General Auto Chat

Discussion in 'Cars, Motorcycles, Boats, Airplanes Talk' started by Maxvla, Sep 26, 2015.

  1. ergopower

    ergopower Friend

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    I remember there being a 2.0 litre class in the 80's, when was this class in existence?
     
  2. LetMeBeFrank

    LetMeBeFrank Won't tell anyone my name is actually Francis

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    I'm not sure, there was a plaque but I didn't get a picture of it. Here is the site with all the info available on these cars: https://www.allpar.com/racing/shelby-dodge-canam.html
     
  3. Kernel Kurtz

    Kernel Kurtz Friend

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    Whenever I think about Can Am I think about this

     
  4. ergopower

    ergopower Friend

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    Huh, I think I was still racing Formula Ford at about the same time, and I have no recollection of that at all. The original CanAm series died shortly after I started. In SCCA racing, there were still A, C & D Sports Racers. C Sports Racers were more or less the same as the 2.0 litre CanAm cars, might have been some small differences. Always thought they were cool, but very few around,.You might be the only one at a Regional Race, and even at a National Race a handful was it. FF was still really hot in the 80's, 30+ at a Regional and could be 50 at a National.
     
  5. yotacowboy

    yotacowboy McRibs Kind of Guy

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    Did my first ever HPDE on Saturday. I need another expensive hobby like a hole in my head. Going fast is too much fun though. Wishing the GTI had even more brake than the stock PP setup.
     
  6. ergopower

    ergopower Friend

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    I didn't get interested in racing until a couple years after those beasts had been retired. First F1 race I saw was Watkins Glen in 1976. Went to a couple CanAm races at the Glen in the 80s, I think Lola & March were the top cars. Most people don't consider these later races as true CanAm; the original series folded in 1974 as your vid details. It restarted in 77?
     
  7. ergopower

    ergopower Friend

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    What track?
     
  8. JeffYoung

    JeffYoung Friend

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    Love the door handles on Stubby Bob's airbox!
     
  9. yotacowboy

    yotacowboy McRibs Kind of Guy

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    deliverance @ dominion raceway. ever since i got the gti both my bike racing teammate (old AP1 s2k, now f30 bimmer guy) and my neighbor (e30/e46 guy) have been trying to convince me to give the track day thing a whirl. fawk it's fun!
     
  10. ergopower

    ergopower Friend

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    Never been there. Summit Point back in the day. Tracks are way fun.
     
  11. evanft

    evanft Acquaintance

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    I actually just bought one of these a little over a month ago to replace my C6 Vette. Even the same color! I drove a lot of stuff, including the M4, and this was easily my favorite. The chassis is just amazing.
     
  12. Greg121986

    Greg121986 Almost "Made"

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    Damn it!!!! I am now selling mine! You should have totally waited and bought mine instead. :(
     
  13. LetMeBeFrank

    LetMeBeFrank Won't tell anyone my name is actually Francis

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    Update: still waiting on heads to be done but I decided to paint the bare aluminum valve covers wrinkle black while I have it apart.

    Before: [​IMG]

    After: (still has to dry for 2 days)
    [​IMG]
     
  14. yotacowboy

    yotacowboy McRibs Kind of Guy

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    oh definitely post pics of the heads once they're back!!!
     
  15. LetMeBeFrank

    LetMeBeFrank Won't tell anyone my name is actually Francis

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    I definitely will. I'll probably do an EGR delete at some point as well but for now I'll just have to deal with it's ugliness. Also, I didn't realize just how much oil was getting back into my motor from the PCV (it's quite a bit, my intake ports were completely caked with oil) so I'll be replacing that, plus adding a catch can inline to keep my intake and heads fresh.
     
  16. evanft

    evanft Acquaintance

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    Here's my comparison of the M4 and Camaro, which were the two main cars I was considering during my most recent purchase.

    Introduction
    I’ve been recently looking for a replacement to my daily driver 2012 Corvette. I wanted something that was still fast and fun to drive, but had much better ride quality and refinement. I was also looking for a better automatic transmission. I am not a brand loyalist, so I considered the following cars (all used):

    • Audi S3
    • Audi S4/S5
    • BMW m235i
    • BMW 435i
    • BMW M4
    • Chevrolet Camaro
    • Chevrolet Corvette (C7)
    • Volkswagen Golf R

    At the end, it came down to the M4 vs. Camaro. I didn’t really like any of the other German cars, and I decided that I didn’t just want another Corvette.

