20 days in my 1LE - Camaro5 Chevy Camaro Forum / Camaro ZL1, SS and V6 Forums

Grubiks 9 · 07-30-2014, 03:09 PM

I took some leave back in June to go pick up my '14 1SS/1LE. Just thought I'd share a bit of what I thought on here.

Good first: It's low, sleek, and looks fast sitting still. All the qualities a good performance car needs for appearance. I chose AGM and have no regrets, it received compliments everywhere I went and looked amazing overall. Performance was very good in my opinion. It handled extremely well and never got upset no matter how I drove it. Power was good, for being factory anyway. As we all know, there can always be more power. The factory cloth seats were better than I expected, and though I never got to sit in the Recaros, as of today I have no regrets NOT spending the extra $2k for them.

I did pay extra for the BA sound system and it was well worth it. As was the NPP exhaust. The only mod I did while I was home was the fuze pull, it was the best/worst thing I could've done. It sounded amazing, however the downside is it made me want to drive it like I stole it everywhere I went! But maybe that's just b/c I've been stuck driving a 1.2L for the last 2 1/2 years here in England!

And the Bad: I only have 2 things that really bugged me about the car and the first was the Mylink. It has a couple of neat features like the weather advisories and the gas station locator. But overall it was clumsy and froze multiple times in just 20 days. I also didn't care for how it always has to be 'Indexing' every single time you get back in the car(if using an ipod). I have a 1SS and have no NAV nor do I have a back up camera making the rather large screen utterly useless and a bit ugly. I will probably spend money to remedy this when I get stationed back stateside next year.

The next is a common problem amongst 1LE owners and that was the trans. Second gear grinding was irritating and the overall 'clunk' when downshifting to anything 3rd or below for me was near unbearable. I heard people on here say, "Well if you know how to drive a stick" or "Well you have to be gentle downshifting." I know how to drive a stick and I didn't buy this car to be 'gentle', I bought it to DRIVE! So I did the quickfix and switched it over to the Redline D4. It did help with the 2nd gear grind, however the downshifting clunk remained. Really disappointed with this considering how many others I've seen here have problems with this very same issue. Not to mention how much we pay for these cars. It will be the first thing on my to do list when I get back, making my first use of the warranty.

I put just over 1700 miles on her in those 20 days and my overall consensus is the car is quite amazing. I really, REALLY enjoyed driving it. The Mylink is a very minor issue, just one I wanted to relate. The trans however is was not minor. Though once fixed, this car(to me anyway), will be amazing to me for some time to come. Now if next year would just hurry up so I can see her again...

29er · 07-30-2014, 09:03 PM

nice read Thanks.
i too think it looks fast standing still. the thing that i miss is a cd player.gm completly tossed me away with their radio..
once xm is gone, radio will be closed.i'll listen to my npp.

Shiftgreen · 07-30-2014, 09:10 PM

Good write up.

I do not have any issues with the transmission grind, it feels pretty smooth to me.
The only thing that really bugs me, is the fact those tires are like glue, in the fact not only does the road stick to it, but so does everything else.
I have splash guards but still have nicks on the gills, it drives me nuts !

Just watch for debris on the roads, and don't take turns fast if you see dirt in the middle. Otherwise it will sound like a hail storm underneath.
Best solution is clear bra.

Billy10mm · 07-30-2014, 09:11 PM

Have your dealership look at the transmission. I have no clunking or grinding in the transmission at all.

Grubiks 9 · 07-31-2014, 12:06 AM

Thanks for the input guys. I too miss having a good ole' fashioned CD player! The tires were very sticky and did have a habit of picking up everything. I do like how they handled though and at this juncture still undecided on changing them over to another tire, more to come. I will definitely be taking her to the dealership when I get back, just hate that I have to do it at all...

