Pulled from LS1.com
Let me start by stating that i didnt buy an LS1 camaro because i think "chevy rules". i bought it because it was fun for the money. the car is decent in most areas, pains me in others, and the acceleration dept. pumps out the joy.
the other day, my buddy calls me up and says "i gotta race for you".
i make my way over to his house and see this little black nuisance sitting in the driveway. big wing, red calipers, boxy shape.
i decide ill humor him and treat it like its a fair race, even though its an obvious win for the Evo off the line since it's AWD, and my car will kill it on the freeway.
i decide to check out the evo and see what this thing is about, and the more i look at it, the more im thinking "man, they did a lot of cool things with this car".
the hood has a huge, race style outlet for radiator air. there are cooling ducts in the front bumper for the huge brembo brakes. the intercooler sits right there in front, protected by a factory screen. in fact, the whole front of the car uses it's entire surface area to direct incoming air in a useful way.
"so what?" im thinking... "it's still just a stupid 4-banger".
im checking out the intercooler and my buddy hits a button for the water squirter that cools it off. hmmm.
i mosey over to check out the interior. the seats look neat, but do they work? i sit down to see and my right hand lands right on the shifter. wow. this thing's proportions are just right (i have long legs, making mustangs uninhabitable and camaros a challenge).
the seats hold me perfectly in place, but they're cushy too. recaro's on their A-game.
hmmm.... the tach is in the center of the guage display. neat. the shifter feels nice and solid, the steering wheel is really small compared to the camaro.
"are the keys in it? take it for a spin" he says.
hmm... ahh, well, ok.
i fire it up and am appalled at the noise. this sputtering calamity is just absurd im thinking to myself.
i back out of the driveway noting the lightness and smoothness of the clutch, and make my way down the ave. i test the steering, moving it back and forth to check the ratio and it's FAST. the small wheel, aggressive rack, and the car's UNBELIEVEABLE turn-in are annoyingly perfect. grumble.
we mosey out to a nice straight and im already in second, so i lay into it. second went by too fast to realize what happened, so i hit third and then something funny happened...
time seemed to slow down, the skies poured out shining light, i heard trumpets sounding, angels singing, and the shrill note of 7500 rpm mimicking a swarm of pissed-off bees.
was it fourth gear or God's hand reaching down from heaven and nudging the rear of the car?
I was riddled with confusion as i laid into the refreshingly solid brake pedal to slow us down.
has attaining ludicrous speed warped my fragile mind? what the hell just happened? how did 4 cylinders=bliss?
by the time my smile faded, we were approaching a yield lane that i was familiar with (in the camaro). my buddy says to take it as fast as i dare. i said "ill take it at the same speed i would in the camaro and try upsetting it midway through to see how well it responds".
the car seemed to laugh at my attempt. this thing must be driven to have the grip be comprehended. the short story is that you get out of the car and are shocked that it's not a kart.
The fun factor of this car is the hidden magic. its not any one category of performance that it necessarily excels in, its the whole equalling more than the sum of the parts. even the mighty z06, which craps all over the evo's stats isn't as fun.
Acceleration:
'00 Z28 M6: FTRA, 'lid, tuning, MAC headers/ORY, 3" Magnaflow, PTB, Spohn TA, PHB, 275 radials.
vs.
'03 Evo: Buschur stage 1 kit: Full exhaust, Manual Boost Ctrl. (19psi/pump gas), Apexi SAFC II (MAF tweaker).
it was a slaughter. the evo has 2 car lengths before my tires grabbed and it didnt get much better from that point.
from a roll in second (Z being at ~2200) my car pulls ahead instantly and slowly grows it's lead.
Freeway:
Z28: 2 passengers
Evo: 4 passengers
The Evo impresses most at high speed (intercooler effectiveness?). I was expecting it to fall off the radar anywhere near 100, especially with two adults in the back seat, but it takes all of third and fourth for my car to make up for the reaction time loss (Evo was hitting it and i was responding as fast as possible). i would go from my front bumper at its rear, to my rear at its front.
considering the extra weight in the evo and the obvious aero advantage of the camaro, im still shocked at the closeness of the race.
Conclusion:
driving the evo is infectious. ive been a die-hard v8 fan for a long time, but the sheer fun factor of the evo leaves the camaro feeling like a lame horse. the car is stiff, tight, has fast response, rides decently, has practically the same power at freeway speeds (admittedly, with $1300 in mods) beats the crap out of the camaro off the line, and gets great gas mileage. it also has HID headlights and a roller wheel on the dash to adjust the headlight level. how pimp is that?
getting back into the camaro makes it feel big, heavy, and a chore to navigate. the instant response of the engine and the massive low-end grunt are far more pleasing than turbo lag, but the whoosh of the boost and the PFFFFT! of the blowoff are sadly absent as well.
I bought my own Evo last night and am going to sell the Camaro.
