Camaro SS as a trip car

[jimbow]

A tale of two different trips:
Trip 1 - ATL to Ft Laud, 2010 Chevy Tahoe.
We had to stop every 90 min or so so I could stretch my legs and get the circulation back.
Trip 2 - ATL to Miami, 2012 Camaro 2LS
We stopped every 2 - 3 hours to use the facilities, get something to drink or eat. My legs never had an issue - wooohooo

My wife and I take the Camaro on trips whenever its just the two of us. One year we loaded the car down and headed out to Danville, VA so I could drive/instruct at VIR. We love taking the Camaro on trips instead of the Tahoe.

[guerrillakilla13]

lol where to start..

Simplegreen, yes my T/A was 4th gen. I tried my best to keep the interior good but you're absolutely right; it's a really badly made interior. They definitely didn't have longevity in mind when they made it.

Does Chevrolet maintenance cover rear gear fluid? Cause I get free maintenance for 2 years. And as far as beating it up goes; i'll gladly give it some spirited runs (already have at 800-900 miles XD) but I waited, because this is a car I wanna keep for over 100k miles. I'm doing everything in my power to keep it healthy for years to come. And also, it doesn't feel fast..which is why I need that Longtubes and catback pronto!!

you guys are really making me wanna do this. But for now, college starts soon, I have no girl to go with, and my oil change will be due mid trip if I went somewhere now.

[goinggone14]

Originally Posted by guerrillakilla13

How do you all feel about using your Camaro SS as a trip car? I mean, how much wear and tear does it do to our cars? Mind you I have a 1LE (less tire wear and bigger gear ratio really) but im thinking about doing a 1000 mile round trip in a month or two. Any thoughts?

Car currently has 800 miles. I'm not old enough to rent a car quite yet :(

I've got about 2500 miles on my SS since May - plan on taking a round trip 1300 mile trip to Myrtle Beach this weekend. So I'll let you know how it goes, but I expect no problem at all.

Originally Posted by guerrillakilla13

Thanks everyone for your input

I'm 23, I have to be 25 to rent. The only thing holding me back is money, since..you know..I just bought a brand new Camaro hahaha. I'd love to do a road trip, I just don't wanna pay big bucks down the road cause again the tire tread looks really small (and they're expensive to replace!). I don't have a single doubt it'll be comfortable, I'm just wondering if its appropriate to take a high performance car on a long trip (reliability speaking). Sounds like it is

You're gonna drive those miles eventually, might as well be somewhere cool rather than going to McDonalds 200 times.

Originally Posted by guerrillakilla13

lol where to start..

Simplegreen, yes my T/A was 4th gen. I tried my best to keep the interior good but you're absolutely right; it's a really badly made interior. They definitely didn't have longevity in mind when they made it.

Does Chevrolet maintenance cover rear gear fluid? Cause I get free maintenance for 2 years. And as far as beating it up goes; i'll gladly give it some spirited runs (already have at 800-900 miles XD) but I waited, because this is a car I wanna keep for over 100k miles. I'm doing everything in my power to keep it healthy for years to come. And also, it doesn't feel fast..which is why I need that Longtubes and catback pronto!!

you guys are really making me wanna do this. But for now, college starts soon, I have no girl to go with, and my oil change will be due mid trip if I went somewhere now.

Go to college, find a girl, skip class for a week. That's just about the easiest 3-step plan you'll have in life. As a relatively recent college grad, I would advise you to do it now before your life sucks forever. Read: you get a job.

[Indydriver]

Originally Posted by guerrillakilla13

But for now, college starts soon

Originally Posted by goinggone14

As a relatively recent college grad, I would advise you to do it now before your life sucks forever.

You guys are hilarious. You have no idea how good you have it. I just bought my first Camaro as a graduation present for myself. You see, I just made my last college payment for my third child. I have sacrificed for my family for thirty years. I am now 60 and looking forward to "life [not] sucking" as I wind down my career, drive my Camaro vert and collect my social security checks from your Gen. Work hard boys!

