So tell me.. what's it like driving the SS compared with faster sports cars?

[coolman]

Originally Posted by sen10l

What I'm looking for in the Camaro is a feeling of "losing control" - that I need to withhold power to avoid losing control. I don't get that feeling with my current car. I have to floor it to feel the acceleration but I don't feel "out of control" and I don't feel that I have to restrain myself.

So your looking to get the fear of god put into you. Well, buy an SS with the manual and drive it with the traction control off. If you really want to have the crap scared out of you buy the 2010GT500 and turn the traction control off.
I don't know why you think a supercharger has anything to do with insurance being high. It isn't for me. My camaro cost more than my GT500 to insure. I think it's because their're smashing the camaros up left and right.

[TommyTSquared]

Originally Posted by sen10l

no. I just don't want the feeling to die like it did with my current car. I haven't reached the acceleration threshold where I'm sitting on the line between control and out-of-control so I don't know what that's like. I'm hoping to glean the experiences of people who have reached that point or crossed that line.

The old saying applies: What do those with power want most? More power.

You need make sure you can actually handle whatever it is you're wanting to buy. Going from something that takes little to no effort to control to something that have the ass end in front of you, head first into a bar ditch flipped over, etc. without knowing how to control it is bad news bears waiting to happen.

[biojack]

this is a bizarre thread.....

[TommyTSquared]

Originally Posted by biojack

this is a bizarre thread.....

You should read his other ones... they're all about the same pretty much.

[sen10l]

Originally Posted by TommyTSquared

The old saying applies: What do those with power want most? More power.

You need make sure you can actually handle whatever it is you're wanting to buy. Going from something that takes little to no effort to control to something that have the ass end in front of you, head first into a bar ditch flipped over, etc. without knowing how to control it is bad news bears waiting to happen.

precisely: I will always be sensible and go within my limits but I will never exceed my limits if I don't have a car that goes beyond them.

If I were to score my current ability as a 5, I want my car's abilities to be a 10. Through normal driving, I expect to increase my ability to 7 but stop there (because I will never exceed that until I take it out to the track and learn how to race properly).

I'm hoping the Camaro SS is a "10", and not a "7" (whilst the Z/28 is a 10 for example). If the SS is a "10", and the Z/28 is a "12" - then I'd be happy with the SS.

[sen10l]

Originally Posted by biojack

this is a bizarre thread.....

It's only bizarre for those who don't do analysis habitually.

It's simple. My goal is to buy a car that I won't get bored with X number of years down the road given an understanding of my current behaviour. If I ascertain that I would get bored of the SS, then I should aim for a different car at the outset.

Articulating my goal to solicit useful information is the bigger challenge.

I do encounter many people like yourself who really don't do these kind of analysis in daily life. They appear to make decisions on gut-feel and either keep making the same mistakes over and over or they get lucky and eventually find something that makes them happy long-term (and wasting a lot of money in the process). I try to avoid gut-feel decisions by learning from past experiences and applying some analysis on future decisions. There's nothing "bizarre" about that.

My questions stem from the fact that I do not have past experiences with high performance cars. I can only base my experiences on tame sports sedans. Therefore I must ask questions of people who do have these experiences, and somehow try to articulate what I am trying to visualize.

[biojack]

Originally Posted by sen10l

It's only bizarre for those who don't do analysis habitually.

It's simple. My goal is to buy a car that I won't get bored with X number of years down the road given an understanding of my current behaviour. If I ascertain that I would get bored of the SS, then I should aim for a different car at the outset.

Articulating my goal to solicit useful information is the bigger challenge.

I do encounter many people like yourself who really don't do these kind of analysis in daily life. They appear to make decisions on gut-feel and either keep making the same mistakes over and over or they get lucky and eventually find something that makes them happy long-term (and wasting a lot of money in the process). I try to avoid gut-feel decisions that by learning from past experiences. There's nothing "bizarre" about that.

My questions stem from the fact that I do not have past experiences with high performance cars. I can only base my experiences on tame sports sedans. Therefore I must ask questions of people who do have these experiences, and somehow try to articulate what I am trying to visualize.

do you play dungeons and dragons?? you speak as if you are looking for an out of body/astral projection type experience.....i'm not sure you'd be able to apply your expectations from any of the cars you talk about responsibly and safely.

i am no speedracer, but to me anyone that questions if 4.5s 60s are exhilirating enough, well..i dont know if i wanna be driving on the same roads as them

[TommyTSquared]

Originally Posted by biojack

do you play dungeons and dragons?? you speak as if you are looking for an out of body/astral projection type experience.....i'm not sure you'd be able to apply your expectations from any of the cars you talk about responsibly and safely.

i am no speedracer, but to me anyone that questions if 4.5s 60s are exhilirating enough, well..i dont know if i wanna be driving on the same roads as them

He mentioned he's a six sigma person... so it could be talking to someone in a different language

Originally Posted by sen10l

precisely: I will always be sensible and go within my limits but I will never exceed my limits if I don't have a car that goes beyond them.