*flame suit on*
Let me start by stating that i didnt buy an LS1 camaro because i think "chevy rules". i bought it because it was fun for the money. the car is decent in most areas, pains me in others, and the acceleration dept. pumps out the joy.
the other day, my buddy calls me up and says "i gotta race for you".
i make my way over to his house and see this little black nuisance sitting in the driveway. big wing, red calipers, boxy shape.
i decide ill humor him and treat it like its a fair race, even though its an obvious win for the Evo off the line since it's AWD, and my car will kill it on the freeway.
i decide to check out the evo and see what this thing is about, and the more i look at it, the more im thinking "man, they did a lot of cool things with this car".
the hood has a huge, race style outlet for radiator air. there are cooling ducts in the front bumper for the huge brembo brakes. the intercooler sits right there in front, protected by a factory screen. in fact, the whole front of the car uses it's entire surface area to direct incoming air in a useful way.
"so what?" im thinking... "it's still just a stupid 4-banger".
im checking out the intercooler and my buddy hits a button for the water squirter that cools it off. hmmm.
i mosey over to check out the interior. the seats look neat, but do they work? i sit down to see and my right hand lands right on the shifter. wow. this thing's proportions are just right (i have long legs, making mustangs uninhabitable and camaros a challenge).
the seats hold me perfectly in place, but they're cushy too. recaro's on their A-game.
hmmm.... the tach is in the center of the guage display. neat. the shifter feels nice and solid, the steering wheel is really small compared to the camaro.
"are the keys in it? take it for a spin" he says.
hmm... ahh, well, ok.
i fire it up and am appalled at the noise. this sputtering calamity is just absurd im thinking to myself.
i back out of the driveway noting the lightness and smoothness of the clutch, and make my way down the ave. i test the steering, moving it back and forth to check the ratio and it's FAST. the small wheel, aggressive rack, and the car's UNBELIEVEABLE turn-in are annoyingly perfect. grumble.
we mosey out to a nice straight and im already in second, so i lay into it. second went by too fast to realize what happened, so i hit third and then something funny happened...
time seemed to slow down, the skies poured out shining light, i heard trumpets sounding, angels singing, and the shrill note of 7500 rpm mimicking a swarm of pissed-off bees.
was it fourth gear or God's hand reaching down from heaven and nudging the rear of the car?
I was riddled with confusion as i laid into the refreshingly solid brake pedal to slow us down.
has attaining ludicrous speed warped my fragile mind? what the hell just happened? how did 4 cylinders=bliss?
by the time my smile faded, we were approaching a yield lane that i was familiar with (in the camaro). my buddy says to take it as fast as i dare. i said "ill take it at the same speed i would in the camaro and try upsetting it midway through to see how well it responds".
the car seemed to laugh at my attempt. this thing must be driven to have the grip be comprehended. the short story is that you get out of the car and are shocked that it's not a kart.
The fun factor of this car is the hidden magic. its not any one category of performance that it necessarily excels in, its the whole equalling more than the sum of the parts. even the mighty z06, which craps all over the evo's stats isn't as fun.
Acceleration:
'00 Z28 M6: FTRA, 'lid, tuning, MAC headers/ORY, 3" Magnaflow, PTB, Spohn TA, PHB, 275 radials.
vs.
'03 Evo: Buschur stage 1 kit: Full exhaust, Manual Boost Ctrl. (19psi/pump gas), Apexi SAFC II (MAF tweaker).
it was a slaughter. the evo has 2 car lengths before my tires grabbed and it didnt get much better from that point.
from a roll in second (Z being at ~2200) my car pulls ahead instantly and slowly grows it's lead.
Freeway:
Z28: 2 passengers
Evo: 4 passengers
The Evo impresses most at high speed (intercooler effectiveness?). I was expecting it to fall off the radar anywhere near 100, especially with two adults in the back seat, but it takes all of third and fourth for my car to make up for the reaction time loss (Evo was hitting it and i was responding as fast as possible). i would go from my front bumper at its rear, to my rear at its front.
considering the extra weight in the evo and the obvious aero advantage of the camaro, im still shocked at the closeness of the race.
Conclusion:
driving the evo is infectious. ive been a die-hard v8 fan for a long time, but the sheer fun factor of the evo leaves the camaro feeling like a lame horse. the car is stiff, tight, has fast response, rides decently, has practically the same power at freeway speeds (admittedly, with $1300 in mods) beats the crap out of the camaro off the line, and gets great gas mileage. it also has HID headlights and a roller wheel on the dash to adjust the headlight level. how pimp is that?
getting back into the camaro makes it feel big, heavy, and a chore to navigate. the instant response of the engine and the massive low-end grunt are far more pleasing than turbo lag, but the whoosh of the boost and the PFFFFT! of the blowoff are sadly absent as well.
I bought my own Evo last night and am going to sell the Camaro.
*flame suit on*
