Hey everyone, new guy here. I have already fallen in love with the new camaro and am planning to buy a new one and upgrade from my Honda. I've got 300,000 miles on it now with never 1 problem so it will be time come a year from now to upgrade.

I have a 55 mile commute to work every 3 days and it's all freeway. I tried to do a search but am not very knowledgable on all the engine speak you guys are so keep that in mind when I ask these questions.

1) Is this engine/tranny a new set up or are the different engines being talked about as the base V8 a proven engine? I won't ever buy a new car unless it has a proven engine and not some new powerplant with no bugs worked out.

2) AFM. This sounds great, and with my long commute and better M'sPG this is what has really fueled my desire for a new camaro. However, how is this set up for longevity? I can see some problems with the 4 cylinders that come on and off and I want this car to last.

3) Any guesstimate on what the warranty will be? I am the type that always buys an extended warranty, and it has saved me thousands in the past but who knows if the warranty is up there like a lot of the manufacturers are doing these days.

I used to always drive chevy pickups but had a few lemons that steered me towards Honda (how I don't know) and they are great reliable cars, but I do miss the thrill of hitting the accelerator and being pushed back into my seat. With such a long commute, and the potential for 400 horses AND mpg of 30 being talked about in this cosmetic package, this is my perfect car.

Great website guys, and thanks in advance for the replies.

 

The drivetrain has not been announced, nor is it set in stone. Insiders have stated it will have at least one base V6 and possibly two V8s, one naturally aspirated and one supercharged. However nothing is certain at this point. A good V8 possibility will be a version of the LS3 which is in the 2008 Corvette and is a derivative of the LS family of engines which has a proven track record. There will more than likely also be an optional 6-speed automatic. By the time Camaro returns in 2009 as a 2010 model, these will be well established and proven engines.
GM has been using AFM for a few years now without a hitch. The cylinders don't turn-off physically, and all of it is handled with computers so it is seemless.
That depends on what the market bears in two years. Currently GM has some warranties that are up to 100k miles as an example.
I've never had any GM truck which I would consider a lemon. The fact that you've had "a few" leads me to believe you've had a bad run of luck. My last Chevy pickup lasted over 50 years (40 in my family) and last I heard my buddy was still using it as his shop truck.

I'm not ready to conceed that the 400hp version of the Camaro will average 30mpg. 30mpg on the highway might be possible, but I'd suspect the combined city/highway numbers will be somewhere in the low to mid 20s.

 

Like jg95z28 was saying it will probably be the LS3 from the Vette, a 6 spd and independent rear. I would watch to see how it does in other vehicles like the vette but I like the sound of it.

I think Honda is top of the line as far as *** imports go. I have an 02 accord right now and love it. Alot of the engineering to me looks similar between Chevy and Honda in different ways. The GTO had really good gas milege but with new rear impact standards making the car heavier I wouldnt count on 30 MPG for a 400 hp car. Id keep an open mind and make your decision. I think it will be a good choice though. Welcome to the site.

 

most of GMs cars & truck have a 100k mile powertrain warr. under them.

 

I posted a while back in another thread about a friend getting 30mpg highway in his two year old 400HP LS2 Vette, so I think the new Camaro may get very close to that.
Clyde

 

lighter car than the Camaro would be if it was produced two years ago. The impact standards are only getting more stringent making the car heavier. I would say hope for the best, but dont expect it.

 

Hey thanks for the detailed and quick replies guys. It was good to hear that the engine(s) they are looking at are not totally new and untested powerplants. That takes a lot of the uncertainty of a new cars bug potential out of my mind.

If the car even got 25 mpg on average, it would still be a good choice I think. Yeah it's not in the 30's like Honda, but it's also got over twice as much horsepower and looks MUCH better.

I did have a string of bad luck with 2 chevy trucks, and they were both top end problems with the 5.7 liter V8. I guess that was kind of common, but I as well as my family have had good luck with other GM products as well as Honda and Subaru. While I won't ever buy a ford product if my life depended on it, I do think that if you just take good care of a vehicle, (especially now a days) you should get at least 150K out of it before you should have any problems. But thats just my opinion.

