BLOWN AWAY by chat w/ GM Performance Division director (gears, power potential, etc.)

[headpunter]

so today i was lucky enough to talk to al oppenhieser at great length. he had great insight into the car being head engineer.

the most important things i got out of him were

1. the camaro with the fe3 suspension will pull .97g in lateral acceleration on a skid pad. in comparison a porsche 911 turbo does .96....yes thats right a chevy is better from the factory. getting over 1g is a matter of changing to grippier tires. just think what it will do with the pedders bushing set. Al also said he he thought the pedders hard bushings would give it alot more.


2. for all the people wanting to run power adders on the engine and were wondering about the rear end IRS. dont worry. All said they have run 650 WHEEL HORSEPOWER thru it and it was still pristine he figured the stock rear end could handle much more. how much more i guess would be up to you to find out....

i also sat at the same table with John cox the accessories manager for the camaro. He was super great to bounce questions off of.

1. the blade spoiler is alot better then the normal rsv6 and ss spoiler and has been wind tunnel tested.

2. the ground effects kit has little effect on the aerodynamic properties.

3. there will be a hurst short throw shifter option for the car that makes the throws even better then the standard car and will be available with a pistol grip, t-handle or standard hurst ball shift knob.




really when at the moment i am so excited i cannot process all the joy i feel about the car and its capabilities. its just so much more then we could have asked for in this price bracket. its just simply amazing


i will post my pics later but now i have to go to bed since i have to be up in 5 hours to catch my plane.

good night all, Today was an AMAZING DAY for all camaro lovers. this car is so much more then i even dreamed of and we should all be rejoicing.

[headpunter]

reserved for pix

[Congoman775]

Amazing.

[stovt001]

Perfect. I like the looks of the blade spoiler and if it improves aero nicely, done deal. Does the GFX package include a chin spoiler? I like the look of it but I'm worried about ground clearance.

[fad1]

Thanks for sharing the info, it got me really excited. Hope you have a safe trip home.

[fierodeletre]

.97g? Good lord. That's with the stock 20s and tires? Amazing. What do the three models of corvette pull? I know the ZR-1 is over 1.0g, but a stock SS pulling .97g is simply fantastic. thanks for the info.

[headpunter]

i forgot to add that there will be a 3.73 rear end added for my2011

[Supermans]

This is all very good news. The SS Camaro is comparable to a porsche 911 turbo while turning/cornering using all stock parts I don't like the look of the blade spoiler but it is good to know which one works better.. I'm definitely getting a base Camaro SS since I don't want to go above $30,000 in my order. I cannot allow myself to go crazy on any extra's, even the lighting and boston acoustics audio. If it starts at $28,000, taxes and other fee's will bring it up over $30 but that is to be expected.. I want cloth seats as well since I live in Florida so unless the base SS comes with leather, I will be content with cloth... Overall I'm excited about the car and can't wait..

[nfamous209]

nice, .97g's is sweet. definitely a capable car. good to hear about the rear too. i like my hurst in my camaro good choice in stickin w/ it.

[GMRULZ]

Originally Posted by headpunter

i forgot to add that there will be a 3.73 rear end added for my2011

So 3:73`s won`t be available at launch?

If not what ratios will we have?


Thanks!

[logan1080]

I think the final drive ratio is 3.47? correct me if im wrong that is just what i gathered of the camaro specs sheet.

[Mr Twisty]

Bring on the photos!
"the fe3 suspension will pull .97g in lateral acceleration"
Don't want to hijack your thread, figured this would be a good place to add what I heard also...
He also mentioned the driver has full tranny control with the paddles on the auto tranny, you go into a corner in the gear you want, unlike the competition it stays in that gear rather than automatically dropping a gear, so you can let the suspension load up in the corner and an unplanned shift isn't going to upset your car. That will go well with those flat torque curves all the motors are showing on dyno. He said full control, I wish I would have asked him if it lets you take it beyond redline. I would assume no, but...
headpunter, did he happen to tell you what his best personal 0-60 times were?

[headpunter]

4.6 0-60 i recall

also for top gear fans he said they will be working with the show to have jeremy or james drive the car for a review that should air around launch.

[AZCamaroFan]

.97 g? So the SS has more cornering power than the base Corvette??