Angus MacKenzie and I got into a debate years ago about performance driving aids. I argued there is nothing wrong with using technology to go faster. MacKenzie argued they were Band-Aids for insufficient suspension tuning, that good, old-fashioned testing and tuning could produce the same results without computer intervention. I don’t think either of us was completely wrong, but I’ve come to see his point more and more clearly over the past 12 months spent living with the Z/28.
Of course, the Z/28 does have a sophisticated computer with impressive performance handling software queued up, but the beautiful thing is you don’t need it. Camaro engineers tuned and tuned this car’s suspension geometry and shock valving and aerodynamics until the computer wasn’t necessary. Each time it hit the track, we had no second thoughts about turning off the computer because the grip was so high, the handling so good, and the on-limit and over-limit behavior so predictable and controllable that the safety net was redundant.
The Z/28 did need some things, though. Tires, mostly. We burned the first set off tracking it against the Porsche 911 GT3. The second set was cooked after a retest with the optional wickerbill spoiler attachment installed. The third was sacrificed in the long-awaited test against the new Mustang GT350R. We ran out of time before we could destroy the fourth set, which is probably for the best because each set cost between $2,300 and $2,400. All told, we spent $7,218 just on tires in 12 months. That doesn’t include two patches to the same tire a week apart from running over screws in the road or a blowout on a brand-new tire that left an editor stranded for seven hours on the side of a desert back road. It was replaced under warranty
There were other service items, as well. The car took three oil changes in the 18,000 or so miles we drove it. The first was elective, not required, as the owner’s manual wisely suggests changing the oil and differential fluid after break-in and before tracking the car. That service and two more computer-recommended oil changes set us back $525.27, partly because the dry sump oiling system requires 10 quarts of full synthetic.
Then there’s the elective stuff. Before we tracked it the first time, we had the factory-recommended track alignment set, which cost $70. The car felt uncharacteristically loose and squirrely during that test, so we had the alignment double-checked and the optional wickerbill spoiler installed. Chevrolet, owner of the car, insisted on paying for the add-on, and we stuck Chevy with the alignment bill, too. (We tallied the $697.50 spoiler in the vehicle price.)
We also ran into a few unexpected repairs. A few months in, the car started making a popping noise when the chassis twisted, such as when entering a driveway at an angle. It’s a known problem with the fifth-generation Camaro and was fixed for free by “dimpling” the offending metal under the car with a hammer. Around the same time, the driver’s seat recline function stopped working. A new power recline motor was ordered and installed under warranty. Finally, just before we returned the car, it developed an intermittent power steering problem that was traced to a loose wheel speed sensor at the front left wheel, probably knocked loose during the last tire change and also fixed under warranty.
The 2015 Chevrolet Camaro Z/28 is a toy, a track special, and I’m going to miss driving the hell out of it every day.
All in all, my year with the Z/28 was an expensive one, but only because I wanted it to be. The Z/28 is designed to be driven hard, and it begs for rough treatment every time you get behind the wheel. Anyone who’s ever tracked a car knows how fast you go through tires, it’s just price of admission. Goes through gas pretty quick, too, with an observed average of just 13.1 mpg (track days will get you into the single digits easy).
Sure, there were a few complaints along the way, but they were mostly compromises demanded by any track car. It’s loud, the interior is cheap, and it rides like that project car you put coil-overs on when you were 18 (hard, very hard). Others, such as the poor outward visibility and the infuriating skip shift “feature,” weren’t specific to the Z/28. None of this was enough, in part or as a whole, to dampen my enthusiasm for the car. Not even the rain could do that, as the Z/28 performed as well as any other Camaro in the rain despite its tires and dire warnings from people who’ve never driven it.
No, the Z/28 was never intended to be driven daily, but I’m no worse off for having done it. Bouncing around on bumpy roads and trying not to crunch the big front splitter on everything were prices I was willing to pay to have 500 naturally aspirated horsepower under my right foot, a manual shifter in my right hand, Thor’s personal trumpet playing behind my head, and the ability to out-corner nearly every other car on the road at any time. It’s a toy, a track special, and I’m going to miss driving the hell out of it every day.
