By the time you read this, the F-Body assembly plant at St. Therese will have ceased production on both the Camaro and its corporate cousin, the Firebird. While others might take this opportunity to play Monday morning quarterback and rattle off a long list of reasons these cars are going away, we'll pass. We know they aren't perfect, but we love them anyway. Our biggest concerns will always be related to performance and while too much is never enough for us, the F-body has done an admirable job over the years of delivering performance to the masses.
Throughout the existence of the LS1, GMHTP has had the opportunity to drag test several of these beasts. The results of our testing have been the ammunition for countless bench racing sessions, as well as a source of constant debate. We have observed all of this fallout with great interest and for our final F-body drag test, we've decided to change up our testing procedure. Our plan is to address the most contentious testing issues, which are the tracks we use, the cars we test and the people who test them, in an attempt to give the most realistic results.
Since SLP's high flow induction...
Since SLP's high flow induction system was not available until after our car was built, we made do with the older, more restrictive version. The 335 ponies that were on tap proved more than enough to make LS1-powered convertibles illegal in stock form at NHRA-sanctioned dragstrips.
The Tracks
In past sessions, we've rented out dragstrips for the sole purpose of testing cars. The two closest facilities to our offices happen to be Atco Raceway in Atco, New Jersey and Old Bridge Township Raceway Park, in Englishtown, New Jersey. Both of these tracks are very close to sea level and are known, depending on who you talk to, as "quick" tracks. Add in the fact that we're able to prep these tracks to our liking and don't have to worry about Civics driving through the waterbox and we end up with what most people would consider ideal conditions. This ignores the weather factor, which in past testing has included stiff headwinds and stifling temperatures exceeding 90*.
For our 2002 Camaro SS test, we decided to use a different facility under conditions that more accurately reflect what our readers might encounter when they go to their home track. Our destination was The Texas Motorplex in Ennis, Texas. While still a relatively low altitude track, many of the locals we spoke with preferred nearby Hallsville Raceway or Houston Raceway Park. We also chose to conduct our testing during a regular Friday night test & tune session in mid-March. Springtime in Texas can get quite warm, but our conditions on that particular evening were partly cloudy skies, with light winds and a race-friendly temperature of 55*.
We know what the professionals...
We know what the professionals are capable of running in these cars. Jordon Musser, a 20-year old college student, knows too. Is he up to the challenge, and in a droptop no less?
The Cars
"Ringers! They're all factory ringers!" cry our slow-shifting skeptics. Has GM been stacking the deck in its press fleet? We knew these cars were underrated from the factory, but when we strapped a 2001 SS on the dyno and saw 321 horsepower and 341 lbs.-ft. of torque, even we began to wonder if that might be the case. Subsequent feedback from other LS1 F-body owners would lead us to believe that while our results were certainly not typical, they were not unheard of.
For this test we decided to go outside the GM press fleet and procure a car the old-fashioned way: we bought one. To further handicap our results, we chose one of the slower option combinations available: a 35th Anniversary SS convertible, equipped with an automatic transmission. In the past, the cars we've tested have come to us in coupe form, equipped with 6-speed trannys. In the hands of the right driver this combination is a virtual lock for quick times.We did select a few of the SLP performance options, including the dual-dual exhaust, Auburn differential, Bilstein suspension package and BFGoodrich g-Force tires, but our car was built before the optional high-flow induction system was available. As equipped the car was rated at 335 horsepower and 350 lbs.-ft. of torque.
Camaro fans didn't get the...
Camaro fans didn't get the LS6 they were hoping for in 2002, but Chevrolet did add pewter gray inserts to the ebony seats and embroidered logos on the headrests of the 35th Anniversary models.
The 35th SS arrived in the later half of 2001 and we did our best to rack up some miles before hitting the track, but winter in Wisconsin hampered our efforts. By the time our test date rolled around the odometer had barely moved past the 1,600 mile mark--a far cry from the well-worn cars we usually get out of the press fleet.
The Drivers
Critics have claimed our amazing test results have more to do with the driver behind the wheel than the cars themselves. There is no denying that Evan Smith, our resident hot shoe, has an uncanny ability for running the quarter mile, as evidenced by his 12.89 run in a stock 1999 Z28 (GMHTP 7/99). Often overlooked is the fact that several of our other staff members have netted similar results. Most recently, Rick Jensen ran an automatic-equipped, Collector's Edition Trans Am to a 13.13 at 104 mph for the September 2002 issue of High Performance Pontiac. The argument still exists that our staffers drive these cars all the time and are far more familiar with their nuances than editors at other magazines, who may possess a more intimate knowledge of minvans and SUVs.
Musser drops the hammer, knowing...
Musser drops the hammer, knowing full well the shoes he fills as "guest road test editor." In spite of Musser's earlier F-body success, the cool dense Dallas air was not giving us the ET we had become accustomed to from "stock" GM press cars. Surprise! This was no press car, but a true blue bought-and-paid-for inventory unit from dealer stock.
