2014 Camaro SS/RS

2014 Camaro 2SS/RS in Red Rock Metallic

This past Thursday, December 10th, 2015 I took delivery of my new ride – a 2014 Camaro SS/RS with only 4,568 miles on the odometer. This car is a 2SS model, with the optional RS package adding many cool niceties. Since this is an SS, it comes with the big 6.2L 400hp/410ft-lb engine paired with a six speed paddle-shifted automatic. I would have preferred the six speed manual, but given the amount of traffic in town these days, I just could not justify the wear and tear that would result from all the stop-and-go conditions. Plus this car is fully loaded!

The caption says it all…

Yes, this is a previously owned vehicle, but I’ll let the caption to the left do the talking (click on it and you’ll see what I mean)… I agree, that this Camaro is no Aston Martin but the basic concept remains.

Unfortunately the original window sticker was not to be found, but I was able to get the original sales invoice from when the vehicle was first sold. Suffice to say, the original owner took one hell of hit between that original sticker price and what I paid.

I’ve never been a fan of buying a new car just because it is “new off the showroom floor”. It is best to wait and take your time finding that special deal such as this one. I have no problem buying a 4,568 mile “new” car including full factory warranty!

Exterior

The exterior color is new for 2014: Red Rock Metallic and hence I’ll refer to it as RedRock. The RS package adds “halo” headlamps, a rear wing, body color drip rails, and dark gray 20″ aluminum wheels shod with Pirelli P-Zero staggered tires. In addition there is a sunroof with vent mode and slider mode. Oh and yes, also new for 2014 is a fully functional heat extractor built into the hood. The vent comes finished in black, just like the front grill.

Interior

I’m really pleased with the interior. Fit and finish is much improved and overall it is quiet and spacious for this type of car. The interior is a dark ebony with two-way heated and electric powered driver’s and passenger’s front seats.

There is a Heads Up Display (HUD) with full color rendering of speed, tach, g-force, shift lights, turn signals, radio station, compass direction, etc. This is all accomplished by a push button which cycles through different “pages” worth of data.

Full instrumentation plus the special console-mounted gauge cluster (part of the RS package) shows all sorts of details one might need to know about. As if that were not enough, there is a dash mounted digital display between the tach and speedo, that shows even more info such as engine oil temp, oil pressure, MPG’s, miles-to-empty, etc, etc, etc.

The MyLink infotainment system is very cool – with Bluetooth, XM radio, AM/FM, USB connectivity (for iPod or thumb drive), but no CD player. What’s a CD, right?? This thing pairs itself with my iPhone and enables hands-free phone calls. It will even “read” to you text messages – nice! I’m still trying to figure this thing out – it comes with a 92 page manual, separate from the Owner’s Manual.

So, What is it Like?

This earth shaker is a point-and-shoot affair. The independent rear suspension is a huge improvement over a straight axle. Add to this a 3.27 axle ratio and you get about 2,000 RPM’s at 70 mph. Nice.

There is no power steering pump. The 2014 C5 Camaro has electric assisted steering and this one works very nice. Throttle of course is fly-by-wire which I don’t have a problem with. Finally, the transmission has two settings: “Drive” and “Sport”. In Sport mode it is fully controlled with the steering wheel mounted paddle shifters. There is a slight lag in shifts, however I think it will just take some practice to get my timing just right. It is not a substitute for a clutch but given what it is, I’m very pleased.

Finally the part that will take more getting used to is the Displacement on Demand (DOD) or Active Fuel Management (AFM). The L99 engine comes equipped with a feature that enables the ECM to shut off 4 cylinders in low-demand conditions. This comes in handy during steady state driving on the interstate, but not so much around town.

Can it be disabled, you ask? Yes it can. AFM is disabled by doing a tune on the ECM however this voids the warranty. There is also a non-intrusive device available that plugs up to the ALDL diagnostics connector. For the time being I think I’m going to just learn to live with it by tapping the paddle shifter and requesting a shift when needed. This will also be fun since it breaks the monotony of driving an “automatic”. I’ll have more on this in future articles.

The Sad Part…

All this wonderment came with a steep price. I used my 21-year-old Camaro as trade-in. A week or so ago, a little part of me died when I walked away at the dealership. My old Z28 Camaro had been a very trusted and reliable friend. Hopefully it will have a new home soon.

I could have kept it (and I wish I had) but I just don’t have room for yet another car. I realize I will wake up one day and kick myself in the ass wishing I still had it. When we parted ways, the odometer had yet to break 100,000 miles. In fact it was about 300 miles short. That LT1 sure was an excellent engine – the OptiSpark and water pump had never been replaced and it never missed a lick.

Overall that Z28 was an exceptionally reliable vehicle and for those of you that like to bash GM’s products think again. All I did to this car over 21 years of ownership was change oil (every 3k miles, full synthetic Mobil1), filters, tranny fluid, rear-end dope, tires and one AC compressor. I did replace rotors and brake pads several times but that is just part of owning a car. All this was not extremely expensive stuff either. Try that with other brands… 😉

The Z28 will be missed 😥 . That is for sure.

A Tire’s Worst Enemy

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A tire’s worst enemy – not potholes or curbs, I’m talking about punctures.

