Quote:
Originally Posted by LuSe4
Congrats and welcome. How do you like the Camaro compared to the Vette out of curiosity realizing that they are not in the same class.
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You're right, they are two totally different classes. However, I wouldn't give all the kudos to the Vette. To break it down IMHO:
Handling and ride quality:
The Vette is a much lower sitting car and the suspension (everything from the F55 MRC to the sways) lends the car to feel more in control in the turns at anything faster than granny speed. The steering seems to be equally as tight between the two. The big advantage of the Camaro is the smoothness of the ride though. The Vette as many owners will be quick to point out, let's you feel every piece and part of the road, however it is very rough. The Camaro allows the driver to feel the road as well, but you don't feel like your head is headed for the roof every time you find a pothole. I prefer the smooth ride of the Camaro.
Power:
From a bone stock standpoint, this is hands down a win for Corvette, but GMs tweaking of the LS3 in the Camaro to de-tune it so to speak is probably to blame here. The Vette launches much more firmly without ever seeming to let up. The feeling of being sucked into your seat is evident to anyone who climbs in and with every shift, you feel like you've just been pushed deeper into the leather. The throttle response is faster and seems to be more powerful- I noticed the biggest difference in downshifting to make a pass. In my Vette 4 to 3 was one heck of a thrill ride in the pass- the RPMs would climb just enough to give you plenty of torque behind the ponies to fly passed the car you wanted to get around. When I tried this in the Camaro, there seems to be a slight throttle delay, probably due to the lack of air in and more freely flowing exhaust out (plus you can make adjustments to this in the tuner). It was just enough that it felt as though you had to build back up the RPMs to get your power back. The fact of the matter is, they are both LS3s and with a little work, one engine can be just as powerful as the other. The only edge the Vette would still have at that point would be the weight to HP ratio, and the distribution of weight on the rearend.
Parts both replacement and aftermarket:
NO CORVETTE TAX! A part for a Vette is always more expensive than the identical part on a Camaro. I won't miss that at all. With the Vette it took me forever to buy AM parts because of cost.
Best of all, I can take my son in the Camaro with me. CA law does not allow for any child in a car seat to be in the front seat of the car, regardless of the number of seats it has.
Does that help you out any? Again, both have huge upsides, but at the end of the day, each is in a class of its own- I have totally enjoyed both and wouldn't say one is an all out better car than the other, I think your individual circumstance and taste are really the deciding factors.
As far as the user name, that is exactly what my plate reads! I get one of two extreme reactions to it every time.
Will post some pics of both here in a little bit.
Thank you everyone for the warm welcome, well wishes and congratulations.
Thanks
Dave