Cured from V8 Bug
 

As stated on my "humiliated" thread yesterday, I was stricken by the v8 power craze after noticing substancial difference in low end response of a v8 Sequioa 4.7L w/ 240 hp and 315 torque, vs my 1LT v6. It really made me wonder about what an SS would feel like, and so I went to local dealer to c if it was possible to trade for an SS. The deal sucked for me, but the tought of the V8 power festered within.

Thanks to fellow members, I was able to get a grip for now, lol. Big thanks to those that suggested the nitrous route, "spray the pig", lol. Seems like the best option, because this way I have the fuel efficiency of my v6 (one of the reasons I got it in first place), but can hit the "75 shot" switch and get the A6 SS power whenever needed, and for only around $600-$800, depending on kit.

In mean time, will continue to upgrade exhaust and get a ported tb to help performance a bit, and add that spray afterwards to top off.

Properly done a little spray is a wonderfull thing!! Congrats!

Yessir, great option and pretty inexpensive with good returns. Waiting on those ported tb dyno numbers, btw:)

Im waiting on DYNO numbers for the RX Supercharger. That will be my cure for V8 bug.

Oh yes, that would def be a cure, but $6000 is just too much for me at this point.

I've had to teach a few import owners lately (2 about 15 min ago) some respect for Chevy. The Camaro and LFX in particular are highly under-estimated IMO. Exhaust and intake make a very nice improvement in power as well.
All I need is some decent tires. Chevy should be ashamed putting those POS BF Craprich tires on the 1LT, what a joke, I cant wait to get rid of them once they are worn out.
As far as the humiliated stuff, I test drove an auto and it was a dog compared to my manual. SO...make sure you are not shifting too early, as you not only will miss the best part of the power band but dump yourself into the next gear early and below the powerband. This engine likes to rev, the torque is actually really good IMO, but 4k-6500 is where its at fun/power wise.

Thanks Henry! Unfortunately, I have the auto v6 1LT, and it does feel "like a dog" vs the v8 SUV accelaration and snap, and how seemingly easy it gets up to speed. Have not driven stick in like 9 yrs, and don;t really want to, but man, the shift points gotta be off on the A6, 'cause it just doesn't feel like it shifts at best points.

Best option is to try paddle shifters on Sport mode. Tried that, but again, the car wants to shift around 2000rpm, or 7-10mph increments! However, I;ve read that the manuals shift around 4-5000 rpm range! So again, perhaps the A6 shift points are a bit off?

The answer: some will say, "get a trifecta tune!" Really? Why should I be spending 300-400 on a tune to make my car feel right? We shouldn't need to do that. It's like GM really went conservative on the parameters of the v6, and it sure can do better.

Manuals shift when the driver decides. On the auto, if you are at WOT it doesn't shift at 2000K, it shifts at close to redline. Sport mode will firm the shifts up a bit and hold the shifts longer when not at WOT.

Just went out for spin, and confirmed that at WOT, it defenitely shifts around the 4000-5000 rpm range---felt much better, more agressive, and more of what a sports car of this type should feel like:D

However, why does it seem to be sluggish under calm-moderate acceleration? It's like it's "bored" under conservative normal driving style, but really likes when u lay down the hammer:headbang:. Of course, this eats up my gas, man. Left at 24.6 mpg avg, and now I'm down to 24.1 after more agressive WOT driving to Home-Depot, LOL.

Will stick to Sport mode from now on, as it does feel a bit more crisp or alive under normal acceleration. Just wish, it was snappier, and felt less sluggish when accelerating normally/moderately from dead stop to 40mph range. For some reason, after it gets into 4th it feels very easy and smooth, and accelerates much better from 40-80mph, than from 0-40mph.

Maybe that ported TB would help in waking up the low-end---there's like some lag, or something under normal acceleration 1500-2000 rpm.

When you put the shifter in M it's in sport mode until you use the paddles then it is in manual mode. If you are using the paddles you deside when to shift. Mine never shifts up when using the paddles at 2000rpm unless I do the shifting.

