Project Z2010 Camaro SS
Posted at 9:19 AM / October 26, 2009
Here at Planet LSX, we can't have too many project cars to tweak on and write about. Since the 2010 Camaro SS is all the rage in the media world, we plan on having multiple project vehicles going on at the same time. This next example not only stands out in a crowd, but it is also owned by a lady gearhead in her 20s. Read on...
introducing Planet LSX Project "Z2010". So named for its throwback to the original 1969 Z10 Pacecar Coupe, this Summit White 2010 Camaro RS/SS was treated to custom painted Hugger Orange stripes by Kustom Werx of Spring, Texas when it was only 6 days old. The powertrain combo is the trusty LS3 and TR6060 manual 6-speed. Since then, it has been seriously put through the paces .
With only 850 miles on the odometer, we made the trip to Hennessey Motorsports’ first annual Camaro Nationals invitational event, where it saw its first dyno pull. A few minutes after the stock LS3 laid down an impressive 369 hp and 368 ft-lbs of torque, we made our way to the 1/4 mile track where, in the blistering Texas heat, we put down base time of 13.42 at 108.4 mph. With a density altitude of over 2000 ft, we knew she had more in her.
Fast forward a few short weeks, and Project Z2010 saw a road course for the first time. We managed to sneak onto Texas World Speedway during the Ford GT Rally, and put a good four laps on her before we hurt too many supercar feelings and parked her. Although the car is heavy, it hides its weight well; however, body roll was noticeable. Understeer coming into the corners, which was much less than we were expecting, can be compensated for by a quick entry to get the car rotating. The powerband was incredibly useful, and the stock tires are impressively grippy. Our third lap started to show some brake fade, which could easily be cleared up by a higher temp fluid. Oil temps were high, in the 275 degree range, but coolant temps stayed at a constant 230. The seats lack adequate bolstering to hold you in place on some of the harder corners,. Overall, it’s a fun car on the track, and performed better than expected for over 4000 lbs with driver, but it will need some small adjustments to be tracked regularly.
Two days later saw us at the Texas Mile event, where we managed to make one pass towards the end of the day Friday, after traffic slowed down. In just one standing mile, and in showroom-stock trim, we hit 156.8 mph, the highest posted speed of the event for a stock 2010 Camaro. The car is untuned, so our only guess is tire growth or computer lag kept us from hitting that 155 mph limiter everyone’s been telling us about.
After soaking in the sun and horsepower for a few days, we left early Saturday to make a few passes at Lonestar Motorsports park on our way home. Temperatures were 20 degrees lower than our previous attempt, and the DA was a mere 276 ft, so our hopes were high. Out of nine passes, our seventh turned out to be the best of the night, as temperatures dropped below dew point and traction became scarce. Best time of the night was a 13.09 at 109.7 mph.
Now that the baseline figures are found for the project, we will be modifying the car and monitoring performance improvements. Stay tuned!