    Engine
    To the surprise of no one, Camaro’s motor is responsive and provides oodles of torque throughout the rev range. Compared to the LS3 in my Vette, it feels like it has way more torque below 2500 RPM and seems much more eager to rev.

    The M4 is really f'ing fast, but its motor can sometimes feel like a ticking time bomb. When you let off it and then get back on, there is a VERY noticeable delay before you’re hit with a mountain of torque that stays consistent until redline. Unfortunately, this makes the powerband hard to manage and I often found myself having to drive around it. It was especially scary when sending it through a corner as power would often decide to smack me in the face midway through. Highway passing in a high gear felt better than the Camaro, but that could just be down to gearing.

    The M4 also had noticeable issues putting its power down. Lots of traction control interference.

    Sound
    George Washington rose from his grave and shook my hand when I put the Camaro’s exhaust into track mode.

    When I got on the M4, some guy stopped next to me and asked me to mow his lawn.

    Ride Quality
    I’m in Michigan, so this was one of the more important categories for me.

    Whether you get it with Magnetic Ride or without (THOUGH YOU SHOULD CAUSE IT’S AWESOME), the Camaro rides better than the M4 when the BMW is in comfort mode. Bumps are VERY well dampened without the ride feeling floaty or disconnected. Very impressive. The M4, on the other hand, is not bad, but could definitely stand to be a bit softer.

    Steering
    I don’t know what’s going on with BMW’s steering tuning, but something about it just feels off. While certainly not the last word in feel, the Camaro’s steering just feels right and natural. It actually had overall better steering than my Corvette.

    Handling

    I’d say the cars were more similar than different, with the M4 feeling a bit bigger/heavier than the Camaro. They’re both great, though the Camaro seems to be able to handle powering out of a corner better.

    Transmission
    Piece of advice: don’t spend time with a good dual clutch transmission if you’re not prepared to buy the car. BMW’s latest M-DCT is fantastic. I’d easily rank it right below PDK and above the transverse version of the Audi DSG. It’s programmed very well, especially in the sportier settings, and will let you have a lot of fun without having to touch the paddles. If you choose to use the paddles, however, both the upshift and downshifts are practically instant. I adore this transmission and made me almost buy the car I was test driving.

    My opinion of the GM 8 speed aligns mostly with Matt Farah’s. It’s no bueno. Sure, it’s dramatically better than the last gen 6 speeds, and the programming in the sport/track modes is actually really good, but the responsiveness and shift times are a real step behind the modern dual clutches and even the best torque convertor autos. Anything with a ZF8, for example, has a better transmission. Paddle shift response at lower RPMs is especially disappointing. Shifts were really smooth in any mode, which was nice. The ZF8 can sometimes be a bit clunky when asked to shift quickly.

    Interior
    Definitely a win for the M4 on this one. Better materials and dramatically more space than the Camaro. I especially loved the steering wheel and the way the buttons/knobs felt in the Bimmer. There’s just something about the way Germans do these things in particular that sticks out to me. The overall design and ergonomics are just spot on.

    I want to know who the f**k approved the Camaro’s interior design and whether they still have a job at GM. It’s almost hilariously overdesigned and somehow has less interior space/storage than my C6 Vette. I really don’t get it.

    I hated the seats in the M4, but that’s subjective. Others may love them.

    Infotainment
    Both systems use different approaches, but they’re both great. Had no real issues with either of them, but I sometimes wished that the M4 had a touch screen in addition to the iDrive controller.

    The Maro came with Carplay, though, which is definitely a huge plus for me. I’ve gotten very used the feature in the aftermarket radio I had in my Vette. The M4 didn’t get it until 2016, so any used one I would look at wouldn’t have it.

    Driving Modes
    Both vehicles offer different modes for suspension, steering, and powertrain. The Camaro gives you the additional option of tuning the exhaust if the car is equipped with the dual mode, which is something I wish I had on the M4. On the other hand, the M4 gives you a dedicated transmission shift firmness button, which is kind of nice.

