Kill Stories: Cammed Camaro Beats a Tuned BMW

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From a dig & a roll, the Camaro walks away from twin-turbo Bimmer.

This week’s “Kill Story” was originally posted to the LS1 Tech forum by “Prototype007.” The clip originally comes from the Kystreets YouTube channel and features a handful of races between a 2009 BMW 335i and a 5g Chevrolet Camaro SS. In stock form, the Camaro would walk away from the straight-six-powered German coupe, but both of these cars are modified, making for a much closer series of races.

The Competitors

This video features a trio of races between the BMW 335i and the Camaro SS. The BMW has unspecified “bolt-ons” and a tune, with an automatic transmission and street tires. This is an N54-powered 335i, which is to say, that 3.0-liter straight-six is twin-turbocharged. It’s an engine that is very easily modified to make 400-plus wheel horsepower without much effort.

The Chevy is cammed with its only set of unspecified bolt-ons, the manual transmission and sticky rear tires. While the mod lists seem relatively even, the fact that the boosted BMW benefits far more from mild upgrades leads us to wonder whether the cammed Camaro will have enough gusto to win the races.

LS1tech.com Fifth Gen LS3 cam only Camaro SS vs. BMW 335i N54

The Racing Action

The BMW and Chevy go head-to-head in three races, first from a dig, then a 40-roll and finally a 20-roll. In each case, the races continue up to 120 miles per hour or so.

From a dig, the Camaro hops out to an early lead and stays about a car-ahead of the BMW until they both let off. In the 40-roll, the Camaro once again hops out to a lead of about a length, and the Bimmer appears to be closing slowly when both cars lift. Finally, in the 20-roll race, the Camaro stomps the German coupe, walking away with ease.

The video ends with a handful of clips showing the worked BMW running against an SN95 Mustang GT with a Whipple-swapped engine from a Terminator Cobra. Not surprisingly, the supercharged pony car car crushes the BMW over and over.

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"Before I was old enough to walk, my dad was taking me to various types of racing events, from local drag racing to the Daytona 500," says Patrick Rall, a lifetime automotive expert, diehard Dodge fan, and respected auto journalist for over 10 years. "He owned a repair shop and had a variety of performance cars when I was young, but by the time I was 16, he was ready to build me my first drag car – a 1983 Dodge Mirada that ran low 12s. I spent 10 years traveling around the country, racing with my dad by my side. While we live in different areas of the country, my dad still drag races at 80 years old in the car that he built when I was 16 while I race other vehicles, including my 2017 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and my 1972 Dodge Demon 340.

"Although I went to college for accounting, my time in my dad’s shop growing up allowed me the knowledge to spend time working as a mechanic before getting my accounting degree, at which point I worked in the office of a dealership group. While I was working in the accounting world, I continued racing and taking pictures of cars at the track. Over time, I began showing off those pictures online and that led to my writing.

"Ten years ago, I left the accounting world to become a full-time automotive writer and I am living proof that if you love what you do, you will never “work” a day in your life," adds Rall, who has clocked in time as an auto mechanic, longtime drag racer and now automotive journalist who contributes to nearly a dozen popular auto websites dedicated to fellow enthusiasts.

"I love covering the automotive industry and everything involved with the job. I was fortunate to turn my love of the automotive world into a hobby that led to an exciting career, with my past of working as a mechanic and as an accountant in the automotive world provides me with a unique perspective of the industry.

"My experience drag racing for more than 20 years coupled with a newfound interest in road racing over the past decade allows me to push performance cars to their limit, while my role as a horse stable manager gives me vast experience towing and hauling with all of the newest trucks on the market today.

"Being based on Detroit," says Rall, "I never miss the North American International Auto Show, the Woodward Dream Cruise and Roadkill Nights, along with spending plenty of time raising hell on Detroit's Woodward Avenue with the best muscle car crowd in the world.

Rall can be contacted at QuickMirada@Yahoo.com


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