Which Transmission? Which options?

[trganey]

Hi All,

I'm new the the forum and first want to say howdy to everyone. I am in the market to purchase a 2012 V-6 Camaro as a commuter back and forth to work and have a few questions.
I notice that the auto is rated to get better milage. That seems a little strange since in the past the sticks usually were rated higher in other cars. Since it's going to be basically a work car the auto is fine as long as it is dependable. I'm supose to be grown(51) but have a long history of being considerably harder on vehicles(drivetrains) than your average driver so dependability is a major issue! Is there any factory options that can be had that would make the car more likely to stand up the the strain kinda like a towing package is to a truck?

I'm also open to other vehicles if anyone can suggest a vehicle with more horse power, more gas milage, and less inital investment that doesn't have a blue oval attached to it. Not interested in a fomoco at all.
Seems to me the V-6 camaro is a pretty good package. Thanks in advance for your time and consideration.

TR Ganey

[Dangeruss]

Originally Posted by trganey

Hi All,

I'm new the the forum and first want to say howdy to everyone. I am in the market to purchase a 2012 V-6 Camaro as a commuter back and forth to work and have a few questions.
I notice that the auto is rated to get better milage. That seems a little strange since in the past the sticks usually were rated higher in other cars. Since it's going to be basically a work car the auto is fine as long as it is dependable. I'm supose to be grown(51) but have a long history of being considerably harder on vehicles(drivetrains) than your average driver so dependability is a major issue! Is there any factory options that can be had that would make the car more likely to stand up the the strain kinda like a towing package is to a truck?

I'm also open to other vehicles if anyone can suggest a vehicle with more horse power, more gas milage, and less inital investment that doesn't have a blue oval attached to it. Not interested in a fomoco at all.
Seems to me the V-6 camaro is a pretty good package. Thanks in advance for your time and consideration.

TR Ganey

Welcome to C5!

The Camaro is a great choice for a daily driver, and is the original reason I bought mine. It's also the reason I chose the automatic. I have to commute 80 miles a day round trip, and didn't want to ride a clutch in traffic. I'm sure you'll be happy with the dependability, and wouldn't suggest anything else to you. The Camaro is the best bang for the buck vehicle out there.

[woodj]

Where in Alabama?

[Mick]

Mine is a manual V6 and I love it, but its a weekend car. If I had to commute in it and expected to sit in traffic, I'd give my left leg a break and buy the automatic. As far as the old rules about manuals offering better MPG and acceleration, trannys aren't what they used to be now that computers are used to factor in shift points. A computer controlled tranny is more able to efficiently factor in conditions than people can. Despite that, I love having my Camaro with the manual for the way I drive it.

[trganey]

Originally Posted by woodj

Where in Alabama?

Marion County

[woodj]

Originally Posted by trganey

Marion County

A little far for us but you could try and find a Camaro club in your area and attend a meeting. There you'd find some people who you could talk to and get some good information from. You're more than welcome to attend our next meeting Thursday but it's probably a little out of your way.

http://www.rocketcitycamaros.com/

[trganey]

Originally Posted by woodj

A little far for us but you could try and find a Camaro club in your area and attend a meeting. There you'd find some people who you could talk to and get some good information from. You're more than welcome to attend our next meeting Thursday but it's probably a little out of your way.

http://www.rocketcitycamaros.com/

Thanks for the invite! I'll be workin the weekend like most so I won't be able to attend. We do get up that way sometimes to the race track. We run a drag bike up there on occasion.

