Hey,

This summer I'm gonna be doing some driving and my 305 TPI/a4 is killing me. (Free flowing, needs tune, etc).

I don't want a crummy Asian DD, I want to stay with a car I'm familiar with. How are the V6 thirdgens on gas? I'm really looking for a 5 speed car too. How does insurance compare to the v8 cars. I'm 18 btw, perfect record.

 

I pay $85 a month with a not so perfect record, 3 tickets, pulled over 6 times, and 1 accident. Insurance is liability. For gas I could get better. I average around 20 with a semi heavy foot and mixed driving, its also very hilly around here. I did get around 26 mpg on the highway on a 2 hr drive, some here have gotten 30 mpg on the highway going down hill all the way I'm sure lol.

 

40$s a month but thats a second car on the insurance policy

 

i get 15mpg driving it hard, 23 in town driving it easy and 28-30mpg on the highway. Im almost 17 and i've had a perfect record i pay about $30 a month for my camaro.

 

Well..I am almost 40 ,and people pick on me cause I have a V6 ,but I didnt want the V8 because I drive this to work 5 days a week,and needed something good on gas.So I laugh at you guys with the V8's right now,with the gas prices the way they are.I pay a little over 40 bucks for two cars,a few tickets about 10 yrs ago,havent checked mileage recently cause I am constantly doing something to it.Would have to guess like the others 22-24 on the gallon.

 

I forgot to mention that car will stay stock, and the only mods will be for better mpg.

 

Intake and exhaust help out gas mileage.

 

My daily driver 3.1 with T-5 and 3.42 rear averages about 22 to 23 mixed highway and city for the 45-50 miles round trip daily to & from work. It's on its second motor which is bone stock and has about 25,000 miles on it. Highway mileage can get close to 30mpg.

My TBI 305 with T-5 and 3.08 rear could get similar numbers when it was in bone stock form.

 

I went from a V6 HDTP to a V8 vert. Same year, same trim package. My insurance went up some, but not really that much(10-15 bux per pay?). I just paid the bill and it was 178 for 6mo. Full coverage, 32yo, "clean record".

Now that my tune is close to correct. I'm getting about the same MPG in town as I did on my v6. However, the v6 did better on the hwy.

 

You're not gonna get prius miles by going to a V6 camaro, and the 305 is very economy friendly if you want to drive it that way. that 305 should be pretty much on par with V6 gas use. I pay around 350 a year for liability, though i'm only 25 and live in NJ.

 

Well the 305 over the V6 will probably be a little more insurance wise since I'm 18. So with a v6, I'll save a little more and with a bit better mileag, gas won't hurt me as much.

 

I just got ~24mpg out of a third of a tank mixed driving. Should add the car has 145,xxx miles on it and its an auto.

 

I'm 34 and support my wife and 3 kids and I feel the same way. I feel like having a v6 camaro is a fun way to stay on the road. I could care less how many after market parts or how huge the engine is. I keep it looking decent and on the road where a car belongs. As far as mileage, mine is getting about 25 mpg. I just sold my 88 chevy silverado 350 (daily driver for 8 years ave=12 mpg) and I think these guys who feel 350+ is the "only" way to go are, well, to put it simply, poor.

 

ok, while the 'mero isn't a 3rd gen, it does have a 3.4 & t-5. 3.42 rear, and I get 30~33mpg hwy keeping it around 70. it has roughly 143k on it. Not sure what the around town milage is though

 

everyone just keeps saying how they're picking the V6 for gas mileage and they're only getting on avg 2mpg more than the 305 V8 that I drive, and i dont drive like grandma. Now insurance, I would get quotes for both car setups if I were you, I doubt the V8 will make much of a difference after you tell them it's a 2 door camaro. You'd also probably want to consider things like resale value, moddability, etc too. So forgive me if i dont see what's so funny about having a V6 and only getting 2-3mpg better than a V8 that's not even babying it.

In any case, the guy has a 305 already, and it's killing him in gas. So either he's got something wrong with the car, or he's got totally unrealistic expectations on what kind of difference he'll see with a V6 over his "guzzling" 305. You wont see a significant difference, or rather shouldn't if your 305 car is working right. Gas is gonna kill you no matter what engine you have, it's doubled in like 2 years.
You can't help a 200% increase in gas with a 1% increase in mileage.