If I were to score my current ability as a 5, I want my car's abilities to be a 10. Through normal driving, I expect to increase my ability to 7 but stop there (because I will never exceed that until I take it out to the track and learn how to race properly).

I'm hoping the Camaro SS is a "10", and not a "7" (whilst the Z/28 is a 10 for example). If the SS is a "10", and the Z/28 is a "12" - then I'd be happy with the SS.

Well it would be hard for us to run along the same scale as we're all different, but that's where your analysis is coming into play. Honestly, if I was standing face to face with you and you started to ramble about this I would tell you to stop talking, you're making this more complicated (aside from the fact that it's a decent sized business transaction) than it needs to be, drive it, if you like it - buy it and enjoy it.

You don't seem to have money problems, so if you don't like it or want more you can always spend more money and get what you want out of it or go with something else. Seriously, stop over analyzing it. If you treat this car as some big statistic, equation, [business] venture then you wont enjoy it.

[TommyTSquared]

Another idea... If you go to a dealership, ask whomever your sales person is if anyone working owns a camaro SS (or corvette or whatever) and tell him you're on the fence about performance. Then ask if whomever owns one of these cars can give you a ride, and during the ride ask them if they wouldn't mind opening it up.

[biojack]

Originally Posted by TommyTSquared

He mentioned he's a six sigma person... so it could be talking to someone in a different language

understood! i used the Kepner Tregoe Decision Analysis process to help me decide on my car as well. But my objectives seemed to make sense (performance, comfort, cost, handling, features. etc.)

I don't want to be rude, but the whole "losing control" aspect is a bit much...

I wanted a car, did some research, set some expectations, made obeservations, sat in a drove a camaro and that was it....!

Maybe the subtle nuances and differences don't mean as much to me...Guy at work today said "heard you're getting a V6 camaro" i said "ya.." he said, did you know the 3.8 genesis coupe goes 0.1s faster to 60 mph...I said " So.....? wtf am i going to do with an extra tenth of a second in a Huyndai?? did you SEE what the Camaro looks like???"

These things are just weird to me...

[nhra stocker]

For me my Camaro feels and runs alot like my brothers 2001 ZO6 385hp Vette. Both cars ran 12.6s in the quarter , the vette handled better in the corners. But overall they were very comparable.

[1badSS/RS]

Originally Posted by sen10l

since you described the feeling of the Vette in more words, could you also please describe the feeling of the Camaro? You used the words "violent" to describe the Corvette acceleration. What words would you use to describe the Camaros?

What I'm looking for in the Camaro is a feeling of "losing control" - that I need to withhold power to avoid losing control. I don't get that feeling with my current car. I have to floor it to feel the acceleration but I don't feel "out of control" and I don't feel that I have to restrain myself.

The thrill of a sports car is the wild and thrilling aspect of it, and what kind of thrill would it be if the car is within the limits of your ability, when you cannot push a car beyond your ability into that danger zone? The thrill of amusement rides is the feeling of no control in a sensation that feels dangerous.

Given you seem to describe the Vette in a thrilling way, is the Camaro "thrilling"?

They are both extremely fast, but the Camaro feels more refined. Maybe the additional weight, but it doesn't shove you as deep into the seat as the Vette. The Vette is a street legal race where the Camaro is a fast, smooth riding muscel car. Hard to describe... go test drive both and you will see.

[Hopper]

Originally Posted by 1badSS/RS

They are both extremely fast, but the Camaro feels more refined. Maybe the additional weight, but it doesn't shove you as deep into the seat as the Vette. The Vette is a street legal race where the Camaro is a fast, smooth riding muscel car. Hard to describe... go test drive both and you will see.

Funny...I feel exactly the opposite you do. To me...Corvette = refined performance/handling and Camaro = raw muscle! The Vettes I have driven are very predictable at or near the limit. Always know what it is going to do. Camaros always have a little surprise for me...much more of a handful...and more fun!

[kdbolt70]

Originally Posted by 1badSS/RS

They are both extremely fast, but the Camaro feels more refined. Maybe the additional weight, but it doesn't shove you as deep into the seat as the Vette. The Vette is a street legal race where the Camaro is a fast, smooth riding muscel car. Hard to describe... go test drive both and you will see.

I get what you're hinting at. The vette packs a *punch* when you hit the throttle, where the Camaro really likes to roll on the throttle more.


Really, its the pull, the fact that from 1500 to 6200 RPMs you can continually get sucked further and further back into your seat, that makes the camaro so awesome. Couple that with the sound, and its definitely a mean ride. The Corvette is more snappy. I guess thats the best way I can describe it.