2018 Mustang Swap
 

Hello

Long time Mustang owner, 1st car was a 2005 v6 that I still have. My 2nd was a new 2018 GT I picked up in April. Didn't bother to test drive anything else, always wanted a 5.0 and didn't think about a Camaro. Long story short, the new one has been a giant headache with engine rattles/ticks and broken shift forks. My car has been at Ford for over 30 days for a broken 1-2 shift fork, unfortunately no lemon laws here in Canada. Was looking at switching to the "dark side" and had a few questions:

1) Will reliability be any better with the Camaro? My brother has a 2010 RS that had a blown motor out of warranty. Sounds like the newer Camaros are built better but is that really true? I do not want to go from one bad quality experience to another. I have searched these forums and there doesn't seem to be any certain issues to look out for but maybe I'm wrong. On the other hand, multiple Mustangs have the same issues I have.

2) The 2018 Mustang was a major refresh and I made the mistake of buying year 1 (although 2019 seems to be more of the same). Since the 2019 Camaro was aesthetic changes only, any issues getting a 19?

3) Lastly I am really interested in the 1 LE. A 1SS 1LE is about 53-55k Canadian where as a 2SS 1LE is about 60-62k. As a result of having negative equity on the Mustang, I am trying not to splurge. As far as I can tell, I lose some interior padding, lighting, bose 9 speakers and the heated/ventilated seats with the 1ss. I really don't think those options alone are worth 5k but was wondering if people who have a 2018 1SS 1LE regret not having the 2SS?

Thanks everyone!

So the 1SS 1LE comes with the HUD, recaro seats, alcantara steering wheel/shift knob.

Shame about the lack of a lemon law...that’s what got me out of my 17 GT and into an 18 ZL1 1LE. Thought about a PP2 or GT350 but got more for my $ with the Z. Good luck!

And any regrets?

Do you want what the 1le offers? It's built for superior handling and will be the way to go if you know you're going to track the car often. It's also manual only which in my opinion makes the SS a blast to drive.

Yes it has the HUD and Recaro seats from what I understand. Not sure about the Alcantara wheel.


The 2SS is extra electronics and a higher end interior if you care about that.

Go drive them and make your decision. That's the only way to know for sure. I was hell bent on the 2SS until I drove the 1SS and realized it had everything I wanted.

None. Love the Z, exactly what I wanted - supercharged, track suspension and no dealer “addendum.” Stores here wanted $10k over for GT350s, $20k over for Raptors and my PP2 build was pushing $50k. Add a whipple, some BMR goodies to the PP2 and I’d be in it for more than the 1LE and have no warranty.

I didn't regret getting the 1SS, and here's why:

heated/cooled seats--not something I use all that much
fake suede padding on knee pads and doors--if you want these, you can spend a few hundred bucks and pick up the parts on ebay.
Stereo--the standard stereo is good enough for me.
Tech goodies--don't really care that much.
Seats--both have the same "Recaro" seats. They're great seats. Nothing really "recaro" about them except the licensed name but they're super nice.

The only thing for the interior that you can't get aftermarket is the upper sill of the door where the window meets the plastic. That part is soft touch in the 2SS and hard in the 1SS. The thing is, it's so high, that nobody ever puts their arm there anyway so for me it was a moot point. I did end up replacing the knee pads with the fake suede stuff just because it's slightly more padded. The parts are ridiculously expensive for what they are, just a few ounces of light plastic with fake suede fabric stretched over it.

The 1SS is..."just about" as nice inside as the 2SS. It's not a big dramatic difference and only a big deal if certain things are super important to you, such as heated/cooled seats, or stereo, or the tech goodies, etc. To me, I just wanted an awesome track car and I was willing to lose out on a few goodies in order to get a cheaper price. That 7 or 8k pays for lot of upgrades, fluids, wheels/tires, track fees, gas, etc. Of course, if money was no object I would have gone 2SS.

1) Yes, I would say the reliability of the 6th Gen Camaro is better than the 6th Gen Mustang refresh (actually more than a "refresh"). Yes, the Camaro is not without issue, but the main issue is really the 8-speed auto (2016-2018 cars). The 2019 has the 10-speed like the Mustang. So far, it's hard to say what real issues there are, but looking at Mustang and the few reviewed Camaro 10-speeds, it seems to be fine. The manual Camaro's are very, very good. With a 1SS or 2SS some claim the limited slip differential clutches are an "issue" while cold (you get some shudder - that's it; nothing of reliability; my previous 1SS nor my friends 2SS I have ever considered this a problem).

2) The 2018+ Mustang is more than a typical refresh, so don't feel so bad. There are a lot of major hardware and technology changes.

3) I had a 1SS and now a 1SS 1LE. I a buddy has a 2SS that I've spent a a lot of time in. The 1SS 1LE is a leap from the 1SS in interior feel mainly due to the leather/micro-suede Recaros (rear seats are 2SS black leather-type). Like others, I changed my "kneepads" from the black plastic and it makes a world of different (IMO) to the feel of the interior of the car, 1SS or 1SS 1LE. Compared to the 2SS, yeah there are some nice amenities, but, honestly, it felt no more special than my 1SS 1LE inside. The illuminated sill plates and nicer stereo were about the only things I could somewhat say I "missed".

I wanted the heated/cooled seats, the upgraded stereo and the memory settings (especially the easy entry/exit) so I had to do the 2SS. If these features are not important to you the 1SS is perfect.

Yes. Plus the SS 1LE comes with: https://www.camaro6.com/forums/showthread.php?t=534023

For me, track (maybe someday), bad a$$ DD with all the leather and tech, and in AZ cooled seats are a MUST. Throw in the multi-mode exhaust, brembos and MRC..... 2SS was the ONLY one I wanted!!

Plus I missed my modified C5 Corvette. Gave it up a few years ago to buy the wife a new SUV.

2SS prices are too close to the ZL1. If you want it fully loaded and can stretch it...

they are like 12000 dollars apart
2ss is definitely worth it

5-8 grand gets you a supercharger anyway