V6 turbo actual Specs???

[m1garand]

Good morning all - I was wondering what the actual HP and torque rating was on 1987 turbo regal from the factory.

My story - I ordered a 1987 WE4 from Crossroad Buick Chevrolet in West Chicago, IL Feb of '87, took delivery in June 1987 and had that car till 1994 or so till it was stolen from work. Roll up windows, posi, solid roof, tined windows, radio delete, rear de-fogger, I really miss that car

So any ideas on what the actual HP and torque ratings were on the car - was the engine that under rated from the 245 hp and 355 ib/ft I see quoted.

 

[BlackBandit]

HP 245 @ 4400
TQ 355 @ 2000

I don't think they were underrated at all.

 

[1quick6]

The above stats are correct. I'm not sure if they under rated it, but I do know that it did not sit too well with GM brass that the turbo Regal was advertised to be faster than the Corvette at the time. I believe the 87 Vette had 250hp. I have even heard stories that the plastic 1/24 model box had to be changed because it showed a GN pulling away from a red Corvette in a race. It is claimed the Fastest US Production Car wording had to be removed as well. I have never seen another version of the 1988 model kit (below), so who knows if that claim is true?

 

[novaderrik]

there is another thread about this already.
http://www.turbobuick.com/forums/turbo-lounge/291159-another-myth.html
as for the "Corvette vs GN" stuff, i think all that hype is about as realistic as anything i've ever seen on the WWF (i haven't watched that since long before they changed the name, so i still go by WWF) or the public "East coast/West Coast" rapper feuds. it's nothing that was started by GM, but rather by the stuck up people that bought GN's that wanted to feel superior to those stuck up Vette owners.

 

[Rodimus_Prime]

Corvette's of the 80s were a joke, most 4 cylinders in sport compacts nowdays spank them badly

certainly no match for a grand national

 

[UNGN]

The April 1986 Car and Driver estimated the '86 GN they tested had "290" HP based upon its 13.9 Second 1/4 mile time.

Nothing officially stated it had more than 235 HP, however (245 HP for 1987).

 

[Rodimus_Prime]

To be honest all factory horsepower ratings are lies. It should go by what it actually makes at the wheels. Test 5 cars of the same type and take the average.

Nobody uses an engine that has no AC, no alternator, and no transmission so why test it under those conditions?

 

[3.8L V-8 eater]

The above stats are correct. I'm not sure if they under rated it, but I do know that it did not sit too well with GM brass that the turbo Regal was advertised to be faster than the Corvette at the time. I believe the 87 Vette had 250hp. I have even heard stories that the plastic 1/24 model box had to be changed because it showed a GN pulling away from a red Corvette in a race. It is claimed the Fastest US Production Car wording had to be removed as well. I have never seen another version of the 1988 model kit (below), so who knows if that claim is true?

Funny, I remember as a teenager building that model. Your right I do remember it saying it was the fastest US production car of the 80's Still have that model, but the box is loooong gone!!!

 

[novaderrik]

To be honest all factory horsepower ratings are lies. It should go by what it actually makes at the wheels. Test 5 cars of the same type and take the average.

Nobody uses an engine that has no AC, no alternator, and no transmission so why test it under those conditions?

they've tested them for flywheel hp as installed in the car with all accessories, full exhaust for the car in question, and stock air intake setup since about 1971. some time in the last few years, the government changed their regulations so that the advertised hp numbers had to be the actual tested hp numbers- the LS7 in the newer Z06 Corvettes actually gained a few ponies thanks to the new government standards.

 

[mikestertwo]

I put my stock 86 GN on a chasis dyno years ago and it made 246 hp. The motor had 120,000 miles on it.

 

[Pablo]

Corvette's of the 80s were a joke, most 4 cylinders in sport compacts nowdays spank them badly

certainly no match for a grand national

Pfft! you can't be serious. You put an 87 corvette up against a turbo Buick in any competition involving braking and turning and the Buick will be the butt of a cruel joke. It would be like slapping around a retarded kid.

Like I said in the other thread, there is more to motor sport than straight line. Drag racing is a very small niche.

 

[turbofish38]

Pfft! you can't be serious. You put an 87 corvette up against a turbo Buick in any competition involving braking and turning and the Buick will be the butt of a cruel joke. It would be like slapping around a retarded kid.

I'm with Pablo. That makes no sense to me. So what if 80's Corvettes were jokes. So were the so-called sport compacts of the 80's.........and the 70's and the 90's and this century......when compared to the appropriate year of Corvette. In other words a 80 Vette can kick the azz of an 80 Supra or RX7,280ZX,etc. A C4 can kick the azz of any import and don't even think to compare an LSX powered C5/C6 to anything this side of 8 cylinders.


I'm getting tired of reading these threads. It's almost like we are being set up. I wouldn't be surprised if these threads were linked to other sites just to see what type of rise they get out of us.....well me in particular.

 

["Turbo-T"]

Also going to agree the numbers posted for an 87 GN were under estimated. If you look back thru history back to the muscle car days, most auto makers then were under rating their high performance cars because insurance companies were starting to charge extra to own a high performance car.

And who were muscle cars aimed at? The youth crowd. And who were paying higher premiums? The youth crowd. So unless the automakers posted otherwise "underestimated" hp numbers, they'd never be able to sell their high performance cars because the youth crowd would not be able to afford the insurance.

So do I know what an 87 GN was really putting down in 87? Not a clue...but I'm sure more than 245 hp and 355 ft lbs torque. In fact, I'd guess maybe closer to 300 hp and 400 tq....but that's a guess.

As far as 80's Corvettes.....yeah in terms of today's performance they are sorry. But for the time they were considered good. But in terms of straight line performance, many of the older outdated cars could easily beat them as well as some of the cars of the time....i.e. in 1977 a W72 Trans AM could out run a 1977 Corvette in a drag race, then again in 1987 a GN/GNX/turbo Buick could outrun the 1987 Corvette, again in a straight line.

I actually have that model posted, I need to find time to finish it.