Hey everybody. I see a lot of discrepancy with HP figures with this engine. Different reviews of all the different models with this engine have HP ratings all over the place. I just read a Road Test of the Monte Carlo and it has it at 200 HP for example. Same with the Impala ETC. The Camaro/Firebirds are rated at 200 HP. Torque figures are also all over the place with all the different cars anywhere from 225 to 240. So whats the story??

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03 Bonneville SLE

May have something to do with the tunning or internals in the motor. My old 1995 Bonneville SSE and my current 2002 Lesabre Custom are both was rated at 205HP. The 240 HP is the SC Motor.

The Camaro and the Firebirds had an aluminum upper intake manifold. Someone please correct me if I am wrong but the plastic intake did have higher HP numbers.

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2002 Buick Lesabre Custom L36 Titanium Blue Metallic/Medium Gray Cloth
2004 Buick Lesabre Custom L36 White/Graphite Gray Cloth
2015 SS Roof, Spare & 6M 6.2L LS3 415HP/415TQ SLIHRM/Jet Black Leather-Red Stitching
2010 Silverado LTZ Crew 4x4 6.2L L9H 417HP/403TQ NHT Black Granite Metallic/Ebony Leather
2013 Enclave Premium AWD 3.6L LLT White Diamond Tricoat/Cocoa Leather
2001 Wellcraft Martinique 2400 Merc 5.7L BIII 327hrs

1995 Bonneville SSE L36 Dark Polo Green Metallic **R.I.P. 4/28/10 236,400 miles**

Well the 240 was meant for the torque figure. I'm talking just the L36 engine.

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03 Bonneville SLE

It's just your typical discrepancy that comes up when you let people report info. The H-body L36 was rated at 205 HP. What does it matter? Not like you'd notice 5 HP if it were different...

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Bye Bye:

RIP sandrock

Just did a quick search, hope it helps.
FWD (plastic plenum) L36 is 205HP 230lb/ft torque.

RWD (aluminum plenum) L36 is 200HP 225lb/ft torque.

The L67 (supercharged) is 240HP 280lb/ft torque.

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-Ryan
2004 GTO....LS1, LSA supercharged 525whp, 6MT
96 SSEi...September 2010 COTM........GONE
04 GTP comp G.... December 2015 COTM........GONE
2013 Audi Allroad Quattro

That's what I was thinking and trying to say but I am no expert on these motors.

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2002 Buick Lesabre Custom L36 Titanium Blue Metallic/Medium Gray Cloth
2004 Buick Lesabre Custom L36 White/Graphite Gray Cloth
2015 SS Roof, Spare & 6M 6.2L LS3 415HP/415TQ SLIHRM/Jet Black Leather-Red Stitching
2010 Silverado LTZ Crew 4x4 6.2L L9H 417HP/403TQ NHT Black Granite Metallic/Ebony Leather
2013 Enclave Premium AWD 3.6L LLT White Diamond Tricoat/Cocoa Leather
2001 Wellcraft Martinique 2400 Merc 5.7L BIII 327hrs

1995 Bonneville SSE L36 Dark Polo Green Metallic **R.I.P. 4/28/10 236,400 miles**

There's discernible difference between them all, just a weird media goof up.

On the topic of manifolds though, the F-body one is apparently the better flowing one.

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-Car Guy Carl
"Penelope" - 2003 SLE - 247k Miles
"Sydney" - 2000 Honda S2000 - 98k miles

Which F-body intake? manifold (DBW or cable) and vs which other intake manifold aussie/L36/L26?

And for which application boost or n/a?

And what makes you say this?

Not trying to bust balls, just want to see if you've seen something quantitative that I haven't.

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95 SLE... a keeper. 241k miles. Low and Slow.
97 BMW 528i
98 Infiniti vq35'd i30: 13.3@104mph, 30MPG Hwy (RIP)
02 Jag X-type
03 BMW M5
05 Chevy Cobalt LS
07 Infiniti G35s 6MT (Sold)
07 Ducati Monster S2R 800 with DS1000 swap
83 Yamaha IT175K
72 Yamaha DS7: '74 RD250 swap, JL chambers

Info on dropping a 92-99: Here.

