Wish you luck man! As I said before having the older Z and the sister car of the Monte, living day to day driving everyday in all conditions I believe a Monte is a better choice.

 

I fell your pain in trying to make a decision. One thing I have to ask. Have you ever owned a Camaro or Firebird before? With the rear wheel drive and being light in the back, it's different driving in rain and especially in snow. I don't know how much snow you normally get but you may have to get used to fish-tailing if you have a heavy foot.

Either way they're both nice Chevys. Good luck in your decision.

Geddy

 

First car I ever got to drive was a 1995 Thunderbird LX, had the 3.8 V6, and I did drive it through lots of snow throughout the long winters that northern Indiana offers, so I'm well aware of how different a FWD car and a RWD car handle in the snow. The only major difference being that a Camaro Z28 will have 180HP more than that T-bird that I last drove.

I am definitely leaning towards the Monte Carlo, it's an all around nicer car, more comfortable, more luxurious, and just as fast as the Camaro, just not the same room for upgrades. I'm calling the dealers for the cars now, more updates will come soon.

 

Heh??

http://www.cars.com/go/search/detail...5&aff=national

http://www.cars.com/go/search/detail...5&aff=national

 

Yeah, but you can't really complain about the auto trans in the camaro when the both montes have it.

I was curious about this too- I'd imagine even if it does have a warranty, that there is very little left. Isn't the powertrain 5 year / 100k mile? Being an 06- could've been sold in late 05, meaning it could have just a matter of months left on the powertrain.

LS1 > 3800, stock or modded- no way around that. Sure a 3.4 setup on the L67 with all the supporting mods on an L67 would be able to run about the same as a stock LS1, but its hard to compare stock vs modded. Not to mention, the L67 is a down low car, 1st and 2nd gear are great- after that, the car falls on its face- the LS1 has way more pull up in the top end.

We were the same way with the GTP, it was the 2nd car we looked at, I loved the car, records were clean, had only minor problems, and the place was very good about dealing on the price (not sure if it had been sitting awhile or what). I can't stand places that won't budge- or try to insult you by dropping $100 off, or trying to give you some stupid free services or something.

Have you driven both cars? I would definitely do that. The times you have there are deceiving- with the camaro, you can get into the gas a lot quicker, and the monte is going to take a lot more peddling and play to get through 1st. Even with the 255's on the front of my GXP- 1st gear is still a complete mess trying to hook up. The camaro is just far easier to drive and put the power down (heck, almost anything RWD would be).

I think since it won't cost you anything anyways, and there is no obligation to buy- I'd go and test drive them, and see which you like how it drives better.

 

your are correct it goes by the date sold so it might not have much left on it. my car didnt sell till march of 07 though. i think theres a difference between an auto monte and an auto camaro. the monte is supposed to be a luxury sport coupe. i wouldnt want a stick in it. personally i wouldnt go out and buy an ls1 a4 car with cloth thats just me. id want the m6 that has some gearing to it from the factory with leather and t-tops and all the bells and whistles. theyre to different kinds of cars. if i was going to drag race id get the camaro. if i was going to daily drive it and have a little street fight here and there the monte is more then enough. anyway you look at it though all of these cars would be an upgrade from what the OP had so i dont think any would disappoint. one more thing id also look at the comforts that the newer car offers over the camaro. my buddy has an 02 z28 and when he got in my car he was like "wow this is way nicer then my camaro. how come my car doesnt have heated seats?" id go monte, and besides if he goes with the camaro he will be banned from the forum! he would have to head on over to ls1tech.

 

But for someone who wanted, a cheap quick drag car basis- it wouldn't be a bad choice. The manual would be more fun for sure- but the auto would be more consistent with drag racing, and you could do a high stall TC with a cam and be

I definitely see the point, they wanted a new 'muscle car' probably- they want a big V8 engine, and stripped down on the options.

Oh, I definitely agree- both coupes, but for two totally different purposes- you're going to take a big hit in any kind of racing any handling for the FWD and extra comforts- just depends what you really want though.

Definitely agree.

I'll admit- one of the things that scares me about the LS4 monte (other than the accident) is the transmission- the LS4 cars seem to have well above average number of transmission failures. I do think that even from the factory that they're pushing the limits of the 4t65. I know- I have basically the same setup in one of my DD's, but I am also prepared for when the trans goes to build it up a little.

I think that even if he modded the L67 to the same power level as the LS4, that the trans on that would last longer- it would have far less power and torque out of boost- so you'd be putting it under less stress day to day.

 

its kinda weird how like 85% of the trans failures i hear about on the ls4 cars are guys that baby the *** out of the car. the guys that drive them like filthy savages trannys seem to last longer. you are right the transmissions are extremely prone to failure. if thats the only worry then i would go out and build it up right away and then do a few serious bolt ons and leave it enjoy it.

 

I wonder if it has anything to do with DOD and the whole 4 cylinder thing? You know? Since the baby-ers will obviously be into the 4 cylinder mode more often.

 

idk. i dumped dod my second week of having the car, but its strange alot of the guys that blow theres up are always saying the car never saw track time and wasnt really beaten on. then you see guys like alabama that drag the car every day and drive like maniacs and never have an issue.