Over the last 7 or 8 months, I have been cruisin' around in a non-Chevrolet automobile. I know...i know. But give me a break, I needed something before the Camaro came out. I own a Pontiac G8 with the 6.0-liter L76 powerplant.
Yesterday, I went to Tune Time Performance in Toms River, New Jersey as we continue to add horsepower to the LS-motor. Matt, the owner of Tune Time, also has a G8 powered by a Magnacharger, while mine is Procharged. If anything, the G8's are giving us awesome feedback that we will be able to parlay into the new Camaro. I just got off the dyno where we made 550 rear wheel horsepower on the Mustang dynomometer and expect to eclipse 600 in no time (550 rwhp on a Mustang dyno is around 720-730 horsepower at the crankshaft). Here are some things that you can be sure about the 2010 Camaro.
#1 - The LS motor is going to be able to handle most that you can throw at it. With a proper tune, the LS motor will hold to 800+ horsepower. Again, this is all in the tuner so make sure you get a good tuner.
#2 - Handling is awesome for this elephant. With a weight balance of near 50/50, the Camaro will handle just as good, if not better than the G8, which, compared to the Challenger and Mustang, is above and beyond the call of duty.
#3 - It's heavy, very heavy. At 4,000 pounds, the Camaro is definitely not a lightweight.
#4 - The suspension is going to be inadequate for high horsepower. We have seen tire spin and bumpstop abuse on the G8's once we broke into the 11-second zone. I assume that companies such as BMR, Hotchkis, and Pedders will have suspension packages on the market in no time.
#5 - Displacement on Demand (DOD) or Active Fuel Management (AFM) is a work in progress. 30 miles per gallon is awesome in stock form. The problem will lie when you start making power. I, for one, exploded 3 DOD lifters as I passed the 600 horespower mark.
All in all, the future is looking great for Camaro customers. Buy a twin turbo, supercharger, or nitrous oxide kit and get out there. Be cautious, but have a good time and realize, that sometimes....things just go boom!! I like to call that a perfect excuse to call GM Performance Parts and order up a crate engine.