I purchased my tickets to Detroit, and it started me thinking.

Wouldn't it be the ultimate buzz kill if GM adds 50+ HP to the LS3 and drops that bomb in Detroit just as Ford introduces the 5.0? They already have a LS3 crate motor with a hotter cam making 480HP. It wouldn't be hard for them to drop it in the Camaro at volume- since the difference is just the cam.

Am I the only one thinking like this? It would effectively nullify the Coyote launch. However, I have great faith in GM's ability to miss opportunities, even those that are in front of their noses.

 

It would not nullify anything.
The coyote has about 30% more HP.
You're talking GM having less than 15% more HP in a heavier car.
And don't forget all the EPA testing GM would have to do for the new engine in a Camaro.
Who would approve the money for that?

 

I don't believe people think in terms of % improved. Most don't even look at performance- all they see is horsepower and price. So, I do think that increasing LS3 output out of Coyote's reach (at least in year one) would seriously hurt the public's image of the new motor.

Still, (like I said before) I have faith in GM's ability to miss opportunities.

 

I think emissions would prevent swapping in a hotter cam along with the resultant gas mileage reduction.

Lots of testing and certification has to be done so GM would have had to start certification long ago and I think they've been busy most of this year just trying to survive via their bankruptcy, not to mention GM was just struggling to launch the Camaro let alone be developing the next "improved performance" Camaro. Heck they are still 1-2 years away from rolling out the Z28 and they started on that awhile back

Nothing to worry about.

 

GMinsidernews posted a story on Thursday about the Camaro convertible. The story also said the Z/28 was cancelled again ... for now anyway - so yeah, nothing to worry about.

 

Wouldn't that hotter cam make them subject to gas guzzler tax. I heard the new Camaro just barely missed getting hit with it already.

 

Don't compare the potential of a crate engine on the motor: Ford has a crate engine 3v 4.6L V8 with hot rod cams that gets 350hp (flywheel).

There's a variety of reasons why, I'm sure the automaker would have to go through strenuous testing of the engine in all potential variations. Which is expensive as heck.

 

As did the 2005+ Mustang GT.

 

Yes it would!

Specially if they can include a reliable 6 spd tranny.

 

I wouldn't be worried about it at ALL.
You seriously think the 5L is tapped out on its first year?

PS: The Mustang would still be lighter and more nimble :P

 

Can GM even spell "GM"?

 

ROFL!!

 

Don't laugh! This is serious stuff, serious enough for those Camaro guys who BTW have no sense of humor whatsofreakingever, to ban me from two of their sites after only a handful of posts.

 

Could GM, say, lift the veil off a 500hp LS7 Z-28 model to rain on Ford's parade? Absolutely, and were I GM's Camaro product manager, I'd be itching to do just that. Dodge, too, is reputed to be working on even hotter versions of its pony car too. And perhaps Hyundai might stick a version of their hot 4.6 V8 under the Genesis Coupe hood, or at least pressurize the current 3.8 to get it into the 400+hp class. Or Nissan doing likewise with the 370Z -- they've got some robust V8s sitting in the parts bin and the GT-R shows Nissan knows a thing or two about turboizing V6s for big power too.

That is the very competitive pony car class arena the Stang must now compete in, quite a change from easy lazy days world of the '05-'09 Stang where good enough was more than good enough when you had a competitive field of essentially one. I attribute Ford development's new alacrity regarding the Mustang not to some warm and fuzzy enlightenment of some sort but rather, to the cold harsh reality of hot competition that would love nothing more than to grind the Stang into the dirt.

If Ford isn't considering, seriously, such possibilities, their idiots. I hope that in anticipation of such, they've got their engineers working seriously on, say, adding direct injection to the 5.0 for maybe another 50 hp or so, keeping the chassis guys out on the track to ever hone the ride and handling, maybe even stepping boldly into the 21st century by dusting of the IRS, and any number of other serious and significant enhancements to counter what GM, Dodge and others will inevitably be doing to gain the upper hand.

Would Ford do this absent the Camaro, Challenger, et al? Given the very modest upgrade curve of '05-'09, very doubtful.

Will they do it now? Only if they want to survive in today's pony car jungle.

The ultimate winner? All of us car buffs.

 

See, that is exactly what I'm saying. It seems to me that the 2010 design refresh (with improved interior to underscore the cheapness of the Camaro's), the track pack, and the improved GT500 had everything to do with the Camaro release. It was Ford's way of signaling that they were ready for the fight.

If GM has any self respect, they'll have their own rain ready for Ford's 5.0L parade. I don't expect Chrysler to do much, just because I don't know that Fiat understands the importance of the pony car wars. I'd love to see an improved (and smaller) Challenger.

 

Challenger is replacing the 6.1 with a reported 500hp 6.4 Hemi so it could be the R/T may get the 6.1 and either keep it at 425 or up it to 450hp. We will have to see.

 

It won't be as easy to gain N/A power as an LSx. There are 4 cams dude and NO aftermarket yet. Ever spent the money changing the cams on a 4v Ford motor? Compare that cost to a cam swap in an LSx. Look at how much power one can gain on the current 3v without a power adder. Not much. I worry about too high a c/r on the new 5.0l. Hopefully it isn't in the 10s.

 

Still not worried.

 

The new 3.7 V-6 has a CR of 10.5:1.

 

I could certainly picture Chevrolet unveiling a Camaro Z/28 concept car with 475+ hp in Detroit. The Z/28 project has been on and off a few times already. But I seriously doubt you will see one on the street next year. I would think their highest priority right now is getting the convertible into production. There are surely more potential customers for a convertible with either of the existing engines than customers who would buy a coupe if only the V8 had another 50 hp.