Also exhaust is another big player, namely the infamous W Body U bend right behind the cat.

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~Randall~


1993 Buick Park Avenue - 197k - Some odds and ends done - Simply won't die
1994 Buick Regal - 78k - Bone stock - Always ready for a good kicking
1990 Oldsmobile 88 - Gone to a better place

10+ years ago that's what everyone attributed the difference in advertised hp numbers to. H vs W.

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95 SLE... a keeper. 241k miles. Low and Slow.
97 BMW 528i
98 Infiniti vq35'd i30: 13.3@104mph, 30MPG Hwy (RIP)
02 Jag X-type
03 BMW M5
05 Chevy Cobalt LS
07 Infiniti G35s 6MT (Sold)
07 Ducati Monster S2R 800 with DS1000 swap
83 Yamaha IT175K
72 Yamaha DS7: '74 RD250 swap, JL chambers

Info on dropping a 92-99: Here.

Many that go turbo switch to either the F-body cable TB manifold, or the Aussie style one if they have the means to acquire one. I have read on other forums that this has two perks. One being the lower intake manifold flows better. The second is the throttle body is now on the other side, which means it is easier to route IC plumbing. As for concrete numbers, I don't remember seeing any. I'd have to dig to find anything most likely.

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-Car Guy Carl
"Penelope" - 2003 SLE - 247k Miles
"Sydney" - 2000 Honda S2000 - 98k miles

Yes the L36 in the W and H bodies varied due to the exhaust restriction due to the U bend on the W body.. The W body L36 was 195 Hp and the H body was 205 Hp/230 ft lbs..

L36 and DBW L36 in the RWD F body was 200 Hp/225 ft lbs for all years 95-02 iirc..

The series III L26 DBW was 197 HP iirc..

The series II L67 was 240 Hp and 280 Ft Lbs

The Series III L32 was 260 Hp and 280 Ft Lbs

From what I understood, GM took a handful of the 3800 engines and the worst HP rating they could attain would be what they went with for a HP rating.. So its possible to have an engine with everything right that could have made 220 Hp and maybe 240-250 Ft Lbs.. Some L36's ran better than others... I have one like that in my 95, it runs good for a more or less stock L36... My 03 is a bit of a slug, it feels like it makes 205 Hp and struggles to get there..LMAO

Some of the H bodies had 2.50" Mandrel bent exhaust from the cat all the way back, some had 2.25 Mandrel bent from the cat back.. But for the H body it took a decent bit to outflow the stock exhaust.. This was a good bit different for the W body. Even my vans exhaust was better in stock form than the W body..lol

That's interesting, and reminds me of talks about how the L36 behaved after a port and polish. It was as if it was running exactly as it was designed to, instead of being doggy and lethargic as previously.

Makes me wonder what the power figures would have been like if the castings weren't so dodgy.

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~Randall~


1993 Buick Park Avenue - 197k - Some odds and ends done - Simply won't die
1994 Buick Regal - 78k - Bone stock - Always ready for a good kicking
1990 Oldsmobile 88 - Gone to a better place

About which manifold flows better. I think it all stems from different=better. Which I've never seen backed up to date.. The cable F-body definitely has the intercooler routing advantage though. I used it on my buddy's turbo Regal. The Aussie's forward facing (in fwd format), not as much.

Random facts:
The early L36 head castings didn't have the pocket in the top of the intake runner for the L67 injectors, the later L26 castings didn't either.

Agrazela (sp?) found out while CCing the combustion chambers of his L26 heads, that the CR can vary quite a bit from cylinder to cylinder.

The F-body LIM matches the heads much better than the L36/26.

_________________

95 SLE... a keeper. 241k miles. Low and Slow.
97 BMW 528i
98 Infiniti vq35'd i30: 13.3@104mph, 30MPG Hwy (RIP)
02 Jag X-type
03 BMW M5
05 Chevy Cobalt LS
07 Infiniti G35s 6MT (Sold)
07 Ducati Monster S2R 800 with DS1000 swap
83 Yamaha IT175K
72 Yamaha DS7: '74 RD250 swap, JL chambers

Info on dropping a 92-99: Here.