45th Anniversary Camaro Unveiled at Indianapolis 500
This past weekend was an exciting one for the automotive world. There was the Indianapolis 500--one of racing's biggest events that was met this year with as thrilling and exciting an end as we've ever seen. There was also the Coca-Cola 600 which had an almost equally exciting finish as NASCAR's biggest figure ran out of gas on the final lap. In addition to the races, a few other things were going on. Chevrolet was busy celebrating its 100th year (a birthday it shares with the Indianapolis 500, actually), and, the Camaro was celebrating its 45th birthday. How did they celebrate? How about by unveiling a new, 45th anniversary, special edition Camaro to act as pace car at the Indianapolis 500.
The new, 45th Anniversary Edition Camaro, is a thing of beauty. Continuing in the recent history of the Camaro acting as the pace car for the Indianapolis 500, Chevrolet outdid themselves this year when they unveiled this new Camaro. Done up in a gorgeous black with red accent color combination, this 45th Anniversary Camaro featured an aggressive new hood, stylish new trunk striping, RS-style tail lamp lenses, gorgeous white dash and door inserts, unique 20-inch wheels, and dark silver foglamp bezels, to really give a striking updated visual flair. Inside of the vehicle, custom interior work, badges, and stitching really set this Camaro apart.
The updates to this Camaro don't stop there. The new 45th Anniversary Special Edition Camaro also received all of the major upgrades in store for all 2012 Camaros. These upgrades, which will help address what few issues the Camaro has had, include a revised instrument panel, power-lifting passenger seat, a new smaller and more ergonomic steering wheel, new RS style tail lamps on all Camaro models, and a new spoiler made standard on all Camaro models.
For 2012, the Camaro is seeing a few performance upgrades as well. The LT, V6 Camaro will get the new LFX 3.6-liter V-6 engine. With direct injection, the new LFX is responsible for a 11-hp performance increase to 323 hp while still delivering the same economic 30 mpg on the freeway. The LFX isn't just more powerful, either. The new engine also reduces vehicle weight by 20 pounds, for a more efficient horsepower:weight ratio.
To improve the SS Camaros performance, Chevrolet is outfitting the V8 powered beast with a highly upgraded suspension package. The Chevrolet FE4 suspension package is being made standard equipment for all SS Camaros. The FE4 package includes retuned front and rear dampers, solid stabilizer bars, and 20-inch alloy wheels, which are all said to work together to improve cornering on the Camaro with sharper handling, flatter cornering, and reduced understeer--the issue most often cited with the Camaro SS's performance by major automotive magazines and reviewers.
In all, the new 2012 Camaro is exciting, and the unveiling of the 45th Anniversary Special Edition was a high-point in one of the most exciting automotive weekends we've seen in a long long time.
Smartest Battery Charger In the World?
When it comes to Camaro Parts, just about every Camaro owner gets a battery charger. Battery Chargers have come a long way in the last few years and CTEK is certainly leading the charge. They have recently released a line of battery chargers that they coin "the smartest Battery Chargers in the world". I have always associated a Battery Charger as something fairly and clunky, nothing that I would want permanently mounted in my car nor would I feel comfortable leaving it connected to my car, boat, or Motorcycle without supervision. The CTEK Battery Charger will completely change the way you look at battery chargers, guaranteed! The CTEK is rugged, outdoor safe, dust and water proof while still maintaining the sleekest and sexiest look I have ever seen in a battery charger.
It can be mounted in the engine compartment as a permanent addition to your car or just used as a temporary solution during the winter months. Either way, you can leave it connected to your battery all the time without the worry of overcharging or damaging the battery. Unlike other battery chargers, the CTEK Charger does not require the car battery to be disconnected from the car prior to use. The CTEK 3300 Battery Charger is perfectly safe to use with your car battery connected to the car. The charger will not damage your vehicles computer or electrical equipment. Once the charger harness is connected to your battery it has quick release clips that allow you to remove and install the charger easily at any time. The charger is spark proof and reverse polarity proof so that you do not have to worry about accidently connecting it backwards, try that with a traditional battery charger.
The CTEK Battery Charger is 100% automatic, just hook it up and turn it on….It does everything else. You can leave it connected for months and months without any concerns. All CTEK chargers come with a 5 year guarantee and are shock proof, weather proof, dust proof, and certified for outdoor use. For the money (less than $100 bucks) it is the best darn charger I have ever seen and would recommend it for just about any application. I was so impressed with the CTEK charger that I installed the CTEK US3300 in my C6 Corvette Z06 permanently.
The CTEK 3300 is the charger I recommend for all Auto's, Motorcycles, and ATV's. It charges them all, with the simplicity of hooking it to the battery and plugging it in, that is it, very simple. CTEK also offer a CTEK lighter adapter, which allows you to use the CTEK3300 charger to charge the battery through the cigarette lighter plug.
