"Normal" ownership driving

[SquawkVFR]

Definitely one of the most presumptuous, uptight, disrespectful and holier-than-thou posts I’ve ever read. There, I didn’t use the word liberal.

Funniest part? Turns out, she’s done some mods after all that “enjoy your car as it was produced” hypocritical ranting.

[St!ng]

My theory is this...

If you think your car will have a collectible value in the future (and that's important to you), leave it in a condition that is easily returned to stock. If not, have at it with all the mods that make you happy.

I am a product of the late '70. Back then I was into Mopars. A time when a rusty 1970 Road Runner made for a good $300 winter beater car (Try to find a used hood for one of these for $300 today). In the '80, these cars suddenly became highly sought after and restoring them to original was the rage. It was amazing how hard it was back then to find stock exhaust & intake manifolds because everyone put headers & aftermarket intakes on them. Every car and parts car I bought back then had Crager SS rims on them so we soured the junk yards looking for factory rally and Magnum 500 rims as well.

The point to my story is that every once in a while back then I ran across a severely cut up for drag racing 440 Six Pack or Hemi car (as told by the VIN) and thought to myself how it was too bad that the guy who cut up the low production model could not have done this to a slant 6 or 318 model instead.

I think there are way too many of most modern muscle cars being produced each year for them command huge money as collectibles in the future. The exceptions in my opinion are the Zl1s and the Hell Cats/Demons.

I also have to say that even if I may not agree with your philosophy, I respect what you are doing and would never go after someone for modifying their car. After all, we all bought them to have fun with.

[christianchevell]

The facts please; Joe Friday here; just the facts...

Its not made a factory Muscle car it comes with a pedal the "potentiometer" to delay the pedal action even, it comes with torque management to kill power if over applied to actually spin a wheel, no stock line lock like a Mustang to instantly void the warranty because they have to spin so high to even burn rubber.........

Its a a luxurious sports cruiser with A/C this that and the other, and like anything its what you make of it....that's the basis of hot rodding and why I have no trouble dispensing with others in their so called muscle cars. Keep it factory if you want, but people come here to the internet to complain; first posts..blown motor, leaks, did something stupid etc etc etc its a magnet for whiners..........Have I had troubles yup but same with about nay other build figuring out what its limits are and what to do or buy or re-torque over time or replace to maximize its efficiency or replace due to age......stuff does not run forever, and crap happens to even good people. Just the Facts.

And yes MY car is a hell of lot of fun to drive compared than the OP's, would not have it any other way............ or I would buy and build another, because permagrin is not just a Camaro thing. And BTW OP....Look Up Wongs performance engineering facebook in Vancouver and open your wallet....my cars in his pics a couple times when he has time....as he is that good and yes the results that good. And yes to all of you look at what a best local guy can do with a education.....its worth the little time to look in awe at others money being spent. https://www.facebook.com/Wongs-Perfo...-115667950915/

[Norm Peterson]

Originally Posted by Camcar

I know there must be other Camaro owners like me who drive their cars to work every day and just enjoy driving them. People who appreciate the Camaro for the legitimate muscle cars that they are and poke the throttle every now and again for some fun. Sometimes it seems like some Camaro owners want to push the limits and install all kinds of mods and beat their car until they have problems, and then they present themselves almost as victims when they experience mechanical failures. These cars are not video games. Have some respect for your Camaro. Maintain it properly and enjoy it. I can modify a Pinto to run a 12 second quarter mile. But that's not the point. The point is that these cars came from the factory legitimate muscle cars. Celebrate that. Enjoy the capabilities of your car as it was produced.

I'm sure that many owners want their car to be different enough from stock to know that they're driving something different from the same-color Camaro that they encounter in traffic.

Apparently, you've already done a couple of things to yours, so it's not exactly bone-stock any longer.


Me, I've never left any car I've owned untouched, meaning all of the family sedans too. Mods I did back in the mid-1960's were simple and on the cheap on "used cars". Had to be, as I was footing my education at the time, and admittedly some of those didn't turn out as well as others. Some of the cars since then - all bought new - weren't modified much, others extensively so. But they all remained at least reasonably streetable (and my wife regularly drove the one that got the most extreme engine builds).

These days I'm not into extracting big power; a cold air kit that requires a tune and making some reduction in the EGR volume for improved part-throttle response being as far as I've gone with any of the last four cars we've bought. It's been more rewarding as a sports car/corner-carving oriented driver to work that aspect of car performance up beyond the OE levels. Plus, if you're paying only a little attention, the improvement in subjective "feel" is something you get to notice in daily driving that doesn't have to be all that far removed from "average-normal-commuter".


Norm

[18LTLoveIt]

Originally Posted by Hixson

I would be willing to bet most people fall under the same beliefs as I do, we bought a 5th gen Camaro because it looks awesome and is an incredible platform to build on and customize. Parts availability and the aftermarket scene for these Camaros have no comparison and as such, this is a perfect car for those of us wishing to get our hands dirty, improve of cars performance or make our cars unique. Stock Camaro MSRP was what - $35,000 on average new? And a lot of us purchased the cars with 10%+ off MRSP. So initial investment of a little over $32,000 and a mod budget of say $5K-$8K brings your total to just a tad under $40,000. As long as you are mechanically inclined, and don't mess it up, the end result should be an absolute monster of a car. I would argue that you would have a tough time finding a better bang for your buck in that price range.

I'm happy that you enjoy your vehicle stock; the Camaro was beautiful straight from the factory. But I most definitely say us "modders" respect our cars just as much, if not more than you do. A decent sized mod budget and some time spent learning how to work on this car can result in a car pushing 450+ RWHP, under $40k total investment, retaining great reliability, and arguably the best aftermarket parts scene makes it a no brainer to build on this platform. Gotta remember this a hobby for some of us - building, researching, dreaming about future upgrades - its what keeps some of us going and is a big reason people LOVE the LS platform.

I have a dream, that some day V8 owners and V6 owners, modders and non-modders, can all come together and go "wow, I like your Camaro too - way to go" lol

+1 on the dream

[NC_SS]

I bought the 5th gen because I thought it was a good platform to kind of make my own

I've got a vision for my car, it's not complete yet, but it's getting there.

[redcoats1976]

ive thought about modding mine,but dayum.chevy made it pretty close to perfect as is.still trying to figure out what to do that wouldnt be drawing a mustache on the mona lisa.it does have non stock hood and decklid stripes though.

[Iron Lung Jimmy]

Modding, like plastic surgery, is great if done correctly and tastefully. Go overboard... and let's face it, some people don't know where to stop... and its

[lugnut65]

Just bought my 2012 2rss/ss 45th so im being gentle right now,I just have a lot of respect for nice cars and just like to joy ride,Im retired so no need to b DD Also have a 70 LS 408 chevelle mid 11 street car,until I hit the juice next year! It is nice to have air,and leather though so I enjoy both of them