2016 Camaro... ew

[Jarlaxle]

Originally Posted By: horse123
Unless it spends more than 50% of its life on a track I fail to see why you would give up something as awesome as a convertible to go to tracks once or twice a month for fun.


Not everyone likes them. Personally, I wouldn't own anything without a solid roof.

 

[Jarlaxle]

Originally Posted By: OVERKILL
Originally Posted By: horse123
Because no one's ever taken a convertible to a track?


They are less rigid and subsequently a poorer choice for track duty. Also, when rolled, you are more likely to catch a serious case of the dead, which is another reason a solid roof is preferred.

There are guys that of course track convertibles and their variants. But when you have the choice on the same chassis, the hard top, for this type of usage, is the preferred model.


I would bet the most common amateur track car in the country is a roadster!

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: Jarlaxle
Originally Posted By: OVERKILL
Originally Posted By: horse123
Because no one's ever taken a convertible to a track?


They are less rigid and subsequently a poorer choice for track duty. Also, when rolled, you are more likely to catch a serious case of the dead, which is another reason a solid roof is preferred.

There are guys that of course track convertibles and their variants. But when you have the choice on the same chassis, the hard top, for this type of usage, is the preferred model.


I would bet the most common amateur track car in the country is a roadster!


You are probably correct on that.

 

[A_Harman]

Originally Posted By: horse123
Because no one's ever taken a convertible to a track?


The organizations I run with require a rollbar or rollcage in a convertible to run on a track. Then you have to vandalize your own car and put up with the presence of a cage interfering with your enjoyment of the sky. And if you buy a car in the first place that has the roof cut off, you have bought a car with greatly compromised torsional stiffness, which reduces the effective stiffness of the suspension. Manufacturers put extra bracing on the bodies of their convertibles to reduce body flex, which adds weight, but they never quite get back to the stiffness of the original body before the roof was cut off. So then you you have a more expensive, heavier, flexy car that will never handle as well as the closed car.

Convertibles are better for impressing the girls.
Coupes are better for fast motoring on a race track.
I guess it's all about what you want in a car.

 

[horse123]

If you're so serious about track, I would think a muscle car would be lower on the list of choices than say an Audi TT RS or something actually meant for the track. Granted the Camaro is by far the most track ready muscle car stock, and that's just going to keep improving for now.

 

[SteveSRT8]

Note that many modern convertibles DO NOT need reinforcements and have very little extra weight. The new Vette is but one example.

With the incredible chassis it is based on there is no doubt that the new Camaro will be a real performer. But it is far from the most track ready muscle car...

 

[A_Harman]

Originally Posted By: horse123
If you're so serious about track, I would think a muscle car would be lower on the list of choices than say an Audi TT RS or something actually meant for the track.


That's what a lot of people say about my plain, mousy brown Camaro.
Until I pass them.
Part of the fun of the Camaro is taking a car that I bought for $20k new, and go out and mix it up with cars that cost twice as much.

 

[Indydriver]

Originally Posted By: A_Harman
Convertible is not realistic for me, as I would occasionally take the car to a race track.
The 1LE guys aren't complaining.


And how can I cruise around town with my left arm resting on the windowsill with that high beltline? I tried that driving position when I sat in one, and my shoulder started hurting almost immediately.

Many people grow dramatically in their late teens.

Every Camaro up to the 5th-Gen had normal sized side windows, so I wouldn't say that gun-slit windows are part of the historical Camaro aesthetic.

It is now.

 

[Indydriver]

My convertible has more power and grip than can be exploited on the street. If I was a regular track day guy, I would get the 1LE-quite a bargain for a track-ready car.

But, you cannot underestimate the Permagrin that comes with a V8 convertible Camaro. Trust me on that.

As far as the top goes, I never put it up.

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: horse123
If you're so serious about track, I would think a muscle car would be lower on the list of choices than say an Audi TT RS or something actually meant for the track. Granted the Camaro is by far the most track ready muscle car stock, and that's just going to keep improving for now.


The BOSS 302 and GT500 are also track ready, as is the "Track pack" version of the Mustang GT, hence the name

The SRT versions of the Charger and Challenger are also track ready out the door.

These cars also have a much lower cost of entry than a similarly equipped "track ready" Euro sled like an AMG or M car.

 

[aquariuscsm]

I'd think a powerful muscle car would be the funnest thing you could drive on a track.

