2013 Camaro SS

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irocfan

Original Poster:

40,158 posts

189 months

Sunday 20th January 2019
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Car - Camaro SS
Colour - Inferno Orange Metallic
Year - 2013, this means it came with the upgraded touch-screen stereo and rear parking camera
Transmission - A6
Engine - L99 Small Block Chevy (400hp)
Options - RS option package



I thought that I'd drop few lines about my most recent purchase in the hope that some may be interested.

I guess I should say that as long-term 'Yankophile' I do have 'form' when it comes to American iron having owned a number of examples of 'muscle', pertinent to this I have also owned a number of 3rd generation IROC Camaros hence the user-name (this isn't my actual car but is identical)


as well as a 4th generation SS (2000)


a 2005 Mustang GT



and a few pick-up trucks





I guess you could say that I have a problem! rofl


About 6 months ago I started getting itchy feet with regard to my SLK55



nothing at all wrong with it except it's too fast to fully appreciate on the roads I normally drive on (too crowded and full of cameras). It really is a wonderful place to be on a crisp day with the air-scarf and heated seats on but, and a lot of you on here know how it is, once you have a wandering eye nothing less than a rethink of your motoring needs will do. hehe In my case I was actually missing the quirkiness of a Yank car over here (I know, I know) and that had to be a place to start.

Sooooo what do you do and look at when your current car is too powerful? That's right - you look for something even more powerful! Though to be fair in this case it's also a little more lardy and as such not quite as quick (though in the 4.8/5.2 to 60 ballpark it's not exactly slow either).

My main criteria for the new toy were:

V8 - this was nailed on, quite frankly I really don't care if a twin turbo 4 or 6 is 'better', I just love an 8.
Auto - I'm a lazy driver and want a cruiser with decent performance rather than an out and out sports-car.
Yank - what can I say? I just missed LH (or if you want to stereotype I missed the line-dancing and Stetsons rolleyes)
Good condition (naturally)

After this point I was a little more flexible:

I'd prefer a US spec (lower tax is always a nice thing to have!).
I'd prefer to have a non-'re-sale colour' (so no silver, white, black).
Low miles.
HuD.
Reversing sensors.
A plethora of options.

I'd had a lead on a nice sounding (no pun intended) red SS for sale ('interesting' factoid here - Euro versions of the SS/RS package are marked up as RS, American imports are badged as SS) and the plan was to go and see it whilst on my way back from a weekend away. Unfortunately, as is often the case, "the call" was received en-route that a prospective buyer had left a deposit and so was no longer available. At this point I'd not sold my SLK55 but a (VERY) understanding wife reasoned that, as Camaros were quite rare over here, if a good one were to come up I should jump on it and worry about selling the SLK later.

At this point I was looking at US (our new overlords were useful here as were a couple of other sites) as well as UK cars and while the choice of US examples was, obviously, vast the particular spec I wanted reduced the market considerably. The 'fun' with the exchange rates put a spanner in the works (had I bought from the US in feb 2018 I'd have saved an extra 3.5k minimum compared with sept 2018) as did my worries about buying unseen (there are inspection services available) and shipping (mainly the wait, I'm impatient!). A further option was to look in Europe (mobile.de and autoscout24.de are quite useful here) but as well as there not being a large choice to start with there did seem to be a preponderance of high mileage vehicles and again the exchange rate didn't help. To compound matters at this point Mrs Iroc then started looking for Camaros as well - at a higher price level than I had in mind! I'd seen a lovely looking example on PH classifieds from Targa Florio cars but hadn't gone any further as it was out of my price-range. no longer!

An initial enquiry vi the website to TF met with zero response and, to be quite honest, at this point I nearly thought fk it if they can't be bothered to respond to an e-mail I can't be bothered to chase them to give them my money. After a little more searching it quickly became apparent that there was no point in cutting off my nose to spite my face and so I picked up the phone - what a difference! The salesman was enthusiastic, friendly and actually helpful: conversation had and appointment made.