X25 · 07-31-2014, 04:59 AM

A manual transmission that needs to handle this much torque will always feel a bit notchy, no matter what you do, due to the sheer size of gears. In other words, it can never be as smooth as a manual transmission of, say, a Miata or a Focus. That said, if you don't rush it, Tremec is very reliable and problem-free transmission. Take a look at the videos of Corvettes / Camaros doing official laps at Nurburgring, and you'll see that the shifts are never rushed, even though it means losing time! You can only accelerate shifting by blipping it (like how the race cars drivers do so at the videos), but even that works only to some extent.

Grubiks 9 · 07-31-2014, 12:55 PM

I agree that a Tremec can be a good trans, and I understand the difference between the size of gears compared to a car with less torque. All that I'm saying is that if you've been apart of this site for any period of time, you'll know that several people have had issues with this. I'm most certainly not the first. It will never be perfect of course, but the others that have had the same problem as myself, I think will all agree with what I'm saying. Every company has a certain % of product that won't be as good going out the door, it's inevitable. This is just one of those times unfortunately.

X25 · 07-31-2014, 01:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Grubiks 9

I agree that a Tremec can be a good trans, and I understand the difference between the size of gears compared to a car with less torque. All that I'm saying is that if you've been apart of this site for any period of time, you'll know that several people have had issues with this. I'm most certainly not the first. It will never be perfect of course, but the others that have had the same problem as myself, I think will all agree with what I'm saying. Every company has a certain % of product that won't be as good going out the door, it's inevitable. This is just one of those times unfortunately.

I understand. I just hope that it is not related to driving-style, etc., since if so, it will come back again even after the fix.

Ragnar · 07-31-2014, 02:37 PM

Nice write up op!

Down the line, I would recommend to change your trans fluid. I wish that I had done it at 500 miles, I switched to Redlind D4 ATF and the shifting became so much smoother.

I don't miss the cd player at all with Pandora!

Grubiks 9 · 07-31-2014, 04:03 PM

X25: Considering it was there during the break-in period, I'm pretty sure it's not my driving. Most of my downshifts were in town and for the most part just b/c I like hearing the exhaust coming down in gears and they weren't exactly aggressive shifts. The only time I was aggressive at all with my shifts were on acceleration, and after the Redline switch even 2nd gear was as smooth as could be.

Ragnar: I did change over to Redline and it did eliminate the 2nd gear noise going up as it does in most cases. However, the downshifting to anything 3rd and below still had the clunking sound.

Ragnar · 07-31-2014, 04:58 PM

Grubiks 9
Well one thing out of the way. I'll do me some downshifting on my way home without the radio and see if I here any clunking! Another thing, these cars don't have u-joints on the drive shaft, so the drive line is real tight and with the gearing...that can make a rattle type sound. Heard the exact same rattle sound in a 2013 Boss 302 last week!

Grubiks 9 · 08-01-2014, 12:05 AM

I had wondered if it was maybe the lack of u-joints, but wasn't sure. Maybe when I get back next year I'll be stationed close to another Camaro5 member and I can see if I can get a second opinion. I'd really rather not turn my car over to a dealer if at all possible.