I drove the S2000 to work on Friday and after I left the office things didn’t seem “right”. Sure enough, the right rear tire had a decking screw in it. Damn. This pisses me off. There is a lot of construction starting back up in my neck of the woods and some of those in the “building” industry (bless their heart) are not exactly judicious in keeping their building materials properly stowed. As a result, motorists end up with roofing nails, sheet metal screws, decking screws, you name it, in their tires.

However the point of today’s post is not the nail itself, it is what happened next. You see, it took me 4 different attempts to find the proper tire store do handle the repair. Fortunately, the puncture happened close to my house so I was able to make it without having to run the dreaded donut. Saturday morning, I took the wheel off and loaded it in wifiey’s HHR and started what became a quest to see who would repair the tire. You’ll get a kick out of this…

Tire Store #1

First stop was at a GoodYear franchise store. The fellow across the counter was very polite and helpful. We walked outside and he took a look at the tire in the back hatch of the HHR. “Yeah we can fix this!”, he said. I then asked if the tire would be taken apart, patched and then balanced. He said yes. I asked, “The wheel is unblemished, can I have your assurance there will be no damage to it?”. That is where things did an immediate 180. He gave me a certain look and backed off, saying he wasn’t sure and offered no further information. I said “Thank you” and headed to Tire Store #2.

Tire Store #2

This was a Firestone franchise store. I walked in and a woman promptly steps up and asks what is the nature of my visit. I ask my question and she replies, “Yes we can fix it, what’s your name?”. So I ask her to slow down and answer my concern about ensuring no damage to the wheel. She replies with an authoritarian attitude that “… our advanced equipment uses hard plastic on all surfaces and this will prevent any damage your wheel”. I’m still not convinced and ask to speak to one of their techs. A very nice fellow steps out of the building and we go check out the tire. He then tells me “Our pads on the machine are a bit worn down and I cannot assure this wheel won’t be scratched”. Wow, imagine that!! Honesty!! I thanked him for his honesty and shake his hand. I headed to Tire Store #3.

Tire Store #3

Store 3 was Discount Tire located a ways away from the previous two stores. This is a really interesting place because of the way they do business. I tend to avoid them, but options were running thin… The fellow behind the counter was polite and after pleasantries we step outside to look at the tire. The first thing he does is put his feeler gauge on the tire. Folks at Discount Tire are taught to sell and I felt it coming: “we can’t fix the thing because it is too worn down”. But no, the tire has plenty tread left so he did not say anything. Then we discussed the issue about preventing damage to the wheel. This fellow took offense at my question and got a bit defensive. He did not like my questioning regarding their equipment and I felt the best thing to do would be to back off, and drive away.

Tire Store #4

Immediately across the street from Discount Tire was another Firestone franchise store, this one much nicer looking than the one I had visited earlier in the morning. The fellow there was very nice, and after going through the script I’ve described before assured me there would be no damage. He even said they had two distinct machines at their disposal with all the bells and whistles specifically designed to prevent damage. A couple of hours later…

The Repair

Repaired puncture will set you back a cool $23

And here you have it. The repair consists of a “plug” put in from the inside of the tire with this appendage sticking out. The tire was taken apart from the rim, removed and patched. Then, assembled back together and balanced. All this at a cost of about $23 bucks and change.

I’ve driven long enough to remember a time when this type of repair was not the “end of the world” they make it up to be these days. Once upon a time, a tech would have taken the nail out and plugged it with one of those t-handle tools used to shove a sticky turd of rubber into the hole left by the nail while still smoking a cigarette and barely dropping an ash on the floor. That repair would have cost what a Happy Meal is worth, but no. Instead, a repair today is roughly a quarter of what the entire tire costs to begin with.

I suppose this is the price of progress. I’ve had dozens of tires repaired through the years with the “turd” and never had one issue with that type of plug. Then again, this new patch method is – in theory – safer and better sealing. I get that. The part I don’t get is that with all the modern technology that exists today it took me an entire morning to get a tire puncture repaired.

Sunset

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Drove bowtie6 to work the other day and on the way out, I see this awesome sunset. The picture above does it no justice – it was just a little too late and I caught it when it was too dark.

Nevertheless, I thought it made for a cool picture… Peace.

Ruh-Roh…

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Ruh-roh. It happened today: I screwed the pooch. Bad.

Today’s featured picture (taken 2 days ago) tells the story: the countdown to 100,000 miles is definitely on. But…

See that fuel gauge? It shows half-tank, right? Wrong!

One of the idiosyncrasies of the 4th Gen Camaro is the fuel gauge. The tank is “V” shaped and once its passed half, the gauge plummets quickly. As in pronto. And for some reason – today of all days – I was oblivious of the fact

As you might have guessed it, I ran the Camaro dry today. 🙁 Oh the humanity!! I’ve been this car’s caretaker for twenty years – this has only happened once before (right after I first bought it). Of course, this had to happen at a very dangerous intersection and sure enough, I had a City cop come to my assistance. I must say, he was very, very helpful and even offered to help me push the aging Camaro out of the way.

Fortunately, cousin Jim (and friend Wayne riding shotgun) came to my assistance with the proverbial plastic five gallon container of dyno-juice. Camaro fired right up once the fuel pump primed the eight thirsty injectors back up. Amazing!

I thanked the Officer and promptly headed to the nearest filling station (does anyone still call them that?) and topped off the tank.

And so, the countdown to 100,000k is on its way…