The day of the viewing was pretty stty in all honesty - but I guess if you're going to find fault with a high power, RWD car those are the conditions to do it in right? Errrm not so much. The initial test-drive went reasonably well

The drive itself was pleasant, albeit there was a fair bit of drone from the (modified) exhaust but the irritating thing was that the check engine light was on. In previous years this would not have been an issue however from now onwards it is a straight fail - not that I'd be happy with a permanently lit CEL potentially masking other problems. Anywho, long story short a deal was agreed subject to the CEL issue being resolved and that's where the fun started (I was a little nervous at this point since I had heard a few unpleasant stories of experiences with TF - but, thankfully, my experience turned out to be a good one in the end).

The CEL issue had been 'resolved' prior to them putting the car up for sale so it went back to the same 'specialists' to check it out and put it right, the problem is that this Camaro had been treated to a cold air induction system, full length headers, 'race cats' and a free flow system. What had not been properly done is the re-map so the cats constantly read as not operating to full efficiency; this being due to the cats being positioned further back than standard because of the headers.

Finally the day came and TF delivered my new toy (all part of their service). Wow, sitting on my drive it did look good; the problem arose when it came to driving it. The drone I noticed on the test drive was not only still present but, at some points, nearly unbearable along with wayward steering and the CEL popped back up - AGIN! It is at this point where I suspect that many dealers would have tried to wash their hands of any problem especially since there was no written guarantee. TF didn't bat an eye but collected straight away to resolve the CEL issue when I was on holiday (I decided that the drone and steering were minor issues which were not warranty worthy - a wise move as it turned out later). Upon the car's return the CEL was gone - for about a week/200miles! At this point a long discussion was had with TF as to the ability of their chosen tuning specialist and a decision was made that I would find an appropriate garage and they would pay for the work. step forward TJ Motors in Limpsfield. Trevor, the proprietor, has a supercharged 5th generation Camaro and has a good reputation within the modern Camaro community - a reputation that is well deserved!

The idea was that the Hypetech aftermarket tune on the Camaro would be removed and the car returned to standard tune and then each specific item (headers, CAI) up-loaded to give a custom tune for my car, this would be paid for by TF. At the same time the tracking would be looked at to ensure that the car wouldn't try and pitch me into the countryside if I wasn't paying attention, this would be paid by me. After a couple of weeks with Trevor I everything was done, TF (to their credit) paid their part of the bill at once, and off I went to collect.

Talk about night and day - there were a couple of quirks/niggles when I first drove the Camaro which I thought were part of the car's character. It turns out that this wasn't the case:
The drone which I thought was intolerable - vastly reduced. It transpired that the tracking had been so far out it was causing most of the resonance I was experiencing so messing with the exhaust wouldn't have helped.
Some of the hunting I felt the auto-box suffered from - gone.
Pick-up - a lot sharper.
Above all that sodding CEL - GONE!

The Camaro has now done 450+ miles with the new set-up and I couldn't be happier - I have to credit TF for standing by their word and Trevor at TJ Motors for being every bit as good as his reputation said.


So, future plans? In no particular order:

I don't see the point of adding in extra power - I'm already north of 400hp and I've got no intention of going drag-racing, so that's off the menu.
DAB - although the standard radio is rather good there is no DAB so this is a priority (thinking of an Alpine unit).
I want to get the stripes taken off at some point (they're starting to fade a little) and then painted on in anthracite rather than the flat black there at present.
Remove the 'X'-pipe and fit an 'H' pipe instead (there would apparently be a small loss of c.4 hp - who cares?), the 'H' gives a slightly different exhaust note more in keeping with a muscle/pony-car.
Change the silencers. With the system on there at the moment you'd think it was loud enough to drown out Joshua's horns at Jericho, in fact it is remarkably quiet until you hit about 3500 rpm, at which point it is truly amazing. BUT at that point you're normally in serious danger of loss of freedom, let alone licence!
Lowering - likely to get it lowered 1" - 1.25" (likely the slightly larger drop at the front).
Maybe get some new alloys. Other Camaro choices would be 20*10 ZL1 wheels or 21*9.5 'Dusk' package wheels, alternatively there is the aftermarket, though there is obviously a (considerable!) financial implication.
Duck-tail rear spoiler
Custom badges - in the UK the SS/RS package is just RS rather than SS on US models (apparently due to sensitivity regarding the SS nomenclature). I'd like to get some badges to reflect the SS/RS package as well as have the headrests embroidered (again as per US spec cars).













hopefully that wasn't too long and boring thumbup

Bright Halo

2,951 posts

234 months

Sunday 20th January 2019
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That is a very nice looking car.
The colour is not for the shy and retiring but I love it!

russy01

4,693 posts

180 months

Sunday 20th January 2019
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Lovely motor - recently seen this advertised at Targa florio as they have a car I want!

