Top Gear Z/28 Review - "the results are both terrible and wonderful"

[Bhobbs]

I doubt they will do a timed lap with the Z/28. They never did one with the ZL1 or 1LE.

[Angrybird 12]

Originally Posted by Bhobbs

I doubt they will do a timed lap with the Z/28. They never did one with the ZL1 or 1LE.

They are afraid it will shame some of their favorite super cars....
For 1/3 the price.

[McRat]

Originally Posted by edco

I think these specialty cars Z/28, XLE, ZL1 (Mustang GT500 included) are more for advertising and brand bragging than real world driving (streets/roads/highways-not tracks). This Z28 is 3,820 pounds dry, I read all the silly things they did just to cut 8 pounds here and eight pounds there. A greater weight reduction is achieved by removing the spare tire and jack from a GT and that does not raise the price. This euro assessment is accurate. There are some enviable things about camaro, but weight and size are not two of them. The Z28 is a track performer by overkill engine and tires. It is likely a gas hog on the road and a summer car only. In interest of fair disclosure I think the Mustang GT500 is in the same place. The Boss 302, while not matching the power numbers and track numbers is a far better street driving man's machine than GT500 Z28 XLE or ZL1. It is more balanced, more responsive, more efficient, and more fun than any of these bad boy brutes. Chevy mimics all the Mustang derivations. The Z28 answers the Boss 302. I think it misses. You can make an army tank fast, but it is still an army tank.

PS - The Z/28 actually weighs the same as a 2014 Mustang GT convertible, but it's over a foot longer, it's wider, and it has a real IRS.

The GT500 coupe is heavier than the Z/28 yet it has a solid axle.

[doc7000]

3,820 pounds is the curb weight and not the dry weight.......

Also the Z/28 isn't just a great engine and tires, it also has amazing brakes and suspension as well as an amazing drive line.... and really the whole package is there though it is a focused track car based on the Camaro.....

[Expunge]

Originally Posted by edco

The Boss 302, while not matching the power numbers and track numbers is a far better street driving man's machine than GT500 Z28 XLE or ZL1. It is more balanced, more responsive, more efficient, and more fun than any of these bad boy brutes. Chevy mimics all the Mustang derivations. The Z28 answers the Boss 302. I think it misses. You can make an army tank fast, but it is still an army tank.

Umm.. no. Do you even know what a 1LE is? That will destroy the Boss 302. The Z/28 answers to nothing that Ford has in the stable.

As to the more balanced comment. You clearly have not driven a ZL1 with the magnetic suspension. Otherwise you would not make such a comment.

Oh and BTW, who is coming out with a IRS this year? Would that be the Mustang? But how can that be if the Camaro has IRS and mimics Ford. oh and btw, next gen stangs are heavier.. 300lbs heavier. Enjoy!

[Bhobbs]

Originally Posted by Angrybird 12

They are afraid it will shame some of their favorite super cars....
For 1/3 the price.

The last Chevy I remember them testing was the C6 Z06 and they ripped it even though it was faster than most of the cars on the board.

[brt3]

Originally Posted by edco

The Z28 answers the Boss 302. I think it misses. You can make an army tank fast, but it is still an army tank.

Based on the reaction from the Boss 302 Club members, over the weekend at Thunderhill, I believe you're wrong. They were incredibly jazzed about my car and had a ton of questions. After watching and hearing it on track, I think they were impressed.

Question: do you spend more time trolling or track driving? Enquiring minds want to know...

[brt3]

Originally Posted by maddoggyusa

I never understand why they are always drifting the cars, that's not the fast way around the track. One time they blew up the tires and didn't have any replacements...

It's all about the slow-motion video footage, set to dramatic music. Once I realized TopGear is entertainment, and only peripherally about automobiles, I was able to relax and enjoy the show. Even with that blowhard Clarkson...

[menendez1293]

Yes it must be pronounced Z and not Zed

[backtotintops]

Clarkson did punch Piers Morgan in the face to he forever gets a pass form me.

[bluBlud]

I love car shows but can't watch Top Gear, or Fifth Gear - they just can't ever say anything good about an American car. In fact, I've even watched shows where they'd praise everything about a non-US car then comment on things like the "dreadful American transmission" that it might have. They're clearly biased so I choose to not watch or put much faith in their opinions/reviews.

