Topic: Camaros? (Read 296 times)

sk8phreak88 · « **on:** January 27, 2007, 06:32:00 PM »

Hi guys... Well I'm looking for a new toy to mess arround with And I'm thinking of going with a camaro... A 94 z28 6speed to be exact..

I was just wondering what everyone thinks about them? Reasons for? Reasons against? (I don't want any "they suck get a civic" stuff either-Not that I need to worry cause everyone here is cool..)

Now if all goes well, I can keep the probe AND get the camaro so thats not a factor right now..
My friend had on for a short while (Got cut off, tried to pass and slid into a light pole.. (he had it a whole three weeks exactly))

And I just couldnt get enough of it.. I love the instant power and of course, if I want to I can let the rear end get a little loose.

Anyways, any one have any opinons?

**I copied and pasted this from my probe forum hence the note to the probe**

Rylinkus · « **Reply #1 on:** January 27, 2007, 06:57:00 PM »

I'm still here man. I wonder why anyone would think I've gone anywhere....

I like my Camaro. I like the looks, I've very impressed with the transmission on mine, and I love the power. Mines been modded. It was before I bought it, so it's hard for me to give a valid review.

The pros are pretty obvious. It's a pretty cheap bang for your buck car. There's a ton of aftermarket. RWD. 6 speed makes it even nicer. Transmissions supposed to be pretty tough and mine's shifting is very notchy and I like it quite a bit. No slop what so ever. (Have a B&M STS tho, which is why I know some of my facts may or may not be meaningless.) Mine has TTops which I love. (Tho you lose the hatch area if you take them off. ) Seats are nice. Good power. (Though Ive never driven a stock Z28) Great sound. (Though it had an aftermarket exhaust when I bought it and it has a different one now.) We all know what the car is and does, so I think talking it's merits is pointless. Ill go the other way and talk it's faults.

Let's start with working on it. There's NO room under the hood. I assure you there isn't. Changing spark plugs is a difficult job. Swapping exhaust manifold gaskets took hours.

It's hot. Miserably hot. My car being black probably doesnt help matters. But I live in a colder state in Maine and yet without AC my car can be undrivable in the summer at times. The exhaust heats the floor heats the cabin heats you. Even with TTops off it doesnt help on some days.

The steering is HEAVY. Maybe it's the SS rims I have on it. Coupled with Wider tires. But I can't feel the road all that well through the steering. It's probably my biggest gripe as it diminishes the driving quality more than the heat or engine bay. This effects my driving and I must say I dont like it.

Speaking of driving. The brakes BLOW. The guy who designed the front brakes on the car didnt do a good job. There's just not enough brake, especially when you take into account that it's a sports car and everything else is performance oriented.

Optisparks fail. Huge failing point on the car. They cost 250ish. They sit under the waterpump. It leaks at all and youll be replacing them occasionally. (And I dont think 94 is a vented Opti, which is worse)

MY camaro gets no traction in the rain. Or on a slightly sandy road. Or even on very cold days when the roads tend to be a bit more slick. My car is modded, but has wider tires. It's hard to judge what a stock one would do. You have one to test drive so Im sure youll figure it out.

All in all its a VERY unrefined car. It's a modern day muscle car. It eats gas, rumbles, and goes fast in straight lines. It is not a drivers car. It does not corner well. Frankly a Probe is closer to a drivers car than my camaro. And I find there are days when I have no interest in driving it. It's #3 on the list of cars I've owned being edged out by the Probe, (But that may be for more nostalgic reasons than anything else) I like it and plan on keeping mine around. If you get a good deal buy it. If not there's plenty of other fun rides out there. Trust me. Keep us posted. If you need me you have my AIM. If you dont, PM me to get it.

Granulated · « **Reply #2 on:** January 28, 2007, 10:08:00 AM »

Awesome review, thanks for not being a fanboi

Very well put.

I'd say go for it, just cause you've got the reliable car...and sounds like the Camaro is exactly what you're looking for.

Rylinkus · « **Reply #3 on:** January 28, 2007, 02:17:00 PM »

QUOTE(Granulated @ Jan 28 2007, 06:15 PM)

Awesome review, thanks for not being a fanboi

Very well put.

I'm just being honest. I went from a Probe to a Camaro myself. My PGT was heavily modded. It was a great drivers car I thought. With upgraded engine, suspension, brakes, rims, tires, it had decent power, and GREAT feel for the road for a cheap ride. I enjoyed driving it, and had no issues driving it everyday. The camaro is the opposite. It's fast. And between it and my van I have a ride for every day.... And am waging a one man war on the environment.

sk8phreak88 · « **Reply #4 on:** January 28, 2007, 10:33:00 PM »

Thanks rylinkus!

The probe is my "go fast arround corners" car lol. (and soon my total daily driver)

The camaro will honestly just be the "look what I can do" car .

Rylinkus · « **Reply #5 on:** January 29, 2007, 07:01:00 PM »

Also rear axles are hit or miss. Sometimes they seem bullet proof. Sometimes they blow for no reason at all.

rms2001 · « **Reply #6 on:** January 29, 2007, 09:27:00 PM »

Ive had two Camaros in my day. First one was an 83 Z28 with a five speed an posi in the rear. We ripped out the 305 it came with and dropped an 85 350 out of a Corvette into it. Was red, had T-Tops and was a magnets for cops. This was a fun car all and all. Had it up to 135MPH out in the desert one afternoon. The only problem we ever had with this one was an overheating problem. It would only do it on super hot days while idling or moving slowing.

