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Old 08-11-2020, 08:48 PM   #1
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Budget Cam-C?

Suppose I wanted a budget Cam-C, regionally competitive. Only spend money on high bang for the buck pieces:

4cyl Turbo
GM or BMR springs and swaybars
19/11 wheels with 305 Stones

Questions:
What year chassis? Are there good and bad years for AX?
Manual or auto? New enough for the A8?
Budget shock options? Any Koni Sports, Bilstein HDs etc?
Any other must-haves? But remember bang for the buck.

Not 1LE chassis due to scarce in used car market.
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Old 08-12-2020, 11:17 PM   #2
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That should make for a good budget CAM-C car. The GM team won nationals with a well-prepped turbo Camaro.

I consider my car "locally" competitive in CAM-C, but not regionally competitive for things like Tour and Pro. My car is just a stock V6 1LE with 18x10 wheels and the cheap 275/40/18 NFera SUR4G tires. Your planned choice of wheel and tire sounds great. However, 18x10.5 or 18x11 with Yokohamas in 295/35/18 might be even better, if you're willing to pay the price for them.

In the 4 cylinder, I would consider tuning the motor, because you can get good return for the money on a turbo car.

I'm not aware that it matters what year you get. In a 4 cyl. turbo car, I'd definitely want the MT, not the Auto, since only the MT got an LSD (don't know if that changed in later years). The MT will be lighter and I think you will be able to do most courses in second gear without having to shift, and the turbo should make good torque coming out of tight corners.
The good budget shock, from my research, would be the Bilstein. Konis, Ohlins are not available. However, I would get the GM lowering kit that has matched dampers and springs, and I'd consider the GM bars as well. Not adjustable, but well-suited to the chassis and no poly bushings to worry about.
That is my quick take on the questions you raised. I think you will enjoy the 6th gen Camaro a lot, I sure do. Cheers!
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Old 08-13-2020, 07:24 AM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by WAM View Post
Suppose I wanted a budget Cam-C, regionally competitive. Only spend money on high bang for the buck pieces:

4cyl Turbo
GM or BMR springs and swaybars
19/11 wheels with 305 Stones

Questions:
What year chassis? Are there good and bad years for AX?
Manual or auto? New enough for the A8?
Budget shock options? Any Koni Sports, Bilstein HDs etc?
Any other must-haves? But remember bang for the buck.

Not 1LE chassis due to scarce in used car market.
so I have looked into this when the world started falling apart and job wise i might have had to find a cheaper car...

Find a 2019+ just cause i think they look a little better

manual cause... come on!

18" forgestar wheels, probably around 2500 for a set? Might be able to find some used
or
19" MRR 755 wheels, new around 1400(but then 19" tire prices)

Used DSSVs for suspension, maybe around another 2500?
or
KW V3 coilovers with vorshalg tophats
DSSV if you can find them used is the easy button for sure.

Catted downpipe (300ish)
catback exhaust
tune
https://zzperformance.com/collections/ats

Thats personally where I would start. Anyone will tell you though seat time is the most important thing you can do.
Wheels tires and suspension should be the first go to before power though.
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Old 08-13-2020, 07:44 AM   #4
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I've had pretty good luck locally on just 305 Rivals, camber plates, and a tune. Each local is going to be different of course, but here in NC I'm consistently top 10 PAX/RAW, short of the national champ guys, but amongst the guys who fight for trophies at those same events. I would think the car is capable of getting a trophy at nats.

I was told recently the Hellwig front bar and ZL1 1LE rear bar are a good answer for these cars, but I haven't done the research myself to really know. I'll likely buy them off the guy at the end of the year, so we'll find out.

The only differences I'm aware of between years are cosmetic. I went a few years old with mine because I hate eating initial depreciation costs.

Don't know what the gearing in the auto is, but the manual tops out at 65 in 2nd, but the engine isn't doing much above 6k rpm.

I was thinking of going with the FE3 suspension off the 1LE/SS as a good compromise between comfort and performance, but I haven't done much research into it.

Like most turbo cars, an intake, downpipe, and tune will make a big difference. I tried just a tune as it made a big difference on my last car, but this one didn't do tons in the butt dyno department. According to the V-Dyno I ran, it picked up 30-40 hp and torque, but I just don't feel it that much.

The biggest downfall of the car is the turbo/throttle lag. Coming out of slow corners it will take a second or two for it to get going.
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Old 08-13-2020, 12:50 PM   #5
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Thanks guys,

After some checking, I'm now focusing on buying new. A base model is only $24k asking, and similar used models are more than that. ???

