Quote:
Originally Posted by boxmonkeyracing
nothing official, still speculation. more then likely the manual will be a tr6060 or if you're into the aftermarket called the t-56 magnum. as for the engine. some 6.2L that's supercharged. . .lol.
What about suspension??. . .i think that will make or brake the car as much as the engine and transmission setup.
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Thanks for the clarification
boxmonkeyracing!!!!
You're totally right in that the suspension set up is also critical, however my guess is that GM marketing people and engineering Dept. will concurr in that the Z28 will appeal and attract a particular niche of the sports/gt car market.
In so, I expect them to offer a very highly tuned sport suspension, biased towards improving lateral grip first (roadracing), then launching capabilities (drag racing) as a second priority and leaving a marginal level of comfort for daily street driving as their third goal.
I remain puzzled as to the engine and tranny choice since at times I feel that GM as painted itself into a corner here: a Z28 "raison d'etrč" is to be a superior performing version of the standard issue CAMARO, which means higher power and torque, so, what space does GM have to do this??.
In the upper echelons of their cars line up is the LS9 engine (a supercharged version of the LS3 with some additional interesting engineering modifications) which powers the CORVETTE ZR1: all the day dreaming in the world will not make an auto manufacturer shot itself in foot and offer its most potent engine in a less expensive car package which is also as visually appealing as its most expensive sports car yet goes one tier up the ladder with a decent/usable back seating for two and a huge closed trunk!!
So forget about the LS9 600+ hp for the Z28. It is an unreal option imho.
Then there is the LS7, displacing 7+ liters and powering up the CORVETTE Z06.
Similar reasoning applies here: the Z06 remains in the line up since most enthusiasts covet a higher dose of hp and torque than offered by standard VETTE's but few can afford the price tag of the ZR1
and, let's face it, once that amount of money comes into perspective even hard core american automobile loyalists begin to have visions of european exotics.
So the Z06
has a market and its unlikely its engine will be offered in the Z28 for the same issues I refered to about the ZR1 engine.
Then the other issue is the horsepower plateau: the LS7 is already in the 500+ bracket, some 80hp above the CAMARO's stock LS3, but its max torque output is just about 470 lb/ft, hovering a stone throw above the LS3's 420 lb/ft benchmark.
There is not much distance beween these engines in terms of output performance, so I believe it is difficult for GM to come up with an engine configuration for the Z28 that improves on the performance capabilities of the LS3 used in the standard CAMARO, while at the same time avoiding to invade the turf of its other best selling sports cars
and simultaneously there is the need of having such engine based on a powerplant being manufactured now (I do not think a business case can be made for making a new engine and tranny designed solely for the Z28 -- the car selling figures will never justify it).
What options remain??? In my humble view, a way out of this cunundrum is to outsource the engine & tranny, and perhaps some other specs too, from a specialty shop, like GM used to do with Street Legal Performance (SLP) when they offered the FIREBIRD FIREHAWK, which you could buy back then from any PONTIAC dealer.
Anyway, this is why I asked about the final engine & tranny choice being announced or not: there is a lot of speculation, desiformation and wishful thinking about this, but until GM makes a product and marketing decision on this front and commits to it, I do not see the Z28 happening, despite how much I'd love it.
The release date will keep on being postponed and pushed further in the calendar until this issue is dealt with, imho.
Incidentally, tommyn2, watch your words.!! This is the same company (despite its bankruptcy reorganization) who once had the foresight of making a dashing car like the FIERO, only to juggle with at least four different engine configurations during its production cycle, all of them vastly inadequate, leading to the early demise of an otherwise cool looking design.
They also made the Caddy Allanté, the Aztek, the ... shall I go on????
So while you think that your joke was cute, better watch what you write... there are always those clueless souls that cannot differentiate sarcasm from intelligent expression... and some of them, unfortunately, are also car company executives!!!
Safe driving to all,
The Flash