Looking at Toys. Thoughts on 6th Gen Camaros and alternatives

SWMBO tells me she missed my old 4th gen Camaro and my C5 Corvette. Ive got my GMT400 as my current daily and she has a Volt. Ive got some other junk im getting rid of, but those will be the actual drivers for us. Im a big proponent of having an extra car. The original plan was to get a GMT400 and a turbo miata, so I had a toy to tinker with that was kinda quick. We have since purchased a 66 Mustang, for the wife. Its a decent survivor that runs and drives but it still needs everything.

I sold my firebird, and NB miata, so I do not have a fun car. With all the work the mustang needs Id like to focus on that, and wont have time for a build, like the planned turbo miata, so I want something capable out of the box.

Im currently looking at a 6th gen Camaro. Id be a 16,17 or 18, SS, 6speed, 1LE, in red.

Id like to hear opinions and experience on these, about the only thing ive seen on here is the one with undiagnosable misfires, and the 1LE 4 and 6s, So Im curious what the hive thinks of them.

I am open to alternatives.

It would have to be relatively new, probably under 40K, RWD is a must, manual trans is a must, and pretty fast stock, since I dont really plan to modify. If I do the LT1 camaro it will probably get a rotofab intake and an E85 tune. No mustangs, not a huge fan of the Mopars but if I find a manual car Ill probably drive it just to be sure.

Is it something that you would want to take to track days?  If yes, then definitely get the 1LE, otherwise, the LT1 would be just fine for street work.  They even come with the Brembos up front

I’ve used my ‘16 1LT V6 at a few track days, complete with the stock pads, rotors, and fluid, and on 500tw tires.  I’m torn between moving more toward a trackable car, or just getting a 1LE or CT4-V.

A lot of people will no doubt complain about the sight lines of the 6th gen, but honestly, it’s not a problem if you know how to properly set your seating position

In reply to racerfink :

I don't plan on doing a ton of track days, but if I get a capable car, a fewa autoxs and HPDE will be in the works.

Even as a street only car id still want the 1le package

Make sure you can fit with a helmet. 

In reply to Appleseed :

I'd be surprised if I didn't. I fit in an ND with a helmet...just barely, but I did

A quick Google shows about an inch more headroom and a little more legroom than an ND, which is good but surprisingly close. Couldn't find other specs like shoulder room and hip room listed for both of them.

It has twice the trunk space which is nice.

I’m 6’2” and have no problems with helmet clearance at all.

My neighbour has an SS . . . in a neighbourhood with some fun cars, it is by far the best sounding.

In reply to ZOO (Forum Supporter) :

I do think they sound excellent with just the NPP exhaust. Its one of the things thats driving me towards it. Fast and fun car that sounds good right off the showroom floor, so I dont have to modify it to enjoy it.

We had a 6th Gen ZL1 for a little over two years.  It was my wife's DD, and we tracked it a number of times.

First, the basic package is a fantastic car.  With an SS 1LE, you get the same suspension and brakes as the ZL1, and both are really good.  Not sure about the interior features of the SS 1LE v. ZL1, but if you get the Recaros, they're excellent and comfortable.  Fantastic GT car, and the visibility complaints are overblown, IMHO.  No worse than a Mustang in normal use, and the Camaro has a better backup camera.

For track work, I think the SS 1LE would actually be more fun than the ZL1.  The ZL1 was brutally fast, but definitely a little 'bull in a china shop' on most tracks.  The lighter front end of the SS would probably help.  Consumables, especially tires/wheels are expen$$$ive.  As fast as it was, we both enjoyed driving our NA Miata track car more.

On the street, you really couldn't use the power of the ZL1 anywhere, without risking your license.  The SS would be better in that regard, but it's still a very fast car.

We sold the ZL1 to buy a more practical DD for my wife, and to concentrate our track efforts on our NA.  We still have an NB Miata for the street for fun driving.  It was great to own a special car like the ZL1 for a while, but not really practical for us.  An SS 1LE would have been a better all 'round car for sure.

If a newer muscle car scratches an itch, I can't think of any good reason to dissuade you.  Being a long-time Mopar guy, I still long for a Challenger SRT-8, but would have fun with a Camaro or Mustang as well.  In my perfect little dream world, I'd have one of each.

My mother has an '18 SS non1le 'vert and man is it a fun car. Heck, I borrowed it this last weekend to drive down to portland and it's even a solid roadtrip car. 

Don't discount the V6. Its still a stout performer for the money and the brembos can be had as an option outside of the 1LE. RoadKill had a V6 auto rental car doing low 14's and the "small" brakes stood up to a few laps at Laguna Seca. LSD is standard on all manual cars and a 3.27 gear comes with all 4cyl and V6 cars.

Then again a 6-speed Challenger looks fabulous going down the road.....

Appleseed said:

Make sure you can fit with a helmet. 

On a related note, I remember reading recently that you can't fit your head through the window with a helmet on, meaning emergency egress could be quite the issue.  Can anyone confirm?

