JakeRobb

That's been true since 1998.

What makes you think that a 3900lb Camaro can keep up with a similarly-powered 3100lb Corvette?

Sounds to me like we're losing it between 60 and 108mph.

nexus6

im thinking the impromto highway meet up ,the manual should have the advantage

8Banger

Actually I would say from 0 to 60.

m1tankr

That's the joy of the newer ECM's and torque management. They drop the timing during shifting (and slowly add it back in) to reduce the torque and save abuse on the tranny's. That was a lesson learned on the newer GTO's. Get rid of, or limit that and you suddenly get a car that runs much faster thru the 1/4 and is a whole lot more fun.

christianjax

Seems like the GTO's had the same problem. Impressive 0-60, then a high 1/4mile ET.
Comparing to the SRT8 Charger which REALLY runs 4.8ish 0-60 and nearly 13 flat 1/4mile times. (of course the Hemi head makes a lot of steam in the higher RPMS.)
So It looks like it will be a driver's race between a SS 6A and a SRT8. With the SRT8 Charging down the Camaro and possibly walking by it. Probably goes for the Challenger too.

Gripenfelter

The aerodynamics of the auto are inferior.

skorpion317

The Z06's problem is a lack of traction. Throw some drag radials on there, and the official 1/4 time of 11.7 seconds drops into the 10s.

I wouldn't be surprised if a 500+ HP Camaro SS goes into the 11s, especially if some weight reduction is done.

blue 79 Z/28

another interesting tidbit is the tire size, i dont know if anyone looked into it but a 275/40/20 is 28.66" diameter. for the optional tire, and the std 19 is the same. thats alot of diameter, 3" over the 4th gen. if you look at the gearing, its like running 3.05's in the rear if it was an LS1 car. just need to find a drag rim that can fit over the 14.4" brembos, and put some 4.10's in it.

heres the 6 speed with the 3.45 rear gear.

Engine Speed (RPM) Speed (MPH)
8000 RPM 346.86 MPH
7500 RPM 325.18 MPH
7000 RPM 303.51 MPH
6500 RPM 281.83 MPH
6000 RPM 260.15 MPH
5500 RPM 238.47 MPH
5000 RPM 216.79 MPH
4500 RPM 195.11 MPH
4000 RPM 173.43 MPH
3500 RPM 151.75 MPH
3000 RPM 130.07 MPH
2500 RPM 108.39 MPH
2000 RPM 86.72 MPH
1500 RPM 65.04 MPH
1000 RPM 43.36 MPH

JakeRobb

I wonder... the official competitor list mentions the 350Z, but word is already out that the 370Z (lighter, more power) will be out in Fall 2009.

I'm confident that the SS will perform well relative to a 350Z, but I worry that getting leapfrogged by the 350Z's successor a mere 6-8 months after the release will make GM seem short-sighted.

Maybe they're already working on something to address the 370Z... I hope.

jg95z28

Not really when you consider they optimized the shift points on the automatic and a computer can shift quicker and smoother than any human can. The weight difference is only 53 lbs, which while that sounds like a lot is only about 1% of the total weight.

JakeRobb

Do you have a reason to think that the 5th gen won't have the same problem?

Or did you just mean that all you'd need is longtube headers, a mild cam swap, and drag radials?

You're forgetting that the gear ratios in the transmission have changed too.

The rear end gear ratio has improved (from an acceleration standpoint), but by less than 1%, so I'm going to ignore that.

Tire size has increased by 11%.

The gear ratios in first through third of the TR6060 have increased relative to the F-body T56 by 13, 16, and 12%, respectively. 4th gear has the same 1:1 ratio in both (a requirement of the T56's basic design, which is carried over in the TR6060), but then it's back to the same old story in 5th and 6th (13 and 14% increases again).

This gives the 5th gen a slight overall gearing advantage relative to the 4th gen, except in 4th gear. In 4th gear, there's a fairy significant disadvantage, since the only thing compensating for the increased tire size in that gear is the tiny improvement in the axle ratio. This is going to result in a larger RPM drop on the 5th gen's 3-4 shift.

I suspect that this explains the disparity between the faster-than-4th-gen 0-60 times and the same-as-4th-gen quarter mile trap speeds. Due to the gearing advantage in 3rd and below, the 3-4 shift comes earlier, and due to the disadvantage in 4th, the 5th gen doesn't pick up as much speed at the big end of the track as one would expect based on the horsepower numbers.

Also, I suspect that an LS1 4th gen has a noteworthy aerodynamic advantage over the 5th gen, and at 100+ mph, that's certainly going to come into play as well.

All that aside, I agree that a set of 4.10 gears would make it a good bit quicker, and none of this has even the slightest effect on my desire to own an LS3-powered 5th gen.

Shellhead

I think Nissan is hoping to pull even with Camaro for their new 370z. If my memory serves the 350z is slower than the new SS by about 1.5 - 2 seconds 0-60.

OrbitalChris

i dont understand how the g8 gxp could be faster when it has less hp and weighs the same if not alittle more... there claiming 4.6 0-60 and 13flat 1/4?

skorpion317

The 5th gen Camaro, being a heavier vehicle, should have less traction problems than the 3100 lb. Z06.

blue 79 Z/28

250lbs heavier then the SS, but scott said those numbers posted for the camaro are NOT correct, so we still have to see....