Holden 3.8 vs holden 3.6

skippy33, Jan 7, 7:05pm
hi all going car shopping today fr the wife,wanting to get her a commodore,around 2003-2005 model,some have the old 3.8,others have the 3.6,have been told the 3.6 is better on fuel and more power,what do you guys think,and please no holden haters.

skippy33, Jan 7, 7:29pm
looked at that one yesterday

michelle322, Jan 7, 7:55pm
go for the 3.8 .workmate had a VT 3.8 then got a latter 3.6 ,said similar economy/power but recommended 3.8 was better,computer problems and timing chain stretch are a known problems with the 3.6.We have a.3.8 VX wagon [recommended.]

skippy33, Jan 7, 8:01pm
cheers,what is fuel ussage like,she has a 95 honda odyyesy at the mo,is not the cheapest thing to run,used mainly around town with the odd longish run.

andy61, Jan 7, 8:11pm
Commodores use plenty of fuel around town,but can be very economical on long open road running.

thunderbolt, Jan 7, 8:11pm
VY had the 3.8, VZ onwards ( Aug 2004 on) had the 3.6. Both examples you are looking at here are 3.6.
3.6 Alloytech had a bit more power but less torque, so was not as good for towing some found.
Unless you are fixed on having the badge and will put up with having an average car, there are better options out there to choose from.

michelle322, Jan 7, 8:13pm
usually 11 ltrs per 100 km,but i dont drive like a nana, little less outer town,missus Mazda Demio 1300cc only gets 9 ltrs around town and she nana drives it.

magicmat, Jan 7, 8:19pm
Quite true - and I can honestly compare the experience of driving my Commie on the open road to Mercedes I used to have - just that the Commie has way more power on tap and has a few less (not missed) features.

Around town, gas consumption is a shocker to be honest - but you dont buy a big car and expect great fuel economy.

bubbles244, Jan 7, 9:05pm
that's BS.

ours uses around 10.itres per 100km's around town and have had it down to 7.8 litres per hundred on the open road.

why do people get the perception because they're a big car withrelatively large engines that they guzzle gas,

our old 2.0 litre primera couldn't even get that sort gas consumption.

gmphil, Jan 7, 9:32pm
Howd that motor table turn out!.
Trick with commy is dont be a nana . When light goes green stab it get it up too speed then it just coast from there .mine get serviced bearin ,brakes keep tyres inflated properly

olsod2, Jan 8, 12:01am
what size motor you got bubbles our vys 3.8 does 14lt /100ks around town 11lt/100ks long trip.we get the same out of our ss.would love to get 7.8 from a 3.8 holden.thats better than most small jappos get

a.woodrow, Jan 8, 12:21am
My chipped vt calais averaged 7lt/100km on a trip from invercargill to chch and back, using cruise control set to 110 and foot flat passing anything slower

brokebloke1, Jan 8, 2:32am
our VE SS gets 8-9 lt/100kms on the open roadits bad around town thats why we use my partners XR6

NZTools, Jan 8, 3:26am
If you are only getting 11 on the open road, there is something wrong with it.

mar-mite, Jan 8, 3:58am
+1
Had an oxy sensor go on my VR Berlina and consumption skyrocketed to 18L / 100km, fixed it and went back down to 10 in city driving.

msigg, Jan 8, 4:32am
Yes they will use a little more but it all depends on how you drive it. It should be similar to the honda oddesy, the honda will be the same weight if not heavier so would use a bit around town.

cowboy110, Jan 8, 7:28am
My VZ SV8 does about 12 around town and did 9.5 on a trip to TePuke and back over Christmas.From memory my 3.6 Commodore did about 1 litre per 100 ks less.(11 around town and 8.5 on a trip)

dave653, Jan 8, 7:44am
Just did a 580km trip, 105km/h. 8.1l/100k, 100km/h. 7.6l/100k. VN 3.8 auto, Calais, me & her and two young teen daughters (and all our shit for a 4 day hoiiday). My headers, M and H muffler, HSV chip, everything else factory. Averaged 29.9mpg. Also, she (the missus) was using $60/week, after I played with it, now down to $35/week.

rcnuts, Jan 8, 2:41pm
mate go for the 3.8! more power from experience! and the vz+ commys have issues like timing chain leaks, and the cars usually made from weaker materials. but if you drive like a normal person, the 3.6 will be fine