[FlamesAreWicked]

Shopping for a new car can be fun and miserable at the same time. I’ve never owned a camaro but I have friends who have.. if ya read forums on all of the main cars, camaro, mustang, challenger.. you’ll find a list of problems a mile long for each. Granted you typically hear about the problems more than the praises.. that’s just how it is... I picked the brain of a friend of mine thats more experienced with GM stuff on newer camaros and he said they’re known for lifter failures.. and he personally knew 2-3 guys with that very issue...


Despite all of that... would all that prevent any of you from buying today? I found a real nice 1LE SS that has piqued my interest. I’ve had a Scat Pack, currently a 16 GT, and possibly considering making a change soon. Those two cars are real fun. They have their strong points and weaknesses of course...

Any advice or personal experience is welcomed..

[Jaxcam02]

The lifter failure thing was more prevalent on the late 2000s, early 2010s gm engines when AFM was first put in. The failure rate on the 6th gen is much better and I have yet to experience it or hear about anyone who has in any of my cars after 2015.

[Spaceme1117]

Originally Posted by FlamesAreWicked

Shopping for a new car can be fun and miserable at the same time. I’ve never owned a camaro but I have friends who have.. if ya read forums on all of the main cars, camaro, mustang, challenger.. you’ll find a list of problems a mile long for each. Granted you typically hear about the problems more than the praises.. that’s just how it is... I picked the brain of a friend of mine thats more experienced with GM stuff on newer camaros and he said they’re known for lifter failures.. and he personally knew 2-3 guys with that very issue...


Despite all of that... would all that prevent any of you from buying today? I found a real nice 1LE SS that has piqued my interest. I’ve had a Scat Pack, currently a 16 GT, and possibly considering making a change soon. Those two cars are real fun. They have their strong points and weaknesses of course...

Any advice or personal experience is welcomed..

I have owned several LS powered cars (2x Pontiac G8's, Pontiac GTO, Chevy SS, C5 Z06, C6 GS) and now have a 2017 Camaro SS.

Never had any problems with any aspect of the engine in those cars.

Vast majority of lifter failure in most LS engines is with people that have modified their cars mainly with aftermarket cams. Go with a larger than factory cam with massive lift (which is typical of people), lifters fail a lot more often.

There have been more lifter failures in AFM gen4 V8 cars but even those have been overblown (just like the so-called needle bearing failure in the rocker arms).

I picked up my 2017 2SS about a month ago and it is in the top 3 of the best cars I have ever owned (20 cars and counting).

These cars are reliable, fast, well engineered, and fun.

And with all due respect to your "friend", he does not know what he is talking about. The Gen5 LT engines are extremely reliable.

[Aragorn]

Camaro - initial visibility perception issue, great low-end torque small backseat. Suspect torque converter on A8
Mustang - small backseat great top and I think the manual transmission has issues.
Challenger - bigger, doesn’t corner as well most space and best visibility, not aware of any reliability issues.

[MR2Aaron]

Originally Posted by FlamesAreWicked

Shopping for a new car can be fun and miserable at the same time. I’ve never owned a camaro but I have friends who have.. if ya read forums on all of the main cars, camaro, mustang, challenger.. you’ll find a list of problems a mile long for each. Granted you typically hear about the problems more than the praises.. that’s just how it is... I picked the brain of a friend of mine thats more experienced with GM stuff on newer camaros and he said they’re known for lifter failures.. and he personally knew 2-3 guys with that very issue...


Despite all of that... would all that prevent any of you from buying today? I found a real nice 1LE SS that has piqued my interest. I’ve had a Scat Pack, currently a 16 GT, and possibly considering making a change soon. Those two cars are real fun. They have their strong points and weaknesses of course...

Any advice or personal experience is welcomed..

I'v owned 2017 GT, a 2021 Camaro SS and rented a Challenger.

The Mustang is the best daily driver. The Challenger is the biggest inside. The Camaro drives the best.*


If I were in your position, I'd probably just keep the Mustang, rather than put myself through the hassle of selling one and buying another, as the actual experience is pretty similar.

*All my opinions obviously.

[Bruizer]

Your "friends" are confusing the LS3 engine (earlier platform) with the LT1 (newer engine platform).

LS1, LS2 LS3 etc were/are (sorta) known to have lifter failures in SOME vehicles. Low oil conditions seam to be a direct cause as well.

Having a lifter take-out my cam on my LS2 resulted in about $800 in parts and a weekend of labor in my garage....not a huge deal. No tick nor warnings of any kind...just bam!...marbles in a coffee can like noise in the fast lane of the hwy.

If you're looking for an LS3 powered Camaro and insecure regarding the lifters, just replace them with Johnson 2110 lifters, new trays and be good to go. Might as well upgrade the rocker trunions while you're at it.

There are a chit-ton of LS powered vehicles that NEVER suffer lifter failures fyi.

[CamaroSSStlfan]

Originally Posted by MR2Aaron

I'v owned 2017 GT, a 2021 Camaro SS and rented a Challenger.

The Mustang is the best daily driver. The Challenger is the biggest inside. The Camaro drives the best.*


If I were in your position, I'd probably just keep the Mustang, rather than put myself through the hassle of selling one and buying another, as the actual experience is pretty similar.

*All my opinions obviously.

The Camaro SS and LT1 are an upgrade to a "stock" mustang GT. They have more torque, but also slightly faster as well. now if you want mod friendly car the Mustang easily wins. You can always mod a Mustang and it will be as fast as a Camaro then.


What I will say is get that Camaro, BUT wait about 6 months until more semi conductors are made and the price of used ones go down or there is a bigger selection of new Camaro SS.


This is not a good time to buy a Camaro right now. Keep the Mustang for about another 6 months and have fun with it.


