To trade or not to trade? That is the question

[christianchevell]

You are about exactly the same ET as the heavier Challenger and your so worried about speed its kind of really annoying..... You want to go with a VVT cam and the lowest rating and avoid having a torque convertor change and frankly most likely plan to drive it like a daily driver and not worry about it...…… If your so impressed by a Scat pack well good for you they have more space inside and I imagine worse gas mileage as they are pretty heavy. Comparing sports cars is what it is; there will always be something out there faster or better until the end of time.

The problem with the VVT1 cam is it may put you where you want to be, and cost the same as a install as a much more radical cam, If you wanted a faster car right off the bat you should have went stick for one, and picked a later year for 2 as they developed things more....Yet you have what you have and that's the eternal challenge to be happy with what you have.

Out there are about ten butt billion Prius driving people who swear there electric powered turds are so much better when in reality they are worse for the environment having had to make all the batteries they might as well drive a Hummer ...That's the Truth...… Perception is what it is and for you only you know what will make you happier. SO you may want to look for something else down the road and that's just the way it goes as change is what you can count on. I am not going to give build advice to someone on the fence its a waste of time most likely. Being happy with what you can afford in life and such is a trick others have mastered better than many of us..... its all in where your priorities are. And life changes those.

https://www.zeroto60times.com/vehicl...-60-mph-times/ Me if I was going to get a Dodge it would be the Hellcat and more a just daily driver and someday collector car for my kids when I die... but practically it would be better to retro fit my Camaro to the COPO electric engine as we all know some day oil will be rare, and then the Camaro can live on for a long, long, long time...…..

Actually the designer of the Fifth gen is currently working on most likely a Electric Camaro for the next generation because the perception of the masses is what moves the asses and that's the Smellenial way who think the new green deal is the bees knees and hate America because its not what their Commie spouting College Professors tout.... As they pimp them out for raises and turn them against their parents morals with lies they never have to prove true and direct them to their idea of Nirvana which BTW is all BS.

SO think about what really matters to you, do you just want a decent daily driver that's fairly fast...well that's where your headed with your budget, if you wanted louder and more bottom end grunt others design things to be louder right off the bat to appeal for those with only a EGO and a gleem in their eye..... Anyway all the European big names are dumping mega billions into exploiting the perceptions that electric is so great....god knows we all are going to die in 12 years from global warming according to the great all knowing bar tender from the Bronx..who majored in Economics and apparently Communism....

Me I used to belong to a car reliability tracking site ….. Chevy then Ford then Dodge order of the cars with the least problems in the sports car era this last decade..... True Delta. And they only show the Charger on there.... and its not doing so well BTW in terms of reliability..... maybe they could not get enough of a focus group to show the Challengers rating and etc...… who knows.... But someone babied that Camaro and hardly drove it, you may in your tune want to eliminate the torque management more, throw some gears at it and get a throttle controller just to be more able to burn rubber......

[Joecruiser]

Wow...awesome advice from members, especially Ibl3.
24? My oldest boy is 23...he drives a 15 Stang GT.
You are without a doubt rocking it more than I was your age.
Kudos to your parents!

The Scatpack Challenger is an awesome car...but so is your SS.
Hold on to it, pay down the loan and gradually keep modding it.
Don't go overboard since it's , I'm assuming, your daily.
Speed...there's always someone faster...and it's addicting...but it's not a priority.

Oh and get that '79 back on the street....thats the year I graduated from high school, LOL!

[SnakebiteSS]

Thanks for all the feedback guys, Christian I wasn't intending to irritate anyone, I was simply seeking out advice to not make an impulse buy. If it annoys you that much, please skip the thread. My apologies. I do appreciate the rest of your insight in your post though.

Yes I chose the 1.2 vvt cam so I didn't have to fool with a stall. I don't care for stalls in a newer car like this. LS motors gain quite a bit of power from just a cam so I didn't want to make it an all out race car but I see your point.


Joecrusier,
Yes sir I'm old school my parents raised me in hotrods and rock n roll. My dad's car is a 70 chevelle SS big block monster lol. So I have a need for speed at times. The SS isn't my daily anymore, I have a company car now so it stays in the garage with the 79. I'm definitely not happy with my generation and don't share the typical millennials mindset. I prefer no electric power plants in muscle cars but That's just me.

The 79 is one weekend away from being done!

Thanks again everyone for the help! I appreciate all of you.

[christianchevell]

well good for you, you wanted honest you get it here LOL because opinions are like aholes...ROFL Stick with the horse that brung you for a while you just got it and it takes time to properly throw money at something. Some day down the road if you need a family cruiser you can pick up a scat pack or srt8 or what ever cheap as I know I have watched the price of used hellcats and just so you know BTW they are depreciating in value more than zl1's imagine that...…. Me I may just forgo the Collector factor crap as I know from looking long and hard at their engine bay working on ones a PITA for a hellcat as its paper thin clearances not so nice and a fifth gen zl1 price is looking pretty nice the 6th gen still high.... and tracking like its more than keeping value better than a hellcat.... IMO.... Good Luck to you, yup there is always a gleem in the eye of a hot rodder until their wife hits them up side the head..... Car shows are like candy stores to us old motorheads, and I ate a lot of candy in my day...LOL Liked blue about the late 80's early 90's burple was cool... LOL so was Halloween.....

