handling wise, more specifically a 89 GTA to a 96 z28. i have a 96 v6 car currently, thats for sale to buy a trans am hopefully. im pretty impressed with how this car handles, but i seem to see a lot more road race third gens than i do 4ths.
Thanks for dealing with the noob
Mark

 

Mechanically there are really only 3 major differences.

1. 4th gens have a double A-arm front suspension, while 3rd gens have a strut setup. In a nutshell double a-arms have an advantage in that they have a much better camber curve than a strut setup could ever have. Thats not to say that struts can't be made to work well. BMW has had lots of luck making struts work. The stiffer the suspension you use the less of an advantage a double A-arm will have, just for the simple fact that a double A-arm setup needs suspension travel to gain camber.

2. Weight, a 4th gen weights about 500 lb more than a 3rd gen. The 3rd gen also has a much lower center of gravity than the 4th gen.

3. Wheels and tires, 4th gens come with 17x9.5" wheels and 275 width tires. 3rd gens came with 16x8's with 245's. Keep that in mind when you start looking at how these cars performed in stock form. This isn't really a big deal because you can bolt the 4th gen wheels to your 3rd gen.

If you wanted the ultimate camaro I wold get a 3rd gen and bolt the 4th gen wheels on and then swap in a LS1. You'll end up with a camaro that weights the same as a vett and will run high 12's and get 30 mpg. Kind of a win win situation there. You might also look at the american iron series to see how those two cars stack up against each other in competition.

 

so fourth gen wheels will bolt on directly or will i need spacers?
when you say lower center of gravity, do you mean the actual car is lower, or the center itself from the design?
i dont think id swap an ls1 in it, we already have an ls1 drag car in the making, im gonna stick with the small block, and if i ever swapped anything id try to get a 400 pontiac motor in it with fuel injection.... but thats another day, i still need to get rid of my 6er.

 

you will need spacers,

 

Like 86TA said, you'll need bolt on wheel spacers to use the 4th gen wheels.

By lower center of gravity I mean the theoretical "balance point" of the weight of the car is lower. Think of this as the point that the weight of the car pushes on as you go around a turn. The lower it is the less body roll you have and the flatter the tires stay on the pavement.

In the end if your not racing these cars then just pick the one you think looks the best and have fun. On the street the differences are so minute (other than the engines) you'll never notice a difference.

The differences between the drivetrains however is like night and day. An LS1 car will run circles around anything a TPI or TBI car will ever have to offer. Dollar for Dollar the LS engine is impossible to beat.

 

i know what u mean about the center of gravity, i just wasnt sure if u were talking about the geometry of the car specifically.
basically what im looking for is a cheap V8 car that i can do a crazy paint job on (basically a rolling advertisement for my familys automotive buisness) that wont be all show.
now im deciding between a GTA, a 95 z28, and a 95 trans am. i think im stuck between the two birds but it depends on if i can get a good deal on one.

 

BMmonteSS

What is the center of gravity height for a 3rd gen?

What is the height for a forth Gen?

I have never been able to find this in print and have not had enough time to measure it for myself.


Thanks

 

thats not quite accurate... fully loaded 4th gen to stripper 3rd gen maybe..but on average the difference is only 100-200lbs

 

I switched from a 3rd gen to 4th gen road race car this last year. Raced about 1/2 a season, was very impressed with the handling difference. Got in a wreck, was not thrilled about how much more it cost to fix the 4th gen vs. a 3rd gen in the same situation.