Camaro in winter

[CamaroJim56]

Someone above mentioned this, I will chime in...

I believe that many of the people saying that all-seasons will work, are not driving the SS. I put all-season General G-Max on my 13 2SS, and still I worry about driving in the snow with them here in VA.

The torque I believe DOES make a huge difference. A less torque V6 would most likely feel much different.

The 20" monster tires on these do not help at all either, a narrow tire cuts through the snow better. The Pirelli's that come stock, are absolutely horrible in snow, and cold weather rain.

If you make the jump, either make sure to get some dedicated snow tires, not all-season, or at least try a V6.

Look at the cars people are driving on this forum, if it says RS or SS in the side bar, they are running 20" wheels and tires, same as yours would come with.

I love my car, and it would kill me to wreck it. I myself, am not willing to drive mine unless absolutely necessary in the snow. I tried, was not a fan of the traction. And I am not a kid, I have been driving in VA winters for 40 years.

Good luck, make a smart decision.

Jim

[CamaroJim56]

Smart young man.

I am one that went from the 2LT to a 2SS, the V6 has PLENTY of power. As manbear states, it will outrun plenty, not that you should be trying this. Ant the V6 and V8 are nearly identical looking. A non Camaro person can't tell them apart. So many positives with the V6 for you, please consider it.

Jim

Originally Posted by Manbearpig

Definitely understand, here's why I mentioned the loan though.

KBB places a 2010 SS with little to no dealer mods at $25k fair market. Safe to say that is not the out the door price. Taxes on the car and whatnot may honestly have you paying 27-28k for out the door. This is on top of the mileage already driven on the car and any maintenance that has to be dealt with. Add to that, you want to drive it in the winter, another cost. I did not see the specific amount you plan to spend but 25k for an SS will not give you much bargaining room, and bargaining room is needed when dealing with a used sports car.

I hadn't mentioned the resale value due to two reasons. The first was I didn't think you'd want to trade the SS in later, the second is that the SS is a V8, naturally it's going to command a higher price, that doesn't necessarily mean it sells faster then the Audi however which is something to bear in mind. I'm not huge on verts so I didn't consider the maintenance based on that, but depending on the SS you're looking at it may come out to be cheaper in the long run. I'm also going to assume that for taking that car, you'd get the "parental perks" e.g dad would help out when it came to resealing it. I may be completely wrong though.

Now winter in the cars, truthfully, it's doable. Really is, I know you had mentioned Chicago and I just daily drove it through the past winter. Thing is though, I'm a V6, modest amount of torque. Torque is your worst enemy in adverse conditions because it doesn't take a whole bunch to plant you on the side of the road or have your tires spinning in snow. The Camaro is built like a tank and heavy enough to handle its own though provided you have the proper tires. I can't speak for an SS in the city but I'm sure a member can, I know I had 0 issues with the V6 and getting around with a switch of tires. Your mileage may vary. AWD however is always going to be the superior choice if you're comparing the two. RWD as I said before is less forgiving of mistakes.

Now, on to choice, I wanna be frank. I have nothing to gain from steering you away from an SS, nor do any other members on here who are advising you otherwise. in fact, we have more to lose by costing GM a sale. I mentioned considering the V6 earlier because it covers every base (winter, mileage, reliability, power but not a redundant amount) that you and your dad seem to be concerned on. You're going to outrun a good 85-90% of cars on the road with just the V6, I guarantee you that. On top of that, the 25k you want to spend will go much farther. You could literally get a brand new 14' for 25k, a nice one. The V6 will give you time to adjust to the uniqueness of the car and give you time to practice driving it in the winter. Once you're comfortable, your car is paid off. You can save a bit more and trade in for an SS, again Gen 6 is around the corner and GM is promising to knock our socks off performance wise. The only reason I plan to keep my V6 is as a DD honestly, it's a blast to drive, has been incredibly reliable and practical and is just a great car overall. My toy will have much more power and torque but I won't need to drive it every day either. Consider that most Camaro owners on here upgrade from V6 to V8, ask anyone who has and they'll tell the same; the V6 has plenty of power and then some. It's just compared to the V8, it's obviously going to lose.

Just bear these things in mind. You seem like you got your head on right and I know how you feel, I was 17 not 4 years ago.

[Outlander]

Originally Posted by CamaroJim56

Smart young man.

I am one that went from the 2LT to a 2SS, the V6 has PLENTY of power. As manbear states, it will outrun plenty, not that you should be trying this. Ant the V6 and V8 are nearly identical looking. A non Camaro person can't tell them apart. So many positives with the V6 for you, please consider it.

Jim

Just curious, does anyone really want their car to look like something it is not? If so, what kind of statement are they trying to make vs what others actually think?

I remember working with guys that would rip on people in Lexus, Infiniti, BMW, Audi and Mercedes entry level cars for putting on airs as if they'd really made it.

I would hope that people just like what they drive.

[CamaroJim56]

Not sure what point you are trying to make, I am only trying to tell him that there is nothing wrong with the V6. And he has nothing to gain with the V8, except power, which at 17, and driving in the snow, I don't believe he needs.

I think it is a safer and smarter decision for him.

Originally Posted by Outlander

Just curious, does anyone really want their car to look like something it is not? If so, what kind of statement are they trying to make vs what others actually think?