People sometimes ask, why should you buy a CTEK battery charger instead of one that costs half as much and looks virtually the same (even the product description is the same)? But this is not the whole truth. CTEK products have a unique system (patented functions) not available in other legal battery chargers that can therefore not offer the same performance. As for "copy cats" or forgeries, it is guaranteed that they will not maintain the same standards as a CTEK charger. It is impossible to use the quality materials, hire qualified engineers that produce the right product composition, maintain an even and fine level of quality control while at the same time keeping the price down. The "copy cat" battery chargers do not meet the standards that CTEK enforces and do not guarantee to be non sparking, reverse-polarity proof, and electronics safe.
Camaro Taking Charge in the Drifting Scene
The Camaro, an unlikely candidate among the high revving, turbocharged import scene that makes up the drifting world, has made some big waves in the recent Formula Drift competition rounds. The big beast, with its roaring LS7, is far from the favorite competitor. The Formula Drift events take place over the course of the season which runs from early April until the first weekend in October. The events are a series of 7 rounds that follow a go, no-go head to head elimination format. The driver pool is narrowed down to the top 32 after 2 initial (non-consecutive) qualifying laps and then work their way down to the final two, to battle it out for the number one spot. Drivers are judged according to speed, line, angle, and whether or not they have the ability to hit their "clipping points"- basically the apexes and other racing lines on the track. The overall impression from a run also plays a major part in the decision- whether or not the run seemed sloppy, or rushed or panicked can affect the driver negatively if the opposing driver completes the track slower but has a more collected or calm feel to it. The judging is conducted by three judges that remain in the series for the duration of the season, promoting consistency of judging throughout the season.
The Camaro's are driven by none other than veteran Formula D drivers Conrad Grunewald who moved from his trusted platform of his C5 Z06 Corvette and Ryan Tuerck who migrated chassis's from the Gardella Racing Pontiac Solstice. What this means is there are two solid performers tearing up the asphalt with two very well built Camaro's.
The Gardella Racing Camaro Tuerck is driving, is decked to the hills with suspension components from Eibach and powered by a reworked LS7. Engine management is provided by AEM, and traction provided by Nitto NT05 tires wrapped around Enkei RPF-01's. Braking duties are dictated by Wilwood, while combustion and ignition duties are given to NGK, Brian Crower, and Ignite Racing Fuels. An ACT clutch helps put the power to the ground, while the exhaust scavenging duties are provided by Kooks. Altogether not a bad set up- especially considering the car is fully race prepped being stripped, caged and lightened and more than likely seam welded throughout the body. Most of us will never know what a dream that car probably is to drive.
However, Grunewald's car is a different beast altogether. He opted for an LSA crate motor transplant from the CTS-V (can you say ZL1…?) modified and putting somewhere near 600 stamping American horses to the Hankook tire shredding rear end. The suspension department is covered by Eibach and Pfadt- two names born and bred for the race track. Luke Lonberger and BR Racing took charge of the build and tuning the car to Conrad's standards. Conrad left his previous car and sponsors after a disagreement and inability to reach a middle ground with more team management in Grunewald's hands, so after much deliberation he decided to move forward on his own. Conrad Grunewald Racing was born and GM and Hankook agreed to lend a helping hand. The press release from Hankook went like this:
LOS GATOS, CA – BR Racing by Luke Lonberger in partnership with Conrad Grunewald Racing reveal they are in the process of building a 2010 Camaro SS in preparation for the 2010 Formula DRIFT Championship competition.
"I am very excited to be able to drive such an iconic American muscle car in the Formula DRIFT Championship," said Conrad Grunewald, driver and owner of Conrad Grunewald Racing. "Our main goal is to have the Camaro ready for the 2009 SEMA show but our preseason testing should start immediately after the show. I have a great amount of confidence that BR Racing and Luke Lonberger can build this Camaro into a highly competitive car and I look forward to getting back out on the track."
Hankook Tire Corporation will provide tire sponsorship for the 2010 Formula DRIFT season. Grunewald announced the Camaro will use Hankook Ventus R-S3 tires on custom Forgeline aluminum 3-piece wheels. The car is to be controlled by Eibach's Multi-Pro-R2 two-way adjustable dampers and coilovers. A GM Performance LS-A supercharged 6.2 liter V8 controlled by the AEM Universal EMS and expected to make over 600 RWHP will power the Camaro. All body work will be constructed with carbon fiber from Seibon Carbon.
