needing opinions

[smokin_dmax]

I know I might more than a couple biased opinions but I would like your opinion either way . Anyway I am in the market for a new car. Looking for a car with a forged engine and a supercharger or turbos. Now I can not make my mind up if I should wait for the right camaro to show up or pickup an '06 GTO that has a forged engine and a blower. For those that came from a GTO how do you like your camaro compared to the GTO? A couple years ago I sold an '04 gto that had an lq9 408. I do miss that car but the new camaro do look nice.

[red70tvhs]

hey Bud, I haven't bought a Camaro yet but I'm going to. I came from a 05 GTO that was C/I. I personally love the GTO's and if the right one came along (low miles, near mint condition, for decent price, which probably wont happen) I'd get it in a heartbeat. But things I have considered, the Camaro is a much better platform, slightly used 2ss models can be had for a few thousand more than the GTO's that meet my qualifications and still remain the powertrain warranty unlike the GTO, You can fit a wider tire, better overall performance out of the box (much, much, much better rear suspension) and a more aggressive in your face look if your into that (I prefer the look of the goats.) The manual trans feels so much better in the Camaro, and from what I know the A6 in the Camaros is a huge improvement over the A4's offered in the GTO's. It ultimately comes down to what you prefer, the 05-06 cars are on par for the most part in performance (until you start modding) with the LS3 Camaros IMHO. Edge given to the SS due to it being a much, much better more developed platform, as the mods increase so does that edge dramatically. Camaro will ride a bit rougher out of the box, but considering you had a 408 the ride isn't much of a concern. I hope this helps.

[ChrisBlair]

Originally Posted by smokin_dmax

I know I might more than a couple biased opinions but I would like your opinion either way . Anyway I am in the market for a new car. Looking for a car with a forged engine and a supercharger or turbos. Now I can not make my mind up if I should wait for the right camaro to show up or pickup an '06 GTO that has a forged engine and a blower. For those that came from a GTO how do you like your camaro compared to the GTO? A couple years ago I sold an '04 gto that had an lq9 408. I do miss that car but the new camaro do look nice.

My opinion is that you're all over the place here. First you say you're looking for a new car

Then you mention an '06 GTO. So do you mean a brand new car, or a 'new to you' car?

Then you want a 'forged' engine and a turbo or supercharger

Maybe describing an engine as 'forged' is a new way of describing an engine built with forged pistons and other higher-stress capable components that I've never heard before. However, you need to consider that any car that didn't come factory supercharged or turbocharged (and some that did) could have problems.

Especially if the forced induction is a mod from an owner, you need to consider compression ratios- are they right for the application and were they even considered, or was the blower just bolted on? How about the general strength of the block- is it known to be strong, or weak? Was the engine designed to handle boost? Is the block two bolt main? Four? Should the block have a girdle machined for it? Was the builder going to need to pay special attention to pre-loads when these mods are made to that engine? Did the people that installed the blower do that? Crank end play and walk? Is the engine an engine that has been successfully modded this way for years and has known pitfalls to avoid or is it an engine some guy slapped a supercharger on? Did it get a new crank and con rods or did the build include things like the con rods being shot peened? Did the engine get new internals at all? Who did any machine work? Any supercharged engine in a car like you're looking for is likely used hard. Have you considered doing such things as a compression test on the engine? What about the rest of the driveline? Can it handle the engine mods, or is it being abused? Did the blower mod include a cam swap? Were new pushrods of the right length used if it's a pushrod engine? How about the added weight of the turbo or supercharger system? Was the suspension considered during the build or are you going to start having problems? How about being able to pass state DOT inspection?

[smokin_dmax]

Originally Posted by red70tvhs

hey Bud, I haven't bought a Camaro yet but I'm going to. I came from a 05 GTO that was C/I. I personally love the GTO's and if the right one came along (low miles, near mint condition, for decent price, which probably wont happen) I'd get it in a heartbeat. But things I have considered, the Camaro is a much better platform, slightly used 2ss models can be had for a few thousand more than the GTO's that meet my qualifications and still remain the powertrain warranty unlike the GTO, You can fit a wider tire, better overall performance out of the box (much, much, much better rear suspension) and a more aggressive in your face look if your into that (I prefer the look of the goats.) The manual trans feels so much better in the Camaro, and from what I know the A6 in the Camaros is a huge improvement over the A4's offered in the GTO's. It ultimately comes down to what you prefer, the 05-06 cars are on par for the most part in performance (until you start modding) with the LS3 Camaros IMHO. Edge given to the SS due to it being a much, much better more developed platform, as the mods increase so does that edge dramatically. Camaro will ride a bit rougher out of the box, but considering you had a 408 the ride isn't much of a concern. I hope this helps.

thanks red good insight

Originally Posted by ChrisBlair

My opinion is that you're all over the place here. First you say you're looking for a new car

Then you mention an '06 GTO. So do you mean a brand new car, or a 'new to you' car?

Then you want a 'forged' engine and a turbo or supercharger

Maybe describing an engine as 'forged' is a new way of describing an engine built with forged pistons and other higher-stress capable components that I've never heard before. However, you need to consider that any car that didn't come factory supercharged or turbocharged (and some that did) could have problems.

Especially if the forced induction is a mod from an owner, you need to consider compression ratios- are they right for the application and were they even considered, or was the blower just bolted on? How about the general strength of the block- is it known to be strong, or weak? Was the engine designed to handle boost? Is the block two bolt main? Four? Should the block have a girdle machined for it? Was the builder going to need to pay special attention to pre-loads when these mods are made to that engine? Did the people that installed the blower do that? Crank end play and walk? Is the engine an engine that has been successfully modded this way for years and has known pitfalls to avoid or is it an engine some guy slapped a supercharger on? Did it get a new crank and con rods or did the build include things like the con rods being shot peened? Did the engine get new internals at all? Who did any machine work? Any supercharged engine in a car like you're looking for is likely used hard. Have you considered doing such things as a compression test on the engine? What about the rest of the driveline? Can it handle the engine mods, or is it being abused? Did the blower mod include a cam swap? Were new pushrods of the right length used if it's a pushrod engine? How about the added weight of the turbo or supercharger system? Was the suspension considered during the build or are you going to start having problems? How about being able to pass state DOT inspection?

When I said new I meant new to me. I apologize for not being clear about the engine I was referring to a fully built engine designed for a blower application. When I mentioned forged I was referring to the rotating assembly not just pistons. I am not new to performance world and most of your questions I am already aware of. The state I live in does not do DOT inspection so I don't have to worry about that or even emissions testing. You missed my true question. I do want a car a modded car. But what I am curious about is, previous GTO owners that have come over to a 5th gen camaro and how they liked it compared to the GTO.

But thanks for the questions. You posted a lot of good questions to think about for a modded car.

[dixonk]

I had a GTO and it was my least favorite of all LS based cars I owned. Skinny rear tires, down on power, heavy and down on power, can't see the hood when driving, low end interior.