The final year of the fourth-gen was 2002, and the 35th anniversary. More than half sold that year had a V-8, which may have been part of its downfall. Chevrolet ceased production on the Camaro due to waning sales.
Although sales had declined, horsepower was on the rise. General Motors had struck gold with the Gen III platform, which was just starting to pick up steam. Today it is one of the single most popular choices for engine swaps, no matter what make or model (even imports love LS power!).
The mains were not the traditional two- or four-bolt, but a deep skirted design with six bolts securing the nodular iron crankshaft. The head bolt pattern is considerably different, as is the intake bolt pattern. General Motors also switched to a plastic intake on the LS1, which bolted to a single-bore 76-mm throttle body and cathedral-style intake runners. The transmission options were identical, though gearing varies in the T56 from year to year, as does the clutch.
Nearly identical in every way to the LS1 introduced on the Corvette for 1997, the Camaro’s version had an advertised 305 hp. The more restrictive exhaust may be attributed to some of the difference from the advertised 345 hp in the Corvette. Meanwhile, General Motors took production of the SS out of SLP’s hands, offering 320 hp with its Ram Air induction hood. Larger sway bars, ZR1-style 17-inch wheels, and meaty rubber completed the package.
Aside from a change in engine management in 1999, very little changed over the years besides wheel styles and color options. Perhaps the most notable option of this era was the 35th anniversary package offered in 2002, which was red with checkered hood stripes and anniversary logos. Available in both coupe and convertible, it was the fourth-gen’s swan song due to decreased sales.
Although the fourth-gen Camaro was formidable in its day, the fifth-gen had the benefit of many years of advancement in engineering, manufacturing, and quality control. Aside from the architecture of the engines and transmissions, little was carried over from the previous generation. The clean-sheet approach is especially apparent in the use of independent rear suspension and the quality of the interior finishes. The retro styling cues and model designations pay homage to the first-generation. Clearly Chevrolet wanted to cut ties with the fourth-gen and conjure up feelings of nostalgia from an older crowd while attracting a new audience tired of homologous forms of transportation.
Powertrain
Because this book discusses performance, it starts with powertrain development. The 2010 Camaro came with three engine choices: 6.2L LS3 V-8, 6.2L L99 V-8, and 3.6L LLT V-6. The LS3 is a Gen IV small-block Chevy, which boasted 426 hp and 400 ft-lbs of torque from the factory.
The similarities are great between the LS3 and its predecessor, the LS1 found in the 1998–2002 Camaro: cam-in-block pushrod V-8 with a deep-skirted aluminum block, 16 overhead valves with a 15-degree angle, composite intake manifold, port fuel injection, and coil-near-plug ignition. A number of improvements in the cylinder head, intake, and exhaust design, as well as the bump in displacement gave it the edge in performance. The LS3 came only on SS models when paired with a Tremec TR6060 6-speed manual transmission. The TR6060 was the latest evolution of the T56 manual that came in the fourth-gen Camaro (among others), which had two overdrive gears to help tame fuel mileage on the highway.
Throughout the run of the fifth-gen, Chevrolet introduced special colors, such as Synergy Green, which was available in 2011 only. It replaced Aqua Blue Metallic, available in 2010 and was superseded by Carbon Flash Metallic for the 45th anniversary in 2012.
This concept inspired the optional ground-effects package, which included unique exhaust tips built into the rear bumper.
These concept wheels helped inspire several optional wheels available through dealers.
The L99 was nearly identical to the LS3 in every way except that it had a different camshaft that was attached to a phaser for Variable Valve Timing (VVT), as well as Active Fuel Management (AFM; also known as DoD, displacement on demand) that deactivated half the cylinders on the highway to conserve fuel. The L99’s technology cost 26 hp and 10 ft-lbs of torque at peak (while shifting the torque curve), but it was needed to combat the loss of efficiency on 6-speed automatic models. (The automatic of choice was the 6L80E, introduced on the 2006 Corvette.) On the dragstrip, this usually put the bone-stock automatic Camaros in the mid-13s; the manual was a tick faster, right around 13-flat.
The LLT V-6 was even more advanced than the L99, using dual overhead camshafts, four valves per cylinder, piston-cooling jets, and direct injection (in addition to VVT). The LLT was advertised at 302 hp and 267 ft-lbs of torque (using 87-octane) in its first year. It was soon bumped up to 312 hp. For comparison sake, that’s 86.67 hp/liter to the LS3’s 68.7 hp/liter.
The lighter and more advanced LFX V-6 introduced in 2012 picked up an additional 11 hp (323 total), thanks to its new cylinder head design. All V-6s were available with a 6-speed automatic (6L50) or manual transmission (AY6). The automatic was a lower capacity twin compared to the 6L80 developed by General Motors. The German company Aisin produced the manual, which is more known for its automatics built for the 2007 and later Dodge Ram and various hybrid electric drives.
Chassis and Suspension
The chassis built to house this magnificent selection of powertrains was developed by GM’s Australian brand Holden. The Zeta platform debuted in the 2006 Holden VE Commodore, having been introduced in 1999 to replace the Commodore’s previous underpinnings. The Zeta architecture, though, was designed to be flexible by accommodating a variety of wheelbase lengths and ride heights.
Case in point: The same architecture was used in the Pontiac G8 sedan, longer wheelbase Chevy Caprice PPV, and the Chevy SS sedan. The 4.5-link independent rear suspension and MacPherson strut with dual ball joint A-arms in the front were common on all models.
Unlike the other Zeta platforms, though, the shorter, 112.3-inch wheelbase Camaro was the only Zeta chassis to be produced in North America. Like most modern cars (and prior Camaro generations), it uses a unitized body frame, with one- and two-sided galvanized steel. According to Lerick Chissus, assistant program engineering manager, every piece of the steel body structure is stamped at the Oshawa, Ontario, Canada, plant. About 370 pieces of steel make up the body structure (400 on the convertible), which are formed using presses and dies, including the massive piece that makes up the quarter panel and C-pillar. Lerick says this is the largest piece in production (at General Motors) with the most draw depth.
In 2010, V-8 models (1SS and 2SS) represented 58.5 percent of production as enthusiasts clamored for the Camaro’s return. The following year the V-6 dominated, at 64.7 percent of production. In both years the automatic trans was the clear favorite, at 67 percent