I know the boss is fast and has the numbers to back it up I also have read many reports that the torque is spread through and better than the reg 5.0. My question is how is it on the highway say at 60mph or so is the torque and gearing sufficient enough that in 6th a down shift isn`t needed to pass someone?
I love the Boss and have been an LS3 Camaro owner for last 2 years. I actually would have bought a Boss but my Camaro was ordered before the Boss was released.
Just looking for positive feedback from Boss owners, the LS3 has nice torque and hoping the Boss feels same with it`s close gearing.

 

Its a very subjective question and no way to know unless you are in the drivers seat. I can tell you that city street driving can be done in 4th gear cruising at at around 35 mph without any problems and that on the freeway at speeds of around 60 or 65 MPH 6th gear provides ample power to accel or pass.

I can also tell you its just as much fun to lope around in a higher gear ( much like it is in a harley davidson) than it is to rev the **** out of it. You really cant go wrong the car is powerful and fun going slow or fast...hell its fun just idling at a red light.

 

I can honestly say i have been very happy with my boss, never had a problem with passing people at 60 in 6th gear. There is a very wide spectrum in each of the gears, and performs well in each. The only issues i've had with the boss is a spongy shifter, which ill be replacing with a mgw when it arrives. Also with the new bosses having sync and track apps, they made the car more daily driver and track friendly. I really cant give you a fair comparison between the LS1 and the boss because i've never driven a camaro. I highly recommend the boss though.

 

Well I've finally had a chance to get my boss on the hiway for a few hundred mile road trip. At 60mph the RPMs are at about 18-1900 and in my opinion sounds like you're ******* it a bit, but it will pick up and go nicely from that speed.

Comfortable cruising speed to me seemed to be between 75-80mph. With cruise set around here that's not a problem since everyone else is running that fast anyway.

It really is good all the way around.

 

Honestly, I don't think there's a huge difference between the way a Boss feels vs. a regular 5.0 with 3.73 gearing - The biggest difference is the handling and perhaps the seats (I have the Recaros).

Having said that, 6th gear is a huge jump for 5th. I think of the transmission as a 5-speed transmission with a 6th gear for freeway cruising. The car will respond ok in 6th, especially above 65 mph, but it's too tall for real performance. (The car reaches its top speed in 5th, from reports I've seen).

Having said that, I get 22-23 mpg in mixed city/fwy driving, which is absolutely spectacular for a car this size and with this power.

 

At 60? No. At 80? Yes.

 

Unless your eating a sandwich or your gf is blocking the shifter why wouldn't you want to shift down? Passing people is one of the few times you get to floor it at speed, quasi legally.

 

Meh... sometimes its just nice to have that kind of capability where you dont need to downshift, even better when your in the mountains and you've got a few people in the car and you dont have to downshift out of 6th to climb a grade.

Ahh.... the sweet sounds that a M122 compressor makes when you put a load on it

Anyways, a few rags do publish top-gear passing times as part of thier testing procedure so that might be helpful.

This reminds me of when somebody occasionally wonders about the importance of 0-60 times and why magazines still test them. While people often use it as a means of comparison between cars, its actual use lies in judging a car's ability to accelerate from a dead stop to speed while merging on to a highway.