71 and a 73.

[bertha01]

I vote : Trade for 6th Gen SS

[LCPLPunk]

You need a converter man, seriously. I know you said you don't want one, but if you want to be fast you need one. I paid like $600 for my 3200 278mm Circle D converter and my car is a rocketship now, AND the 3200 is one of their smaller ones. It drives great and just GOES.

https://www.camaro5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=512382

I was in the same boat you were and I asked if a cammed L99 would beat a stalled L99 and the consensus was the stalled one would win.

[StingrayblueSS]

Originally Posted by LCPLPunk

You need a converter man, seriously. I know you said you don't want one, but if you want to be fast you need one. I paid like $600 for my 3200 278mm Circle D converter and my car is a rocketship now, AND the 3200 is one of their smaller ones. It drives great and just GOES.

https://www.camaro5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=512382

I was in the same boat you were and I asked if a cammed L99 would beat a stalled L99 and the consensus was the stalled one would win.

Where did you find that? That's a good price.

[SS 310H55A]

Originally Posted by LCPLPunk

You need a converter man, seriously. I know you said you don't want one, but if you want to be fast you need one. I paid like $600 for my 3200 278mm Circle D converter and my car is a rocketship now, AND the 3200 is one of their smaller ones. It drives great and just GOES.

Ok disclaimer here, my experience with a 3200 stall converter is limited, not trying to say you’re wrong. I will say though that it sucked balls hard on the street. Felt like I was constantly driving a slipping transmission. Being able to bring the RPM way up and mashing the gas was fun but I wasn’t about to do that at every stop light. This was in a 4th gen z/28. I hated it so much I ended up selling the car for my 2014 SS M6.

[Greenhornet2]

Supercharge your current car. You'll be in it for less money than that zl1 and the challenger and beat both. I'm around 600whp on a whipple 2.9 on 93 octane. Dynotuning july 9th I'll have the real numbers

[StingrayblueSS]

Originally Posted by SS 310H55A

Ok disclaimer here, my experience with a 3200 stall converter is limited, not trying to say you’re wrong. I will say though that it sucked balls hard on the street. Felt like I was constantly driving a slipping transmission. Being able to bring the RPM way up and mashing the gas was fun but I wasn’t about to do that at every stop light. This was in a 4th gen z/28. I hated it so much I ended up selling the car for my 2014 SS M6.

I've heard so many people say their cars drive like stock with a converter. Maybe it was tune related?

[Joecruiser]

Originally Posted by christianchevell

well good for you, you wanted honest you...

Christian, I reread your replies in this thread and all I gotta say is...have a beer on me!
You have the right perspective for living life...I couldn't agree more with your views.

[weSS1LEy]

You have the cam kit. Install it and kick ass

[weSS1LEy]

Originally Posted by LCPLPunk

You need a converter man, seriously. I know you said you don't want one, but if you want to be fast you need one. I paid like $600 for my 3200 278mm Circle D converter and my car is a rocketship now, AND the 3200 is one of their smaller ones. It drives great and just GOES.

https://www.camaro5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=512382

I was in the same boat you were and I asked if a cammed L99 would beat a stalled L99 and the consensus was the stalled one would win.

I’ve never heard that the converter makes it faster. Can someone explain this to me?

[silversleeper]

Originally Posted by weSS1LEy

I’ve never heard that the converter makes it faster. Can someone explain this to me?

It does not exactly make it faster. It slips more so in a way it makes it slower. The concept is that it will slip until the engine is at a higher rpm, called the stall speed where it starts to lockup with hydrualics, (the mechanical locking clutch is separately actuated), say 3200rpm. At this rpm the engine is making more hp than a stock converter that might stall at 2200rpm. Once you are in the higher rpms, e.g. not from a stop in 1st gear, the higher stall doesn't help anymore as you are already at 5,000rpm or more between shifts. A stronger converter helps if you need that, but that wasn't your question.
Unless the converter has a locking clutch and not too high stall speed that slip is annoying on the street. You push the gas and it's "soggy" and doesn't have that positive snap until the rpms climb.
If you don't know what transmission slip feels like it's something like lightly applied emergency brakes or driving on snow or mud. Then engine speeds up but the car doesn't grab and go.
A better way to achieve higher rpms is differential gearing to 3.91 to 1 or 4.11 to one etc.
Changing the converter is easier and if your tires don't spin it helps racing from a stop. You would see less gain in roll racing or if you have tire spin.
I would add, back in the day with 2 speed or 3 speed automatic transmissions or 4 speed manuals, the improvement was more dramatic. Now the 6, 8 and 10 speed transmissions the gearing improvement is already done for us in a more mpg efficient way in the transmission.
Putting in gears or a converter is legit mostly for drag and roll racing. Depends if your tires will hold the added torque and you want to compromise on street manners and mpg.