ABird-you're right. Funny thing is that when I paddle shift in Sport mode, the car seems to like to shift around the 2000rpm mark, and 8-10 mph increments. For example, shiting from 1st to second, around 10mph, and around 2000 rpm, it already seems to want to get into 2nd, and so that's when I shift to 2nd, m2, then around 20mph, around 2000rpm, it's ready for 3rd, etc. I've tried shifting around the 3000-4000 rpm range and it seems over-revved, for some reason? This is for an A6. Seems like manuals are a bit different.

When paddle shifting, around what rpm range are you shifting?

It really depends on the type driving I am doing but never under 3000rpm, I would say under normal driving around 4,000. It really makes the car peppier.

You must be driving really light on the pedal. I typically drive in 'M' and unless I want to seriously hold traffic up she won't shift at anything less than 2500-2750.

Don't be afraid to rev that motor. It MUST be spun to move that car with any authority.

Honestly, I just think your being too nice to it, lol :)

This^ my LLT shifts just before redline at WOT while in sport mode. I always drive around in sport mode. However I'm going to use drive on my road trip to the cities to see what kind of MPG I get. I should be able to control myself being my GF will be with me, and she doesn't like to drive spiritedly like I do. :iono: :laugh:

I got 24MPG while in sport mode driving to OK ~1,000 miles. But I was cruising pretty quickly.

SimpleGreen & AngryBird: maybe you're right! Guess since I've been focused on getting good mpg, I might be driving it a bit conservative. I've notived that the car's mpg ave suffers most from 0-40 mph, accelerating from stop to around 4th gear--it eats up gas in that range, but after that it's great with mpg.

Be right back boyz---I'll be taking my 1LT for a little spin and try the sport mode paddle shifting in the 3-4k rpm range and see what happens.

Perhaps this car just likes more agressive driving. That's cool, but I don't want 20mpg avg, EITHER---for that I'll rather have a v8, lol.

Don't even worry about the paddles. Just let her ride in 'M' and shift auto. Just don't act like the go pedal is an egg shell. I'm averaging 25MPG and I'm not by any means the slow car on the road.

Spartan--yep, this car shines on hwy. Has no problem accelerating past 4th around the 40-50mph+ range. It's fun to set it to cruise control 75mph on hwy, and whatch the mph avg keep rising--amazing. However, making the most mpg from 1-4th, 0-40 mph, city driving, it's a different story---gotta be easier on throttle, cause accelerating agressively from dead stop to 4th, up to around 40 mph, it eats up gas, LOL

The only other thing I can say is....ignore your MPG on your DIC. Your just gonna over analyze it constantly, lol. Reset it at the start of the tank, drive the car how you see fit, check it when your dry ;)

Word! Drive the car, have fun. It it costs $3 more a tank to drive how does that compare to the payment? This is a 323 HP car not a Nissan Sentra!!

I wish the LS had a sport mode. I am hoping the engine/transmission tune I get with the RX Supercharger plus the gears I plan on installing make it much better.

Well, just came back from little experiment drive. Started my stealth fighter up, and looked through my CD case, popped in Alter Bridge, "Ties that Bind", :headbang:turned vol up, and hit the road on Sport mode, no paddles.[ Reset mpg avg MPG and then blasted some Creed, "Bullets".]

Took a trip around city, 10 miles. Avg speed was 22 mph (stopping, slowing down, etc). Had about 5 stop signs, 5 traffic lights. This time I accelerated more agressively, aroround 2500-3000 rpm untill I got to 45-50mph, and then "coasted" keeping it around 1200 rpm, and man, this car loves it. Great combo. Had to pass a slow a$$ truck in front of me slowing everyone down, and crossed 2 over-passes (uphill).

Looked at my avg MPG DIC, and 24.1 mpg avg:thumbup:

Amazing for a city drive! From now on, will only drive in Sport mode:)

Don't think of an SS with spray...:popcorn:

No SS here, just the v6, but man an SS with even 75 shot of NOS would be crazy!:rolleyes:

Love the challenge of the v6 and making the most of it. I think that installing a nos kit, leaning to one of those 3ple Threat kits, is a great way to have the 70-100 hp and torque ready to fire when needed, and thus have the SS feel and more at the flip of a hidden switch, for about $800, instead of paying $6000 for a supercharger.

Just noticed an interesting fact:

The SS trim comes with 426hp/420ft-lbs torque = 1.01 hp/torque ratio.

