Gen 5 Camaro External Bolt-On Tech - Got My 2012 1SS/RS

Just picked her up today and love it!!! will post pics soon!

Sweet! I really enjoy mine :D

Congrats, I remember the day I got mine. I drove it for hours until the early morning of the next day.

Sweet! I really enjoy mine :D

Congrats, I remember the day I got mine. I drove it for hours until the early morning of the next day.

Thanks guys i love it!! still trying to get used to it though, theres so many interior buttons compared to my 4th gen lol, does anyone else notice on the Imperial blue metallic that when the light hits it, that the nose of the car sometimes seems a shade of blue lighther compared to the rest? Or is it just me lol

GM actually put a bulletin out on that subject. It is just the way the light hits her curves...dont sweat it...

GM actually put a bulletin out on that subject. It is just the way the light hits her curves...dont sweat it...

Awesome cause i love this thing lol!! Need to get rid of the fishbowl first!

youre killing me! i almost bought a 5th gen yesterday. have fun.

All I can say is hold the traction control down for 8 seconds and enjoy the ride :)

Thanks guys i love it!! still trying to get used to it though, theres so many interior buttons compared to my 4th gen lol, does anyone else notice on the Imperial blue metallic that when the light hits it, that the nose of the car sometimes seems a shade of blue lighther compared to the rest? Or is it just me lol

Yes, the paint on the front does not quite match up to the rest of the car in certain light and angles. It's plastic and painted by the supplier, not the factory like the rest of the metal car. You might want to consider clear bra for the front and gill areas as soon as possible, they chip easy. At least on the first years run, maybe it is better paint on the new ones.

All I can say is hold the traction control down for 8 seconds and enjoy the ride :)

Yes, the paint on the front does not quite match up to the rest of the car in certain light and angles. It's plastic and painted by the supplier, not the factory like the rest of the metal car. You might want to consider clear bra for the front and gill areas as soon as possible, they chip easy. At least on the first years run, maybe it is better paint on the new ones.

i thought that button had to be on or off? lol how do u do that?


Now it makes more sense so thats wut im seeing then, if u can find that article that would be great, its not too big of a deal, was just wondering why as long as i dont have anything to worry about

:pics:










sorry. had to do it.

:pics:










sorry. had to do it.

working on it lol

so i have about 80 miles on her, wuts the break in period on this thing? when can i WOT? or should i not worry, i notice my gas mileage isnt so great, about 19mpg, looking to get a Halltech soon

Everyone will suggest a different break-in method. Some say drive it like grandma, and some say drive it hard asap. I'm not going to offer my opinion on either one, but instead just tell you what I did.

If your car is an LS3/M6: Do not downshift through the gears to slow down or come to a stop, use your brakes.

I had about a 150 mile trip home from the dealership, mostly highway with speed limits ranging from 60-70 mph. Upon leaving the dealership, I tried to vary the rpms and gears as much as possible within reason, without going over 4000 rpm. I would speed up and slow down, switching between gears 3-6, speeds of 50-80 mph. I continued to vary RPM, gears and speed up to 500 miles.

Continuing on, from 500-2000 miles, I continued with this method, but involved some WOT runs in the lower gears, still without going over 4000 rpms. This is when the car really started loosening up and I started noticing slight power gain, slightly more aggressive exhaust note, and smoother shifting.

Oh and congrats!

Push it once to turn traction control off twice for competitive mode and hold it down to turn it all off

id have your oil changed at about 500 miles then start to work it.

Change your oil to conventional and drive it 500 miles or so. Change the oil back to synthetic and drive it like you always would.

Their is a plethora of information available showing that synthetic oil does not allow for optimal ring seating as compared to conventional. You can also miss your optimal window of ring seating if you baby the car for too long.

I personally was somewhat nice to the car for about 500 miles and ran the conventional oil. Then I switched out to the synthetic and just drove it as I normally would...which is rather hard most of the time lol.

The 19mpg...if that is combined...isnt going to change much. That is on par for a mix of city and highway driving.
Highway only I can get about 24mpg.

But as wise690 said...their is a lot of debate/different opinions on break in and oil etc. Do your own research and make up your own mind. After my own research I was personally convinced to go the route I just described.

Enjoy the car....

I raped mine from the get go and it's been getting stronger by the mile. To each his own lol

Everyone will suggest a different break-in method. Some say drive it like grandma, and some say drive it hard asap. I'm not going to offer my opinion on either one, but instead just tell you what I did.

If your car is an LS3/M6: Do not downshift through the gears to slow down or come to a stop, use your brakes.

