2010 SS- Driving impressions and tons of under-carriage shots
03-25-2009, 01:45 PM
#1
2010 SS- Driving impressions and tons of under-carriage shots Today I had the pleasure of getting behind the wheel of one of GM's test mule Camaro SS' at work. This was at GM ASEP @ Seminole Community College in N. Orlando. We put it up on a lift and gave the structure, layout, components, and clearances a thorough inspection. This car rocks!
At a mere 10-12% price increase over the last SS produced 7 years ago, the caliber of the engineering, the quality of the components, the tolerances of the fit and finish, make this car a bargain in comparison.
I had a 2001 SS on the lift adjacent to this one, so side-to-side comparisons were inevitable. Comparing the two is nonsensical. While the 4th gen machines are perfect for what they were intended to do... haul *** first, ask questions later, the 5th gen is more lke a BMW 3 series with an LS powertrain swap then an evolution of the last of the F-bodies.
So enough with the jaw jacking, here's the pics!
First thing I noticed.. how the window drops a quarter inch when you open the door, and lifts back up when you close it to improve the wind seal.
The door is thin, and feels about half the weight of the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th gen doors. It reminds me of closing the door on my 67(which is a good thing)
Switchblade key-fob. a-la Mercedes (and G8)
The muscular quarters of the concept are intact. Daddy like.
It's fairly roomy inside. It's not as airy (is that a word) as my 67, but gives a different kind of feel than the uncountable 4th gens I've owned. The seating position is more upright, and the short window is higher than my shoulder, so I can't hang my arm of the window white trash style like I'm accustomed to. I am 6'1/215lbs and do not feel the slightest bit cramped.
Driving, it's like driving a BMW. Super tight, responsive steering, perfect pedal height, and a clutch that is as light as my sister's Civic.
First thing underneath, is the exhaust clearance. GM made up for two decades of performance exhaust fouls with this car. Here's some shote of both the clearance for headers (lots), clearance for exhaust (cavernous) and clearance for mufflers (factory suitcases)
The mufflers are a joke, they are about 1.75 inch at the tip.
Header room- you could drive a truck through there
Serious trans crossmember
At a mere 10-12% price increase over the last SS produced 7 years ago, the caliber of the engineering, the quality of the components, the tolerances of the fit and finish, make this car a bargain in comparison.
I had a 2001 SS on the lift adjacent to this one, so side-to-side comparisons were inevitable. Comparing the two is nonsensical. While the 4th gen machines are perfect for what they were intended to do... haul *** first, ask questions later, the 5th gen is more lke a BMW 3 series with an LS powertrain swap then an evolution of the last of the F-bodies.
So enough with the jaw jacking, here's the pics!
First thing I noticed.. how the window drops a quarter inch when you open the door, and lifts back up when you close it to improve the wind seal.
The door is thin, and feels about half the weight of the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th gen doors. It reminds me of closing the door on my 67(which is a good thing)
Switchblade key-fob. a-la Mercedes (and G8)
The muscular quarters of the concept are intact. Daddy like.
It's fairly roomy inside. It's not as airy (is that a word) as my 67, but gives a different kind of feel than the uncountable 4th gens I've owned. The seating position is more upright, and the short window is higher than my shoulder, so I can't hang my arm of the window white trash style like I'm accustomed to. I am 6'1/215lbs and do not feel the slightest bit cramped.
Driving, it's like driving a BMW. Super tight, responsive steering, perfect pedal height, and a clutch that is as light as my sister's Civic.
First thing underneath, is the exhaust clearance. GM made up for two decades of performance exhaust fouls with this car. Here's some shote of both the clearance for headers (lots), clearance for exhaust (cavernous) and clearance for mufflers (factory suitcases)
The mufflers are a joke, they are about 1.75 inch at the tip.Header room- you could drive a truck through there
Serious trans crossmember
Last edited by Whistler; 03-25-2009 at 04:41 PM.
03-25-2009, 01:46 PM
#2
Here's some shots of the rear suspension
This rubber coupler looks like it would rip, but they hold up fine on the Corvettes and BMWs
Here's some rear wheelwell shots. There's room for about 1.25-1.5" more tire in the back on the inside. There is a plastic wheel liner that could be removed that would give more clearance everywhere but the top. It would appear to be about as easy to minitub as a C5-C6 (easy)
Here's a few shots of the frame rails. These are sturdy but will be full of floorjack dents in no time.
This rubber coupler looks like it would rip, but they hold up fine on the Corvettes and BMWs
Here's some rear wheelwell shots. There's room for about 1.25-1.5" more tire in the back on the inside. There is a plastic wheel liner that could be removed that would give more clearance everywhere but the top. It would appear to be about as easy to minitub as a C5-C6 (easy)
Here's a few shots of the frame rails. These are sturdy but will be full of floorjack dents in no time.
Last edited by Whistler; 03-25-2009 at 01:57 PM.
03-25-2009, 01:46 PM
#3
Front suspension- Odd with two lower control arms and a strut. The front wheelwells are huge, but the tire will hit the strut if you try and add more than another inch or so of wheel.
Transmission cooler for the 6 speed manual
Lots of room for bigger oil pans, downpipes..etc. This thing is a custom car builders dream.
Lots of room for a front mount for the FI boys
Transmission cooler for the 6 speed manual
Lots of room for bigger oil pans, downpipes..etc. This thing is a custom car builders dream.
Lots of room for a front mount for the FI boys
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03-25-2009, 02:34 PM
#13
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Did i see this right; it looks like the exhaust has 4 cats, 2 resoinators (bullet mufflers?) in the "H", 2 big mufflers at the rear end w/ resionators in the tail pipes? 
In any event; i would yank that crap out faster then my pee pee while watching Britney Skye take it in the face.
In any event; i would yank that crap out faster then my pee pee while watching Britney Skye take it in the face.
03-25-2009, 04:45 PM
#20
Not bad. Definately came a long way. Still not a huge fan of the suspension setup. Sure does look like they followed on what BMW was doing 15+ years ago. Pretty funny, but it's a start!
LS3, with heads/cam and Kooks 1 7/8" with duals and magnaflow bullet mufflers. 5XXrwhp with near stock driveability anyone?!?!
LS3, with heads/cam and Kooks 1 7/8" with duals and magnaflow bullet mufflers. 5XXrwhp with near stock driveability anyone?!?!
