Sports Coupe Daily - 6th Gen V6 Camaro

Hello all, I'm new to the forum but have spent the past year reading different ownership journals on here - roninsoldier83's were especially informative. Now I want to try my hand at recording a car ownership experience - in the process maybe getting some feedback/advice from people here, and hopefully leaving some useful information for others in the future.

I'm pretty new to the automotive hobby - I've had a 2009 Honda Fit since 2014, and it has been a hero. I started getting more interested in cars early last year, and decided I wanted to pursue the hobby after a manual driving lesson in an E90 328i which was really satisfying and fun. I bought an NB Miata LS with the 6 speed and LSD in July, which was a delight for all the reasons everyone here knows. I really learned to drive stick with the car and came to love the engagement, and while I know its kooky, I did achieve a few blissful moments of jinba-ittai while driving that car. The highlight was driving all of Skyline Drive this October with my wife - automotive nirvana.

The Blue Fleet

However, my wife needed the Honda Fit for running errands during the day which left me trying to commute to work on the DC Beltway in the Miata - not a great proposition. I wanted something that had lots of steering/chassis feedback, had a more interesting engine than all the usual 2-liter 4-bangers, could get me to work reliably, was big enough for all the distracted drivers to notice me, had a back seat for storage, and couldn't cost more than $25k - surely not too much to ask?!

I test drove the following cars:

1. VW Jetta GLI - a warmed up commuter car with uncommunicative steering and unimpressive acceleration. While the car felt light, the example I drove understeered so badly that there seemed no point to a light chassis that you can't easily point in the right direction. Also, a boring engine and I've read bad things about VW's reliability.
2. CLA45 AMG - cheap speed (in every sense) - absolute hoot to drive, especially with the ridiculous exhaust. Runflats and an uncompromising suspension led to a harsh, brittle ride, and the steering didn't tell you much about what was happening - not confidence-inspiring. And with that overstressed 2 liter I knew it was a matter of time until some very expensive bills came due.
3. E90 330i - really really impressive, it simply flowed through turns and the N52 engine surged power smoothly - the car felt like a harmonious package that was greater than the sum of its parts. My example's terrible alignment couldn't ruin the chassis and engine combination. But sufficiently old that I'd be constantly chasing broken plastic and perished rubber - not to mention needing a complete cooling system overhaul.
4. 6th Gen Camaro V6 - I had assumed it was a muscle car that couldn't handle well, but after reading praise from the motoring press online I gave it a try and was deeply impressed. Its sharp handling and responsive chassis reminded me of the E90, but its 3.6 liter engine gave it more torque and a deeper, more aggressive sound. It also felt lighter on its feet than its appearance suggested, and it almost felt like the car was urging me on to drive harder.
5. F22 230i Coupe - This car felt competent more than anything else - cold and capable, but not exciting. The test drive was too short as the salesman rode in the car with me and my wife, and had us take a 10 minute loop. The fake engine noise in the cabin was annoying, and the car was very short on character.
6. Cadillac ATS V6 - Satisfying chassis, steering, and engine combined to make a really attractive option. Too bad they seem to have chronic rear diff leaks that lead to premature death and $2000 repair bills. The CARFAX of the example I tested had FOUR rear diff services recorded, yikes! And yes, the Camaro does use the same platform, and luckily it doesn't have the same rear diff issues.

By this point, you're on the edge of your seat - "but bigmack101, which one did you get?! I've been so engrossed by your journey I've forgotten the title of the thread!"

Well dear reader, it ultimately wasn't a hard decision - a 2+2 coupe, rear wheel drive, communicative chassis, light on its feet, characterful engine, and big enough to be noticed by distracted motorists - the 6th Gen Camaro V6 was my pick. And I know its not the enthusiast choice, but I had to go with an automatic for my 2 hours of commuting in stop and go traffic.

My next post, I'll go into the specific car I bought last week, with all its quirks and features.

My dad was recently in the similar position, and after testing quite a few of those examples, he opted for a 6th Gen Camaro Coupe with the 3.6 and 6spd manual, and he's been loving it ever since. Plenty of power, and that engine with VVT is a blast to run the revs! Looking forward to the upcoming posts!

~Peter

Welcome to GRM! What year was the car you purchased? Did it have any of the performance handling packages?

I was able to get an (almost) fully loaded example which was available near the in-laws during our Christmas visit.

2016 V6 2LT Camaro in Garnet Red, with silver (!) wheels. So hard to find Camaros with silver wheels that aren't the 18" base wheels!

The list of packages, is as follows:

• RS Package - 20x8.5 square wheels and some appearance bits
• Convenience and lighting package - 8" multimedia display for Carplay, HUD (I'm such a sucker for the HUD), and creature comforts/safety features
• Factory valved exhaust which opens in sport mode
• 2LT - heated/ventilated leather seats, heated steering wheel etc

The main package its missing is the performance braking and cooling package, which adds Brembo front and rear calipers with larger rotors iirc, and an oil cooler in front of each front wheel well.