I had about a 150 mile trip home from the dealership, mostly highway with speed limits ranging from 60-70 mph. Upon leaving the dealership, I tried to vary the rpms and gears as much as possible within reason, without going over 4000 rpm. I would speed up and slow down, switching between gears 3-6, speeds of 50-80 mph. I continued to vary RPM, gears and speed up to 500 miles.

Continuing on, from 500-2000 miles, I continued with this method, but involved some WOT runs in the lower gears, still without going over 4000 rpms. This is when the car really started loosening up and I started noticing slight power gain, slightly more aggressive exhaust note, and smoother shifting.

Oh and congrats!

Push it once to turn traction control off twice for competitive mode and hold it down to turn it all off

id have your oil changed at about 500 miles then start to work it.

Change your oil to conventional and drive it 500 miles or so. Change the oil back to synthetic and drive it like you always would.

Their is a plethora of information available showing that synthetic oil does not allow for optimal ring seating as compared to conventional. You can also miss your optimal window of ring seating if you baby the car for too long.

I personally was somewhat nice to the car for about 500 miles and ran the conventional oil. Then I switched out to the synthetic and just drove it as I normally would...which is rather hard most of the time lol.

The 19mpg...if that is combined...isnt going to change much. That is on par for a mix of city and highway driving.
Highway only I can get about 24mpg.

But as wise690 said...their is a lot of debate/different opinions on break in and oil etc. Do your own research and make up your own mind. After my own research I was personally convinced to go the route I just described.

Enjoy the car....

I raped mine from the get go and it's been getting stronger by the mile. To each his own lol

thanks guys for all ur input, ive been trying to drive it differently everyday, somedays getting on it alittle harder then others, no WOT yet, but took her up to 3500 here and there, i love this car its so addicting to drive, the compliments at work that i got were amazing!, i am just alittle suprised at the gas mileage seems like the needle goes down fast lol, im guessing the tank is small too, o well hope fully a cold air intake might help down the road, gonna enjoy her for now!

i cracked the throttle today in 1st gear from a slow roll with no traction control on, and the tires spun like hell and wheel hopped so i let off, def felt the power, does feel sluggish down low, but man up top she start pulling good lol, how can i avoid the wheel hop?

i cracked the throttle today in 1st gear from a slow roll with no traction control on, and the tires spun like hell and wheel hopped so i let off, def felt the power, does feel sluggish down low, but man up top she start pulling good lol, how can i avoid the wheel hop?

Subframe bushings are #1. They connect the subframe to the car. The stock rubber ones allow the subframe to shift etc. Every other component to eliminate wheelhop is far less effective/almost useless if the subframe itself is still moving.

#2 Trailing arms.

#3 Toe links.

Do those 3 and you will see a BIG improvement.

Subframe bushings are #1. They connect the subframe to the car. The stock rubber ones allow the subframe to shift etc. Every other component to eliminate wheelhop is far less effective/almost useless if the subframe itself is still moving.

#2 Trailing arms.

#3 Toe links.

Do those 3 and you will see a BIG improvement.

ok cool, wut about putting drag radials on?

ok cool, wut about putting drag radials on?

I did that as well. They will help a bit also. But some people dont like to run them etc. so I left them out.

So yeah...they are a good idea. The only ones worth buying for daily driving use are the NT555R's. They will last 10-15k and can be driven in the rain. They are not quite as effective on the track...but if you run an nto5r or another more aggressive/even softer DR for DD most are only getting about 3k out of them and are horrible in the rain.

I did that as well. They will help a bit also. But some people dont like to run them etc. so I left them out.

So yeah...they are a good idea. The only ones worth buying for daily driving use are the NT555R's. They will last 10-15k and can be driven in the rain. They are not quite as effective on the track...but if you run an nto5r or another more aggressive/even softer DR for DD most are only getting about 3k out of them and are horrible in the rain.

ok cool, this morning i hit her again but this time with traction control off and in competive mode, hit the button twice, still wheel hopped, but not as bad, yea im sure those DRs are expenisve, wut size would i need to keep the speedo the same? or close to stock?

ok cool, this morning i hit her again but this time with traction control off and in competive mode, hit the button twice, still wheel hopped, but not as bad, yea im sure those DRs are expenisve, wut size would i need to keep the speedo the same? or close to stock?

They make the nt555r in the stock 275/40/20 size as well as in the size I have 305/35/20.

You can run a 305/35/20 on a stock rim but it does nothing for you because the contact patch is only as wide as the rim. It would not be the best fit and will have some bulge and could possibly be unsafe...but some do it.
I have 20 x 11 COR rims in the rear so I went with the 305's. 20 x 9 for front rims so I used my 275 pirellis up front.

If your keeping your stock rims buy 275 nitto nt555rs. If you go to an aftermarket rim you would need at least a 10 inch wide rim to run a 305 or 315 correctly.

http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html

Here is a calc. You dont want to be off more than a half inch in diameter from stock as a general rule.