Did you rate dealing with them? They appear to make a good effort...

1Toomanycars

85 posts

206 months

Sunday 20th January 2019
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Love it, and one day I will commit to buying an American vehicle.

I did look at a Rumblebee exactly like yours a good few years ago during my stupid car stage, but it wasn't a fit at the time, although strangely the Ariel Atom i bought instead was!

wjb

5,100 posts

130 months

Sunday 20th January 2019
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It's an amazing machine biggrin

Great car history too.

bullrunner

150 posts

203 months

Sunday 20th January 2019
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russy01 said:
Lovely motor - recently seen this advertised at Targa florio as they have a car I want!

Did you rate dealing with them? They appear to make a good effort...
TF are a good outfit and as the OP states they went out of their way and stood by their word.

I dealt with AMAR there he’s a top bloke with great knowledge.... and he went out of his way to make sure car was right..... wouldn’t hesitate to recommend AMAR and Targa Florio 👍🏾👍🏾

sc0tt

18,032 posts

200 months

Sunday 20th January 2019
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Beautiful

MuZiZZle

680 posts

189 months

Sunday 20th January 2019
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I like this a lot, I keep perving over their ZL1, could you let me know if the rear view camera is utter trousers?

I presume your reverse camera comes up on the head unit rather than the rear view?


irocfan

Original Poster:

40,158 posts

189 months

Sunday 20th January 2019
quotequote all
MuZiZZle said:
I like this a lot, I keep perving over their ZL1, could you let me know if the rear view camera is utter trousers?

I presume your reverse camera comes up on the head unit rather than the rear view?
Here is a run-down of the model-year changes:

https://www.phastekperformance.com/2010-2015-Camar...

my 2013 one has the colour ICE system with touch-screen and the rear-view camera is part of that. IMO the camera is great in daylight but less impressive at night - not bad just not 'sharp' (in fairness the reversing sensors still keep you more than alert so not really an issue).

irocfan

Original Poster:

40,158 posts

189 months

Sunday 20th January 2019
quotequote all
russy01 said:
Lovely motor - recently seen this advertised at Targa florio as they have a car I want!

Did you rate dealing with them? They appear to make a good effort...
Initially with the 'no-response' from the e-mail enquiry, I was a little apprehensive. But, one issue aside (and this was resolved otherwise I'd not have the car!), they have been good to deal with - I spoke almost exclusively with 'big John' who really couldn't do enough and I would happily go back to him.

I have to be honest and add a caveat here to say that I know someone else whose experience wasn't as positive as mine was.

If they have a car you like - go and see them, have a chat, take it for a spin. They also deliver if that's your preference. If there's an issue with it I'd recommend and re-recommend TJ Motors, Limpsfield as your 'go-to' specialist.

Eddieslofart

1,328 posts

82 months

Sunday 20th January 2019
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Liking this. But i am a yank fan, especially Chevy.

Last one was a 69 Camaro bought of a squaddie on a German Base. Also called RS imstead of SS for obvious reasons.

327 with a powerglide and 1 working caliper, those were the days !

Cloudy147

2,705 posts

182 months

Tuesday 22nd January 2019
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Looks lovely! Congrats on the purchase.

I've got a V6 version in yellow, cloth interior. Doesn't half get attention, I'm sure yours will too!

Great looking things and drives well. The low roofline isn't great for tall people mind!

Its nice to be different isn't it. smile



selym

9,539 posts

170 months

Thursday 24th January 2019
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Great car and the colour is just right. Good to hear of a dealer that covers off their responsibilities.

pits

6,423 posts

189 months

Thursday 24th January 2019
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Rented a 2017 RS Convertible in Vegas last December, I originally booked a Mustang and ended up with a Camaro (which I was a tad upset over to start with) then after doing about 2500 miles in it, I actually fell in love with the car.
It was only the V6 but it still moved on quick enough, my only complaint was the CVT and being blinded at night by the mirrors.
Handling was great, power was great, interior was nice and unbelievably photogenic