In reply to ProDarwin :

I’ve got a 34” waist, and I can fit through the window.  I doubt my helmet is bigger than 34” around.

racerfink said:

In reply to ProDarwin :

I’ve got a 34” waist, and I can fit through the window.  I doubt my helmet is bigger than 34” around.

Yes but unless you have a very oddly shaped body your body is a similar aspect ratio to the window opening and at least somewhat flexible/compressible. Neither of these things are true of a helmet. It's a known issue.

I was super bored so I did some measuring. Also a 34ish waist, standing against a wall I'm about 9.5" front to back as best I can tell. Helmet is hard to measure but it seems like the narrow side is at least 11" wide, probably closer to 12. The first thread that came up on google said the window opening is 10.5-11" depending on year. So...person yes, helmet no.

In reply to racerfink :

Your helmet will not fit through the window unless you rock a small...or smaller helmet.  Not even sideways. Only reason I don't have one.

Ugh, having to take your helmet off inside a burning car.

Our helmets would not fit through the windows of our ZL1... L and XL full face.

Definitely a problem, but less concerning in a casual HPDE car.  Serious problem in a W2W car.

In reply to Gearheadotaku (Forum Supporter) :

No thanks. Im not a fan of the 3.6 when the 6.2 is available in the same chassis. As a track only car I think itd be great, for s fun street car that will see a little track time, Id much rather have excess power than just enough power

Found a nice Hyper Blue 1LE with only 8K. Cant drive it though, this weekend SWMBO and I are going to a dealer that has quite a few 6th gen 1les to drive them and make sure we are both happy with it. She seems on board right now though.

Opti said:

Found a nice Hyper Blue 1LE with only 8K. Cant drive it though, this weekend SWMBO and I are going to a dealer that has quite a few 6th gen 1les to drive them and make sure we are both happy with it. She seems on board right now though.

I test drove one a few years ago, I can't imagine you'll be disappointed. 

The salesman wasn't happy with me walking the car a little sideways up the off-camber on-ramp. 

Finally was able to go look at a few today. Saw a white, hyper blue and a few red ones. Initially I wanted a red one but dang that Hyper Blue is pretty.

A couple dealers gave me a hard time about driving one, I would have to essentially get approved and agree to pricing and payments prior to driving one. I told them I needed to drive a 1LE and a 2ss then decide which one we wanted and they only had the 1LE so I wasn't interested in spending 2 hours having them run my credit haggle with me only to drive a car that I wasn't ready to buy.

I finally found a hyper blue at a dodge dealer and they didn't care beyond me having a valid driver's license.

Initial impressions are the recaros are too tight in the hips for SWMBO, which is weird because I'm fat and they feel fine and she's thin and doesn't like them. I figure my ass mass is too much for the bolsters to overcome so they just submit and fold and it's essentially a flat bottom seat and she's light enough to not compress them. The 1LE has all the gadgets I'd really want. Wireless charging, cooled seats and dual zone climate on a 2SS would be nice but I'm happy with the 1LE.

Mag ride is awesome. Tour was soft and cushy (maybe too much side to side wobbling but nice on a long highway slog) and track was well damped. Car corners very flat which was super obvious coming from an ND which has body roll for days.

Adjustable steering actually made a noticeable difference. I'd probably drive around in Tour since track felt artificially heavy.

Shifter felt great which is good because apparently a shifter change is a huge deal on a 6th gen.

NPP exhaust is perfect. It was quite loud and sounded great in track and surprisingly quiet in stealth.

Brakes are excellent.

The car is quick but weirdly. I know it's faster than my old camaro and vette, but there is so little drama, that it seems almost slow. I made a pull from about 10 in 1st and once I hit third I was thinking this car is slow, I look down and I'm boogeying pretty good as I begin to slow down I look at my wife and sales lady and they are both wide eyed. I say babe this thing is slow and she says no it's not it's faster than the vette.

It's just so dang capable and has such good traction that there is very little drama. Im used to having to pedal a little in first and slipping the clutch a little going to second to keep from blowing the tires off but this thing just stick and went, and it stealth mode it didn't even make much noise.

I'm smitten.

We found a 2ss and she said she likes the seats more. Well see. I doubt I'll be able to find a m6 2ss in the right color with the mag ride and NPP, but I'd be happy with one if we did

2SS with mag ride and NPP is probably the most common variety. Autos are more common than manuals, but manuals are not uncommon.

They do hook up. I always thought "drag" and "handling" rear suspensions were a little mutually exclusive, but nope.

One thing I don't like about the NPP is there's not a good way to start up the car in quiet mode. There's an option that reduces it some, but it's still loud to start.

The modes do make a difference. I found the engine lazy to rev match on downshift without track mode.

Snrub said:

One thing I don't like about the NPP is there's not a good way to start up the car in quiet mode. There's an option that reduces it some, but it's still loud to start.

This MAY not be 100% the exhaust's fault.  A lot of vehicles will have heavily retarded ignition timing on startup to get the converter lit off (combination of higher EGT and necessarily higher throttle opening), this will make the exhaust noticably louder.  Sometimes remarkably louder.  You can start the car and hear the difference in exhaust note after 5-15 seconds.