I remember working with guys that would rip on people in Lexus, Infiniti, BMW, Audi and Mercedes entry level cars for putting on airs as if they'd really made it.

I would hope that people just like what they drive.

[ChrisBlair]

Question for all the people- and yes the parents too- who blandly say "I would not allow it"-

Do you just not trust young people? Or is it your children you don't trust and therefore you assign that lack of confidence to all young people?

I'm 42 by the way. I was putting much bigger engines into V8 powered cars when I was 19. I think it's complete hogwash that a young person can't behave responsibly with a powerful car. I read posts here from many 20- and 30 somethings that show me that a lot of them have zero experience with "high HP RWD cars" too.

[CamaroJim56]

Not trying to argue with you, and I even didn't say he shouldn't, just hope he is practical and goes with a V6.

I got your age by more than 10 years, but we are close enough in age.

I think many of us "older" people just do not see the maturity and common sense in today's younger people. This is just a generalization of course, some are.

Just look at the death rate for todays young driver compared to my, or your generation, guarantee it is much higher today. And they have safer vehicles. That being said, we didn't have cell phones and texting and such.

I was young and foolish at one time, but I believe I knew my limits better than most young people today. May have just been me.

And I am not childless, I have a 31 y.o, a 25 and a 23 y.o., and I did the best I could with their life's lessons. They think so much differently than we did.

I don't blame the kids in all cases, I personally feel that we, their parents, have created what they are. I do have many regrets in this regards.

I think this is what most of the older people are referring to.

Originally Posted by ChrisBlair

Question for all the people- and yes the parents too- who blandly say "I would not allow it"-

Do you just not trust young people? Or is it your children you don't trust and therefore you assign that lack of confidence to all young people?

I'm 42 by the way. I was putting much bigger engines into V8 powered cars when I was 19. I think it's complete hogwash that a young person can't behave responsibly with a powerful car. I read posts here from many 20- and 30 somethings that show me that a lot of them have zero experience with "high HP RWD cars" too.

[ChrisBlair]

Originally Posted by CamaroJim56

Not trying to argue with you, and I even didn't say he shouldn't, just hope he is practical and goes with a V6.

I got your age by more than 10 years, but we are close enough in age.

I think many of us "older" people just do not see the maturity and common sense in today's younger people. This is just a generalization of course, some are.

Just look at the death rate for todays young driver compared to my, or your generation, guarantee it is much higher today. And they have safer vehicles. That being said, we didn't have cell phones and texting and such.

I was young and foolish at one time, but I believe I knew my limits better than most young people today. May have just been me.

And I am not childless, I have a 31 y.o, a 25 and a 23 y.o., and I did the best I could with their life's lessons. They think so much differently than we did.

I don't blame the kids in all cases, I personally feel that we, their parents, have created what they are. I do have many regrets in this regards.

I think this is what most of the older people are referring to.

Plenty of young people are responsible, and there are WAY too many "mature" people who do the same things- but worse, they are "supposed to know better". Somehow, those "adults" don't get blamed as much as "kids". Compared to the cars you and I drove growing up, a new Camaro SS is a walk in the park and as safe as a baby's crib. We didn't have traction control, ABS, usually didn't have any disc brakes, we didn't have airbags and crumple zones and 5mph bumpers and shoulder belts. Our cars usually had way more balls than brakes, heeled over like a sloop in a gale when you turned, had a lap belt if it was new enough to have them at all and would let you end up under the dash in a crash, had live rear axles that made for spectacular if unexpected "fun", had steel spokes that would impale you on the steering wheel, had bench seats that let you slide away from the controls in a turn, rigid bumpers, tires with the contact patch of your average pair of Nikes, and sometimes, steel dashes.

No young adult is immune from foolishness. Neither is any "real" adult. We like to think we are more "mature". It's not as common as you hope, unfortunately. We heap distrust and blame on young adults and then wonder why they resent older people or authority.

[SnowyCamaro]

Originally Posted by ChrisBlair

Plenty of young people are responsible, and there are WAY too many "mature" people who do the same things- but worse, they are "supposed to know better". Somehow, those "adults" don't get blamed as much as "kids". Compared to the cars you and I drove growing up, a new Camaro SS is a walk in the park and as safe as a baby's crib. We didn't have traction control, ABS, usually didn't have any disc brakes, we didn't have airbags and crumple zones and 5mph bumpers and shoulder belts. Our cars usually had way more balls than brakes, heeled over like a sloop in a gale when you turned, had a lap belt if it was new enough to have them at all and would let you end up under the dash in a crash, had live rear axles that made for spectacular if unexpected "fun", had steel spokes that would impale you on the steering wheel, had bench seats that let you slide away from the controls in a turn, rigid bumpers, tires with the contact patch of your average pair of Nikes, and sometimes, steel dashes.

No young adult is immune from foolishness. Neither is any "real" adult. We like to think we are more "mature". It's not as common as you hope, unfortunately. We heap distrust and blame on young adults and then wonder why they resent older people or authority.

Very well said IMO.

I'm 20 now and grew up with parents who think the same way. Heck my dad does way worse things than I do at 50. They had no problem with me wanting to buy a v8 I just had a problem with the gas lol. If your parents are concerned about you driving a v8 then they should teach you how to drive it "properly".