[url]

|https://thumbsnap.com/smrBd6OQ[/url][url]

|https://thumbsnap.com/Ry9yhT90[/url]





How do you find driving it in the UK? For me I found the seating a bit too low and the car to bulky, that I'd probably get it stuck a car park in the UK, purely a visibility type thing, I'd love one, but for me dream vs reality in the UK is too far apart, hoping to be back in the US in a month or so for a road trip, and when I get to Vegas I am going to try and rent the same Camaro for my trip to San Fran and back down to LA

irocfan

Original Poster:

40,158 posts

189 months

Thursday 24th January 2019
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Well, a little up-date already... I've managed to snag myself a 'ducktail' spoiler already. Stroke of luck in all honesty as I just stumbled across it on Mrs I's facebook. It'll need a respray but that's no biggie




Cloudy147 said:
Its nice to be different isn't it. smile

oh aye it is good to be different hehe


anonymous said:
[redacted]
well I'm looking at losing a little more of the silencing. Hopefully get that done by mid Feb



pits said:
Rented a 2017 RS Convertible in Vegas last December, I originally booked a Mustang and ended up with a Camaro (which I was a tad upset over to start with) then after doing about 2500 miles in it, I actually fell in love with the car.
It was only the V6 but it still moved on quick enough, my only complaint was the CVT and being blinded at night by the mirrors.
Handling was great, power was great, interior was nice and unbelievably photogenic


[url]

|https://thumbsnap.com/smrBd6OQ[/url][url]

|https://thumbsnap.com/Ry9yhT90[/url]





How do you find driving it in the UK? For me I found the seating a bit too low and the car to bulky, that I'd probably get it stuck a car park in the UK, purely a visibility type thing, I'd love one, but for me dream vs reality in the UK is too far apart, hoping to be back in the US in a month or so for a road trip, and when I get to Vegas I am going to try and rent the same Camaro for my trip to San Fran and back down to LA
there is no doubt that it is quite a large car - but while it's longer than a 4 series BM it would appear that it is a little narrower (surprised me too!). I'm lucky though that I don't need it as an everyday car and so on those terms it's more than acceptable size-wise

Mr Tidy

22,065 posts

126 months

Thursday 24th January 2019
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Stunning car OP! thumbup

I've always fancied an American V8, just never been keen on the LHD aspect.

But after reading this I'll have to use all my willpower to keep away from Monaro classifieds. laugh

irocfan

Original Poster:

40,158 posts

189 months

Thursday 21st March 2019
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well I had an 'interesting' bit of information pop up today. Turns out that a previous owner of my car was Nani (apparently a Man U footballer)

https://www.dailystar.co.uk/sport/football/338637/...


quite unexpected rofl

irocfan

Original Poster:

40,158 posts

189 months

Tuesday 9th July 2019
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well time for a little update:

- Went for a 'personalised plate' for the car.

- I managed to snag a duck-tail spoiler, was yellow but even if I'd found a new one I'd have had to have it re-sprayed so that was all good and then I wanted to get rid of the vinyl stripes (they had faded and were needing to be replaced at some point) and replaced with paint along with a few extra painted highlights. So with this in mind...



















Edited by irocfan on Tuesday 9th July 22:31

irocfan

Original Poster:

40,158 posts

189 months

Thursday 12th December 2019
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Nothing much extra I got the 'maro back from the workshop, having had the MoT test and the new axle-back pipes fitted. Having the pipes end right by the rear axle not only produces a fair amount of noise but a st-load of drone so, as mentioned in my original post, I was looking for a set of axle-back pipes. I was lucky in as much as one of the UK guys was looking to dispose of his rear pipes (too shouty for him) and so on they went....







Ho-lee-she-it! It's even louder than having the pipes end at the axles - I guess that you don't have the rear quarter of the car muffling the sound and it comes out at the rear. Start-up from cold makes people jump even more now smile and on 3/4 throttle (freeway on ramp) my wife in the other car heard me before she could see me hehe

On the sensible side of things step off the gas to trundle through residential areas or a town centre and it's not a huge amount noisier than standard - just remember to pull off sloooooowly driving

soad

32,829 posts

175 months

Saturday 14th December 2019
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Must say, that Mustang GT has aged well. I quite fancy one of those. Even if they do come in various performance variations.