so is there a difference between formula and the ws6? if so, what is it/are they

A Formula is an option ( Code W66) on a regular Firebird. It adds the Trans Am powertrain w/o the body work. WS6 is an option that was only availabe if you got a Formula or Trans Am optioned Firebird. It came out in 1978 and was a suspension option that had bigger swaybars,different shocks & springs. It did not include any engine improvments at first. This went away for the first 1/2 of 3rd gen production but reammerged around 87 (I think),again as a suspension package. In 1996 WS6 also included a bump in HP from 285 to 305 by adding a ram air hood. It also included the suspension upgrades as well. This continued till the end of production on the T/A but ended in the Formula's around 2000 or 2001. You can spot one by the air inlets on the front of the hood.

anytime you see a Formula or Trans am with Ram air, it's a ws6.

if the formula or Trans am has a regular hood, it's a non ws6 v8.

Not really
People add hoods to non WS6 cars all the time.
I have a Ram Air Hood and my car is not a WS6 nor would I claim it as one.
Besides my suspension and exhaust is way beyond the factory WS6 equipment.

This type of threads are cumbersome. There should be a writeup on this type of thing.

This question is asked quite a bit. I think that we should have a sticky up somewhere, explaining in detail all the different types of firebirds....could be a useful idea

I was talking factory...

^True. Don't forget about Hawks tho, they've got ram air too

yea i know i know....haha...tryin to keep this in simple terms for our friend here

....didnt wanna start throwing all the Trans Am/ Trans Am GT/ Formula Trans am/ Formula/ Formula WS6/ Trans Am WS6/ Blackbird/ Firehawk business at him...


almost everyone gets this stuff confused/forgets something/learns something new about these once in a while even if they do know all the differences and model years

Haha i know i was just giving ya a hard time