07-30-2014, 03:09 PM	#1
Grubiks 9 Drives: '14 AGM 1SS/1LE Join Date: Mar 2014 Location: Texas Posts: 121	20 days in my 1LE I took some leave back in June to go pick up my '14 1SS/1LE. Just thought I'd share a bit of what I thought on here. Good first: It's low, sleek, and looks fast sitting still. All the qualities a good performance car needs for appearance. I chose AGM and have no regrets, it received compliments everywhere I went and looked amazing overall. Performance was very good in my opinion. It handled extremely well and never got upset no matter how I drove it. Power was good, for being factory anyway. As we all know, there can always be more power. The factory cloth seats were better than I expected, and though I never got to sit in the Recaros, as of today I have no regrets NOT spending the extra $2k for them. I did pay extra for the BA sound system and it was well worth it. As was the NPP exhaust. The only mod I did while I was home was the fuze pull, it was the best/worst thing I could've done. It sounded amazing, however the downside is it made me want to drive it like I stole it everywhere I went! But maybe that's just b/c I've been stuck driving a 1.2L for the last 2 1/2 years here in England! And the Bad: I only have 2 things that really bugged me about the car and the first was the Mylink. It has a couple of neat features like the weather advisories and the gas station locator. But overall it was clumsy and froze multiple times in just 20 days. I also didn't care for how it always has to be 'Indexing' every single time you get back in the car(if using an ipod). I have a 1SS and have no NAV nor do I have a back up camera making the rather large screen utterly useless and a bit ugly. I will probably spend money to remedy this when I get stationed back stateside next year. The next is a common problem amongst 1LE owners and that was the trans. Second gear grinding was irritating and the overall 'clunk' when downshifting to anything 3rd or below for me was near unbearable. I heard people on here say, "Well if you know how to drive a stick" or "Well you have to be gentle downshifting." I know how to drive a stick and I didn't buy this car to be 'gentle', I bought it to DRIVE! So I did the quickfix and switched it over to the Redline D4. It did help with the 2nd gear grind, however the downshifting clunk remained. Really disappointed with this considering how many others I've seen here have problems with this very same issue. Not to mention how much we pay for these cars. It will be the first thing on my to do list when I get back, making my first use of the warranty. I put just over 1700 miles on her in those 20 days and my overall consensus is the car is quite amazing. I really, REALLY enjoyed driving it. The Mylink is a very minor issue, just one I wanted to relate. The trans however is was not minor. Though once fixed, this car(to me anyway), will be amazing to me for some time to come. Now if next year would just hurry up so I can see her again... __________________ '88 IROC-Z: Bolt-ons(SOLD) '89 IROC-Z: 355ci--AFR'd--HSR'd(SOLD) '91 RS: 383ci--AFR'd--LPE'd(SOLD) '14 AGM 1SS/1LE/NPP: Ordered March 18th, 2014. Born May 5th, 2014! Acquired June 20th, 2014.

07-30-2014, 09:03 PM	#2
29er Drives: 14 1LE Garage King Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: MTL Posts: 1,519 View My Garage	nice read Thanks. i too think it looks fast standing still. the thing that i miss is a cd player.gm completly tossed me away with their radio.. once xm is gone, radio will be closed.i'll listen to my npp. Last edited by 29er; 07-30-2014 at 09:14 PM.

07-31-2014, 04:59 AM	#6
X25 Drives: '16 C7 Z51 Join Date: May 2012 Location: Redmond, WA Posts: 3,056	A manual transmission that needs to handle this much torque will always feel a bit notchy, no matter what you do, due to the sheer size of gears. In other words, it can never be as smooth as a manual transmission of, say, a Miata or a Focus. That said, if you don't rush it, Tremec is very reliable and problem-free transmission. Take a look at the videos of Corvettes / Camaros doing official laps at Nurburgring, and you'll see that the shifts are never rushed, even though it means losing time! You can only accelerate shifting by blipping it (like how the race cars drivers do so at the videos), but even that works only to some extent. __________________ '16 Corvette C7 Z51 1LT (Build Thread) '14 AGM 1SS 1LE [COTW 11/17/14] (Build Thread) (SOLD) '13 Mazda MX-5 Club (Build Thread) '17 RAM 1500 Crew Cab 4x4 Night Edition '15 Nissan Rogue S AWD Last edited by X25; 07-31-2014 at 05:24 AM.

