racerxrick

I thought it was interesting comparing the two cars (my 951 vs. the late model SS Camaro). BTW this was one bad bitch with cam, headers, Flowmaster exhaust w/crossover, cold air intake and tune!

Power #1: Obviously straight line dead stop drag runs were killer and made me jones for something I could really flog on from a launch. Camaro over the 951.

Power #2: Top end...maybe aero came in to play but over 110 it sure feels like the 951 pulls harder (and feels "better"). Also being able to roll into the boost at part throttle...priceless! The speedo seemed to climb more linear at triple digits. 951 over Camaro.

Brakes were excellent. My 951 does not have ABS...which I've only needed once, and that was a VERY close call. Camaro over 951.

Auto trans was pretty impressive wiuth great line pressure. More important was how the "Sport" mode worked on the twisties north of town. The trans "learned" very well and delayed up and down shifts, etc. In a drag race the auto trans was great and was very reasonable on the back roads. HOWEVER ya' just can't beat a manual trans for control and just pure fun. While the "Sport" function mimicked some of this well there is no subsitute for manual selection. 951 over Camaro.

Handling: The Camaro felt pretty darn good and I had high expectations. When I started pushing it a bit I quickly realized I wasn't getting the feedback I LOVE from the 951. I lacked confidance to push it much at all and my corner speeds were much lower. Though i think GM builds some great power steering boxes this one was too light with little to no feedback. Body roll...yes, 951, very little (though to be fair mine does have a few mods). NOTE: at speed I hit the bump stops a few times and alternating dips in the road surface at speed caused a bit of pucker. The 951 at speed in the same issues created ZERO drama. 951 over Camaro.

Sound: damn...that Camaro sounds like the .650 lift roller cammed 383 stroker I had in my 74' Nova (come to think of it is basically a roller cammed 377 stroker). Sweet music! Camaro over 951.

Misc.: The Camaro looks tough with the chopped top...but have you tried to see out of that car! Kinda hard to tell where your at. I had a modified SRT-8 Grand Cherokee pull up next to me the other night at a remote stoplight...from my "narrow" vantage point hell I thought it was a Tarilblazer. He hammered it from the stoplight while I sat there with my thumb up my ***. BTW, I flashed my lights, he stopped and we went from the third honk...KILLED him. 951...great visibility, huge but ugly mirrors, I can always tell where the front end is for turn in. 951 over Camaro.

Price: $37k + likely $7500 in mods for the Camaro. 951...so far a grand total of about $12k. 951 over Camaro.

Looks: the Camaro was a plain white wrapper car...kind of a sleeper other than the sinister exhaust note. The 951 with the sexy haunches and CCW's with low profile tires and a MUCH larger footprint in the back. 951 over Camaro.

I confess i found myself wanting one of each...

anders44

just take his engine, best of both worlds

onspeed

I'm very surprised you felt the 951 was faster than a cammed ls3... maybe because it was automatic or because it's a quieter (I think. Haven't actually been too fast in the 5th gens) ride. But a proper cam + bolt on ls3 should be doing at least 500 at the crank... granted the 5th gens are heavy pigs.

Agree with you on all other points though, based on the couple of drives I've taken in a V6 model. Prefer the 4th gens.

I doubt cam + bolt ons = $7500 in mods... probably less than 2000 for parts + tune.

95ONE

Aerodynamically, the Camaro is a brick.

pettybird

They're a blast, though. I rented a loaded V6 car for a week when I went to LA for a wedding last spring--drove it more than 1000 miles in 6 1/2 days. Went to Vegas, drove Mulholland...awesome car. I'm 6'3 and the visibility was AWFUL at first but you get used to it. Nothing at all like an old 911 or the 944, but you don't hit anything. It felt like a big car, but it rode well. It was still new enough that LOTS of people gave me the thumbs-up...in Cali!

V2Rocket

they need a camaro clubsport version...lol...lose some weight, firm it up a bit...then there's a proper car

Tedro951

Doubting 7500? The headers and exhaust can get you to 2000 by themselves....

racerxrick

yeah the guy didn't do any of the labor..supposedly a turn key 500hp kit. It feels like it btw!

The headers alone had to be very expensive...gorgeous pieces of work.

Jeremy Himsel

If you have a shop do all of the work, then maybe. $7,500 is about what I spent in total parts on my ls-6 but also have CNC & Hand ported trick flow heads, Ti retainers & keepers, custom grind cam, LG pro long tubes, HS roller rockers, pushrods, bigger injectors, 90mm t-body, Halltec CAI, plus the purchase of HP tuners to make everything work. @ just under 3,100lbs the car is simply sick.

The thing about the camaro's are they're heavy and feel lethargic. Opening up the exhaust and increasing exhaust lift & duration makes a world of difference.

racerxrick

110mph+ is where I felt like my 951 "felt" faster. It seemed like the 951 accelerated fairly linear at triple digit speeds.

NOTE: I went from a third gear roll last year with one of our techs who had a 6spd SS w/crossover and exhaust...I pulled him and that was with the 26/6.

racerxrick

I've owned a bunch of quick street/drag cars and this one felt seriously quick! I think with drag radials and a sneeze of nitrous it'd be a 11.0 car.

Oh yeah...the auto car gets a softer rear gear, I'd remedy that.

gruhsy

Interesting. Question? Whats the power of your 951.

With my 951 I think it sounds much better with 5 inch exhaust than my 67 chevelle which was similar to the camaro for the v8 sound but like driving an Anvil since it was so freakin heavy.

New white v8 camero just down the street from me, modded somewhat not sure what but, it's not stock. Very nice car though white with black wheels that the guy chose.

racerxrick

I put down 299.8rwhp at 14.7psi...and had a few "issues" at the time which have since been resolved.

My car has a 3" catback w/2 1/2" test pipe...it has a nice burble to it. But the idle sound of that Camaro...sweeet.

onspeed

Well my reference point is my brother's 4th gen T/A. Heads / Cam for just under 3k.

Exhaust (Longtubes, axle dumps)-$800, cam kit w/pushrods, valve springs, timing chain, etc - ~$500, ls6 intake-$250, dyno tune- $500. That's roughly a little over a 2000. Not sure on aftermarket prices for the LS3s... but I can't imagine it's 3 times more...

Jeremy Himsel

While I’m sure it felt quick, I think it’ll take more than a “sniff” to get it to 11.0. These cars typically dyno @ 350 to 360 SAE corrected on a dynojet with a m-6 trans. The A-6 trans has even more loss (but I’ve never seen one on a dyno myself to quote a number). I anticipate with the mods you listed and a tuner who really knows his stuff to see about 425 RWHP (with a big cam). Not only do the cars have a very mild rear gear (to avoid the gas guzzler tax) and soft converter, they weigh upwards of 3,800 lbs. General rule of thumb is 10 hp for every 100 lbs. That’s a big bitch. My friends 2010 with a A6, Cam, LT, CAI, bigger stall converter, Tune, 3.73 gears and DRs runs 11.933 @ 115.57 mph and he’s typically one of the fastest of the stock head non-power adder cars. Still quick but I expect a decently modded 951 (320 RWHP) to run with it all day long without breaking a sweat. My 951 would beat up my Z06 pretty bad when it was stock.