Re: Chevy 3.5 Vs. 3.9 in Automotive http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r20745281 en Wed, 11 Nov 2009 14:15:40 EDT Wed, 11 Nov 2009 14:15:40 EDT Re: Chevy 3.5 Vs. 3.9 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20748870 burner50 :
said by GDATL See Profile :

Made a purchase yet?
Nah, work is kicking my ass... Havent been home during the day since I looked at one initially]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20748870 Sun, 06 Jul 2008 13:05:01 EDT Re: Chevy 3.5 Vs. 3.9 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20745281 GDATL : Made a purchase yet?
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GDATL - Atlanta GA]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20745281 Sat, 05 Jul 2008 12:35:07 EDT Re: Chevy 3.5 Vs. 3.9 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20729200 burner50 :
said by Langning See Profile :

I have 3.5L engine and the 3.9L is usually in the LTZ package which means extra thousands of $$$.
As I said the up front cost isnt as big of deal to me and its not really that much of a difference for me. Maybe 1000. And you dont have to get the LTZ You can get it in the LT2]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20729200 Tue, 01 Jul 2008 23:05:46 EDT Re: Chevy 3.5 Vs. 3.9 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20729099 Langning : I just bought a 08 Impala LT (with luxury package) for $19,000 - trade-in + taxes/fees. So far for 2 weeks and close to 1000 miles of driving, I am still loving the car. I have 3.5L engine and the 3.9L is usually in the LTZ package which means extra thousands of $$$.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20729099 Tue, 01 Jul 2008 22:45:32 EDT Re: Chevy 3.5 Vs. 3.9 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20728947 burner50 : I live in iowa, I know all about ethanol and flex fuel and all the lies associated with it... But thats another topic...

Thanks for the replies, I think I'll try and find one with the 3.9 around here. I have to buy off the lot for my supplier pricing :(]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20728947 Tue, 01 Jul 2008 22:17:24 EDT Re: Chevy 3.5 Vs. 3.9 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20720472 GDATL : I got my 2007 Impala 3LT (basically the 2LT with a 3.9L V6) new on 4 Jan 2008. In 6 months and 11,500 miles I have had no problems at all -- no warranty work, no rattles, no warning lights! The main difference between the 2007 and 2008 is that all 2008s are "flex-fuel" vehicles, designed to operate on ethanol.

Most of my driving is highway (7 round trips of about 1200 miles each). On those trips, averaging 60+ miles per hour (the speed limit or 5 mph over on interstates) I averaged 27-28 mpg. On a 1350 mile trip in June (with A/C on the entire trip, my mileage was 27.7 mpg and that included 150 miles of in-town driving.

Will the mileage beat the 3.5L on highway? EPA mileage on the 3.5L is 18/29. compared to 18/28 for the 3.9L. So the EPA says "no" - they say the 3.5L will get better highway mileage. But I don't know the specifics of their tests. I don't know if they take AFM, terrain, etc. into account.

The EPA mileage estimates above are based upon gasoline, not E85/ethanol. The EPA estimates with E85 instead of gasoline are 13 mpg city/20 mpg highway. Check where you purchase fuel and you will find that most dealers have started to deliver gasoline mixed with 10% ethanol (Sometimes it is posted, often it is not. My Chevron dealer admitted that even they now add 10% ethanol.) As a result, many drivers are finding their fuel mileage has dropped and new cars may not deliver the EPA estimate.

The AFM drops down to 3 cylinders going downhill or on level ground when not accelerating. It kicks back up to 6 cylinders with any acceleration and on a slight incline. The switch from 3 cyl to 6 cyl (and from 6 cyl to 3 cyl) is immediate, smooth and completely undetectable. The only way I can tell it is to have the computer set for "instant fuel economy reading" which tells you which AFM mode the car is operating.

My 3.9L Impala LT3 has plenty of power, the ride is comfortable, handling is good and the trunk is huge. I do miss 2 things from other cars I have owned: 1) automatic climate control (it's so easy to get spoiled when you can set the temp to 72 degrees and never have to fiddle with it!) and 2) the tighter suspension of my previous Impala, which was a police-package model.
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GDATL - Atlanta GA]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20720472 Mon, 30 Jun 2008 12:12:02 EDT Re: Chevy 3.5 Vs. 3.9 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20720254 mattmag :

As long as you aren't pulling a grade, the AFM will activate. It does it more than I thought it would, really. Some of the local police departments have the AFM version and it even made a significant mileage improvement in city driving.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20720254 Mon, 30 Jun 2008 11:25:11 EDT Chevy 3.5 Vs. 3.9 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20718981 burner50 : Getting a new Impala, I have no experience with these engines.

I'm going to be doing mostly (90%) Highway driving at speeds greater than 60MPH.

Will the AFM Even kick in at those speeds on the 3.9? If it does will the mileage be better than the 3.5?

I'm debating between the LT2 and LTZ packages...

Any suggestions would be appreciated. Cost isnt really the deciding factor here, just fuel mileage.
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I'm tired of killing stupid people just trying to do my job and go home!]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20718981 Mon, 30 Jun 2008 01:24:31 EDT