Does anyone have a new 4 cylinder camaro?

The V6 timing chain issue was greatly improved in '12 and the new 335hp motor in '16 is totally new and durable.

In reply to Gearheadotaku (Forum Supporter) :

But its still a GM engine with a long timing chain.  Their history with them is not super-duper...

Gearheadotaku (Forum Supporter) said:

The V6 timing chain issue was greatly improved in '12 and the new 335hp motor in '16 is totally new and durable.

Until 5 years from now when everyone becomes familiar with all the fun, new problems! 

In reply to Streetwiseguy :

Probably not a big fan of the Quad 4 I guess then

Streetwiseguy said:

In reply to Gearheadotaku (Forum Supporter) :

But its still a GM engine with a long timing chain.  Their history with them is not super-duper...

Not really, it's three not all that long timing chains.  Most inline fours have much longer chains because those go the whole height of the engine.

The only weirdity besides the sprockets all being small for hood clearance, which does wear the pins out faster, is that the idler sprockets reduce the speed of the secondary chains (which allows for smaller cam sprockets) and they rotate asynchronously with respect to camshaft or crankshaft speed.  So setting up the chains when you replace them, or have one apart to replace a cam sprocket, requires that you take all three chains off and line them all up with the idlers in a specific position.  But really it's still just a situation where you line up the colored links with the dots, nothing real crazy.  But the dots on the idlers only line up once every 47 revolutions or something like that (I never counted)

They do not like being trained to run low on oil, which is where all problems I've seen with the High Feature stem from.  The VVT hates it, the cam bearings hate it, the timing idlers are fed pressurized oil and do not like it when you lose oil flow, and the chain tensioners will allow the chains to flap and beat the hell out of everything too.

Peabody said:

In reply to Streetwiseguy :

Probably not a big fan of the Quad 4 I guess then

It sounded like such a good idea when I first read about it...

Streetwiseguy said:

Peabody said:

In reply to Streetwiseguy :

Probably not a big fan of the Quad 4 I guess then

It sounded like such a good idea when I first read about it...

Would have been a much better engine if it had a timing belt instead of a chain.  And balance shafts.

GM fixed half of the problems when they did the 2.4l update that had balance shafts, and then did away with the noise-amplifying sheet steel timing cover when they made the Ecotec, which really is what the Quad 4 should have been from the beginning.

GM beancounters are second only to Chrysler beancounters for their ability to strangle the good out of good ideas.

Pete. (l33t FS) said:

Streetwiseguy said:

Peabody said:

In reply to Streetwiseguy :

Probably not a big fan of the Quad 4 I guess then

It sounded like such a good idea when I first read about it...

Would have been a much better engine if it had a timing belt instead of a chain.  And balance shafts.

Absolutely.  Didn't want to say that out loud, though, because some people are nuts and like chains and will argue.

Existential question: if it only has four cylinders, is it still a Camero or is it now a Camaro?

This really brings forth my love for pushrods...

Gearheadotaku (Forum Supporter) said:

according to the Chevrolet web site, a Camaro 1LT V6 manual is $1500 more than a 1LT turbo 4 manual.

So worth it. the V6 sings and revs like a true sports car while the turbo 4 grunts and moans then asks for a new turbo and head gasket at a huge cost....not to mention the turbo heat cooking everything under the hood.

I did verify this, looks like 6MT Camaros are around 24,500 near me.  Which you consider is a 60 HP bump for around $28 per extra HP.  That's _really_ tempting.  I bet it doesn't weigh much more than the 4 pop turbo, either.  Although it looks like the turbo two makes more torque at lower revs.

The 455 HP V8 is north of 30 grand, which makes it a bit further out of reach. 

I think if I bought one new the 4 cylinder 1LE with no other options would be the only one I would consider.  The V6 would be cool, and so would the Recaros, better sound system, bright paint color, etc but that quickly adds up to another year or more of loan payments for only a minor increase in fun. 

I'm still not sure if I would do it, but it seems worth at least considering before all the manual transmissions and fun cars under 30k are gone forever.  The new bronco base model is about the same price and another one I want to look at too. 

Unless insurance is insane (which it might be) I could afford either, and the two cars I have are getting hard enough to get parts for that I will either need to get a third older car (maybe a Solstice or Boxster), or get a newer car that doesn't regularly need work that includes waiting for two weeks anytime I need a clip or gasket or something.