Just beginning
to the forum!
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 12,601
From: Mentor, Ohio
Welcome to mcf.com.
Check the fwd tech info section. We have a thread about 100k mile maintenance thread (which can also be good at your little over 200k limit).
Also we have a thread about 3100/3400 cheap mods for these cars.
If the body and engine are still running good and you want to pop in a couple of mods, then you should be good to go with a few.
The 3400 off the same block as the 3100. My experience is that those motors well maintained can serve you very well. Granted 200k for any engine is usually considered "end of life". That being said, I would not try to break the bank on your mods.
Check the fwd tech info section. We have a thread about 100k mile maintenance thread (which can also be good at your little over 200k limit).
Also we have a thread about 3100/3400 cheap mods for these cars.
If the body and engine are still running good and you want to pop in a couple of mods, then you should be good to go with a few.
The 3400 off the same block as the 3100. My experience is that those motors well maintained can serve you very well. Granted 200k for any engine is usually considered "end of life". That being said, I would not try to break the bank on your mods.
Thread Starter
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Joined: Jul 2014
Posts: 10
From: Whitesville, KY
Welcome to the site. I've never had a 3400 motor (had an old RWD 3.4 but that's a completely different animal) so I don't know a whole lot about them. My area of expertise is with the 3800s.
Surprisingly to myself, I actually had to look up where your town is located. I was stationed at Fort Knox for a while, and my first 3 semesters of college (before Active Duty) was at WKU in Bowling Green. I kinda wish I had finished my degree there cause I really enjoyed my time there. Good friend of mine got her degree from Brescia, so I've been to Owensboro my share of times.
Surprisingly to myself, I actually had to look up where your town is located. I was stationed at Fort Knox for a while, and my first 3 semesters of college (before Active Duty) was at WKU in Bowling Green. I kinda wish I had finished my degree there cause I really enjoyed my time there. Good friend of mine got her degree from Brescia, so I've been to Owensboro my share of times.
Joined: Sep 2011
Posts: 3,635
From: Central Oklahoma
Well, the RWD 3.4L and the later 3400 series engines are two different generation motors (and the LQ1 DOHC 3.4 is a completely different motor altogether). I've seen instances where someone was able to put 3400 heads and intake on a RWD 3.4 block but it required several modifications to do so. If I recall right, the RWD 3.4 was rated at 160hp, whereas the newer 3400 series is rated at 180hp (I think). The RWD 3.4 essentially had the same intake/heads as the earlier 3.1 that was in the later 3rd gen Camaros so that's where it's choked at, especially on the intake side.
As a point of comparison, the RWD 3800 and FWD N/A versions are pretty much the same, just one being set up for longitudal vs transverse. The blocks and rotating assembly are identical (as they are with the Supercharged L67 and L32), and the heads are the same internally between the two N/A versions.
In general though, RWD allows more power to get to the wheels as there's less driveline loss between the crank and the wheels, especially with a manual transmission. Most manual RWD vehicles are around 15% driveline loss, with auto RWD around 20% and FWD between 20 and 30% depending on the transmission.
FWD is a lot easier to manufacture though (I spent about 3 years in automotive manufacturing with Nissan before I left TN), which is part of the reason it is so prevalent. Easier/cheaper manufacture equals more profit, so when the auto manufacturers made that transition once the technology was available it was a relatively easy business decision to make. Only reason SUVs have a greater profit margin is because of their higher price relative to manufacturing costs. Since FWD is cheaper to build, they can sell it for less and draw more customers to buy the product.
As a point of comparison, the RWD 3800 and FWD N/A versions are pretty much the same, just one being set up for longitudal vs transverse. The blocks and rotating assembly are identical (as they are with the Supercharged L67 and L32), and the heads are the same internally between the two N/A versions.
In general though, RWD allows more power to get to the wheels as there's less driveline loss between the crank and the wheels, especially with a manual transmission. Most manual RWD vehicles are around 15% driveline loss, with auto RWD around 20% and FWD between 20 and 30% depending on the transmission.
FWD is a lot easier to manufacture though (I spent about 3 years in automotive manufacturing with Nissan before I left TN), which is part of the reason it is so prevalent. Easier/cheaper manufacture equals more profit, so when the auto manufacturers made that transition once the technology was available it was a relatively easy business decision to make. Only reason SUVs have a greater profit margin is because of their higher price relative to manufacturing costs. Since FWD is cheaper to build, they can sell it for less and draw more customers to buy the product.
Thread Starter
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Joined: Jul 2014
Posts: 10
From: Whitesville, KY
Thanks! That was very informative and pretty much covered everything I was curious about. I guess the performance of a car goes beyond just the size of the motor but also the type of transmission and how it's geared.
Joined: Sep 2011
Posts: 3,635
From: Central Oklahoma
No problem.
Interestingly enough, my 78 Camaro with 2.73 gears pulls harder with it's 98 L31 Vortec 350 than my 73 with 3.73's and the stock 73 Z28 motor. However, if they both had the same Vortec, there's no doubt that the 73 would absolutely smoke the 78. The 73 starts running out of breath above 4500 RPM (5500 redline), whereas the Vortec has a very flat torque curve and pulls hard all the way through the same 5500 RPM redline.
Interestingly enough, my 78 Camaro with 2.73 gears pulls harder with it's 98 L31 Vortec 350 than my 73 with 3.73's and the stock 73 Z28 motor. However, if they both had the same Vortec, there's no doubt that the 73 would absolutely smoke the 78. The 73 starts running out of breath above 4500 RPM (5500 redline), whereas the Vortec has a very flat torque curve and pulls hard all the way through the same 5500 RPM redline.
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