Thanks!
Yessir on not much cost.
I initially bought a 2010 Camaro 1SS LS3 with the intention of hitting the strip once more. Used to race a decade ago and decided I wanted to get back to it. Got the Camaro in Feb. 2010 and started investing in mods. Tried out a couple of CAI's and a cat-back exhaust.
Long story short, I was facing about $6.5K in mods to create a 11 sec., reliable daily driver with the Camaro. Majority of this was upgrading the rear end and half-shafts. I was also looking at opening the motor and moving to smaller brakes.
No more drivetrain warranty and significantly compromising the braking integrity (had to move to v-6 brakes to fit a wheel that would support good rubber) were the final issues that pushed me to make the decision to trade the Camaro in on the 2011 GT.
With the Camaro I was looking forward to having that lopey idle and single cam replacement/cost part. My old 1320 car was a foxbody Mustang with a 302. Pushrod motors are what I knew and was comfortable with. I also bought into the rumor that the new 5.0 was "maxed" from the factory with very little left on the table for improvement.
I read a few articles and followed a few vendors on the 5.0 and saw with minimal mods, an 11 sec. daily driver was easily achieved for ~$1.5K. $5K less that I was looking to spend on the Camaro.
I took delivery of my 2011 5.0 in June. Took it to the track in August to make some baseline runs. By December I had met my goal and spent just under $1.5K. My car payment and insurance were less for the same loan term as the Camaro.
All said, If I hadn't bought the car to hit the strip with, I would still be driving the Camaro. I have no reservations of owning one.
A little back story on why I moved from the Camaro to the 2011 GT.