Here is a comparison of my 305's vs stock (from the link)...I actually picked up a bit of gearing lol.

Specification Sidewall Radius Diameter Circumference Revs/Mile Difference
275/40-20 4.3in 14.3in 28.7in 90.0in 704 0.0%
305/35-20 4.2in 14.2in 28.4in 89.2in 710 -0.9%

BTW...every time I start my car I turn off all the nannies. All they have been known to do is help break axles.
Plenty of people have broken axles using the launch control. I hardly ever drive my car somewhere without flooring it at least once so I always just turn everything off as my start up procedure lol.
It is good for nothing and with some practice you can easily out launch the axle breaking launch mode.
The only time I would suggest running the nannies is in the rain.

The toe links and trailing arms almost eliminated my wheel hop. If you want drag radials I suggest buying a set of 18" C6 Z06 front rims and running those at the track. The 20" NT555r was almost useless on a track. I haven't tried the 20" M/T's but they may be better. If I had kept the car I would have went with a 18" set up and a shorter tire.

It's true, the rear axles are made of glass. Pretty much the entire drive line behind the trans is weak when you have a manual.

They make the nt555r in the stock 275/40/20 size as well as in the size I have 305/35/20.

You can run a 305/35/20 on a stock rim but it does nothing for you because the contact patch is only as wide as the rim. It would not be the best fit and will have some bulge and could possibly be unsafe...but some do it.
I have 20 x 11 COR rims in the rear so I went with the 305's. 20 x 9 for front rims so I used my 275 pirellis up front.

If your keeping your stock rims buy 275 nitto nt555rs. If you go to an aftermarket rim you would need at least a 10 inch wide rim to run a 305 or 315 correctly.

http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html

Here is a calc. You dont want to be off more than a half inch in diameter from stock as a general rule.

Here is a comparison of my 305's vs stock (from the link)...I actually picked up a bit of gearing lol.

Specification Sidewall Radius Diameter Circumference Revs/Mile Difference
275/40-20 4.3in 14.3in 28.7in 90.0in 704 0.0%
305/35-20 4.2in 14.2in 28.4in 89.2in 710 -0.9%

BTW...every time I start my car I turn off all the nannies. All they have been known to do is help break axles.
Plenty of people have broken axles using the launch control. I hardly ever drive my car somewhere without flooring it at least once so I always just turn everything off as my start up procedure lol.
It is good for nothing and with some practice you can easily out launch the axle breaking launch mode.
The only time I would suggest running the nannies is in the rain.

The toe links and trailing arms almost eliminated my wheel hop. If you want drag radials I suggest buying a set of 18" C6 Z06 front rims and running those at the track. The 20" NT555r was almost useless on a track. I haven't tried the 20" M/T's but they may be better. If I had kept the car I would have went with a 18" set up and a shorter tire.

It's true, the rear axles are made of glass. Pretty much the entire drive line behind the trans is weak when you have a manual.

im gonna stay with the stock rims in the back so ill just get the 275s,

So how do i correctly turn off all the nannies before i start, i know i hit the button twice, but then i have to hold it down completly???

it cant be that much weaker than my old 7.5 rear in my 4th gen lol

So how do i correctly turn off all the nannies before i start, i know i hit the button twice, but then i have to hold it down completly???

it cant be that much weaker than my old 7.5 rear in my 4th gen lol

Hold the button down for 7 seconds and the T/C and stability control lights will turn on on the dash. Everything is off.

The rear end isn't weaker but every thing around it is. I broke almost every part of the drive line with bolt-on power. IMO I'd rather have the 4th gens weak rear then all the weak components in the 5th gen drive line.

im gonna stay with the stock rims in the back so ill just get the 275s,

So how do i correctly turn off all the nannies before i start, i know i hit the button twice, but then i have to hold it down completly???

it cant be that much weaker than my old 7.5 rear in my 4th gen lol

You can probably get away with (although some havent) just running the 275 DR's at the track. It is unlikely that you will break something with a mild 20 inch drag radial. Some people have broken parts on street tires on the street...others have aggressively launched completely stock drivelines with 17 inch slicks and been fine.

If you want to do some hard launches with a 17 or 18 inch rim and tire combo you will need a driveshaft and axles at minimum. That will run you 2000-2500 depending on brand and style etc. The stock axles have been known to break as well as the stock U-joints and the bolts connecting the driveshaft to the rear end.