Camaro number two was a 98 red Z28, auto w/ T-Tops. We didnt have this car very long. Only a few months. I got it since I thought it would be a lot of fun to have a car again, but I got board with it farley quick. It was a ROYAL pain to work on, and all though it was fun to drive, it really didnt do any thing for me. I went back to my Jeep and never looked back.

Both cars were fun for awhile, but they were not for me As was said, they dont corner all that well. They fell big, at least big from what you would think they would be. Both cars had great steering, but it still felt like I was driving a huge car. The only thing I didnt like about either one was, it had no weight in the back. It was so easy to light the tires up, you could do it with out trying very hard at all.

If you want a car to show off, a Camaro is good. If I had the time I would like to have another 3rd gen. I think they looked better, and was a lot easier to work on. More room under the hood. The 4th gen was nice and all, but just didnt have the same appeal to me. Im only 22 and would rather have another road trip car (I miss my LS400) again. The Camaro is fun to mess around with, but not some thing I would want to drive across county with again.

sk8phreak88 · « **Reply #7 on:** January 29, 2007, 09:45:00 PM »

Oh yeah, no way it'll be for trips.. The probe is comfortable enough for that. (Little better gas mileage too!)

The only camaros I really like are the 69, and the 94+.. The other years.. I don't know, they seem to "redneck"
(No offense to people who own them, there fun still but I don't like the body style at all.)

I'm sure it'll be more reliable then my jeep as well.. (Trust me, my jeep has had everything possible go wrong on it)

rms2001 · « **Reply #8 on:** February 02, 2007, 04:38:00 PM »

If I had my choice between a 69 and a 4th gen Camaro, the 69 would be my pick. If I was going to get a car like that Id find one in decent shape, and restore it to a street car. Find a create LS2 and T56 and drop into the thing. Would be one bad ass Camaro. Go find ricers and show them what the term theres no replacement to displacement really means. Im pretty much doing that to my 55 Chevy BellAir. I love the 350 my 55 has now, but the tri-power carburetor is a hassle some times. Ive got the engine and tranny, but havent really had the time to shove it all into the car. Setting up the EFI ought to be a blast

Just out of curiosity, what went so wrong with your Jeep? A Jeep was my first vehicle, and I own one now. I will probably continue to own one as long as DCX doesnt keep their current track of screwing up their looks

sk8phreak88 · « **Reply #9 on:** February 04, 2007, 01:35:00 AM »

On the first engine, We went through 3 head gaskets, 4 thermostats, few alternator brackets-yes the brackets don't ask me how!?.

The newer engine seems to be fine and haven't had any gaskets go yet, but I have had to do 1 thermostat. Replaced the radiator with a better cooling one which helped a little. Currently, the transfer case only has 2wd, the 4wd link is shot as the threading on the end has warn through-While I'm 18, I don't beat on my cars like most would think, Esp. an 18 yearold with a jeep. I only used 4wd in the winter but now thats shot. head light switch shorted out twice and started a fire the second time. 2 fuel pumps. Last winter the salt really went to town and ate the crap out of it as well, and it's now got rust all along the bottom (major cancer too not just spot rust)..

There are tons more, but frankly. It's 3:14A.M here and I'm tired as hell.

Well I would love to have a 69, but theres no way I could afford to buy one in decent enough shape to restore, let alone have the money to restore it back to streetable conditions.

Anyways, the guy hasn't responded in a few days now and in my last email, I Even told him I had 2500 to put down for a down payment.

Granulated · « **Reply #10 on:** February 05, 2007, 11:29:00 PM »

My friend's got a '95 Camaro Z28, auto...

ran 11.8 with a 150 shot and roughly 500 RWHP before....

and the crazy sonufabitch supercharged it today...his injectors were rated for 600 HP and they were maxed out at about 5k....

600+flywheel HP=no traction when you floor it at 75....that car is freaking ridiculous.

sk8phreak88 · « **Reply #11 on:** February 14, 2007, 11:57:00 AM »

Little bit of an update here.. I found out more info on the camaro it needs plug wires and a throw out bearing.. And after hearing that I talked the guy down to 3500.. SO it's getting pretty tempting as arround here these with just those two things fixed I could turn around and sell for 6400-7000 EASILY..

Im swaping a new engine into the probe this sunday so long as the goes well it might pull me back into the neutral zone of selling it.

Decisions decisons lol.

(I'm thinking of selling the probe so I can buy a few goodies for the camaro and a learner rocket. )

rms2001 · « **Reply #12 on:** February 22, 2007, 08:24:00 AM »

Are you still talking about the 94 Z28 or some thing newer? Throw out bearing? So its got a stick. Hopefully it has the V8 too. Wires are easy enough to change, if it has them. Any thing newer than a 97 will have the LS1 engine and have coil packs, no wires.

sk8phreak88 · « **Reply #13 on:** February 22, 2007, 10:42:00 AM »

QUOTE(rms2001 @ Feb 22 2007, 09:31 AM)

Are you still talking about the 94 Z28 or some thing newer? Throw out bearing? So its got a stick. Hopefully it has the V8 too. Wires are easy enough to change, if it has them. Any thing newer than a 97 will have the LS1 engine and have coil packs, no wires.

Oh yeah, the 94.. It's a z28 with the 6 Speed tranny. I dont now how easy the wires are to do, considering half of them are in past the firewall..

SniperKilla · « **Reply #14 on:** February 22, 2007, 06:58:00 PM »

gotta love the LT1's

Author Topic: Camaros? (Read 296 times)