Fantasy? Huh. You have no idea how close you are to the Camaro team's target. Except add another 100 hp to that. Using the Zeta architecture however, was a disabler here.

Yeah, and what is wrong with this picture? Wouldn't you think that Z/28 would be more like the lightest one - sort of like what the Z06 is to rest of the Corvette line?

 

Engineering targets are often not based in reality. They should be aggressive. On occasion, you can actually meet them. I'm in favor of aggressive targets. But one should not *expect* that they will all be met. So the target was 500hp and 3500 pounds? I like that. Not surprised they didn't hit it (and I don't it's possible at the Camaro price point -- whether Zeta, Alpha, or Kappa). I'd be happy to be proved wrong though



Okay. Followup question. If they came out with a ZO5 that was a lightweight, and the Z/28 was the S/C heavyweight, would you be mildly annoyed and buy the ZO5, or would you be greatly annoyed and not buy it?

I can see the point about the heritage of the Z/28, which never had a big block back in the day, but is getting the modern equivalent.

 

I think that's all semantics. I have a very focused view of what the Z/28 should be. Myself and many others have expended great energy over the years, to revive, restore and protect the "Z/28 Brand". Z/28 is what pushes my personal buttons.


So with that preface, a 4100 pound Z/28 is a total abomination to me. It is simply an obscene presentation of the Z/28's essence. It is so far off the track of what my mind's eye sees as appropriate - I barely have words to describe it. GM isn't happy about that weight either, and needed to go with a SC'd engine to achieve it's power to weight goals - adding even more weight in the process. What a vicious circle.

Awhile ago, I was joking with my cousin about his '79, T/A 6.6 Trans Am. I said, wouldn't it be something if the 5th gen Z/28 made your big, honkin' 2nd gen look like a featherweight? Well, it's no longer a joke.

I'm sure they'll sell every one. But I wouldn't drop my $40K(+) on one.

 

Because that's the way it was for many years. You can't go off of the last 6 years of 4th gen production.

Back on topic.

As I've mentioned before, the problem of weight can be handled by the owner and the aftermarket. Unnecessary parts (like rear seats) can be removed, and lighter body pieces can be installed. It's unfortunate that the 5th gen is so heavy, but at least it can be somewhat fixed.

 

Everytime I read these threads I think of this and laugh

 

I would really like to see GM offer some lightweight kit for the car: Carbon fiber hood, CF body panels, maybe Carbon Brakes from the ZR-1. These would be really expensive but if you could piece it together over time you could make some pretty good cuts into the weight. It would probably never be worth it to most people though. Also the design of the car can't really be changed and that is where most of the weight is. It would probably cost 5-10K to shave a few hundred pounds off.

 

I'm not sure if it really even matters. It seems as if this car will be morbidly obese and that's that. I don't know who would want to spend $5-$10,000 to get it down to say...4000 pounds or so.

It is, what it is, and people will choose to buy or not buy it.

 

I'd be willing to bet you can shave about 200 lbs. off the weight of the car for FAR less than $5K.

 

Page 11 and still nothing new to add other than "it's a whale, I'm not going to buy one" or Z28 vs SS for the umptenth time. Can we have a new thread dedicated to complaining about weight so we can get back to the topic of powerplants and track times?

 

Okay.

The track times would be even better and the powerplants even more stunning if the car was lighter.

 

Hey, I think that you're doing a pretty good job of keeping this thread alive.

 

And also....

It would get better mpg, be CAFE positive, and be more fun to drive if it were 500 pounds lighter.

But, that car is alittle ways off......

 

Hypothetical question:
Sales have been great the past two years, up in the record 500,000 yearly units range
But, GM decides to move the car to Alpha, and the Z28 ends up weighing ~3600lbs and sporting a brand-new 450hp Twin-Turbo V6....
Would you take it? Just havin' a little fun

It would undoubtedly get better mpg...but would it really be more CAFE friendly?
How does this wheelbase-footprint thing effect mpg requirements? It's an honest question; supposedly smaller-wheelbase cars need to meet higher standards than their larger-wheelbase counterparts...I remember reading something about Porche being screwed becuase their teeny little cars would have to adhere to a ~40mpg standard. So would it make more sense to make a larger Camaro more effecient, instead of a smaller one?

 

And also it would be nice if we could get back to the poster about 5 pages ago that posted test mules have gone 12.7 and 11.9 with the LS3 and Supercharged 6.2, I would like some more info on that since this is the Powertrain Section.

 

Thanks. I understand your position much better now.