Interest in an automatic came from reading another thread here where a comment was made that turbo lag was at least a minor issue but the A8 seemed to cover it better. It was just one guy's opinion.

BTW, regarding Yokohamas. I remember reading that Yoks were banned from CAM. Perhaps that's changed?
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Old 08-13-2020, 02:44 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by WAM View Post
Thanks guys,

After some checking, I'm now focusing on buying new. A base model is only $24k asking, and similar used models are more than that. ???

Interest in an automatic came from reading another thread here where a comment was made that turbo lag was at least a minor issue but the A8 seemed to cover it better. It was just one guy's opinion.

BTW, regarding Yokohamas. I remember reading that Yoks were banned from CAM. Perhaps that's changed?
I'm not so sure the Yoks would be best on a CAM car. They seem like they prefer cooler temperatures, which CAM cars tend to be too heavy for that. When I've checked surface temps after runs I've yet to go much over 150* front and 130* rear, both pretty even across, even on 95* days.
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Old 08-13-2020, 02:52 PM   #7
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How competitive are you trying to be? If you wanted to spend less on tires, the SC3 is a good option.

How much experience do you have? Seat time is most important, as Apexit said.
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Old 08-13-2020, 03:03 PM   #8
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Quote:
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How competitive are you trying to be? If you wanted to spend less on tires, the SC3 is a good option.

How much experience do you have? Seat time is most important, as Apexit said.
6X national champion good enough? But I'm retired from national competition and looking for an easy-going "retirement car".

So my baseline is now:
2020 2.0/manual
GM LS-1 lowering package (springs and shocks) with matching FE4 swaybars
Vorshlag or somebody's camber plates.
Apex APC8 direct fit 19/11's & 305 RE71s (MRRs not available this width and offset)

Maybe exhaust, tune and stiffer control arms later.

Last edited by WAM; 08-13-2020 at 03:21 PM.
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Old 08-13-2020, 03:09 PM   #9
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Quote:
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Thanks guys,
BTW, regarding Yokohamas. I remember reading that Yoks were banned from CAM. Perhaps that's changed?
TYPICAL CAM.... lol

surprised they didnt make a rule the car needs a v8
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Old 08-13-2020, 04:52 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by WAM View Post

BTW, regarding Yokohamas. I remember reading that Yoks were banned from CAM. Perhaps that's changed?

They aren't banned in CAM, at least not that I know of. But the last SCCA event I did, I beat the Mustang that was running them with my 150+ run Rivals. We have traded off wins, he won when it was cooler out and I won when it was hotter. I don't think I should have won as I'm almost stock(camber plates, 19s, and eLSD tune) and he is pretty modified.
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Old 08-13-2020, 05:21 PM   #11
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Checked the current CAM rules handout and the Yoks have been removed from the exclusion list. Was several months ago when I saw they were excluded.

I've heard NorCal CAM guys like them. But it's 2nd hand info.
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Old 08-13-2020, 09:22 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by WAM View Post
Checked the current CAM rules handout and the Yoks have been removed from the exclusion list. Was several months ago when I saw they were excluded.

I've heard NorCal CAM guys like them. But it's 2nd hand info.
Tom Berry has used them on his ASP Evo and said they are almost Hoosier like. The father/son duo from San Diego seem to like them on their stang. I really like the Rivals and they handle the heat well. Surprising amount of lateral grip on the Fontana surface that generally favors the RE71Rs. I'm waiting for the new 660s to come out in 315 to try them. I just don't want to spend more money on buying 18" wheels or I would likely use the Yoks too.
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Old 08-13-2020, 10:12 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Scargoes View Post
Tom Berry has used them on his ASP Evo and said they are almost Hoosier like. The father/son duo from San Diego seem to like them on their stang. I really like the Rivals and they handle the heat well. Surprising amount of lateral grip on the Fontana surface that generally favors the RE71Rs. I'm waiting for the new 660s to come out in 315 to try them. I just don't want to spend more money on buying 18" wheels or I would likely use the Yoks too.
After 1 good heat cycle, the A052's had the same durometer as an 1 heat cycled A7 (!). I know durometer is not 1-for-1 with grip, but, still, they are marshmellow soft.
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Old 08-14-2020, 07:50 AM   #14
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Quote:
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Checked the current CAM rules handout and the Yoks have been removed from the exclusion list. Was several months ago when I saw they were excluded.

I've heard NorCal CAM guys like them. But it's 2nd hand info.
I wana say they were excluded before nats last year so someone couldnt just show up on them and win when everyone else had purchased BFGs.
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