The pair of Camaro's placed… wait for it... wait for it… 1st and 2nd at Round 2: Road to the Championship, at Road Atlanta in Braselton, GA on May 6th and 7th. This is of course after Grunewald's 1st place at Long Beach in Round 1. Grunewald is the only the second driver to achieve two consecutive 1st place finishes back to back (The first being Samuel Hubinette in 2007 in his Dodge Charger.) To see the two newest and most heavily watched (scrutinized for the car choice?) candidates soar to the top brandishing American muscle where Japanese power reigns supreme is a huge step for both of these companies and drivers and their respective teams. Both teams worked incredibly hard to get to this point, and although the season is still young, we can reasonably expect to see these two machines piloted by very capable drivers continue to place well over the coming months.
For more information on Formula Drift, visit www.formulad.com
For more information on each driver and/or his team visit:
http://www.gardellaracing.com/com/drift_about
Curb Alert for the Camaro
We've all been there- you're pulling into the parking space, feeling good about the day, and that terrible sound and feeling of plastic on concrete hits. It's a terrible sound and a ruined day- especially if you had a $900 carbon fiber front splitter. That front splitter might now have a nice crack in it, or the lip that used to be on the chin of your bumper is now dangling- attached by one side like some kind of prop out of Mad Max. The reality is, the front valances on cars are notorious for finding their way onto the tops of parking space dividers. If the initial impact wasn't enough, therein lies another problem- getting off the curb. There's a 50/50 chance that your bumper/valance/splitter has found its way onto the top and "hooked" itself onto the concrete. When you throw it into reverse, the chances of the concrete holding your front end hostage are high- and when this happens, you'll be looking at your front end laying on the pavement in front of your car… not attached. Not where you want to be.
Never fear, we have a solution. The Curb Alert uses an infrared signal to detect exactly how far away the curb is from the front of your vehicle. You can program the three small beeps to go off from anywhere between 8" and 28" from the curb. This means, when you're pulling into that spot, you can rest assured that you're going to pull in just far enough every time. No guess work, no inching and creeping until that dreaded sound of impacting plastic on concrete. The Curb Alert is an easy to install- no drilling- compact infrared sensor that attaches discreetly onto the underside of your front bumper. The three audible tones inside the cabin that are emitted can be set to three different sound settings- high, low or completely muted. The install takes about 30-45 minutes with basic hand tools and is completely removable when and if removal is ever needed. The next cool thing about the install is that it runs on the same power that your ignition is based on, so if you're car is off, then the curb alert is off—meaning there is no battery drain.
Our Camaros are notorious for having issues with the front end and meeting nose to nose with the unforgiving concrete of the parking barrier. The long nose our Camaro possess make for a difficult gauge when parking and this little guy takes the guesswork out of the entire process. And with this puppy coming in right at around $160-$170, it's well worth it the first time it prevents a nasty concrete rash on the underside of your nose for your new Camaro.
Oh, did I mention this awesome little device will work on any car that is vulnerable to curb rash? Not specific to the Camaro at all....I will work on any vehicle that might need some level of vaccination from the common curb 
Billy Boat Exhausts for the 5th Generation Camaro
Billy Boat is certainly no stranger to the aftermarket scene, having been in the aftermarket business of exhausts for over two decades now since their inception in 1989. They've been a presence in the Camaro community for the better part of 20 years, since they first started dabbling with the F-Body chassis's in 1993. The guys over there put their blood, sweat and tears into coming up with the best exhaust they can possibly create in their workshop of wonders. They start each system from scratch- and finish it by hand. What this means, is there isn't a big production manufacturing facility stamping these out at a freakish rate every minute. Each system is CNC mandrel bent for a perfectly unwavering fit, hand welded, and then finally the mufflers are fabricated and assembled by hand. The company of roughly 50 employees takes great pride in their work and what it does for the cars it becomes a part of. The modern sports car has become somewhat of an escape for most, a kind of an escape from 
reality- or at least a release from the everyday humdrum momentum of the world. What the folks over at Billy Boat want to do is improve that release, that escape, simply put- they want to make your grin a little bigger when you mash that far right pedal.
I had the pleasure of speaking with Mike Boat, the brother of Billy Boat, and got to pick his brain a little while he shared with me the differences between the Classic and the Sport exhausts that they have developed for the Fifth Generation Camaro. The systems use a full T-304 stainless steel construction from beginning to muffler and come with a lifetime warranty. They have spent countless hours researching and developing both of these different exhausts specifically for the fifth gen Camaro. Both are viable contenders for great exhausts, but have two different intended customers.