VERY hard to find a new v8 Camaro right now. I think someone said 117 on the lots IN THE ENTIRE country. You can buy a used one but would pay about 4k more than normal.

[FlukeSS]

Originally Posted by FlamesAreWicked

Shopping for a new car can be fun and miserable at the same time. I’ve never owned a camaro but I have friends who have.. if ya read forums on all of the main cars, camaro, mustang, challenger.. you’ll find a list of problems a mile long for each. Granted you typically hear about the problems more than the praises.. that’s just how it is... I picked the brain of a friend of mine thats more experienced with GM stuff on newer camaros and he said they’re known for lifter failures.. and he personally knew 2-3 guys with that very issue...


Despite all of that... would all that prevent any of you from buying today? I found a real nice 1LE SS that has piqued my interest. I’ve had a Scat Pack, currently a 16 GT, and possibly considering making a change soon. Those two cars are real fun. They have their strong points and weaknesses of course...

Any advice or personal experience is welcomed..

Stay away from the A8's. Try to get an A10 if you can (IF automatic is your cup of tea) Manuals don't have the tranny problems the A8's do.

There's a forum thread on these forums that is like 50-60 pages long of a single A8 transmission issue. I read every single page of it, because I had the same issue on my 2016

[CamaroSSStlfan]

Originally Posted by FlukeSS

Stay away from the A8's. Try to get an A10 if you can (IF automatic is your cup of tea) Manuals don't have the tranny problems the A8's do.

There's a forum thread on these forums that is like 50-60 pages long of a single A8 transmission issue. I read every single page of it, because I had the same issue on my 2016

It's the shudder issue. Even then the a8 is a FAR better transmission than the S197 Mustang manual that has had all sorts of serious issues with the Getrag in the Coyote. Shudder issue really doesn't bother me.


If I was given a 2012 Mustang GT with a Getrag I wouldn't even pay 10k for that thing. Total garbage tranny.

[Camaro fanboy]

i owned a 2016 gt mustang. go for it. you will be blown away how better the car is than your mustang. EVERYTHING is a major upgrade.
plus you have that evap core issue with those from that year. driveline clunk. cheap chinese gearboxes that explode. the main thing you will notice over that mustang is the torque and high speed stability.the camaro is like it's on rails compared to those s550's.
go for it. you'll not regret it one bit i garantee you.
i've driven over 3 million miles in my life and kinda have an idea lol

[CamaroSSStlfan]

Originally Posted by Camaro fanboy

i owned a 2016 gt mustang. go for it. you will be blown away how better the car is than your mustang. EVERYTHING is a major upgrade.
plus you have that evap core issue with those from that year. driveline clunk. cheap chinese gearboxes that explode. the main thing you will notice over that mustang is the torque and high speed stability.the camaro is like it's on rails compared to those s550's.
go for it. you'll not regret it one bit i garantee you.
i've driven over 3 million miles in my life and kinda have an idea lol

Sumed it up well about the Mustang. My last Mustang GT was a 2012 that I traded in on the SS. The autos in those are fine unlike the manual.


The design of the s197 was great, except it was cheap garbage interior. My 2012 cheap seats, the dash was unfinished with sharp edges near the ignition which hurts if you bang it, etc.


The funny thing is that my Auto 2012 GT felt faster WOT on the butt dyno even though my SS would demolish it in a race. The SS ride is sooo much smoother.


The 6th gen Camaro is a major upgrade over the Mustang. Even though the speed specs might not be a lot faster, everything about the Camaro is just better.


Yes you will spend more money if you want a Camaro SS or LT1 but the extra cost of a Camaro over the Mustang is well worth the few grand more.


Chevy really did a fine job on the 6th Gen. I would take a 2011-14 GT over a 5th gen Camaro though cause they were slower back then.


However the 6th Gen blows the current Mustang away.


I can't understand why the 6th gen Camaro sales are so bad. I know Mustang GT is offered with a cheaper base model, but you'd think the Camaro woudl sell strong due to the better car.

[Camaro fanboy]

i blame scotty kilmer for bad sales.

[CamaroSSStlfan]

Originally Posted by Camaro fanboy

i blame scotty kilmer for bad sales.

I dunno, in his video this year comparing Camaro and Mustang history he wailed on the Mustang a lot. The 2015 and S197, a lot more than the 6th gen.


As I said before I think price is a factor. You can get a base model GT in most cases cheaper than an LT1 on the lot. Most of the LT1s on dealer lots are 40k and up. You can get a base model GT for 35k with rebates and deals, haggling.



Even being cheaper I'd rather have a 6th gen camaro and pay more than a Mustang.


If Chevy had plentiful LT1s for under 37k I think Camaro sales would be a lot higher. If you want a dirt cheap LT1 you have to order it. Dealers don't carry many stripper LT1s.

[arpad_m]

Originally Posted by FlukeSS

Stay away from the A8's. Try to get an A10 if you can (IF automatic is your cup of tea) Manuals don't have the tranny problems the A8's do.

There's a forum thread on these forums that is like 50-60 pages long of a single A8 transmission issue. I read every single page of it, because I had the same issue on my 2016

This comes up every single time someone asks about buying a used Camaro. The shudder is real, but so is the fix since January 2019, see this thread here and this article from GM.

Disgruntled 2016-2017 owners will understandably want to help you avoid the same issue by their dramatic discouragements, but this has been practically resolved and the A8 itself is a very stout and well working transmission. I have the 8L90 myself, and it performs absolutely flawlessly with Ted Jannetty's tune (it had been fine even before that).

All this is most likely moot, since you're eyeballing an SS 1LE that I assume is a manual, and if you buy it, as others said, you'll be in for a fantastic treat with this car.