Above you can see the HUD, with the data screen below that's included with the 2LT package. I'm a big fan of these, as you can monitor oil temp, transmission temp, and other car diagnostic info. You can also spot the flappy paddles for the automatic transmission which so far appear to be pretty useless.

I know its tacky but I do really have a soft spot for these two-tone seats. Absolutely a b*tchin Camaro!

And the voluminous rear luggage area - back seats and trunk combined make for a ton of storage space!

The engine seems, to my untrained eye, really well situated in the engine bay - most of it in line with or behind the strut mounts. I pulled off the engine cover because I wanted to actually get a good look at everything and I don't mind hearing the engine. I'm even considering pulling off that fabric cover as well - any reasons not to?

Initial impressions are really positive -

• The car rides well, stiffly sprung for sure but not back-breaking by any means.
•  The 3 hour drive home from the in-laws was very comfortable - it really ate up the miles, and the wife approved of the plush seats.
• The chassis is controllable and confidence-inspiring, which is important as this is by far the most powerful car I've ever owned.
• The car is in the sweet spot of technology for me - for example, it has a physical dipstick and a digital oil temp readout. No nannying lane keeping assist, but blindspot warnings in the mirror. Etc.
• I've adjusted to the poor visibility really quickly, if anything its the sheer dimensions of the car that are the hard part - its the longest car I've ever owned and parking it in a crowded lot is a pain.

Plans for the Camaro:

The plan with the car is to do some basic maintenance, a lot of which I haven't done myself before - new filters, new fluids, etc. This should be do-able before the first autocross of the season in March. I've never done autocross before, and I really want to focus on developing my skills first. Autocross will also be a great way to learn if the car is deficient in any way -  maybe it needs new brake pads, more cooling - any mods I do will be for reliability and safety. The only performance mod I'm set on is a good set of performance summer tires.

I'll keep this updated as I go, and so far I've already got one job I need to do, which I'll talk about in the next post.

If there are any other 6th gen Camaro owners here, I'm happy to take any advice you have on the car!

That's a good looking car. Congrats!

Yeah, congrats on the new wheels. 

Thanks for the nice words, I really do feel grateful to be able to have such a sweet ride 

Just went out and did donuts in the snow with the wife, this car is immensely fun to hoon around. The V6 has enough power that I could plow through the snow in sport mode with the traction control off. I decided to call it quits once I saw the transmission temp creeping above 210*F. 

Congratulations on the Camaro purchase!   That one looks great!   I've gotten really close to buying one twice but other things came up.   

That's a great looking car!

if there are any other 6th gen Camaro owners here, I'm happy to take any advice you have on the car!

you did a great job with this one!  beautiful spec, and frankly IMO, one of the best modern GT cars you can get in 4cyl or V6 trim, not to mention the V8.  i might be a little biased though, because i picked up a 2020 LT1 M6 almost exactly a year ago after running into a really similar situation to yours...i was commuting 40 miles a day in my '10 Civic Si and wanted something a little bigger, more powerful, and with longer legs while still retaining the great response and driver involvement my Si had.  for my $30k budget i couldn't find anything better.  i went back and forth A LOT about getting a V6 1LE or just a well optioned V6 like yours, as they are way more car than most people realize.

as far as advice;

• i would just make sure you have the proper fluid in the A8 transmission as they can be prone to shudder, and a fluid change will typically resolve this.  just look over your service records and you can find lots of information about this on the ol interwebs. 

• if you plan to service the car yourself to do stuff like fluid changes, they are tricky to get in the air.  they only have under-sill jack points, so you have to get one side in the air and then the other, which can be harrowing.  i recommend having 2 hydraulic jacks to do this and make sure you have tall rubber pucks to allow the jack plates to make contact with the chassis without crushing your rockers.  DO NOT use the clamp-on "jacking pads" they sell, my experience with them is they don't fit well and want to tilt precariously on the pinch weld which can dump the car off the jack stands.

• despite most attacks being focused on the V8 cars, i hate to bear the news that these cars are theft targets.  these scumbags will break a window, and use a computer program to interface with the OBD port and clone a key in under a minute.  i would, at minimum, park in a garage if you have one, keep your keys in a faraday pouch, put a security cover over your OBD port, and then unclip and hide your OBD port up inside your dash.  the most bomb-proof solution is an IGLA security system which requires a custom 4-key combination of steering wheel button pushes to allow the car to turn over.  be aware of where you park and how long you park there when you take the car out on the town.  DC/VA isn't as bad as the current hotspots in CA/TX/FL but its spreading.

• if you get a faint squeek from the exhaust valves, hit the stepper motors with a little teflon lube spray.  seems to last a couple months for me.  you'd be amazed how much work the valves are doing even in sport mode - they don't just stay wide open, instead they actually take on different positions based on throttle position, RPM, and load to create a very specific tone.

enjoy and drive the wheels off it!