The Classic system is designed for tone. Simply put, this system is a little bit louder than stock, but has a deep muscle car tone to it on acceleration. It was designed for the deep rumbling tone that it creates without any sort of cabin drone. They experienced a 15 horsepower gain with this system, and a drastic tone improvement. The tone is really what this exhaust is after, not so much the power. It has a distinct growl to it, but if power is what you're after –the Sport system is what you've been looking for. We all know the sound we dream of when we close our eyes at night and dream of the beast under our hood carving up the pavement. That's the sound the Sport system makes. I kid you not. When you think of V8's snarling and growling—to the extent that small children might cry, or soil themselves when the beast roars—that's exactly what B&B delivered. This system with long tubes makes—at minimum—and Mike stressed that point, a minimum of a 50 horsepower gain (see video below). The incredible part of the snarling, wild bark that the system produces is the technology that B&B developed which takes this wild sound and tames it when cruising to be a very distant rumble. The design that they use is called Purge Resonance Technology, or PRT for short. This is what Billy Boat has to say about the system:
…the 2010 Chevy Camaro incorporates the latest in resonance control technology, B&B's proprietary Purge Resonance Technology or PRT as it is known. Completely reengineered the PRT system allows you to have a mild exhaust note at cruising speeds yet a forceful note on aggressive driving. The complex yet simple design gives you the increased sound and performance you are looking for with its straight 
through design on moderate to hard acceleration and then the unique purge chambers cancel out the unwanted interior noise during low rpm cruising speeds.
The Sport system is designed for maximum horsepower and a high flowing straight through design. They utilize a 200-cell catalytic converter, in place of the 4 highly restrictive catalytic converters that are in place from the factory. The factory cats aren't so much for emissions as they are for sound, and when replaced with the BB cat, you still remain emissions friendly. What this means is there's not any worries of the man catching you running an illegal exhaust- at least for those of you in emissions required counties/provinces. Billy Boat is also one of the few manufacturers that utilizes packing in their exhausts. They carefully select the materials and the amount to obtain a perfect tone, utilizing a combination of stainless steel mesh and ceramic blanket. This combination of PRT and packing materials is what gives each system its unique sound.
Mike made the comparison that every exhaust is like a child when it leaves their factory. Each one has been tenderly crafted, built from the ground up. It is hand polished, sanded, rubbed and packaged after its little inception into the world by the caring hands in their wonderful workshop of creativity. The process that each exhaust goes through is a direct reflection on the company itself. They pride themselves on attention to detail, and since they're a small company it's easy to see that each of their employees has to be dedicated to making a quality product.
How long has Billy Boat Performance Exhaust been around? Founded in 1989 originally specializing in Porsche 911 systems.
How many people work for BB? Roughly 50 people as of today.
How long have they been working with the Camaro community? They started sometime around 1993 with the F-Body up until the gap that happened in 2002, but then promptly hopped on their first opportunity to work with the 5th generation Camaros.
Camaro Sport Exhaust Video:
GM Military Discount
GM has been renowned for their military discount for the past year, and now they're making it even better. In a bold move, GM has decided to expand their military discount to the spouses of military personnel and retirees through the end of May, which happens to be National Military Appreciation Month. What this means for military professionals, both past and present is that they have the ability to include their families in the discount that ranges anywhere from $500, up to $4,000 of the MSRP of Chevrolets vehicles.
Chevy has implemented a special badge for the cars purchased with the Military discount in the month of May. The badge is the iconic yellow ribbon that has become symbolic of military personnel support since 1979 in the United States. On the badge itself it reads "Honor and Valor" around the edge 
of the badge surrounding the ribbon. The badge can be applied (at the purchasers request) to the cars purchased using the discount, at no additional charge. Since the beginning of 2010, GM has applied the discount to over 70,000 personnel and their families with a value of more than $60 million. GM will also donate $100 to the charity Cell Phones for Soldiers. This charity, founded by two teenagers, is geared at helping servicemen and women deployed overseas have an available means of contact to loved ones at no charge. The charity was spawned after the teenagers, Brittany and Robbie Bergquist, heard a story of a deployed soldier accumulating an enormous bill from calling home to speak with his family. Cell Phones for Soldiers accepts old or unwanted cell phones and recycles them through ReCellular, who in turns pays Cell Phones for Soldiers enough to provide an hour of talk time which is then sent via phone cards to deployed soldiers. Since May 2010, Chevrolet and its dealers have collected more than 50,000 cell phones. Since the program began, proceeds from phone collections have provided more than 114 million minutes – or more than 200 years – of free calls home for U.S. troops.
Also in addition to the GM Military Discount is the $750 discount on selected Buick, Chevy and GMC models offered through USAA, the premier financial services group for the armed services. "We are committed to offering military professionals and their family members the best value in the industry," said Dan Akerson, General Motors Chairman and CEO. "As a former Navy man, I hold the highest regard for the men and women of our Armed Forces – past and present – who help keep our country safe and preserve our precious liberties."
So, if you or your loved one are currently serving in the military or previously served in the military (which includes the Air Force, Army, Navy, Marines, Coast Guard and National Guard) in either Active Duty roles or Reserve Units, and you're looking at buying a new car- this would be the time to do it!