Wheeler Dealers is, I think, the only UK car show that seems to praise and condemn a car based on it's actual merits instead of it's nationality.

[Angrybird 12]

Originally Posted by bluBlud

I love car shows but can't watch Top Gear, or Fifth Gear - they just can't ever say anything good about an American car. In fact, I've even watched shows where they'd praise everything about a non-US car then comment on things like the "dreadful American transmission" that it might have. They're clearly biased so I choose to not watch or put much faith in their opinions/reviews.

Wheeler Dealers is, I think, the only UK car show that seems to praise and condemn a car based on it's actual merits instead of it's nationality.

I like wheeler dealers, seems like though they take a few too many shortcuts. But they seem to love American Muscle.

[Need4speed_motorsports]

Cant wait till the stig gets in one of these and sets a decimating lap time to shut up all those Europeans.

[edco]

Originally Posted by Bhobbs

It's clear you are missing the point of the Z/28. It was never intended to be a daily driver, fuel efficient or a comfortable cruiser.

What exactly is overkill about the LS7? It is an awesome naturally aspirated power plant.

I'll try to cover everything here. I feel like Bruce Lee against the Korean army.
Rob3D:Looks- That is up to the buyer. Buying a car is a marriage. Now who would kick a Boss 302 out of bed?

Bhobbs: 7 liter Corvette engine that gave Corvette buyers a lot of trouble. See their forums. The Camaro has all vette/Cadillac V8 powerplants. To get the Z-28 up to a performance number they had to go for more CID. It is still a tank, 7 liters are no. Are you buying one?

Ibheat: You are a candidate for the 2015 Dodge Challenger Hellcat Hemi. They boast that it will drain a the 18.5 gallon tank in 13 minutes at full power. That should suit your driving.

I think fuel efficiency counts for a lot. I think speed and performance matter. I think better engineered vehicles have both. If you make an army tank fast all you have is a fast army tank.

McRat: see Ibheat. What does the 4100+ pound Camaro convertible weigh?
Compare hardtop to hardtop. Did you read the part where I class the GT500 with high end Camaros?

Expunge: Does GM own the patent on IRS? Did they not copy it?
The 2000 Mustang Cobra has IRS and Camaro forgot to sue for patent infringement right? Repeating earlier posts: the S197 was designed with IRS.
When introduced pre-production to the largest Mustang clubs of America the members rebelled and insisted on the solid axle. Hau Tai Tang, the designer, went back to the drawing board and redesigned the rear end with the 8.8" solid axle. Lets talk about Camaro IRS. I have been under a camaro and find the four fixed link stamped sheet steel control arms a compromise (as in cheap) design. Does anyone know if the Z28 XLe ZL1 share the same IRS control arms? For the price of those vehicles the buyer should get chromolly- tubular-thread adjustable-spherical rod end controls arms. Read the tech forums here (Camaro5) about camaros that have seen a ditch. The drivers swear they cannot get 250 HP out of their SS car. That is because your vaunted IRS folded up like a lawn chair. They (dealers) malleted it back to something like straight. Every 1 degree of angle on a CVS joint costs 5 HP. You got four CVS joints in that thing. What problems does the camaro IRS solve that a Chevy 10 Bolt rear solid axle has? I think none and I think the camaro is a tougher faster stronger car with the 10 bolt in the rear.
CAD drawings of the 2015 mustang IRS are on the opposite web site. There is no resemblance to what is under your camaro. It is Ford truck tough. Go look.

ZL1 with magnetic suspension. A Cadillac component right? Do you need it?
Where on the street is it ever better than a well tuned monotube gas/oil system. On a track, yes. Oh I am sorry, I am in the wrong forum all of you guys are professional racers hauling your ZL1s in a trailer to the track.
What does it cost to service and/or replace that magnetic suspension. If you are not a sponsored race team don't ask, you can't afford it. Like the IRS, what problems does it solve for a street driven camaro?

Weight
Nobody knows what the 2015 Mustang weighs until they ship them. Rumors are not specs. If it is heavier it is for a reason. Every part of todays vehicles are CAD designed and they know the final weight of the assembled car within 10 pounds when it is on the computer screen. The 2015 has been built and running around test tracks for two years. Ford knows something about building cars but maybe not as much as you guys.

Go for it. I am braced for a beating!

Edco