They are actually the "same car" executed in different materials, branded differently.

 

I'm still waiting for the business case that makes sense to build the camaro as the only car on zeta? Anyone????

Here's my prediction!
If the 5thgen survives to make it to the 6thgen, the 6thgen will be built on a different lighter frame and overall the car will be lighter.
Then the comments about 'we made it as light as we could' are going to seem to contradict when here is this 6thgen doing exactly what they said couldn't be done.

So my second answer is just do whatever you did on the 6thgen

 

I'd like to hear that one as well. Of course, that's not how it was planned, but that's how it's turning out.

 

They made it as light as they could given the platform. They used the platform that they could make under the financial conditions of the time.Hell, at least we got the car. It looks like a Camaro, is relatively fast,does .90g, works for me. Next summer we can see how she does at Gateway, or more importantly how well I do.

 

GM is planning to offer dealer installed CAT backs FWIW.

Why? The Camaro has a 52/48 weight distribution already. Removing the back seat will transfer more weight to the front. It is RWD.

 

Long ago (before I knew better - it's long gone) I put a Flowmaster cat-back on my car. It was heavier than the stock cat-back.

I hope not. They'll be wasting their time. Once I wanted to see what mine weighed so I pulled it. IIRC it was no more than 25lbs. Lower cushions and fold down back included.

While we're on the topic of weight reduction... AC removal (everything except for the evaporator) - less than 30 lbs.

I removed it because the compressor lost the ability to keep its insides on the inside. At that point the car was already a very part time driver and most of the time race car, soooooo.....

 

In 2000 it was 370 billion kWh to make aluminum from bauxite, which was a little more than 2% of the world's energy just to make it.
Since recycling aluminum takes about 90-95% less energy it isn't a bad idea.

 

Has another issue also:

Doesn't spot weld well. Because it conducts so well, you have to park your welder next to a nuclear power plant.

 

Additionally aluminum is a soft metal and dents fairly easily.

 

Thanks PacerX.

There isn't a lot of difference in fuel economy between the two cars.

Does the 200 lb difference justify the extra investment? Well given the ownership experience is going to be indifferent (keeping the car in good nick will be a biatch) then my answer is no. Something, I, as a buyer would not be prepared to pay [extra] for. Whether I represent your typical buyer is contentious... but as I said, I won't be racing my car... I'm gonna love just cleaning/maintaining it!!!

 

I don't see a slightly smaller platform losing a significant of weight just from size reduction. There will need to be new construction methods or lighter materials to make a significant difference.

I believe it was PacerX who said that it's much easier to do this up front. It seems to be the same in every industry. It's much harder to retrofit an aluminum suspension than to put in in at first. So that's why I don't expect such changes on Camaro's Zeta2. But on a new platform, whether Zeta sized or 6 inches shorter, you could do that.

I believe it's a myth that a smaller platform (at least on the scale we're talking) by itself will bring significant mass reduction, unless you also get significant power reduction. The V8 engine and crash requirements will drive the width, and the same thing (plus seating and trunk) drive the length. Power plus crash safety plus expectations for chassis rigidity drive the strength requirements.

Switch to a 60 degree V6 at 300hp, and you can make the car shorter and narrower, and reduce strength in several areas. Switch to an I4 at 250, and you get even more weight reduction.

 

Camaro isn't the only car on Zeta..

 

That can be designed around.

Dent resistance can be thought of in a similar manner to armor resisting a projectile. If you can't make the material inherently more resistant through material properties, or the new material selected has lower resistance than the original one, you then have to make it thicker or change the shape to retain the ability to resist the projectile (or dent in this case).

Dent resistance in a panel is a function of three things mostly:

1) Material thickness.
2) Shape of the panel at and around the point of impact.
3) The yield strength of the material.




In general, aluminum with enough formability to make a panel like a fender will have significantly lower yield strength that a steel to make the same panel.

Since you can't then change the shape of the panel in most cases (styling dictated that...), you've then got to make it thicker.




Nice thing about aluminum is that it is 1/3 the density of steel. Regardless, you can't expect a 66% mass reduction in a panel because you are going to have to add material thickness to maintain dent resistance... BUT... you can expect some reduction (as long as you can join the thing to the supporting structure... aluminum WILL NOT spot weld to steel, and cars are usually spot-welded together...).

The question then narrows to two considerations:

1) How much of a mass reduction do I get?
2) What is it going to cost me?




*