Sexis350

Considering buying a Camaro SS what do you guys think? I think im having a midlife crisis and need ***** to the wall adrenaline.

The new 6th gen has a nice interior to me with the cool vents and less use of plastics. Also outside is about the manliest muscular looking car on the road. price and value is there being 20k cheaper than rcf and i will get to row through gears with the biggest v8 out there measuring 6.2l with 455hp/455tq

I worry about visibility as all the reviews complain about but im hoping its not a deal breaker and maybe it will seem more cockpit like. IS there anything else you guys dont like about the car? Hows the reliability? Can i just do oil change only like lexus?

babyzilla

Hey,

Would you mind making a list of your requirements? As in what you're looking for. Seems to me so far you want a manual gearbox, coupe (cockpit feeling), and some decent power. What else? I'm sure once you respond to this, we can help you some more. Personally I wouldn't get a camaro, but to each their own.

bhvrdr

I've been a German car guy since I turned about 20 years old. My only two Japanese cars were the G37S and then the IS350.


That being said, I bought a Camaro SS a few months ago and have since installed a TVS1900 supercharger on it and am making around 600hp with it. I get a stupid grin every time I drive the car. The crazy thing is that the car can actually turn and brake too. Its not a terrible car. I have an E-class for long trips and when I'm feeling laid back or want to go out to a nice dinner but the Camaro is just so fun to drive.


Visibility is absolutely terrible. I go so slow backing up that if I hit someone they would be able to move out of the way before the car continued on to do them any damage. You do get used to it though...kind of... a little bit anyways. It sucks.


But the interior quality has actually come a long ways, the performance is pretty great all around and I have an S4 as well that does 11.8 in the 1/4 mile. This car is more fun than the S4. The LS3, L99, LT1 powertrains are pretty bulletproof. You can push 650hp through them without issue if you have a good tune.

If you like modding, this car is going to be the death of you too. Want twin turbos? Sure, no problem. Want a supercharger? Sure, you can have your pick of a half doze positive displacement or centrifugal chargers. Want both? Yes, people have even done twin charged both dual turbo and supercharged on the car. Want to learn to tune it yourself? You can do that. Want to have it remote tuned on the internet? You prefer going to a local shop and putting it on the dyno for a tune in person? They are everywhere.

Its very bad for mod addictions.

Would I have the SS as an only car? Maybe if I was 18 again I would but its definitely a third, fourth, fifth type of car for me. Go drive one. See if you can take it for the day. If the dealership is serious they'll let you live with it for a few hours.

Mike

Swacer

I will mirror a lot of what is being said above by Mike.

I currently have a 5th gen (as detailed below with a laundry list of mods), which is a fully loaded 2012 2SS with the RS package at a price almost 35k below the excessive overpricing that Lexus wants for the RC-F. Don't get me wrong, I'm not knocking the RC-F (as I have gone through several iterations of...want one..don't want one...want one...don't want one), I'm simply stating fact. However, every single time I find myself looking at an RC-F, I get blocked by Toyota's pathetic attempt to destroy the car enthusiast by making it difficult to truly mod the car. And I'm not talking about bolt on, I'm talking turbo setups, large lob cams, supercharged applications, you'll never get that out of a Toyota, simply because Toyota doesn't want you to. You're stuck with what you brought to the party. Chevy however, caters to that market, and that's something that keeps pulling me back. For Chevy, you're only limited by what your wallet allows you to spend.

Personally, my next step is hopefully next spring either ordering a ZL1 (STILL CHEAPER than a RC-F), or as Mike said, modding is endless and I'm going all out and replacing everything short of the block on my current car (cam, manifold, heads, gears, UDP) in hopes of putting over 500 to the ground (contrary to Mike, I prefer to stay N/A if I keep my current car).

Now you specifically asked about the 6th gen. I took a look at the 6th gen a couple weeks back as I try to rack my brain on a 2017 ZL1. Compared to the 5th gen, the 6th gen is a lot smaller. I compare the 6th gen to my wife's '15 IS350. At 5'11, 220lbs, I can fit in the IS...but I never feel comfortable beyond a 1-2 hr drive. The 6th gen was a big bigger than the IS, but not by much. While it was more IS shaped, I found that I didn't feel claustrophobic in it. I found the 6th gen to have BETTER viewing angles than my 5th gen, but then again, I think people whine and cry unnecessarily about viewing angles. If you learn how to drive, you can see out of anything I liked the LT1, but didn't find it to pull any different than my LS3 (same tranny). I did like the Mag Ride Suspension A LOT(something the $79k RC-F can't seem to have...). The biggest difference is that the 6th gen felt more like a sports car, as the 5th gen feels more like a grand touring car. I could sit in my 5th gen for hours and never get uncomfortable.

