Camaro SS in track action - Looking good.
First off let me state I drove and obsessed between the Mustang 5.0 and the Camaro SS and I am very happy with my choice. I am not going to bash my SS.
But in driving the two almost back to back it becomes apparent the Mustang feels like it handles better then the Camaro. But yet on the track (the kind with curves) they are very close as evidenced below.
Trying to achieve handling feel is not like the drags or dyno where you get hard numbers to back up your changes. It is all in the driving experience, the way driving the car makes you feel.
Car and Driver, the magazine many here now love to hate, does a cool thing every year with their Lightning Lap. They take the current crop of new cars back to the same track year after year so you can compare track times between different cars.
From this test we know the Brembo Mustang 5.0 is only slightly faster than the Camaro. One would assume the non-Brembo Mustang would not fare so well against the SS. Car and Driver also includes very concise summaries of each car that help explain how the drivers feel about the car they are hot-lappng.
The following two excerpts are from Car and Driver:
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Originally Posted by C&D LL 2011 - Mustang 5.0
With that package (the Brembo option), the GT turns a 3:08.6 lap, 0.9 second quicker than its longtime pony-car rival, the Camaro SS, managed in last year’s Lightning Lap…..The GT’s steering is above average. Turn-in is crisp, handling near neutral, and controlled trail braking is possible…..The GT exhibits a little more body roll than the GT500, which makes the side-to-side-in-your-seat banging around less intense and more tolerable…..Because the 5.0-liter is, once again, cool as ice. Vanilla Ice. (Sorry, this has nothing to do with handling, but I cannot resist Mustang Vanilla Ice references.)
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Originally Posted by C&D LL 2009 - Camaro SS
It might feel as wide as Nebraska and offer the outward visibility of a corn maze, but the Camaro SS is actually quite at home on the racetrack…..The Camaro leans slightly before it takes a set, and this initial roll compliance, combined with sluggish steering, is immediately noticeable on turn-in. It was especially apparent through the uphill esses, which require subtle, quick transitions from left to right. It all adds up to a momentary hesitation before the Camaro takes the desired course, and this minor delay made the car feel massive as it sluiced through the esses, exhibiting the gracelessness of a freighter.
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So there you have it. Even though both cars track (at least on this fast track) about the same, the Ford feels better.
My question here for either modded suspension Camaro owners familiar with both cars or the suspension upgrade craftsman is how do we get that crisp neutral feel the Brembo Mustang possesses in the Camaro. Or conversely how do we get rid of the ponderous barge feeling in the Camaro?
I know the Mustang enjoys a 225 pound weight advantage but that cannot be the whole answer. I suppose some of this answer may lie in suspension geometry and steering hardware that is expensive to alter. But how much of this is the suspension and how much is the SUV heavy wheels and tires?
The Camaro has two big advantages over the mustang, a more rigid chassis and IRS. Why the disparity? We know the Chevy guys spent a lot of time tuning the Camaro suspension. Are the Ford guys that much better?
I am looking at upgrading My Camaros suspension in the spring. I know the rear sway bar will help with the understeer.
But how do I achieve that crisp, light on it's feet, tossable feel in my Camaro and lose the ocean freighter effect?