Which of these employed weight reduction "tricks" in the top dawg configeration?

Big motors, big brakes, big wheels and tires, extra coolers and chassis reinforcement are all going to ADD weight.

My hope remains that trim, drivetrain and brake/suspension are offered a la carte to allow the broadest range of appeal and would let Charlie special order his manual seat, manual air, single CD, no side curtain airbag track monster.

 

The big-gun Chevelle motors certainly did use weight reduction "tricks" such as the use of aluminum heads and intake manifolds in certain engine configurations, and that was cutting-edge stuff in the mid-late 1960's.

No regular production Chevelle EVER approached the performance of an SS packing an LS6 454.

The usage of the Buick 231 V6 was a decision almost entirely based off of weight as the staggering volume of the small block Chevrolet motors in production at the time offset the cost differences due to the fact that the 231 had fewer parts.


The motor is a non-mass additional item.

There is no appreciable mass difference between an all-aluminum 5.3 and a LS7.

Now, you certainly need more tire to handle it, and the drivetrain gets beefed up, but the point is that the motor ITSELF has no impact whatsoever.


Keep dreaming.

Back to PacerX's rule #1 of option packages:
He who pays the most money gets the fastest car.

So, if you think you're going to cheap out on the goodies and still get the fastest of the breed, you're in for some disappointment...

Even the mighty Z06 is packed to the gills with content best described as "creature comforts"... and is still lighter than a Z51.

And, if our new and beloved Camaro takes off like a rocket sales-wise, the smartest thing that GM and the dealerships can do is to add content to the order sheets to raise profitability - instead of resorting to "market adjustments".

 

And even if GM does do a stripped-out 1LE-type package, they'll make sure it's for the hardcore track guys only by making it mandatory A/C delete, etc.

 

I'd pay more for a lighter weight package - even if that partly meant limited content. I betcha other people would too.

 

The Trailblazer SS is available in LS and LT trim. Not that you'd find anything other than a near full load LT on a dealer's lot ...but ....if you want a "stripped" LS SS you could order one.

 

Not enough of them to make the business case work, which is exactly why the 1LE business case never really caught on. There simply aren't enough "I don't need any of that fancy-schmancy air conditioning stuff on my car" customers out there.

Note:
If you wanted the best suspension you could get in the F4's, the best handling Camaro ever... which is the most relevent example of the past since it's recent, you got the Bilstein package on a relatively loaded to the gills...



...wait for it...




Nah, I'm feeling nice today... No reason to rub salt in that wound...





Oh, and whoever is reading this, spare me the "3rd gens handled better" nonsense. They most assuredly DID NOT.





***

 

Even the LS's have a lot of content - which is the point... they're not stripped.

 

Let me answer that for you................SS Camaro!!!!!!!!!

 

You realize the IROC-Z loyalists are all out researching the back issues for those vaunted skidpad stats now, don't you? LOL

 

There can be a better balance between being spartan and content limited. Even I bugged out of ordering a 1LE at the very last moment.....a decision, BTW, which I regret to this very day.

 

Lucky for you, I've got to get to work.....

But suffice it to say, I'm probably the only one here, who's driven a nearly new G92 3rd and new 4th gen, back to back. One rode better, one handled better. Guess which one was which.

 

HEH.

It seems that my little brown-shirted, fork-tailed SS minions are out trolling today...

 

Yep, and my offer still stands.

I meet anyone of them and their stock 3rd gen at Waterford or Grattan or anywhere else (within reason) in my 4th gen SS (after putting my suspension back to stock, of course) and we'll see who crosses the finish line first.

And just to make it fair, I'll pull 4 of my plugs wires too... or swap in the Ecotec from my Cavalier... since it makes about the same amount of power as a TBI 305... (HEH.)

A 4th Gen SS put the smack down on a C5 on a road course, and if any of you think that ANY 3rd gen has a PRAYER of running with a C5, then crack addiction is far more widespread that the government thinks...

 

I think we need to call into question the the qualifications of the last person who calibrated your a$$.

BTW...

That 4th gen wasn't a Bilstein equipped SS on 275's, was it?

 

How much would you pay for a 2700 lb. LS2 camaro???