[mungodrums]

I am trying to decide between these two cars. I keep going back and forth. What I don't like about the Boss 302 and the supposedly crappy T-82 Getrag manual trans. What I don't like about the Camaro V6 1LE is the somewhat not so great visibility and not as "special" as the the Boss. My understanding is that all things being equal that the alpha chassis in the 6th. gen Camaros is superior to the one used in the Mustang. What would you guys choose? I find these two to be rougly around $31,000. Mostly street with maybe some beginner hpde. ger.

[mungodrums]

One more thing. Online I notice that on Motor Trend Lightning lap. Both of these cars are pretty much exactly the same. Crazy.

[JamesNoBrakes]

That year BOSS is not a crappy car. While it doesn't have IRS, it is pretty well buttoned down and does a fine job of overcoming it. We have a few show up to race AutoX, one is built, one is just stock. Those seem a lot better than the standard 2015 GTs.

The V6 1LE is a nice car too, going to probably have better tech? Newer is always a nice thing too.

If your goal is higher speed stuff, I'd think the BOSS would be the better car, it's still pretty light, but it's got the HP to accelerate in straights. On slower speed stuff where you are turning more, the Camaro is going to carry more speed in the turns due to the chassis and IRS. The BOSS isn't terrible here either, but the Camaro would make a better chassis to start with and mod for that purpose.

[CamaroSSStlfan]

The MT82 is a nightmare. I had a 2012 GT, auto, but I was on the Mustang forums a lot and TONS of people had nightmares with it. Some used lemon law.

But minus the tranny if you forget about that then the Mustang is better. For speed and torque the Boss wins out. If it has a reliable MT82 I would go with the boss all day as james said in a straight line you can't beat it.

Personally, it seems you want a car that handles. HOWEVER, the power of a powerful v8 will still overcome that. If it was me and money was the issue I would order a bare bones LT1 equipped with the manual.

Sure it wont handle as well as the LE but getting thrown into your seat on WOT will put a smile on your face and you'll forget all about the LE.

Again, my opinion but I would order a bare bones LT1.

My 2ss isn't a LE and that's fine. I bought the Camaro because I wanted a fast car.

[Bosse'sBoss]

Is very strange that you compare a V8 car VS a V6 car, on your comparison I would pickup the stronger engine car: the Mustang BOSS, but if you were considering the 6th gen Camaro SS, my first choice would be the Camaro.

[BlaqWhole]

Between the two, as much as I'm a Camaro guy, I honestly could not pick a modern V6 over a modern V8. And I'm not V6 bashing. But the BOSS is a special car while the V6 1LE, not soo much. But I also like shiny and new. So an 8 year old car VS something newer, I'd prefer the newer one. But again, I think the V8 would edge out a win for me.

[Martinjlm]

It really comes down to how you use the car and your tolerance for compromise.

If it’s an everyday driver, there are points in favor of the Boss. Better visibility, better and more useable trunk space. There are points that work against the Boss. Most prominent (in my opinion) is the MT82. Every Mustang I’ve driven with MT82 has disappointed me. Last was a 2019 Bullitt. Keep in mind that the shifter is the thing that you come in contact with most in an MT equipped car, and if you hate it, it ruins the driving experience. Love the cue ball knob in the Bullitt, but absolutely hated the clutch feel and the shift feel. In contrast, the Tremec in the 1LE is how MTs are s’posed to feel.

If it’s a weekend warrior, the things that work in favor of the Boss are the exhaust note and the engine feel and power. The things that work against it are the MT82 (did I mention that I hate it?) and the live axle suspension. Stay away from Cars and Coffee .

If it’s a track car, I’d probably change out the transmission and call it a day. I’m not sure how the live axle impacts it on the track and I hear that Boss does kick ass on the track out of the box. If I were to find that the live axle is an issue, Steeda has a long history of upfitting Mustang suspensions for better performance.

Just my 2 cents based on my preferences.

[Camaro fanboy]

camaro. i need not list why i think that lol.

[zaimer]

Originally Posted by BlaqWhole

Between the two, as much as I'm a Camaro guy, I honestly could not pick a modern V6 over a modern V8. And I'm not V6 bashing. But the BOSS is a special car while the V6 1LE, not soo much. But I also like shiny and new. So an 8 year old car VS something newer, I'd prefer the newer one. But again, I think the V8 would edge out a win for me.

I would agree with this almost 100%.

[m6-lt1]

I almost got a 2012 boss 302 instead of my 2016 Camaro SS. The SS is objectively a better car in every performance measure possible but I still sometimes wish I had acted faster and picked up the 2012 boss. It’s just a way more special car. Everyone keeps pointing out the transmission. While the mt82 is notoriously crappy, in my experience it’s hit or miss. I test drove 2 different mt82 cars (2011, 2017) before buying my camaro and both of them shifted great. My friend had a 2012 that he just sold with 200k miles on it and he never had any issues with his mt82. Even after he threw a cheap exedy clutch in it when it was time for one.

The boss will be more usable daily wise if that matters to you.

[SteveV]

Clearly I am biased, but if it were me, I would pick up a used 1SS from the 2016 to 2018 years. Using zipcode 94207 in autotrader, I saw 5 or 6 from 37k to 40k.

To me, it would be worth the extra $..

But, again, I am biased towards the Camaro... ;-)

[LT4Greg]

The Boss would be a better buy than the V6 1LE because of two more cylinders. I would look for a used SS 1LE but that’s just me. You get which car you want because it’s you that will be driving and paying for it.��

[N Camarolina]

Maybe I'm too practical a person to a fault, but I have to challenge this idea of "special" as a decision factor, if just for the sake of promoting some debate here.

If you are contemplating buying a car, and you have some options (like the OP does here), you have a list of pros and cons for each car (as have been brought up). But how does "special" become one of the defining pros, and what does "special" really mean?

[B]"They didn't make many of that particular model configuration"/B] So what? Unless you are a collector, shouldn't you be buying it based instead on the attributes that actually impact your day to day experience of driving the car (Performance, comfort, maybe looks, etc). You only get to drive this one car. Why should you care how many more of them are out there? By that measure, what if you are one of the first to buy a "standard model" car and it turns out the car has all kinds of problems and very few are ever sold before it's discontinued. Are you now the owner of a "special" car?

That one is a good bit better than than the usual version of that model car So what? The "special one" in this case still has a list of absolute pros and cons that you'll use to compare it to other vehicles. The fact that it's better than some lesser version of the same car is irrelevant at that point. If the standard Mustang is a dog and the "special" version is a dog with lipstick, or even a greyhound, does that mean it will compare more favorably to a tiger or a cheetah?

[Camarokid1996]

If they run the same time around a track, that goes to show just how amazing the 1LE package is, even in V6 form. That being said, I'd still get the BOSS over the Camaro every day of the week because of the V8. Your decision on what car you choose should be based on what you want out of a car. If you plan on keeping it stock, get the 1LE. If you plan to modify, I'd go for the Mustang