The SRT-8 Charger and 300C guys are nailing down high 12's left and right. Thats not to say that it is easy and personally I find its hard to pick out a stock SRT from one with a tune/intake/thermostat. (which many SRT guys have on the car within weeks of purchasing it).

Also, we don't know if that one 12.99 time was the best of 20 runs in forty degree weather with a midget drag racing champion at the wheel and 1 gallon of gas in the tank at 500 ft below sea level.

But check out this weird piece of info. HOTROD did a writeup recently on a Challenger SRT-8, where they added an intake, exhaust, custom diablo tune, and even DRAG RADIALS, and only managed to squeek out a corrected time of around 13.0

We can bench race all we want, but we will never truly know until we line'em up and run them. However if I had a gun to my head and had to guess, I would put my money on around 13.1-13.3 stock. And twelves possible with a tune and exhaust.

 

I think if this LS3 is truly identical to the Corvette version then we should see some pretty consistent high 12s once they hit the streets. At first glance you see the curb weight is slightly higher than an LS2 GTO with 22hp more so maybe the new Camaro SS 6 Speed will be a 12.7 second car with a good driver, but low 13s for most (just like the LS2 GTO). However, you must remember that LS3 Corvettes dyno in the 380-390rwhp range, not the 340-350rwhp range of the LS2. I think excellent drivers will pull off mid 12s since LS3 Corvettes are into the 11s stock.

 

 

you have to remember that the LS3 in the camaro will be 8-14 hp less, so it will probably fall in the 370-375 range. given the weight, im expecting about 1-1.5 mph faster than the GTO.

 

Just found this out - the Lexus ISF which weighs ~3820 pounds and has 416 HP, 371 torque, and has narrower rear tires (255) than the Camaro, ran 12.7 @ 113 mph in a MT test. Pretty close comparison as far as power/weight to the Camaro SS, and pretty close to what I guessed for the fastest stock times you might see out of the SS.

 

choosing to compare it to the ISF is a pretty poor comparison. That car doesn't even have ONE overdrive in it's first SIX gears. That car is geared just about PERFECTLY for the 1/4, and in an automatic to boot. The camaro, on the otherhand, will be kinda poorly. And it weighs 3780, which is nearing 100 lbs lighter than even a manual camaro. The transmission in the ISF is highly tauted.

 

The ISF comparison isn't a bad one. Power to weight is close as the Camaro SS is heavier but makes more power and torque. Yes the Lexus does have some numerically higher trans ratios but it's final drive is only a 2.937 to the A6 SS's 3.27 and the 6M 3.45. So the total ratios are not as far off as they appear from the trans only.
The LS3 and its higher low torque but higher rpm hp peak is probably better suited for the higher gear ratios that it has.
As long as the 5th Gen doesn't have the annoying trans/gear ratio that makes the driver shift to 4th ~100ft before the stripe like the 4th Gens did will be a definite improvement.

 

Your forgetting about tire size. And the 5th gen won't even touch 4th gear in the 1/4, that's pretty horrible for a manual. The ISF is at the mid-top of 4th when it crosses the traps IN AN AUTOMATIC. BIG BIG difference in gearing, especially when the auto is the one that is outgearing the manual. that's the whole advantage of even running a manual!

Gearing:
Car........1st..... 2nd.... 3rd..... 4th....
ISF........39...... 66...... 96...... 123
SS A6....39...... 66...... 102..... 136
SS M6....54...... 79...... 114..... 163

The SS A6 is close (the gearing in the GM A6 is pretty good, reason the G8 is quicker than what one would think) but in order to match the power to weight ratio of the ISF, it would need 30-35 more HP. That's a BIG chunk of change.

And TQ is overrated in these cars, both have more than enough to over power street tires. If they were both running slicks, it would be a real legit variable, but on street tires, its barely negligible.

As for the M6, that's pretty horrid gearing for a manual. ****, it would even be pretty damn bad if it were capable of 160 in 5th let alone 4th. 1st gear is closer to 2nd on both the A6 and the ISF! Even if the manual matched the gearing of the ISF, the ISF would still out accelerate it with the minimal lost time between shifts, trapping higher.

I see 109-111's in the M6's future, with the A6's 108-110's.

 

The gearing may be different, but as far as power to weight goes they are VERY close. MT stated the ISF came in at 3820, and the manual SS should come within 40 to 50 pounds of that. I'd say the comparison is pretty good for what's out there. Unless you know of any other cars with ~420 HP that weigh 3800 - 3900 pounds. Please enlighten us if you do.

 

I don't see what's so bad about the gear ratio's for the M6. It's right in line with what the C6 Z51 has. In fact better by a touch 3.01 first gear in the Camaro to 2.97 in the Vette.
C6 Z51 1st 2nd 3rd 4th
26.9 dia, 52 75 108 155

We have seen what the LS3 C6 can do at the strip.

In all of these cases and your Cobra there is a need to shift into 4th just before the stripe.
Unless the SS proves to be more stout on the stip the we expect. I agree with the 109-111mph traps for the M6 and 108-110's for the A6 it will be hitting the stripe right near redline in 3rd. The goal for drag racing is always to be at the top of the gear in the trap. Sure it would be nicer if that was 4th gear but these are street cars.
So only two shifts for the 1/4 mile for the Camaro and hit the traps right at the top of third. Almost seems like GM thought about this...

Torque is never overrated. Yes both cars and the Vette or your Cobra can blow the street tires right off but I think when we talk about 1/4 mile calculations we don't mean John Force peddle contests. We mean good launches and shifting. Torque is a very big factor in this comparison especially with the LS3's broad and flat torque band it's going to be our best friend when trying to get all 4000+ lbs of race weight moving.

 

Also, I believe the quickest stock pass in a LS2 C6 was 12.5 or 12.6 before it switched to the A6 tranny. Then we started seeing 12.2 - 12.3 with the only difference being the transmission swap.

 

that's the thing, i think the vette, for the most part, underperforms in the 1/4 compared to what it's really capable of.

 

The 03-04 cobra made ~420 hp and weighed 200 lbs. LESS and had a little better gearing (although MAYBE a wash because it's not into 4th too long) and they only trapped 110-112, on average. They've hit as high as 114 stock, but it's stupid to compare the cream of the crop runs, where the planets are aligned just right.

That's the closest I can come to a comparison to the M6 Camaro.

The SS A6, the closest I can think of is a G8. it traps 102-104's on average and weighs 100 lbs more while making 40 hp less. Add 5 mph to trap, there you go.

 

I think these arguements are pretty funny and people have become so jaded.

These cars are capable of exceeding every speed limit in the country, by the 1/8th mile...

 

Ya, but we want to do it in a 1/16th not an 1/8th.