[F1FTY]

I've already started a journal elsewhere but want to get more Camaro owner thoughts on things so i'm bringing it over here. In case any of the language looks weirder than usual, it may be because of that.

Some background to life before Camaro, I owned a 997.1 911 and an MK7 GTI. I wanted to upgrade and pare it down to 1 car. The Camaro SS has been perfect!

Enter in the 2016 Chevy 20% off sticker event with $5k cash down on the hood in the DC area. It got me looking at the Camaro, but finding a 2SS model with the Bose stereo, navigation, heated and cooled seats, blind spot tech, etc etc was hard. I found ONE, but it was sold before I could get to the dealer. (nothing like buying a brand new car at Black Book values).

After test driving one without mag ride or the NPP, I liked it but didn't want to settle on ANY options since I plan on happily keeping this car for 5 years.

Enter a 2017 2SS Fifty Year Anniversary edition.

Drives smaller than it is the more seat time I have, the steering is the best of the electrics i've had, the blind spots aren't as bad as the magazines say, fuel economy is at 20mpg with my commute, and I like how i can either go Tour mode while sitting in traffic, or Track mode and bang gears out with the exhaust wide open.

Mods Planned:

- 1LE Wheels and Tires
- GM Performance 6-Piston Front Brake Kit
- GM Performance Heads and Hot Cam
- Longtube headers with cats
- Flex Fuel E85 kit
- DSC Sport MRC Controller


Mod List:


Engine:
- GM Performance Cold Air Intake (tune included)
- Katech Ported TB
- PRAY ported intake manifold

Transmission:
- 1LE Short Throw Shifter

Brakes:

Suspension:
- 1LE F/R Swaybars
- 1LE Springs
- 1LE MRC Valving
- 1LE Rear Trailing Arms
- GM Performance Strut Tower Bar


Wheels:


Interior:
- GM Sport Pedal Kit
- GM Cargo Net
- GM Fifty Floormats
- ZL1 Start Button
- GM door striker covers

Exterior:
- Black Bow Ties
- GM Dark Tail lights
- ZL1 1LE Dark 3rd Brake Light
- Diode Dynamics LED side marker lights
- Big Worm Graphix smoked vinyl rear light kit
- GM Rear Splash Guards



I plan on taking this car to Summit Point main and Shenandoah, as well as do a couple autox's with it in the D.C. Region.

[F1FTY]

Picture time (when stock):

Fifty year anniversary edition adds some styling features to the regular SS. The 2SS package definitely justifies the price tag.

























Mixes in alcantara/suede inserts on the doors and center tunnel with stitched leather pieces throughout the door panels, steering wheel, and seats. Seats are a mix of suede and leather. aluminum trim on the doors and shifter console.

Stitched leather on the dash trim. The only two places I can find cheap plastic in the interior are the dash left of the gauges and the shifter surround, but they are textured well.

2700 miles and the ride is quiet without creaks or rattles (i know they will be coming). The magnetic shocks really smooth things out but the car doesn't flop around in turns. Odd combination to feel. shifter is precise..not as rifle bolt as the 911 but cleaner shifting than the GTI by far. Clutch is nicely weighted without being tiring and the steering really is better than expected for an electric rack.

Everything feels right in terms of build quality. Switches, buttons, interfaces all feel like they have some substance to them, nothing is going to break off in my hand.

I write that and then immediately think of the latch to move the seats forward to gain access to the backseat shelf. That does appear to be cheap compared to the 911 or GTI.

Trunk opening surround plastic is kind of cheap but not an area that matters much. Rest of the car has been solid. Can tell the difference in plastic grain between the Chevy and the germans but its not a show stopper or unworthy of the price point.

Overall, the car just offers a ton of content for a good price.

The biggest surprise is that despite the car having literally every option in the tech world, it lacks rain-sensing wipers and adaptive cruise control. Kind of odd considering all of the blind spot/parking technology.

[F1FTY]

Swapped on my winter wheels and tires this weekend, but don't have any good daylight photos to show them yet.



Went from the 20" wheels down to 18x8" wheels and tires that were both the cheapest ones i could find on Tire Rack. Kuhmo all seasons in 245 width and some P5 wheels. Will work fine for the winter in DC.

The BMR Suspension strut tower bar got here today and it took me 9 minutes to install.



Far from pretty, but functional.



The rest of my mod schedule is really more up to GM Performance releasing parts more than anything else. (Ok, the 6 piston front brake kit but they won't fit with the winter wheels).

[F1FTY]

Black bowties

Before:


After:


Before:


After:


The GM dark tail lights are on my radar now too.

[F1FTY]

sport pedals came in today. They're what come standard on the Cadillac ATS. Since the platform is shared, it's an easy plug and play.



The before photo didn't turn out great due to the flash, but just imagine black rubber and plastic:



After:




Flash kind of screwed up the difference photos. This was as easy as it gets to do, and it's very refreshing after working on German cars for the last few years.

The dead pedal now kind of stands out, so i'm going to do some more digging to see what the ATS does there too.

[F1FTY]

Christmas gifts for the Camaro:



Cargo net for the trunk, GM accessory. Won't hold much, but could be good for loose tools.


Also, some floormats to match the rest of the interior:



All GM accessory'd out at this point. Next post will be the dark tail lights installed with smoked vinyl inlays for the brake light and red reflectors in the rear.

[F1FTY]

Dark tail lights arrived early! Going to put them on tonight and will post the before/after comparison (vinyl inlays too).

First, lets start with...interior:





Next, let's look at how the car sat with the winter wheels:



Tail light time:

Comparison side by side:


Installed the lights:



Now the 3rd brake light kind of sticks out:



Let's fix that with some vinyl from Big Worm Graphix:




Here is how the lights look when lit up:





I'll take some daytime pictures tomorrow to give a better contrast, but I have to say that I am really happy with how this turned out. The car came from the factory looking aggressive but had some color mismatching and five different exterior colors on the 50th edition (orange, matte gray, nightfall gray, red, chevy yellow/gold). i've now reduced that to the orange, matte gray, nightfall gray and some slight red from the smoked brake lights/reflectors.

For the interior, I ramped up the use of aluminum with the pedal covers and added more orange trim with the floormats.

The GM accessory catalog has now been picked clean with what I wanted out of it.

[F1FTY]

Some outside shots of the new setup:






Happy with it all, can't wait to see it with the 50th anniversary wheels back on the car this summer!

[RideZX6R]

Oh *this* guy...

:p heh

[F1FTY]

Originally Posted by RideZX6R

Oh *this* guy...

:p heh

[F1FTY]

Finished up the vinyl on the diffuser reflectors to finish up the rear of the car. I have dark vinyl inserts too, but the gun smoke tint seems to work ok?



A bit blurry with the same crappy lighting from the parking garage, but hopefully gives an idea:



Weather is supposed to hit 60 degrees this week, so i'll be sure to do a hand wash and get better photos.

Thanks to Big Worm Graphix for making these vinyl kits and ThatGMPartsGuy for the dark tail lights.

[F1FTY]

Ordered the 1LE short shifter from thatgmpartsguy. It's on preorder right now.

[F1FTY]

Ordered the GM Strut Tower bar from ShopChevyParts.com to replace the BMR bar.

Doing it for looks only

[toro1966]

Originally Posted by F1FTY

Ordered the GM Strut Tower bar from ShopChevyParts.com to replace the BMR bar.

Doing it for looks only

My strut tower brace came stock since it's a vert but I am going to order the paint and paint it orange and gray to match the car. Someone already did it on this forum and it looks phenomenal.