 

Agree. Also add in cost of the 2nd car, cost of added insurance, cost of added plates, etc. Your not saving money, your only adding a commodity. Check, recheck, and tripple check the tune on your 305. Get a vac guage and drive by it. I get WAY better mpg at 40 then 35. Yet the news just told everyone last night to drive slower Slower isnt the answer, esp with all the f-ing hills around here.

 

i've learned it's not about the speed you drive as much as the throttle you give it.

 

my stock 91 305 5spd got 20mpg when i was driving like a normal person... 16mpg if my usually.... i stuck a carb and **** on that car then wrecked it lol...

my other camaro which ive had since the beginning has a built 350 5spd and with my demon carb jetted too rich got 10 mpg at best... $400/month in gas $80 ins... i hope to get 15-20 mpg with the HSR megasquirt set up

my gixxer 1000 gets 45mpg and no insurance needed...

 

I pay barely $60 a month for my V8 car and I can usually get about 300 miles to the tank in town. which in my opinion is pretty damn good.

 

I talked to my dad last night about a V6 camaro for commuting. He suggested swapping a T-5 in the car. He said it will free up 'lost' horsepower and give me 1 or 2 more mpg. Plus it will make the car a blast to drive.

Do you think I should do it? I've been studying up on doing engine swaps and engine prices at junkyards, I don't know crap about trannys.

 

go T-56

 

Won't that be harder? I really don't need extra work. A T-5 should be an easy swap no?

 

Manuals usually dont loose as much power thru the drivetrain.

IF you drive the manual gently, it will give you 1-2 more mpg. If you keep your foot in it like I did, you wont.

 

Buying another car just to save on gas doesn't make sense, which is why I always laugh at people that buy a brand-new hybrid or some other 4-cyl piece of crap. Making payments to save a few bucks over your previous car???

That said swapping in another engine/trans could be an economical way to save at the pump and on insurance. A stock v6 + t5 will do fine, but a t56 is a much stronger trans. You'll need to swap the radiator, front springs and wiring harness for the v6. You might want to swap in some lower gears as well. Good news is you don't need to change ecm's to swap in a v6 (click here). I get 25 city/30 hwy with a mildly tuned 2.8 (auto).

But since I'm a purist just promise to save the 305 .

 

Making payments to save a few bucks over your previous car???

I have to agree with you there..I see the ads for some of these new cars and they get about the same MPG as our older cars.Doesnt make any sense,I would rather own 2-3 older cars then one new one,making payments and increased insurance costs.Not to mention once its out of warranty the cost of the parts and labor are also up there.I might consider a new one when I hit my golden years and cant work on them anymore.But for now I will enjoy the old ones.

 

Ditch the 305? No effing way, I love the motor.

My first V8 ever, plus having an underdog is always fun.

(It would be kept in my garage, slowly built as college goes)

 

I couldn't agree more with this statement.

 

Amen brother!

 

I'm 19, three tickets, pulled over 12 times, no wrecks, arrested for street racing once, and my insurance on a '86 Trans AM 2.8/A4 with t-tops is $78 a month...I used to get around 20-23 around town, and 30-36 on the highway...that was with a cold air intake and a 2.5" flowmaster 40 series dual exhaust with a high flow cat...my new engine will probably do the same or better, same setup, just new everything...from ECM to injectors, sensors to relays...if it can be replaced, it has been.

 

See, I know there's something wrong with my car. I'm getting about 10mpg city. I do have a heavy foot, and the two weeks I tracked my mileage were probably the hardest weeks I've driven it, but ****, 10mpg?? You're all getting in the 20's...

If you don't have to have a thirdgen or a RWD car, maybe looking at a Beretta with the 3.1L in it. It's 300lbs lighter, plus you'll save on insurance a little bit since it's not a "sports car". I have one (92 GT) and it's nice and strong, a little quicker, and turns better even on the GT suspension, than my current 91 RS. Of course... that thing is getting about 10mpg as well... but that's my own experience. From what I've seen people easily get the same mpg on the Beretta V6's as people are stating here for their Camaro's.

 

19year old kid, 92 V6 A4 firebird in NJ I pay $1,100 for the year on insurance and i get 17city 28.6HWy was my best.