I need to do some more research on this AFM and how it works. I did a search on here and didn't get much. Does anyone have a link where it explains it in detail but also in laymens terms? Thanks!

 

I said very close, not the same as. And there is newer technology and improvements being applied, so time will tell how close.
Clyde

 

do any of you think that chevy will go with a lifetime powertrain warranty like dodge did recently? Not just on the camaro but on any of the vehicles?

 

Welcome to the board, you don't know how much we appreciate people who show up and actually ask clear and concise questions.....its few and far between.

Anyhow, I'm inclined to trust any of GM's V8 engines, especially anything Gen III and newer. The engines are so reliable that they have been used in small aircraft.

Also, here's a link to some AFM info:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Active_Fuel_Management

 

2 more questions guys.

After reading a detailed description on AFM;

1) Do these engines with AFM or the potential engines talked about for the new Camaro require a premium fuel?

2) Am I correct that the AFM technology requires a pretty religious oil changing schedule and also requires synthetic (or a premium)oil?

I always change my oil in my vehicles every 5000 miles. 3000 is big oil talking and 5000 is still taking care of my vehicles in my opinion. What are your views on that?

Thanks in advance.

 

well right now i have a 2006 monte carlo ss with the AFM.

1) yes it does require premium fuel. its not that big of a deal. what do u expect with a V8 that is pretty darn close in power to what the c5 base vette was? (5.3L 303hp vs 5.7L 345hp)

2) i dont know if its required, but i would highly suggest it. i use mobil 1 every 5k miles roughly, and i haven't had an engine problem yet (22k miles on the car)

on a sidenote i HATE HATE HATE AFM. you either have a V8 or you dont.

 

Thank you for the reply. If you would, please tell me why you HATE HATE HATE AFM. Thanks!

 

Don't know about the specific engine the Camaro will have, but as far as the LS4 w/ AFM that is on the street today, to answer your questions....

1)No, but you may notice a slight decrease in performance
"If your vehicle has the 5.3L engine (VIN Code C), use premium unleaded gasoline with a posted octane of 91 or higher. You may also use regular unleaded gasoline rated at 87 octane or higher, but your vehicle's acceleration may be slightly reduced, and you may notice a slight audible knocking noise"
-Owners Manual

I experimented, and found that it runs fine on 87, no knocking. I may have given away a few ponies, but mine rarely sees revs over 4k, so I'm not using all the power anyway, so in MY case, the "power loss" doesn't matter.

2)The only thing it specifies is the the grade, 5W-30, sythetic is not required, nor is 3000 mile (or even 5000 mile) changes. The car has an oil life monitoring system, and will calculate when a change is necessary based on your driving habits and conditions. The longest mine has projected out to is about 7500 miles, but I never let it get to that. I usually change mine w/ about 25-30% left, and I use synthetic just because I believe in it, not because it's required.

As to why you wouldn't like it, I have no idea. It's very unintrusive IMO. Helps out a little on the highway and cruising around in town. Not sure how it would do w/ a cat back though. Just the other day I was playing around with it, and noticed at 70-75mph, my mpg was 23-26. At 60-65 for about 25 miles, my mpg shot up to 31. 65mph is about the point where you'll be running in 8 cyls most of the time, and you'll certainly notice it in your mpg.

Welcome!

 

Another welcome to the site.
You sound like a perfect canidate for a L76 V8 engine option. What it sounds like you want is V8 engine that makes good power to push you in your seat, but you want it to get good respective gas milage, while running on standard grade gas. Additions like AFM and VVT will help boost both economy and performance while reduce emissions. And the ability for it to possibly run on E85 also could help you reduce your cost in gas consumption.
Do you NEED a 430hp V8 running on premium fuel? Probably not.
This person sounds like an ideal customer for GM to take back, and could entice him and others with a still powerful V8 but the get the benifit of a economical and proven V8 engine.
Mate this to a 6spd automatc with sport shifting, and you have a hell of a buy, and still outperforms the Mustang GT.