[VR Baron]

The auto in the v6 is very good and performance oriented as well in sport mode. City sop an go and 8 mile drives only I got 16 mpg, on the freeway after intake and exhaust mods at 65 mph steady driving she got up to 34, 30-31 while stock.he Manual I have heard way to many problems, at least on the 2010-11 models

[v6]

damn you people so lazy these days! haha

[Shu71]

Each version of the V6 trans has it's own issues. Some of the manuals have a problem with a second gear grind/bind due to poor synchro's. The automatic jumps into 6th gear way too early causing low speed chugging/surging. I have the M6. I have been very lucky and do not have the second gear grind in mine although the transmission is not the smoothest shifting. Definately not what I consider to be a sports car manual tranmission. However, I love it. I commute with mine daily. I bought it March 29th and as of tomorrow she will be 7 months in my stable and she has 14000 miles, so about 2000 miles a month average. I drive half my daily commute in stop and go traffic and have no complaints. This clutch is light on the left foot and you can find the engagement point easily. Like I said though it is a bit clunky to shift. I just got back from a 700 mile straight through trip in mine and averaged 78 mph and 27 mpg. I can't complain. I average 22 mpg on my weekly daily commutes and I admit not trying to sqeak every inch I can out of a gallon of gas. The rear differential in the automatic is not a posi unit. And the axles in the auto V6 are smaller as is the dif. Either way, the Camaro can be a great daily driver. I have been very pleased.

[Trevorw24]

Originally Posted by trganey

Hi All,

I'm new the the forum and first want to say howdy to everyone. I am in the market to purchase a 2012 V-6 Camaro as a commuter back and forth to work and have a few questions.
I notice that the auto is rated to get better milage. That seems a little strange since in the past the sticks usually were rated higher in other cars. Since it's going to be basically a work car the auto is fine as long as it is dependable. I'm supose to be grown(51) but have a long history of being considerably harder on vehicles(drivetrains) than your average driver so dependability is a major issue! Is there any factory options that can be had that would make the car more likely to stand up the the strain kinda like a towing package is to a truck?

I'm also open to other vehicles if anyone can suggest a vehicle with more horse power, more gas milage, and less inital investment that doesn't have a blue oval attached to it. Not interested in a fomoco at all.
Seems to me the V-6 camaro is a pretty good package. Thanks in advance for your time and consideration.

TR Ganey

TR, as a V6 owner I can tell you that getting the manual might be more fulfilling and the gas mileage may be higher in actuality. I see about 32 MPG on the highway when driving 65, but in the city with stop and go traffic 16 MPG is likely. Good luck!

Originally Posted by Dangeruss

Welcome to C5!

The Camaro is a great choice for a daily driver, and is the original reason I bought mine. It's also the reason I chose the automatic. I have to commute 80 miles a day round trip, and didn't want to ride a clutch in traffic. I'm sure you'll be happy with the dependability, and wouldn't suggest anything else to you. The Camaro is the best bang for the buck vehicle out there.

a 700 hp DD??

[rolnslo]

I notice that the auto is rated to get better milage. That seems a little strange since in the past the sticks usually were rated higher in other cars.

Part of that is gearing differences between the A6 and M6 equipped V6 cars. A6 cars have 2 overdrive gears (5th and 6th), whereas the M6 has one (6th).
http://www.camaro5.com/forums/wiki.p...ns+%28LS/LT%29

I'm supose to be grown(51) but have a long history of being considerably harder on vehicles(drivetrains) than your average driver so dependability is a major issue!

There is a minor percentage of us that have had dependability issues with the Aisin AY6 Manual in the V6 - nearly all around the 2nd gear grind/bind issue. Not everyone has hit it but if your definition of being hard on drivetrains includes high RPM shifts, then it may be something you want to look into before making your decision.
http://www.camaro5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=91813

Is there any factory options that can be had that would make the car more likely to stand up the the strain kinda like a towing package is to a truck?

Short answer...No. Your dealer may be able to hook you up with something but there is nothing from the factory.



I used my 2010 V6 M6 as a daily driver for over 2 years and 41k miles while commuting 40+ miles RT per day in Houston traffic. Other than my problems with the Aisin AY6 transmission, replaced at 13k miles due to 2nd gear synchro issue, it was a great daily driver. Having said that, I now own a 2011 SS with an automatic and it is also a great daily driver with average MPGs of 17-18mpg over the same commute route that my V6 used to get 20-21mpg.

[trganey]

Thanks guys for taking the time to reply! My mind is pretty much made up, now it's just when, where, and how much.

TR