 

[SteveSRT8]

Originally Posted By: OVERKILL
Originally Posted By: horse123
If you're so serious about track, I would think a muscle car would be lower on the list of choices than say an Audi TT RS or something actually meant for the track. Granted the Camaro is by far the most track ready muscle car stock, and that's just going to keep improving for now.


The BOSS 302 and GT500 are also track ready, as is the "Track pack" version of the Mustang GT, hence the name

The SRT versions of the Charger and Challenger are also track ready out the door.

These cars also have a much lower cost of entry than a similarly equipped "track ready" Euro sled like an AMG or M car.


Indeed. And don't forget the lowly 300C SRT8 versions. Just as track ready as anything out there and routinely passing much more expensive cars at the track...

 

[DoubleWasp]

Originally Posted By: horse123
If you're so serious about track, I would think a muscle car would be lower on the list of choices than say an Audi TT RS or something actually meant for the track. Granted the Camaro is by far the most track ready muscle car stock, and that's just going to keep improving for now.


The BOSS 302 is more at home on the track than the TT-RS, and it likely is the best track prepped muscle car.

 

[SteveSRT8]

Originally Posted By: DoubleWasp
Originally Posted By: horse123
If you're so serious about track, I would think a muscle car would be lower on the list of choices than say an Audi TT RS or something actually meant for the track. Granted the Camaro is by far the most track ready muscle car stock, and that's just going to keep improving for now.


The BOSS 302 is more at home on the track than the TT-RS, and it likely is the best track prepped muscle car.


And just try and find one. Out of production and rare as hens teeth...

 

[dailydriver]

Originally Posted By: OVERKILL
Likewise, if I were (and I was, at one point) in the market for a 2003/2004 Terminator, the hard top would be the only thing I'd buy. I don't like the look of the ragtop. It doesn't work right (aesthetically) on some cars and that's ignoring the handling and weight penalty.


I actually forgot that they offered the Termis in a ragtop, since I almost never see one.

Yes, the hard top version of these cars was heavy enough as it is, without the added heft of the convertible hardware.

 

[dailydriver]

Originally Posted By: A_Harman
That's what a lot of people say about my plain, mousy brown Camaro.
Until I pass them.
Part of the fun of the Camaro is taking a car that I bought for $20k new, and go out and mix it up with cars that cost twice as much.


....sometimes even five or six times as much!

 

[panthermike]

Live on chevys site now:
http://www.chevrolet.com/2016-camaro/

 

[dailydriver]

Originally Posted By: panthermike
Live on chevys site now:
http://www.chevrolet.com/2016-camaro/


The interior appears to be a good deal upscale over previous versions.

I HOPE that they 'built' the Ecotec's (or is it a whole new architecture?) bottom end, so that it can handle stupid amounts of aftermarket, upgraded boost, because you KNOW that there will be those who will throw it at that four banger.

IF the base, NOT loaded up with options, V-6 car is light enough, that thing could be a rocket ship itself!

Does the SS's LT1 have the AFM/DOD on it, like the C7, even in the manual cars??

 

[dailydriver]

I read the info on the site, and yeah, the SS has the AFM/DOD on the LT1.

The cool thing is that they now use a Tremec 6 speed manual box in the non V-8 versions, instead of the Nippon nameplated Aisin units of the past.

I just HOPE that they do a larger displacement, NA, non-AFM/DOD, LT1 for the Z28 version, instead of just throwing a big Maggie/Eaton blower on it, a la the C7 Z06.

I was also hoping that this platform would be 450-500 lbs. lighter than the 5th gen, not just ~200, but every little bit helps.

 

[A_Harman]

Originally Posted By: dailydriver
I read the info on the site, and yeah, the SS has the AFM/DOD on the LT1.

The cool thing is that they now use a Tremec 6 speed manual box in the non V-8 versions, instead of the Nippon nameplated Aisin units of the past.

I just HOPE that they do a larger displacement, NA, non-AFM/DOD, LT1 for the Z28 version, instead of just throwing a big Maggie/Eaton blower on it, a la the C7 Z06.

I was also hoping that this platform would be 450-500 lbs. lighter than the 5th gen, not just ~200, but every little bit helps.

AFM is here to stay. If you want an engine without AFM in the future, you'll have to delete it yourself.

Yes, I would like to see a larger displacement N/A Z28 in the future, but I hope they don't make it a $75,000 car. That's so un-Camaro-like. Camaro's are all about affordable performance.