However, my 2012 1LT has 323hp/278ft-lbs torque, which = 1.16 hp/torque ratio.

Perhaps its this torque difference in the v6 that makes it feel a bit heavy/sluggish when accelerating...my CAI defenitely help a bit in the low end feel, but still not as agressive as I'd like. Just needs a little more throttle response on low-end. Perhaps the Rx ported TB will help a bit more in this regard.

Do you have a tune yet? You should see the night and day difference a tune makes on the automatics. We can make it shift harder and faster, and hold gears longer. Plus you get more power out of the car.

No tune yet, but have heard of the trifecta tunes, its def something i'd try. An A6 with 323 hp should b feel more responsive and accelerate more effortlessly than what its set from factory. My wife's old 2004 sequoia tank with 240 hp snaps ur head back into seat when tapping throttle, yet my camaro v6 I have to aggresively step on gss around the 2500-3000 rpm range to feel like its alive? No way...its should feel like that at 1500 rpm, like an old freakin Sequoia, at least, lol.

GM def set some conservative parameters at low end. If a tune can make the car shift and accelerate better, increasing responsiveness, it would b sweet. Instead, to make it accelerate nicely i have to rev it around 3k rpm! It should b able to feel responsive @1500-2000rpm instead, no?

For the a6 v6, we get 323 hp, but only 278 ft lb torque to move the 3700 lb beast. However, SS get 426hp and 420 ft lb torque, very close, for almost a 1:1 ratio.

The v6 should have something like 315-320 ft lb torque to get that similar to SS hp/torque ratio. Maybe GM purposely programed a torque reduction, or maybe its just the gearing.

Its the torque. Since you have a 2012 Camaro I would go get it tuned by a professional in your area. Your car can be read by EFI Live... Take advantage of it. I would kill for that!

Also, no offense but it seems like you drive EXTREMELY conservatively. I know you want MPG but if you wanted that much why didn't you just buy a smart car or something. This is a Camaro lol drive it like you stole it!

One thing to remember, Nitrous is basically a "track only" thing... Using N2O on the street is illegal in the majority of states... Also, having used N2O myself, I really wouldn't want to use it anywhere beside the track... But that being said, the INSTANT TORQUE of N2O is a RUSH!!!! And is very additive and will leave you craving more!!

Saw your thread yesterday and I really wanted to reply but the thread go closed lol.

First off, there is no way that Toyota Sequoia should be keeping up with your Camaro. That thing runs a 16+ second quarter mile on a good day whereas your car is capable of at least a mid 14. Average people don't realize that depending on how far you run, just a few car lengths is a KILLING...when they may be thinking..."wow just a few car lengths...thats keeping up". Its not.

I had a truck with a V8 with almost exact same HP/TQ output as the Sequoia but my truck was likely lighter, and I know it wouldn't keep up with my Camaro.

Lots of factors can go into making your car feel sluggish. 1)...its hot out. These cars do not run nearly as quick in hot temps. 2) If your car was heat soaked when you ran it (meaning you had driven it previously before it had enough time to fully cool off) that would have made it run much slower. 3) Sounds like you may not have driven it to its fully potential

Accept under hot conditions like it currently is, I don't really feel like my auto is a dog....of course I do have several mods on my car. My car feels pretty strong as it sits now. Also, in sport mode and under WOT my car will not shift until redline..so around 6,800 rpm. Your car should be doing the same.

Last thing...if you want to play around in your car a bit and learn which rpms are the most fun (in each particular gear) put it in manual mode and drive around that way. You will notice that stabbing the gas in 1st gear gives you that "head kick" that your looking for, and doing the same in 2nd gear when your rpms are around 4,000 or more will do the same. Even 3rd gear on the highway doing around 70 mph does it a little, but not as much as the two lower gears. I love playing around in manual mode, although if I'm going a timed 0 - 60 run I do it in sport mode because that is generally going to be the faster/easier way to do it.

Now get out there and have fun! :D

COMPLETELY!!!

One thing about the automatic... at light throttle, even in Sport mode it's pretty up-shift happy! So once you start rolling the car will up-shift to 2nd gear, which will feel sluggish! I had Vince re-adjust my shift point at light throttle, so even if I was say rolling through and intersection or pulling out into traffic on a turn, i would stay in 1st gear! That way when I was ready to punch it I would be in the RIGHT GEAR!! Made a huge difference in drivibility and FUN!

