New 5th Gen Question...

[marczsport]

I don't read all the posts as religiously as I would like (4 kids tend to place many time constraints on me!), so maybe this has been mentioned before. But....

Has any reliable source commented on whether the body panels for the 5th gen will be steel or plastic? It just occurred to me that my 2nd and 3rd gen were metal and my 4th gen was plastic (composite, if you prefer).

[Mr. Wyndham]

Bob Lutz has commented many times on how the front intake, and the grille-bordering-fender wouldn't have been possible with steel, and plastics made it possible, so I would assume, as in most modern vehicles - the Camaro will peices of both...correct me if I'm wrong, but my Personal opinion is that the roof doors, and rear body panels will be steel, and the front fender will be compsite....OR, it will all be composite - the whole "jenny Craig" wieght issue.

[TAG UR IT]

Good question and no, I haven't ever heard anyone talk about it. I'm stumped on this one. Would imagine it would mostly be some sort of plastic for the weight issue.

[Mr. Wyndham]

I'll see if I can find a link, it was a video

[Mr. Wyndham]

here it is, he says it about 2 minutes in...along with a few other interesting points. BOB LUTZ SAYS THAT THE WHEELS IN PRODUCTION "FOR SAKE OF REALITY WOULD PROBABLY SHRINK TO 18 or 20's"
I should also note how down to earth Bob Lutz is...he says, kind of goofily, "...It's not a literal interpretion of the classic Camaro grille, or we would have these 'great big round headlights'..." I chuckled a little.
http://videos.camaroz28.com/video/BB...02D9AD5E06.htm

Here's the Deal!! I'm Freaking Out right now!! I posted before I watched the whole video...stupid, but about 7:45 minutes into the video, Bob lutz Himself states that the Base V6 should be a little above 20,000, and the V8 at below, or just above $30,000!!!!! HAHA!! THIS MEANS I CAN GET A SS!!! YES!!

Okay, sorry. I'm done freaking out...

[Mindz]

OK, I had to freak out for a little bit.

Good old fashioned paper bag to help me calm down. Great find Dragon. I'm definately affording the top V8 then. I can't wait!!!

[wirewilly]

Top engine for 2009 may be somewhere in the 425 hp range to go nose to nose with the 6.1 l Challenger. BUT,,,, 2010 will get interesting when the Challenger gets a 392 Hemi at well over 500 hp and Mustang as of right now offers a 500 and 540 hp option. If the Camaro doesn't offer something in that range either in 2009 or 2010, it's all over for the General.

[marczsport]

Thanks for the info, Dragon. Pretty interesting stuff! I'll still be interested to see how much plastic they use.

I think you're both on the right track: the whole weight issue will probably preclude the use of metal body panels.

[Punk_rider]

Originally Posted by wirewilly

Top engine for 2009 may be somewhere in the 425 hp range to go nose to nose with the 6.1 l Challenger. BUT,,,, 2010 will get interesting when the Challenger gets a 392 Hemi at well over 500 hp and Mustang as of right now offers a 500 and 540 hp option. If the Camaro doesn't offer something in that range either in 2009 or 2010, it's all over for the General.

hontesly ... 400, 450, 500 ... is it that important?

beyond 400, it's almonst the same to us as we are not WRC champions ...

i'd be happy with 400. but i'd be happier, i recognize, to know i have more hp than the other guys! but it's a kid reaction, and there will always be a guy with more hp.

Kimi Raikkonen for example!

[Mr. Wyndham]

Originally Posted by Punk_rider

hontesly ... 400, 450, 500 ... is it that important?

beyond 400, it's almonst the same to us as we are not WRC champions ...

i'd be happy with 400. but i'd be happier, i recognize, to know i have more hp than the other guys! but it's a kid reaction, and there will always be a guy with more hp.

Kimi Raikkonen for example!

I couldn't have said it better myself

I always say that there is a such thing as too much power, but it's not even that, like you said, there will always be another guy with more horsepower, so get enough to be able to use - as we are not professional racers! if we do race, it's maybe once a month on the track for fun...except for a few. AND btw, if we all were professional racers we wouldn't be talking about Camaro, we'd be talking about racing-dirived cars! i.e. C6 Z06, and even that's a strech

[Mr. Wyndham]

Originally Posted by marczsport

Thanks for the info, Dragon. Pretty interesting stuff! I'll still be interested to see how much plastic they use.

I think you're both on the right track: the whole weight issue will probably preclude the use of metal body panels.

And also, plastic - though not as tough as steel, it's still pretty strong (plus you've got the unspoken anti-dent-ness of it...

[EllwynX]

Originally Posted by Dragoneye

And also, plastic - though not as tough as steel, it's still pretty strong (plus you've got the unspoken anti-dent-ness of it...

And really, in an accident the body panels will be shreded/mangled regardless of if they're plastic or steel. Look at a real accident, those steel body panels weren't where the protection for the passengers are, it's the steel frame that matters. So I say just make sure theirs decent steel bracing underneath and make most (if not all) of the body panels from some form of plastic if it helps with weight.

I'm not overly worried about weight myself. But it's a suggestion for those that are and it won't really make much difference in the integrity of the car.

[Mr. Wyndham]

Originally Posted by EllwynX

And really, in an accident the body panels will be shreded/mangled regardless of if they're plastic or steel. Look at a real accident, those steel body panels weren't where the protection for the passengers are, it's the steel frame that matters. So I say just make sure theirs decent steel bracing underneath and make most (if not all) of the body panels from some form of plastic if it helps with weight.

I'm not overly worried about weight myself. But it's a suggestion for those that are and it won't really make much difference in the integrity of the car.

Exactly, good point I was talking about the minor, "Son of A- *****" moments, a ding with a baseball bat, parking spot issue...

[Rock36]

Originally Posted by Punk_rider

hontesly ... 400, 450, 500 ... is it that important?

beyond 400, it's almonst the same to us as we are not WRC champions ...

i'd be happy with 400. but i'd be happier, i recognize, to know i have more hp than the other guys! but it's a kid reaction, and there will always be a guy with more hp.

Kimi Raikkonen for example!

I agree, but I can't help it sometimes. When that torque hits life becomes good.


Also to build on what others said about racing. A lot of people out there who have high powered cars don't even really know how to get all the performance anyway.

I've known more than a few people with 300+hp cars, but were too afraid of taking their rpms above 3000 so they never see/use that power anyway.