Looking for a fresh perspective, we went outside our typical driver pool and tapped one of our own readers to handle driving duties. It's not very often that a car magazine calls up a reader, offers him the keys to a brand new SS and asks him to flog it on a racetrack. It came as no surprise to us that Jordon Musser gladly accepted our offer. We felt Jordon was very representative of our readership and his results would be similar to what most people might expect at the track. Like many of our readers, Jordon is no stranger to F-bodies, having built a '94 Z28 into a 10-second beast. Whether his background would help him during this test remained to be seen. After all, he was stepping into an unfamiliar car, with the pressure of knowing his results would be published for the world to see.
The Results
Musser was more than a little surprised when he arrived at the track and saw us photographing a convertible. We intentionally omitted that information as well as the automatic tranny detail when we extended our invitation to him. If he thought this deal was turning out to be too good to be true, he never let it show even when he found out how green the car was.
In spite of what we'd heard from locals, Jordon reported excellent track conditions at the Texas Motorplex. The track hooked so well, the car bogged off the line on the first two runs and never threatened to spin the tires. It wasn't until Jordon's third and final run that he managed to generate slight wheel spin, as he stomped on the gas coming off the line. Although the trap speed dropped steadily from his first to third runs, Jordon's quickest pass was his last, with a 13.579 ET lighting up the board. Shortly after that run, a Mustang spilled its guts all over the track and rather than sitting through the cleanup that followed, we decided to call it a night.
Musser and the Camaro proved to be a very consistent combination, but they never approached the 12-second barrier we had eclipsed in previous testing. With so many factors working against our intrepid car/driver combo, we didn't expect they would, but they still managed to impress at least one 2002 Corvette owner, who couldn't understand why his car was running slower that night. We do anticipate the performance numbers are only going to improve as this SS gets more miles on the engine. How much faster would this car have been without the weight penalty of the convertible top? How big a difference would SLP's lid have made? Would the 6-speed have been quicker? Unlike the F-body itself, this debate may go on forever.
Since SLP's high flow induction system was not available until after our car was built, we made do with the older, more restrictive version. The 335 ponies that were on tap proved more than enough to make LS1-powered convertibles illegal in stock form at NHRA-sanctioned dragstrips.
We know what the professionals are capable of running in these cars. Jordon Musser, a 20-year old college student, knows too. Is he up to the challenge, and in a droptop no less?
Camaro fans didn't get the LS6 they were hoping for in 2002, but Chevrolet did add pewter gray inserts to the ebony seats and embroidered logos on the headrests of the 35th Anniversary models.
Musser drops the hammer, knowing full well the shoes he fills as "guest road test editor." In spite of Musser's earlier F-body success, the cool dense Dallas air was not giving us the ET we had become accustomed to from "stock" GM press cars. Surprise! This was no press car, but a true blue bought-and-paid-for inventory unit from dealer stock.
Base Price:$29,390
Price as Tested:$36,090
Engine:5.7 liter (346 c.i.d) OHV V8
Rated Horsepower:335 at 5200 rpm
Rearwheel Horsepower:300 at 5400 rpm
Rated Torque:350 at 4000 rpm
Rearwheel Torque:316 at 4500 rpm
Transmission:4L60E
Axle Ratio:3.23:1
Best quarter-mile:13.579 at 101.91 mph
Weight as tested:3,730 lbs. w/driver
The Early Bird Gets The Refund
GM originally wanted all 35th Anniversary Camaros to come fully loaded (T-tops and rear defoggers on coupes and 12-disc changers, Hurst shifters and traction control on both coupes and convertibles). We didn't want traction control or the trunk-mounted CD changer, so we placed an order excluding those items. At the time our order was placed in early July, all of these options were mistakenly included in the $2,500 price of the 35th Anniversary package. GM eventually caught its mistake, but honored prices on sales contracts signed prior to September 7, 2001. This resulted in some 35th owners receiving refunds based on the optional equipment they ordered.
We weren't smart enough to get anything in writing prior to that date, but Patrick McAllister was one of the lucky ones who did. McAllister (known as Old Timer on the SLP message board) inked a deal before the cutoff date and as a result, he received a refund check of $1,610 plus a 12-disc changer, which brought his total credit over the $2,100 mark. That's cold hard cash which can now be used for some bolt-ons.--Jim McIlvaine
...our very own Jim McIlvaine. You may be justified in asking why a staffer at GMHTP would go out and buy the most expensive, most hefty, most, well, slow Z28 made. In a word, the reason is size. Let's just say that Jimbo is a big boy--all 7'1" and 280 pounds of him. Unable to fit in any Corvette (convertible or otherwise), the obvious GM conveyance of choice was a droptop Camaro SS. As we discovered most recently when this ex-NBA center shoe-horned himself into a Lingenfelter-prepped C5, there just ain't no room for the ol' legs. Hell, the door doesn't even shut!
Being the avid collector of all things automotive, McIlvaine couldn't do with a run-o-the-mill Z28, so he got the 35th Anniversary Collector's Edition. Besides, it's more befitting of someone with his status. When all your roundball pals are pulling up to the crib in Bentleys and Ferraris, Big Mac makes the scene in good ol' American iron. Now that's really saying something about the Camaro's quality when you can pretty much afford anything on the menu!--Johnny Hunkins
Lingenfelter Performance Engineering
1557 Winchester Rd.
Decatur, IN 46733
219/724-2552
219/724-8761 fax
www.lingenfelter.com