One thing that wasn't addressed above is the reliablity. By getting a Chevy, don't confuse yourself, its not a Toyota for reliablity. You will have an odd tick, or something that doesn't fit just perfectly, but when you're comparing it to what Toyota offers (Lexus RC-F), you're saving a ton of money, which could be used to blow the doors off any Lexus (IS-F or RC-F, or the pig GS-F). Also, if anything goes wrong with it, unlike a typical japense cars, in which if you don't have the magic tool, you can't fix it, for a Chevy even someone with relatively low mechanical skills can fix the car (and most of the time, when something breaks, its a perfect excuse for an upgrade).

I am not sure I understand...can you do an oil change like Lexus?

Finally, a midlife crisis car is not a Camaro lol A Corvette is lol

If you want more insight and knowledge about the car, feel free to go over to camaro6.com, and start asking questions.

3actual

I never understood the whole midlife crisis term. I've been a car/truck guy since I had my license, and I'll be a car/truck guy until I can't drive anymore. The only difference between me at 18 and me now is I can afford cars that are a little nicer.

With that being said I took a really hard look at the 2016 Camaro SS 6MT. Boy was she a blast to drive and priced just right at $36,5xx before tax and title. The visibility sucks, but Chevrolet could easily fix that by putting a passenger side blind spot camera on the passenger mirror just like honda. The only thing that stopped my purchase was the limited back seat as I have two kids. I wish I would have looked at the 2016 Chevrolet SS as she is pushing 415HP, about the same in torque, and can be had in 6MT. My IS350 F Sport is nice, but I sure wish it came with 6MT.


Here is a video where Motor Trend compared the 2016 Camaro SS to the 2015 BMW M4.

Vivid101

I would go corvette before Camaro. Camaro is a big car. I test drove one. Not for me.

Fsportme

Chevy has up their game in terms of interior appointments with the 6th gen vs the pervious iteration 5th gen Camaro. The magnetic ride suspension is a step up in overall ride quality. The 6th gen is also 200 lbs lighter than the 5th gen. Power... YES it has plenty and will run circles around a RCF. Inside the Camaro feels a little claustrophobic with the lack of visibility. If you're looking for a shizt eating grin of either the RCF or the 6th gen Camaro SS, the best bang for the buck is the Camaro!

atomic250

I rented a 2013 Camaro before and have to agree that the visibilty was terrible. I had a tough time backung out mostly because the side mirrors were so small and even if I looked over my shoulders I couldn't see anything. With that being said I expect the new models to be equipped with backup cameras and sensors so it should be a little bit easier. My suggestion is to test drive one.

tea

easy. If you like the Camaro more than the Lexus, go get it. If you like the Lexus more, keep it

Mrg02d

How's the reliability of a camaro?

Swacer

Is this sarcasm or just didn't read the 2 messages by Camaro owners above?

Mine, 4.5 years sold, 11k miles, had blower fan replaced (light ticking most people wouldn't even notice it, my 4Runner even has a tick in the blower fan), LED bar on spoiler died, and machine at factory cross threaded my oil cooler line which was repaired in 1 day. Overall, for a Chevy, smooth sailing.

Swacer

My 2012 has a backup camera and sensors...and so has every model since.... so it was a base model or not a 2013

DP03

Having raced a 2000 SS I am an old time Camaro fan. That was many years ago, and that car with a simple heads/cam package and TC was a high 10 sec daily driver that trapped 126 in the 1/4. It's hard to find, on this forum or others, a daily driven 10 sec N/A car. So my point is the SS is not just fast stock, it's very easy to make it faster than most for a relatively modest cost.

Fast forward to the 2016 SS, and its worlds better than anything they have produced to date. On the new platform, this car gets rave reviews from just about anyone that drives it, and its a very capable track car. I think the OP has made a great choice for "bang for the buck", as 40K can't really buy any better for a new car as it pertains to overall performance. And before anyone complains that "the car is so heavy", remember this car tests at .98 on the skidpad. When I just looked up a 2014 test of the RCF, it shows an as tested price of $76K and a skidpad of .95. Something to think about.

I've had, and modified, many cars throughout my life, and yes I'm new to Lexus (see my post count). I see here what I see on every car forum, which is some peoples resentment that for 40K you can buy a brand new car that will significantly outperform cars that some people have 60k into. I get that, and I also realize that a Camaro and a Lexus are very different cars in every respect.

But give credit to the SS for being so much for so little.......

Mrg02d

The two messages above mine have zero to do with reliability. But I was being sarcastic...An attempt to be a troll, because I imagine reliability sucks. My Chevy Cruze had 5 recalls and the speakers blew after just 25k miles. No breakdowns of any kind though and I now have 50k miles on it. Hoping to sell it in two years, without any issues, to put towards a Porsche 981 Boxster s.

Swacer

To plays devil's advocate to your comment, my father in law has a 2012 Cruze with almost 100k miles on it, and it has been problem free and gets almost 40mpg on family trips. So, perhaps you got a car built on a Friday, because your situation does not represent all owners.