I have a 1998 Bonneville (non-supercharged) and my son has a 2000 Buick Park Ave (also non-supercharged). They both have the 3800 Series II motor, yet the Buick is 'much' faster in acceleration and appears to have a lower final drive ratio based off the tach on the highway. Do all 3800 Series II engines have the same camshaft? Is there a difference in fuel management? What gives?

Thanks,
Al

Same motor thru and thru. SUspension setups make them seem faster as well

I know in 2000, the SSEi had a 2.93 final drive ratio while the Park Avenue was 3.05 or something close to that. That alone will make a noticable difference.

How about intake/exhaust?

Intake and exhaust should be nearly identical, but you also have to remember there'* a weight difference between the Bonneville and PA, with the Bonneville coming in lighter. Not sure on the number, but I'd guess 400-500 pounds, so this really should be totally dependent on that gear ratio.

i thought everything was pretty much identical

Technically, it'* still an H body, but it'* been redesigned. The 2000+ Bonnevilles weigh more than the 92-99. That'* what I'm basing the weight difference on.

The Series 2 motors are identical, and the trans is too, but the final drive ratio will differ among the GM counterparts and models. Exhaust will vary slightly, as well.

Have you tested the acceleration time/rate, or does it just "feel" faster? If you have times, I'd be interested to know how much difference there is!

Unofficial 0-60 times:

Buick: 10.2 seconds
Pontiac: 10.5 seconds

After looking up the weights and figuring out how much junk there is in the back of the Buick, there is approx a 700 lb difference (Pontiac is lighter). My past experience was taht gearing had a minimal effect on accelleration times...this seems quite substantial!

10 seconds???

Another factor could be PCM programming. The cars could indeed have different fuel tables as well as specific TQ Mgmt codes.