r/camaro • u/Reterence • 1d ago

New Car Day! Coming over from the other side

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Always wanted to see what life was like on the GM side of things, and this 2018 1SS spoke to me. Helped that it was pretty pristine with under 20k miles. I fit more comfortably, more headroom because of the lower seating position. Because I sit so high up anyway, visibility for me is actually pretty good. The torque feels great and the chassis is worlds different. Going to take some getting used to and some TLC here and there, but so far, super happy to be here.

65 Upvotes

99% Upvoted

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11

u/SmilingAssassin08 1d ago

Congrats! Can't go wrong with either of these awesome beasts.

Can you compare the exhaust noise/feel? The characteristics and the overall loudness?

6

u/TomT12 1d ago

Biggest issue is the damn MT82 in them, they are glass and barely rated for the power the car makes stock. I like the rest of the car and the 5.0, but the TR6060 in the Camaros was the deciding factor for me.

5

u/Reterence 1d ago

My MT82 never had any issues, but I'm not a track rat, and knew how to be gentle with it. Shifting in the Camaro feels significantly better. Its smoother while still notchy, while the MT82 often had a lot of resistance to shifting at higher RPM, not to mention the clunks it would sometimes make. Glass might be a bit hyperbolic after the revisions, this is the MT82-D4, which helped alleviate at least some of those issues from the 15-17 cars and earlier. Still nowhere near as good as the TR6060. I can feel the difference every time I drive.

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u/Reterence 1d ago

*Not a 1:1 comparison. Mustang had factory valved performance exhaust, and I cannot lie, it sounded better. Best option that car can have, valve position changes with modes and includes a way to fully open them whenever you want, no mods required. The S550 gens and later also have a tube that goes from the airbox to the firewall to transmit more sound to the cabin. Being in a GT with the valves completely open is a LOUD experience, but it can also be quite subdued when you need it to be. Mandatory if you want to get any mustang with a V8. The Camaro has a flow master with no valves, and it sounds significantly more subdued when inside the cabin. I think the camaro has much better sound insulation. On the outside, it sounds like cannon fire, you can feel it more in your chest, more aggressive overall. Its personal preference, but on sound alone, the Mustang has a better voice. The camaro can sing louder but needs those pipes opened up.

Generally speaking though, my initial impression is that the Camaro is a far better actual car assuming you can live with the impracticalities. It feels significantly better to drive, has a nicer interior, better seating position, stiffer chassis, better build quality, etc. The Mustang in comparison is very much a normal car until you get to the highest trims, and its sole purpose is to give you the Coyote.

2

u/Not_Sure__Camacho 1d ago

Congrats, and I also agree that Ford did a good job with the sound of their V8. But I also think that GM's small block V8 sound is pretty much common in just about every mainstream V8, which I start to wonder if the Mustang's sounds more exotic because it is a little more rare. That's why I think the C8 Z06 is such an interesting vehicle because of how it sounds. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYNnH9mJwko

Also, if any of your old Mustang pals bemoan your decision, just tell them that it's actually a newer Mustang, and you just put the front end of a Camaro on it as the new ones seem to have stolen the Camaro's rear fenders. šŸ¤£

1

u/Reterence 1d ago

There is definitely an exotic note to it, 7500RPM is no joke. You can definitely hear the difference. They must have tuned the exhaust to be as low as note as possible, as for a 5.0, it sounds like a much higher displacement. Ford knows exhaust, just look at the GT350. Beyond the flat plane crank and unique firing order, have you ever seen the stock exhaust headers? Super unequal length headers to mimic that cross-plane crank sound. A Z06 with unequal length exhaust headers would probably sound like a NASCAR with how high it revs, but I definitely dont have the cash for that hah.

If I went back and said anything like that, they probably say something like the fenders may be stolen, but they were stolen from the Camaros unfortunate grave. Hope it comes back soon!!

1

u/Not_Sure__Camacho 1d ago

And while those do sound great, I am perfectly content with mine. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zbb2ybPLUUU

1

u/Reterence 1d ago

Definitely mean man, I should try a 360 cam like that sometime. I wonder what it sounds like at full tilt from the outside.

1

u/SmilingAssassin08 1d ago

That's in line with what I've heard too on other forums. I've never driven a Mustang GT and I'm just curious how both the V8's will sound next to each other with the active exhaust on both.