[ChrisBlair]

Originally Posted by drape487

Tried to take mine on a 900 mile trip. 700 in and i had to get the motor replaced 2011 L99 spun bearing damage crank shaft and more. Happened with cruise control set at 74. You never know whats going to happen to any car on any roadtrip. My motor only had 14k miles replace under power train warranty.

Your poor experience doesn't set the standard however.

[Camaro54]

I don't understand why people buy these great fun cars then they are afraid to drive them. These cars are built to drive hard. Why would NOT drive it. My opinion is drive that damn car and have fun. I drive mine almost everyday even though I also have a 2013 Tahoe. Just turned over 56000 miles of fun. Keep a good insurance policy and warranty and enjoy it.

[Nor Cal ZL1]

Originally Posted by BadAndy

Just over 13k miles on my 1LE and tires are still relatively ok...but I don't tear them up either. I've been on a couple 600-700 round trip drives that were smooth as can be.

I have 12,000 miles on the F1's with a surprising amount of tread life to go. It seems I may drive the car enough, but not hard enough often. Most miles are from road trips with my govenor (wife) keeping me in check. She likes the car, but not when I get on it, plus as an added tire bonus she get motion sickness in the turns. Don't worry about the tires, some get a few thousand, other get close to 20,000, the choice is how you drive. Get out there and add up some miles.

[mariojmoe]

Originally Posted by Camaro54

I don't understand why people buy these great fun cars then they are afraid to drive them. These cars are built to drive hard. Why would NOT drive it. My opinion is drive that damn car and have fun. I drive mine almost everyday even though I also have a 2013 Tahoe. Just turned over 56000 miles of fun. Keep a good insurance policy and warranty and enjoy it.

Amen, seems I'm almost a unicorn with mine being driven pretty hard every day. They are mass production cars intended to be driven and not kept under a cover and looked at. Mine will have 80+k by end of next yeat (yes I bought it brand new in April '14). I'm too poor to not enjoy something I bought.

[goinggone14]

Originally Posted by Indydriver

You guys are hilarious. You have no idea how good you have it. I just bought my first Camaro as a graduation present for myself. You see, I just made my last college payment for my third child. I have sacrificed for my family for thirty years. I am now 60 and looking forward to "life [not] sucking" as I wind down my career, drive my Camaro vert and collect my social security checks from your Gen. Work hard boys!

By relatively recent, I mean 3-4 years ago. It's very wishful thinking for me to believe I was "recently" in college; probably because I wish life was still that easy!

However, I'm with you, my first new car purchase was a present to myself this year. The affordability of a 1LE, let alone food and residence, while still in college is a little more suspect... Enjoy your retirement, maybe I'll get there some day...

[guerrillakilla13]

First of all; I don't get girlfriends, cause out of all the things I've learned how to use or keep, women isn't one of them. Second of all; all the money I had went into a 1LE Camaro. 3rd, geez mario 80 miles in 1 1/2 years??

[Cldgin2]

Drive it like you stole it man..... Get in it, get in it now. Roll the windows down, turn the radio up, point it in a general direction, set cruise at 75-80 .....

Do it now and don't look back until Sunday morning

[dcarlos55]

Two trips to Indy, 900 miles one way and 1 trip to Baytown, almost 900 miles one way plus many shorter trips. My car has a big cam and 3.91 gears. Two of those long trips were after the cam and gear swap. Cruise control on 78 still got me 21+ mpg.

The car is pretty comfortable to drive for 8-9 hours at a time with just gas stops. Get out there and enjoy the car.

[Gr8ride]

I have taken two long trips one to New York last year and another to Washington DC a few weeks back, the first trip was in my 2012 2ls the second trip was in my 2014 2Lt, I thought the seats on the 2ls were more comfortable after a few hours, but all the extra stuff in the Lt makes the trip even better the HUD is great and helps a little with the fatigue. The 2ls is great for City driving, the Lt not so much, but when you take them out into the highway something magical happens. Mileage increases dramatically and the car drives like a dream very stable ride and plenty of power on tap. One caveat, it can be a ticket magnet.

[Zombie killer]

I drive my 2000 miles round trip to Virginia from Florida and set the cruise at 80+ Many many times. Drives like a dream. Only drawback I experience is the crappy bridge approaches and they hammer my lowered suspension setup like you wouldn't believe.