More on our long-term Chevrolet Camaro Z/28 here:
- Arrival
- Update 1: The Everyday Supercar
- Update 2: The Analog Supercar
- Update 3: Spending Money and Going Faster
- Update 4: The Things I Don’t Like
- Update 5: Back in the Saddle
- Update 6: On for the Road
| Our Car | |
| SERVICE LIFE | 12 mo / 18,237 mi |
| BASE PRICE | $75,000 |
| OPTIONS | Air conditioning ($1,150), rear wicker bill spoiler with dealer install labor ($512) |
| PRICE AS TESTED | $76,662 |
| AVG ECON/CO2 | 13.1 mpg / 1.48 lb/mi |
| PROBLEM AREAS | Driver’s seat power adjuster, wheel speed sensor, rear popping noise |
| MAINTENANCE COST | $525.27 (3-oil change, inspection; 1-rear differential service) |
| NORMAL-WEAR COST | $7,218 (3 sets Pirelli P Zero Trofeo R tires, mount and balance) |
| 3-YEAR RESIDUAL VALUE* | $32,149 |
| RECALLS | Side airbags |
| *Automotive Lease Guide data | |
| 2015 Chevrolet Camaro Z/28 | |
| POWERTRAIN/CHASSIS | |
| DRIVETRAIN LAYOUT | Front-engine, RWD |
| ENGINE TYPE | 90-deg V-8, aluminum block/heads |
| VALVETRAIN | OHV, 2 valves/cyl |
| DISPLACEMENT | 427.6 cu in/7,008cc |
| COMPRESSION RATIO | 11.0:1 |
| POWER (SAE NET) | 505 hp @ 6,100 rpm* |
| TORQUE (SAE NET) | 481 lb-ft @ 4,800 rpm* |
| REDLINE | 7,000 rpm |
| WEIGHT TO POWER | 7.7 lb/hp |
| TRANSMISSION | 6-speed manual |
| AXLE/FINAL-DRIVE RATIO | 3.91:1/2.46:1 |
| SUSPENSION, FRONT; REAR | Struts, coil springs, anti-roll bar; multilink, coil springs, anti-roll bar |
| STEERING RATIO | 16.1:1 |
| TURNS LOCK-TO-LOCK | 2.5 |
| BRAKES, F;R | 15.5-in vented, drilled, carbon-ceramic disc; 15.3-in vented, drilled, carbon-ceramic disc, ABS |
| WHEELS, F;R | 11.0 x 19-in; 11.5 x 19-in, forged aluminum |
| TIRES, F;R | 305/30R19 102Y Pirelli P Zero Trofeo R |
| DIMENSIONS | |
| WHEELBASE | 112.3 in |
| TRACK, F/R | 66.1/64.7 in |
| LENGTH x WIDTH x HEIGHT | 192.3 x 76.9 x 52.4 in |
| TURNING CIRCLE | 39.0 ft |
| CURB WEIGHT | 3,882 lb |
| WEIGHT DIST., F/R | 53/47% |
| SEATING CAPACITY | 4 |
| HEADROOM, F/R | 37.4/35.3 in |
| LEGROOM, F/R | 42.4/29.9 in |
| SHOULDER ROOM, F/R | 56.9/42.5 in |
| CARGO VOLUME | 11.3 cu ft |
| TEST DATA | |
| ACCELERATION TO MPH | |
| 0-30 | 1.6 sec |
| 0-40 | 2.3 |
| 0-50 | 3.0 |
| 0-60 | 4.0 |
| 0-70 | 4.9 |
| 0-80 | 6.2 |
| 0-90 | 7.5 |
| 0-100 | 9.0 |
| 0-110 | 11.0 |
| 0-120 | 13.1 |
| PASSING, 45-65 MPH | 1.8 |
| QUARTER MILE | 12.3 sec @ 116.1 mph |
| BRAKING, 60-0 MPH | 100 ft |
| LATERAL ACCELERATION | 1.08 g (avg) |
| MT FIGURE EIGHT | 23.6 sec @ 0.89 g (avg) |
| 2.5-MI ROAD COURSE LAP | 1:29.72 |
| TOP-GEAR REVS @ 60 MPH | 1,950 rpm |
| CONSUMER INFO | |
| BASE PRICE | $75,000 |
| PRICE AS TESTED | $76,662 |
| STABILITY/TRACTION CONTROL | Yes/yes |
| AIRBAGS | Dual front, front side, f/r rear curtain |
| BASIC WARRANTY | 3 yrs/36,000 miles |
| POWERTRAIN WARRANTY | 5 yrs/100,000 miles |
| ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE | 5 yrs/100,000 miles |
| FUEL CAPACITY | 19.0 gal |
| EPA CITY/HWY/COMB ECON | 13/19/15 mpg |
| ENERGY CONS., CITY/HWY | 259/177 kW-hrs/100 miles |
| CO2 EMISSIONS, COMB | 1.28 lb/mile |
| REAL MPG, CITY/HWY/COMB | 15.0/20.4/17.1 mpg |
| RECOMMENDED FUEL | Unleaded premium |
| *SAE Certified | |
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Source: Motor Trend