Thx KM and scrming for ur help. Thats exactly how my car feels! Seems like the low end hift points are off, and has a sluggish feel to it. Should not have to be agressive on throttle, like punching it at 4000rpm for it to feel alive. The old sequoia in my example feels alive on a launch with a tap of throttle at around 1500rpm, where as in my A6, I have be agressive on throttle punching it around 3500rpm to get similar feel. Keep in mind im talking about normal driving, and not punching it at atrack.

In theory, the car should feel more responsive from factory. Its got the power. However, it seems gm went very conservative on low end responsiveness programming/set up, or the shift points are off, or the gearing.

You would think they would launch an iconic "sports/muscle" car to it's full capability. However, theres too many out there that want fuel economy... go buy a PRIUS.

Same issue with the pontiac's & caddy's I owned prior. Went to Vector Motorsports for ECM/TCM reflashes on those. Looks like trifecta may get my business as well with this car (severly disapointed).

What screming just described above with regards to the car wanting to upshift, and fix by vince is exactly what im trying to say and accomplish...guess a tune is easiest way.

how much do those ported throttle bodies go for? honestly i think the money is well spent on a tune instead. its snaps your head back more. resets your computers knowledge of any driving habits
And as far as the whole "why get a tune" idea.. every car off the lot is restrictive due to emissions and state laws, so GM and other car companies have regulators or govenators to limit the cars performance.. tune it and let the beast outa the cage

and about the shifting.. mine never shifts under 3000. push it to redline! LFX can roar!

$165 with shipping after you send our old one back. There's a $200 core charge in the meantime.

John B.

Agreed that the A6 can come alive when flooring it or drving it agressively. Any v6 would do that as well if you drive it hard. Yes, my A6 1LT from a dead stop can launch and throw head back if I punch throttle and go wot, and at wot will redline shift...however, this is not what im worried or concerned about. Im not drag racing when going to work or daily driving, lol. So no need for wot, or rev it high to shift around 4000 rpm...this will eat up gas, and one of the big reasons I got the v6 was for mpg, too. Great car, good power, and great LFX engine that can give me 323 hp while also 24-26 avg mpg! If I wanted to drive it like a madman, amd not mind 18 avg mpg, I would have def gone SS route. Im sure with the auto SS, we dont have to punch the throttle to 3000-4000rpm pulling out of house to work to make it feel "alive".

Im just trying to figure out way to keep my nice 24 avg mpg, while getting my A6 V6 to feel responsive around 2000-2500 rpm. It's gotta be the Torque.

Hopefully a tb will help, amd surely a tune would do the same. Just wish I didnt have to spend money on that to begin with for a feel the car should have from factory, imo.

I second BNRs statement. The tune is well worth the cost.....shifts like a beast IMO!

Your really comparing apples to cookies though.

It's hard to find spec's on the 4.7L but I know it makes atleast 315tq at 3400 RPM. Your Camaro only makes 278tq at 4800 RPM. That is exactly why it feels good at 4000RPM and up. If you aren't driving the engine where it makes power, then it just doesn't make power. There is no magic trick to making a V6 drive like a V8 short of serious power adders. Big motors make power down low, little motors make power up high. That's why those Hondas have tachometers that get awful close to double digits.

My 1993 Chevrolet C1500 has a 5.3L LS V8 swapped into it. The engine is 100% stock, even still has the cast steel exhaust manifolds. It has a 4 speed automatic transmission. The only work is a custom computer tune. Stock the engine makes 285HP/335TQ. She feels VERY torquey off the line at low RPM and when running through the gears it feels like an animal. It would probably suck the paint off a 2004 Sequoia.

And down to the numbers, she's no faster than my Camaro ;)

The car does have the power, you just aren't letting the car use it. A tune WILL make a noticeable difference, but it's not going to move the whole power band 2000RPM lower. The engine simply does not make power at 2000 RPM. Honestly, it's amazing with the cars high curb weight that what power it does have manages to move it around as well as it does. You'll gain back what GM took out with torque management and the extended shift points will keep the car in its happy place longer atleast.