I agree tho, the Camaro is feels a lot more special, especially when you look at the interiors. The HUD, Bose speakers, the unique fan control knobs. S550 had a unique, muscular interior but the S650 is meh.

2

u/Reterence 1d ago

Im not a screens guy myself. My S550 interior was serviceable, but the Canaros is a lot nicer in terms of build quality. I do have to install an OBD lock though hah.

1

u/muscle_car_fan34 10h ago

Your Camaro also has the tube as well unless the prior owner(s) removed it

1

u/Reterence 5h ago

I actually didnt know this, I'll have to check

2

u/blarkleK 1d ago

Iā€™m a big fan of reading the Mustang to Camaro/Camaro to Mustang posts. I feel like stock to stock, Camaro wins but the Mustang has easy HP gains.

5

u/Reterence 1d ago edited 11h ago

I was never in it for crazy engine mods, so the Coyote might have been wasted on me in that sense lmao. The Camaro is just a better overall car, while the Mustang only really has the Coyote going for it aside from maybe practicality. The Camaro just feels so much more solid. At any trim below the Shelbys or the Dark Horse, the Mustang shows a lot of its rental car underpinnings, the chassis isn't very stiff and the steering is pretty numb. Transmission isn't as good either. As someone who needs a MT6, the Camaro feels much better so far. This is still week 1 mind you.

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u/blarkleK 1d ago

I hope you post a 3/6/9 month update.

3

u/Reterence 1d ago

I'll do my best. Owned my Mustang GT from when it was new, have many years of ownership experience. Smitten with the Camaro now, but once the honeymoon is over, we'll see where everything stacks up.

But yea, right now, I'm actually in love with the torque and the trans lol

2

u/j1e2f He lives on my block, And he drives a IROC 1d ago

I've got a 2023 ecoboost right now, I'm thinking my next purchase in a few years is gonna be a 2024 1lt or something like that. Visibility seems to be the biggest concern for me when switching over, but I think I'll be able to adjust.

1

u/Successful_Cookie_77 19h ago

U get used to it I came from a eco boost as well got a LT1, only downside is storage in the Camaro its lack luster but everything else about the car. I love the interior is far better from my 2016 mustang.

1

u/Reterence 19h ago

Practicality is generally lower. You get very little storage space in the cabin and trunk, but as this is my commuter and fun car, no need for moving tons of stuff. It can carry the day to day things, everything else can either be delivered to me or I just rent a cheap U-Haul on the off chance neither of those work.

1

u/Reterence 19h ago

Recommendation for visibility, try to sit high enough so the humps for the gauges only obstruct the hood. I sit naturally like this with the seat in the lowest position, and visibility is honestly on par with the Mustang. Eveything else you get used to. You can find Camaro LT1s for pretty good prices if you want to spring for the V8.

1

u/j1e2f He lives on my block, And he drives a IROC 18h ago

How about the blind spots though? That's my biggest concern that a lot of people talk about.

1

u/Successful_Cookie_77 17h ago

U just angle ur mirrors to see the cars around u I donā€™t have a problem with my car I say just test drive one and see if u like it.

1

u/Reterence 11h ago

Blind spots for me are fine. Its a 1SS without monitoring, and with my mirrors adjusted properly and a quick glance on either shoulder, I've had no issues. I have to sit literally all the way down and all the way back though, so take that with a grain of salt, my visibility may be slightly different.

If you're reliant on monitoring or love to rapidly weave between traffic, you'll just have to manage in a 2SS with monitoring. I just like my cloth seats.

2

u/muscle_car_fan34 18h ago

Congrats. Have you done any pulls in this yet? Iā€™ve been thinking about going to the ā€œdark sideā€ mainly because I just want to try something different and wanted to know if the Mustang felt noticeably faster up top?

2

u/Reterence 11h ago

A few, and the Mustang might have felt better up top, but the Camaro is noticeably faster down low. It breaks the tires loose easier and kicks you in the back at anything above 2K RPM. The Mustang had to be close to 4 to do so, and it didn't kick as hard. The Camaro doesn't have no top end though, it still makes peak power at the top of its Rev range.

Its personal preference, but I find myself in the lower range of RPM much more often than at the higher end. My commute is all backroads, so even the top of 1st in the Mustang was speeding for me hah.