle is still there.

 

Unfortuantely there is no appropriate place for this on TGO.

It is too close to general converastion. Unfortunately it has nothing to do with history.

Sorry, but it is locked.

John