[95TA - The Beast]

I figured I would make this post just about everywhere so that it outlines some of the issues seen and in general explain why there are so many issues to date. The area in regards to the diff can probably be overlooked for the Camaro as the diffs used in the Camaro versions of this platform are more reliable than the ATS/CTS versions, but it is still good to cover as general maintenance.

Honestly, the BIGGEST issue with these cars is a lack of proper maintenance. And that is ONLY if they are not modified.

By "proper maintenance" I am referring to using a Dexos Gen2 spec oil to eliminate LSPI (Low Speed Pre-Ignition). LSPI is BY FAR the biggest cause of DI turbo engine failures for the ATS/CTS platforms. MOST people don't even consider it and if you use the wrong oil YOU WILL get LSPI. So unless the oil is on the GM Dexos Gen2 approved list, then it is NOT approved and you run the risk of breaking the engine by just cruising along.

The other half of the maintenance equation is that people don't check the diff fluid on these cars. You need to check the fluid and the breather valve. I know of someone who bought an AWD CTS, had ZERO issues, had it inspected and since there was no sign of a leak, didn't change the diif oil and just drove it... Well he hammered the car in a beat-cruise and a autocross session and ended up killing the diff. I am CERTAIN if he had changed the fluid and made sure the breather was good he would not have killed it.

Again, MOST original owners of these cars paid a LOT for them, thus they treated them gently and properly. A LOT of the new owners are no-where near as invested and beat the snot out of them and then wonder why they have issues. That is because a) they need to be maintained with the right fluids and b) they weren't ever beat on before.

Now, this in NO WAY lets GM off the hook for the diff issues, as far too many have had problems for them to say there isn't an issue. But it DOES put ALL the blame on the current owners of the cars. To buy a car used and NOT go through and replace ALL the fluids is just negligent (I am talking transmission, front and rear diff as well as engine oil and coolant). It should be done for ALL used cars since you NEVER know how well the previous owner took care of things. A lot of people will have the view that they never did that on their other cars, and again, that is just poor ownership. If you want to own a reliable car, you start with the basics and that includes redoing fluids and making sure certain things (like the breather on the diff) that are known to be problematic to be checked out and/or replaced.

In regards to MODIFYING these cars, again, a LOT of people are buying these "cheap" (relative to how expensive they were to begin with) and then think they can mod the hell out of them and not compromise reliability. ALL LTG engines have a VERY tight top ring end-gap from the factory. They did this on purpose. For 2013-14 they are marginal, AT BEST, and 2015+ they are reliable, but ONLY at stock power levels. Since there is NO WAY to know what the ring end-gaps are on a particular engine there is NO WAY to know if it can handle extra power. Again the 2013-14 engines could and STILL sometimes break just using "sport mode" and generating extra heat, or being driven agressively in any mode. The 2015+ should be fine for ALL stock settings and modes, but as soon as you do a single power mod (ie, tune, since the engine WILL NOT make any more power without a tune) you run the risk of breaking the engine. It is really just that simple.

Basically, the ONLY way to look at the LTG reliably is to NOT mod the tune/engine and run it the way it was produced, or commit to doing a forged engine (forged pistons/rods) and THEN do whatever you want to it. But, the BIGGEST issue that MOST tuners for the LTG do NOT do properly is deal with the knock systems in their tunes properly. FAR too many turn off "Burst Knock" and that is the ONLY system in the tune to prevent broken pistons, even forged ones. It doesn't do you ANY good to go to a forged engine just to run a tune with "Burst Knock" disabled. Just ask ANY of the LT4 v8 supercharged tuners, THEY fully understand that the "Burst Knock" must be enabled and tuned properly to prevent engine damage. The ONLY tuner for the LTG that I know, personally, to have "Burst Knock" enabled and tuned properly is Trifecta. The vast majority of other tuners I have had the opportunity to look at their tunes that have done for others have "Burst Knock" disabled and they errornously believe that making the "regular knock" settings more sensitive accomplishes the same thing, WHICH IT DOES NOT!!! I will add that if your tuner tries to argue that "Burst Knock" functions can be accomplished with retuning of the "regular knock" control then I would advise you to do not use that tuner. All the knock functions can be tuned to great detail, but turning off a function as critical as "Burst Knock" for ANY reason is irresponsible without consideration for the customers engine. To do such just goes to show how LITTLE that tuner understands the various knock systems in the vehicle and how those systems actually operate.

Sorry, I am tired of seeing people with blown engines and I can verify that MOST of the tuners (I have had tunes sent to me by MANY people with tunes from these various tuners) have "Burst Knock" disabled in their tunes. Including the tunes that were loaded on vehicles where the engine blew up and already had forged internals. Sure those same tuners will blame other parts, bad assembly, bad machine work, blah blah blah... But it is the TUNERS responsibility to load a SAFE and proper tune that allows the ECM to do it's job of protecting the engine, and turning off "Burst Knock" is NOT allowing the ECM to do that properly.

Also, in regards to "transmission" issues... The 2016+ 8-speed GM transmission is the "problem child" of the bunch. The 2013-2015 8-speed AISIN transmission is bulletproof, as well as the same years 6-speed transmission (also used in BMWs up to and over 600ft/lbs torque) is also bulletproof. So the ONLY problem one is the well-known and crappy GM 8-speed used from 2016+.

Beyond those issues and the "CUE" system being a faulty and short-lived design for the touchscreen, MOST people have few problems with these cars as long as they are maintained properly. Again, buying a USED car you HAVE to assume that it was NOT maintained properly and do it ALL. Also, you MUST run 93-octane fuel and you MUST use synthetic oil and it SHOULD be changed at 3000-4000 miles AT MOST considering it is a turbo engine. Most people want to beat the snot out of these cars and do minimal maintenance. You just CANNOT do that with a high-output turbo 4-cylinder engine and expect it to live.

[Start The Machine]

Good point on the Trifecta tunes and dealing with knock. The owner is really smart about tuning this platform and does things in the safest way possible. My biggest concern is reliability. If that means the tune gets dialed back some to prevent knock, so be it. My car hasn't skipped a beat on Trifecta's tune and runs very strong, granted, the owner dyno tuned my car in house twice. It all started out on their canned email tune.