Their are plenty of better DR's for the strip over the 555r's...but if you plan on daily driving them and keeping the stock 20's their is no other logical option (unless you dont mind replacing them every 3k and having no wet traction). The 555r's gave me a noticeable traction increase on the street and will help you a bit at the track. I went with my 305/35/20 555r set up to try and keep the car controllable on the street with future power upgrades. As Dark SS said...if you want something for the strip the 20s will not be worth a damn...just not enough sidewall. You need a 17 or 18 inch rim and tire combo....but you will need supporting mods to handle them.

Everyone will suggest a different break-in method. Some say drive it like grandma, and some say drive it hard asap. I'm not going to offer my opinion on either one, but instead just tell you what I did.

If your car is an LS3/M6: Do not downshift through the gears to slow down or come to a stop, use your brakes.

I had about a 150 mile trip home from the dealership, mostly highway with speed limits ranging from 60-70 mph. Upon leaving the dealership, I tried to vary the rpms and gears as much as possible within reason, without going over 4000 rpm. I would speed up and slow down, switching between gears 3-6, speeds of 50-80 mph. I continued to vary RPM, gears and speed up to 500 miles.

Continuing on, from 500-2000 miles, I continued with this method, but involved some WOT runs in the lower gears, still without going over 4000 rpms. This is when the car really started loosening up and I started noticing slight power gain, slightly more aggressive exhaust note, and smoother shifting.

Oh and congrats!

so what happened when you downshifted that's making you tell him not to do that?

so what happened when you downshifted that's making you tell him not to do that?

Downshifting to a lower gear and bringing the revs up in turn using it to slow down the car. Arguably not a good idea for a fresh engine.

He is just talking about his break in procedure....

Hold the button down for 7 seconds and the T/C and stability control lights will turn on on the dash. Everything is off.

The rear end isn't weaker but every thing around it is. I broke almost every part of the drive line with bolt-on power. IMO I'd rather have the 4th gens weak rear then all the weak components in the 5th gen drive line.

You can probably get away with (although some havent) just running the 275 DR's at the track. It is unlikely that you will break something with a mild 20 inch drag radial. Some people have broken parts on street tires on the street...others have aggressively launched completely stock drivelines with 17 inch slicks and been fine.

If you want to do some hard launches with a 17 or 18 inch rim and tire combo you will need a driveshaft and axles at minimum. That will run you 2000-2500 depending on brand and style etc. The stock axles have been known to break as well as the stock U-joints and the bolts connecting the driveshaft to the rear end.

Their are plenty of better DR's for the strip over the 555r's...but if you plan on daily driving them and keeping the stock 20's their is no other logical option (unless you dont mind replacing them every 3k and having no wet traction). The 555r's gave me a noticeable traction increase on the street and will help you a bit at the track. I went with my 305/35/20 555r set up to try and keep the car controllable on the street with future power upgrades. As Dark SS said...if you want something for the strip the 20s will not be worth a damn...just not enough sidewall. You need a 17 or 18 inch rim and tire combo....but you will need supporting mods to handle them.


ok cool im gonna give that a try


im not gonna track the car, just using it for the street and shows, the car wont be launched or beat on, only WOT once in a blue moon

ok cool im gonna give that a try


im not gonna track the car, just using it for the street and shows, the car wont be launched or beat on, only WOT once in a blue moon

LOL...yeah right.

LOL...yeah right.

Seriously lol

Dude, where's the pics of your new car?

so what happened when you downshifted that's making you tell him not to do that?

Just over 5100 miles on my car now and no issues. Every break-in method I've read advises against downshifting and bringing the rpms up to decelerate. Not a good idea on a new motor and new rings.

Any reason this would be bad?

Just over 5100 miles on my car now and no issues. Every break-in method I've read advises against downshifting and bringing the rpms up to decelerate. Not a good idea on a new motor and new rings.

Any reason this would be bad?

Never use your engine to slow your car down, push the clutch in. Vacuum can pull a load of oil past the rings plus why load the rotating assembly the opposite of what its intended for. I think motors are for power and brakes are for stopping. :jest:

Just over 5100 miles on my car now and no issues. Every break-in method I've read advises against downshifting and bringing the rpms up to decelerate. Not a good idea on a new motor and new rings.

Any reason this would be bad?

i had only asked him that, because the way i interpreted it, was that he had done that, and caused a problem.

i actually had a couple ford service techs tell me that while i'm doing no harm in running a proper break-in on my car, it wasn't necessary, as all of these coyotes are "spun up" at the factory. those are his words.

Just over 5100 miles on my car now and no issues. Every break-in method I've read advises against downshifting and bringing the rpms up to decelerate. Not a good idea on a new motor and new rings.

Any reason this would be bad?

good to hear, is there anyway of running my VIN number to see wut the production number of my car is and where it was built?

I have plenty of pics for u guys, but everytime i try to upload them it says failed??

heres one shot