    A unique feature of the the M4 is the two buttons on the steering wheel that let you easily switch between two different sets of settings for suspension/powertrain/etc. How useful they are in the real world, though, I wouldn’t know, since I would likely find a nice balance of settings and just stick to it.

    Features/Tech
    A well-equipped M4 and a 2SS Camaro are shockingly similar in feature set. The big differences are (NOT DEFINITIVE I’M SURE THERE IS MORE BUT I DIDN’T GIVE A SHIT):

    M4
    • Front parking sensors
    • Front cameras
    • Lane keeping
    • Front collision warning/avoidance
    Camaro
    • Cooled seats
    • Heated steering wheel
    • 8” display in instrument cluster
    • Wireless charging (I think the M4 got this later)
    • Carplay (mentioned above that M4 got this later)
    For me, I’d take the cooled seats, heated wheel, and more elaborate cluster in the Camaro over the unique features in the M4. The front parking sensors and cameras would be very welcome, however, given the Camaro’s long hood and compromised visibility.

    I also thought the HUD in the Camaro was much better. The colors and overall brightness just made it easier to read and understand.

    Visibility
    Do I even need to go over this? The M4 has great visibility, like any other BMW sedan/coupe. The entire Camaro might have less glass than just the rear window on my Vette. It should be said that once I had the seats and mirrors adjusted to my liking, it became much less of a problem and I had no real issues with it.

    Decision
    I bought a Camaro. It drives better than the M4 and is about $10-15k cheaper to buy on the used market with the options I wanted. It was also cheaper to insure and maintain.

    My main bullet points for each car:

    M4
    • Fun turbo punch
    • M-DCT
      Interior materials and quality
    • Overall interior design
    • Great visibility and practicality
    • Stiff ride
    • Can feel heavy in turns
    • Sounds like shit
    • Steering is weird
    • Difficulty putting its power down
    • No Carplay
    Camaro
    • CAM IN BLOCK AS JESUS AND RONALD REAGAN INTENDED
    • Steering
    • Sound
    • Chassis
    • Ride quality
    • Carplay
    • Tank-like visibility
    • 8 speed is step behind other transmissions
    • Some lower quality materials in the interior
    • Interior design leaves a lot to be desired
     
  17. Warrior

    Warrior RIP 2021

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    That was a great comparison, and I really enjoyed reading it, thank you for sharing that!! 2 cars a love!! Chevy really knocked it out the park with the newer Camaros. They have been favorably reviewed by many people. I've even seen an article where they preferred the Camaro over the M6. To me, that's sacrilege, lol, but just goes to show how far Chevy has come in such a little time. Couldn't agree more about the interior, it's one of the hugest turn offs to me, especially coming from bmws... Quite a few if them. I love what the Germans do with interiors. It's night and day vs Americans. But damn, that exhaust in the Camaro. OMG pure sex. To die for!! Enjoy your car bro!!
     
  18. LetMeBeFrank

    LetMeBeFrank Won't tell anyone my name is actually Francis

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    Progress pics from my Cylinder Head guy:

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    He said he's going to do some exhaust port work just for grins that will pick up 10-15 HP without any torque loss or tuning needed, so I'm pretty stoked on that.
     
    Last edited: Aug 17, 2018
  19. Kernel Kurtz

    Kernel Kurtz Friend

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    I
    I guess coming from a Corvette it was a natural to stick with Chevy vs the German competitors. I was always a Ford person when I was younger - had several 5.0 Mustangs in various states of tune - before I decided how much I like German cars. I've long thought that if I had continued on that path i would now be driving a late model Mustang GT. Talk about glorious sounds, the flat plane crank engine in those puppies is the most exotic thing out of North America in a long time.

    I know you are really going to have fun with your Camaro though. The new muscle cars from the big three are all impressive and you can't go wrong with any of them.

    Enjoy!
     
  20. Warrior

    Warrior RIP 2021

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    I wish I could have 2 or 3 cars. I'd definitely have a vette to go with my German car. Until I can afford some Italian engineering, not named Maserati. I love them, but too unreliable. Never met anyone with a Maserati that didn't have issues.
     

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