In reply to ScottyB :

Thanks for all the advice, your LT1 looks awesome! And yeah the power to weight ratio of even the 4 and 6 cylinder cars is really wild - I'm still getting used to just how powerful this car is.

• I'm definitely keeping an eye out for transmission shudder, I might notice a little bit when the car is downshifting in low revs, but haven't experienced what people are complaining about, luckily. Fingers crossed it doesn't come up.
• I've had to do something similar in the past when getting my Miata up on jackstands, I'm not eager to repeat that. After reading your advice I've found this ramp/jack combo that looks easier to use. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CPJ2GKWY/
• Currently have my car parked in a cul-de-sac so at least its not visible from the street, and I do keep my keys in a faraday bag already. I actually bought one of those OBD port locks, I just haven't gotten around to installing it yet. I know what I'm doing tomorrow!
• That is so cool to read about the sport exhaust, not surprising as to why it sounds so damn good.

Last weekend I had some free time, so I was able to get some work done - cabin air filter, installing a dash cam, and a new engine air filter.

The cabin air filter was a pain to get to, the biggest obstacle was unhinging the glove compartment like a snake unhinging its jaw. I'm really glad I watched a video beforehand, because that gave me a good tip to hook an elastic band to a bungie cord so it doesn't get trapped up inside. The cabin air filter was filthy, I'm glad I bothered replacing it, it was supposed to get changed 10,000 miles ago but definitely didn't look it. I used this opportunity to run my dash cam wire from one of the car's USB ports under the arm rest back behind the glove compartment and then up the passenger side A pillar's rubber trim. I first tried running it underneath the plastic trim piece, but it wouldn't snap back into place with the wire running behind it. I struggled with it for too long, and ultimately was just grateful to get it back in place without setting off the side curtain airbag. I'm pretty happy overall with the wiring for it, it's hard to notice and I managed to avoid having it sticking up out of the cigarette lighter socket.

Now, to turn to the engine bay...

I got the engine air filter out without much of a problem, and it was just as filthy as the cabin air filter. I also discovered lots of detritus in the engine air filter housing, luckily I had my handy portable wet/dry vac on hand.

It looks like there may be weeping around what I think are the cam position sensors on both banks of the engine. I will monitor the situation

I'm pretty sure this is A) the brake fluid reservoir, and B) the brake fluid should not look like that!

Overall, doing these basic maintenance tasks was pretty easy and rewarding! There was definitely some fiddling and cursing, but nothing broke, and no screws were dropped into the engine bay (thank god). The more I found, the more I suspect the previous owner neglected the car. There wasn't any maintenance history in the Carfax for him, only the first owner who appeared to baby it. The previous owner also had relatively low miles, but its not looking like he serviced it much at all. I know the dealership I bought it from changed the oil, but I'm considering an oil analysis in case that could tell me anything. I know these engines don't have the timing chain issue like the previous LFX, but I'd like some kind of diagnostic on how the engine is doing.

Oh and before I forget, a couple weeks ago I hit a nasty pothole that slightly threw off the alignment on the front, causing the car to pull to the right a little. My local shop passed it for a state inspection, but when I got it in for an alignment, he told me I had a bent front right strut . The new strut just arrived from Rock Auto yesterday and am treating having to replace it as a learning opportunity.

This leaves with me the following to do list:

• Replace the trunk struts (current ones are useless)
• Replace front right strut
• Brake fluid replacement
• Transmission fluid replacement
• Oil change and Blackstone analysis (?)

This should all keep me busy until the first autocross of the season!

That is a good looking car and I'm guessing was a great buy.  I had an Impala as a company car and I enjoyed that 3.6 far more than I would have expected to.  Good power, good economy, good noises.

How many miles on the new ride?

In reply to Loweguy5 :

There are a lot worse company cars to have than a V6 Impala, that's for sure (though it's a shame Chevy made it FWD).

My Camaro is at 57k miles currently. I am doing my best to raise that number.

bigmack101 said:

This leaves with me the following to do list:

• Replace the trunk struts (current ones are useless)
• Replace front right strut
• Brake fluid replacement
• Transmission fluid replacement
• Oil change and Blackstone analysis (?)

This should all keep me busy until the first autocross of the season!

good maintenance list there.  my brake fluid was nasty when i got mine too (its shared with the clutch slave too, so it gets even more beat up).  a motive brake bleeder with the GM reservoir cap made the job cake.  i did siphon most of it out of the reservoir at the start with a turkey baster and used the Bosch ES16 brake fluid as a replacement which seemed like good stuff and a major easy button off of amazon.  all my other fluids were ACDelco stuff (don't forget the rear diff, clutch pack LSD's need love too).

Blackstone is cheap and easy.  i've used them and Oil Analyzers (bought through Amsoil) which is a bit more accurate particularly with the fuel dilution.  just be aware a single report is helpful but not particularly conclusive, you'll want at least 3 to see trends in your wear metals vs. random anomalies.  try to run them all on the same oil too as different brands have different detergent levels and may skew certain readings.