Thinking of buying another Roadmaster

**1995 Roadmaster** · 11-29-2010, 02:35 PM

Hi all, I just joined on here to ask some questions about the '95-'96 Roadmaster. I used to own a '95, and it ran great, but I was stupid, and sold it to buy my 'mid-life crisis' car, an '05 Mustang. I finally got smart, and sold it, but got an '87 Olds G-body to replace it. I love that car, but my wife currently drives an '02 Blazer, and that thing is a PIG on gas! I would come out money ahead to sell the Blazer, and buy a decent Roadmaster. I would like to get a wagon this time, as my car was a 4-door.

After reading the reviews, a lot of people say they can get in the mid 20's for mpg numbers. I was never able to get above 20 with mine, and I don't know why, either.

The questions I have, are, is there a big difference between the '95 (OBDI), and '96 (OBDII)? Can you purchase any tuners that will work with the '96 OBDII, and improve mpg's, and/or power? I have a scan tool, but because I actually own 2 G-bodies, bought an AutoXRay 6000, that does both OBDI, and OBDII vehicles. I know on some of the early OBDII models, no tuners were available.

Second, I was wondering what different rear end ratios were available for the Roadmaster in those years? I have a 20' pontoon boat, and would like to use the car to pull it, but at the same time, have something low enough (numerically), to be easy on gas. I know my Blazer can't pull the boat, and gets the same mpg as my V-10 Ford van I normally use to pull it (8 mpg). At least with my van, I can go as fast as I want, and go down the road in overdrive! I was hoping that if I got a Roadmaster, it could not only pull my boat, but do it getting a little better mpg's than my van. I'm not really concerned about pulling my boat, as I have my van for that, but I'm curious about it, none the less.

I'm basically doing all this, just to save on gas. This Roadmaster will be my wife's daily driver, and our 'road' car, for trips. Plus, the Blazer rides horribly, and because it's the 2-door, doesn't have a lot of room inside. Since we normally take the Blazer shopping, sometimes space is at a premium.

Any feedback would be appreciated.

Thanks,
John

**1995 Roadmaster** · 11-30-2010, 04:27 AM

What, there's NO ONE on this forum that knows anything about these cars? I thought this was a Buick forum? But, maybe I'm wrong. Thanks for all the help!

**Straight Eight** · 11-30-2010, 08:08 AM

Suggest you try this site. These guys have the talent to a answer your questions. http://rivperformance.editboard.com/portal.htm

**SammaS** · 11-30-2010, 09:38 PM

Patience man, geez. Don't tow a huge pontoon boat with a Roadmaster, that is just way too much. Not that you couldn't, but it's just an overall bad idea. Plus it would look ridiculous.

Now on to the Roadmaster. They are sweet rides, always have been one of my favorites. Definitely get an OBDII version. Pre-96 they have the TBI 350, OBDII gets you the LT1 (8th character of vin will be "P"). These are the ones that can net 20 mpg's, if you drive it nice and mostly on the highway, which is hard to do. They have an excellent aftermarket due to the engine's use in F-bodies and Vettes as well as the other big bodied GM's (Caprice, Impala SS, Fleetwood). You can tune the computer so it thinks it's a Camaro or Vette no problem. As far as the axle, they come with the 7 5/8" R&P, you can put any gears in there you like, again lots of aftermarket. From the factory you can get from a 2.73 to 3.42, RPO codes go from GU2 to GU6 respectively.

I would take one of these over one of those piles of S/T Blazer's any day.

**OOPSETTER1** · 12-01-2010, 10:56 AM

I've got a '96 Roadmaster sedan. I can't help you much with the technical questions, but it is OBDII, with the LT1, and 2.56 gears. I drove it from NC to GA a couple of months ago (went to look at a Boattail Riviera), and it averaged just a bit over 28 MPG with the cruise set on 65. Buickforums.com has a section dedicated to this era of Roadmasters, with a wealth of technical information. Those guys are very familiar with all the mods to tweak the performance out of them, especially those with the LT1 engine. The '94 - '96 Roadmasters were equipped with the LT1. Mine is bone stock, I'm very happy with the performance and MPG with it as it came from the factory.