07-31-2014, 04:03 PM	#10
Grubiks 9 Drives: '14 AGM 1SS/1LE Join Date: Mar 2014 Location: Texas Posts: 121	X25: Considering it was there during the break-in period, I'm pretty sure it's not my driving. Most of my downshifts were in town and for the most part just b/c I like hearing the exhaust coming down in gears and they weren't exactly aggressive shifts. The only time I was aggressive at all with my shifts were on acceleration, and after the Redline switch even 2nd gear was as smooth as could be. Ragnar: I did change over to Redline and it did eliminate the 2nd gear noise going up as it does in most cases. However, the downshifting to anything 3rd and below still had the clunking sound. __________________ '88 IROC-Z: Bolt-ons(SOLD) '89 IROC-Z: 355ci--AFR'd--HSR'd(SOLD) '91 RS: 383ci--AFR'd--LPE'd(SOLD) '14 AGM 1SS/1LE/NPP: Ordered March 18th, 2014. Born May 5th, 2014! Acquired June 20th, 2014.

07-30-2014, 09:10 PM	#3
Shiftgreen Drives: 2014 2SS 1LE AGM Join Date: May 2013 Location: raleigh Posts: 301	Good write up. I do not have any issues with the transmission grind, it feels pretty smooth to me. The only thing that really bugs me, is the fact those tires are like glue, in the fact not only does the road stick to it, but so does everything else. I have splash guards but still have nicks on the gills, it drives me nuts ! Just watch for debris on the roads, and don't take turns fast if you see dirt in the middle. Otherwise it will sound like a hail storm underneath. Best solution is clear bra.

07-30-2014, 09:11 PM	#4
Billy10mm Drives: 2014 Camaro 2SS 1LE NPP Join Date: Nov 2013 Location: Hartsdale, NY Posts: 1,434	Have your dealership look at the transmission. I have no clunking or grinding in the transmission at all.

07-31-2014, 12:06 AM	#5
Grubiks 9 Drives: '14 AGM 1SS/1LE Join Date: Mar 2014 Location: Texas Posts: 121	Thanks for the input guys. I too miss having a good ole' fashioned CD player! The tires were very sticky and did have a habit of picking up everything. I do like how they handled though and at this juncture still undecided on changing them over to another tire, more to come. I will definitely be taking her to the dealership when I get back, just hate that I have to do it at all...

07-31-2014, 12:55 PM	#7
Grubiks 9 Drives: '14 AGM 1SS/1LE Join Date: Mar 2014 Location: Texas Posts: 121	I agree that a Tremec can be a good trans, and I understand the difference between the size of gears compared to a car with less torque. All that I'm saying is that if you've been apart of this site for any period of time, you'll know that several people have had issues with this. I'm most certainly not the first. It will never be perfect of course, but the others that have had the same problem as myself, I think will all agree with what I'm saying. Every company has a certain % of product that won't be as good going out the door, it's inevitable. This is just one of those times unfortunately.

07-31-2014, 02:37 PM	#9
Ragnar Destroyed by flooding Drives: Wife's car Join Date: Mar 2014 Location: Louisiana Posts: 4,673	Nice write up op! Down the line, I would recommend to change your trans fluid. I wish that I had done it at 500 miles, I switched to Redlind D4 ATF and the shifting became so much smoother. I don't miss the cd player at all with Pandora!

07-31-2014, 04:58 PM	#11
Ragnar Destroyed by flooding Drives: Wife's car Join Date: Mar 2014 Location: Louisiana Posts: 4,673	Grubiks 9 Well one thing out of the way. I'll do me some downshifting on my way home without the radio and see if I here any clunking! Another thing, these cars don't have u-joints on the drive shaft, so the drive line is real tight and with the gearing...that can make a rattle type sound. Heard the exact same rattle sound in a 2013 Boss 302 last week!

08-01-2014, 12:05 AM	#12
Grubiks 9 Drives: '14 AGM 1SS/1LE Join Date: Mar 2014 Location: Texas Posts: 121	I had wondered if it was maybe the lack of u-joints, but wasn't sure. Maybe when I get back next year I'll be stationed close to another Camaro5 member and I can see if I can get a second opinion. I'd really rather not turn my car over to a dealer if at all possible.