3800 Series III...differences??

[Amped96]

I picked up a brochure for the 2004 Grand Prix at a local auto and truck show. The new GTP is going to have 260hp and 280 lb-ft of torque, but what caught my eye is that they mention the engine is a 3800 Series III.

It mentions 200hp and 230lb-ft of torque for this engine. Only a 5lb-ft improvement vs. our Series II. It mentions it has a returnless fuel system and single close-coupled catalytic converter. I'm not sure what either of those are, so i thought I'd post here to see if anyone new more about it than me.

Also, does anyone know of any other differences in this Series III vs. our Series II? Maybe some parts could be upgrades for our engine?? Doesn't sound like it would offer much since the numbers don't show much more power, but could be worth a look.

Btw, new grand prix looks tight. [img]smile.gif[/img]

[Tyler]

maybe forged pistons and rods.. lower compression.. who knows!?

seems like they upped the boost on the gtp. or maybe a better cam.

that would be nice if the gtp came with rear wheel drive and a centrifugal supercharging unit..instead of roots type.

[ March 01, 2003: Message edited by: Tyler ]</p>

[Dominic]

We need to get part numbers and specifications for this new engine then. [img]smile.gif[/img]

[Coriya71]

http://media.gm.com/division/2004_pr...fications.html

[nikon]

that engine is capable of much more horsepower but GM in its greatness didnt feel like dropping nwew trannys in em' so they kept the HP down :mad:

[dstrbd1]

looks like the same specs to me, including power numbers. why would they go through the trouble of making it a series iii if they're not gonna make it any different than the series ii

[Tyler]

so they can up the price :mad:

[AZ3.8Camaro]

The returnless fuel sytem would be cool. It would probably work the fuel pump a lot less.

[Guardiannknight]

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by dstrbd1:
looks like the same specs to me, including power numbers. why would they go through the trouble of making it a series iii if they're not gonna make it any different than the series ii <hr></blockquote>

To make buying the car sound better. ;) That'z my guess. [img]smile.gif[/img] Sales person: "Yeah this car has the all new Series III 3.8 engine. It's much better than the old Series II.
Customer: "Wow!! Really!"
(It's a nice new sales pitch to make car sales. [img]tongue.gif[/img] )

[Takumi Fujiwara]

LoL, just like theres no Difference between a camaro and a firebird, Ones Just more money for no reason. =/ I'll bet theres lots thats better about the series III, But I'll Bet I dont care. Cause Its in an FF car.

[OneQuickV6]

I thought we already had a returnless fuel system???? I did read a few days ago about GM's future plans for the V6. It'll start in the new Caddy's and then make its way to others.. It entitled a DOHC engine, and some pretty cool add-ins. Alot was based on the LS1 design, but incorporating some "newer" technology too. Pretty cool, said they would stock push about 275hp...

[F1GT]

It was mentioned a bit in Motor Trend. They said it has a 5th gen. Eaton blower, new version of StabiliTrak, F1 style paddle shifter(4-spd though), HUD with "stealth mode" which blacks out the gauges at nite. Nothing about series III mentioned.
[img]graemlins/burnout.gif[/img]

[CamaroRob97]

so you can't get it with a manual trans, wow that sux.

[FirebirdGT]

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by CamaroRob97:
so you can't get it with a manual trans, wow that sux.<hr></blockquote>


Grand Prix's haven't had a manual trans available in a long time.

[ March 08, 2003: Message edited by: FirebirdGT ]</p>

[imported_admin]

Typo. Whoever at GM typed that up did it incorrectly. Even GM employees make mistakes.

Look at the engine designations:

The Grand Prix GT will feature the "L26", which is a 200 hp / 230 ft-lb 3.8 V6 with all specs identical to the L36.

The Grand Prix GTP will feature the "L32", which is a 260 hp / 280 ft-lb 3.8 V6 with all specs identical to the L67.

First off, the L32 is the OHV 3.4 V6 found in the 93-95 F-Body. There is no L26. They meant to type L36 and L67, just newer years. The new 04 bumps up the torque slighly on the L36 and beefs up the hp on the L67.

When GM designs new engines, they're completely new--not one letter designation apart. GM won't be getting rid of the L36/L67 until it is replaced by something comparable but is DOHC.