@@VcArena reviews from that era and even occasionally today manage some of the worst times I've ever seen. They get a LOT of goodwill for being "professional drivers" but just because you get paid doesn't mean you're any good at it. Unfortunately these poor results end up in magazines and parroted by everyone so these cars will forever be crap in the eyes of many. My personal results with Z28s i've owned (all t-top cars).. 1995 Z28 Automatic 14.1 @ 97mph, 1996 Z28 Automatic (2.73 geared) 14.2 @ 98mph and 2001 Z28 M6 13.1 @ 108mph.
I really wish they’d give pony/muscle cars modern styling rather than this blunt ended retro garbage. The F-body was _always_ styled for its era. 1st gen was blunt ended like most 60s cars. 2nd gen was more aerodynamic and round. 3rd gen more angular to fit in with the 80s like the Fox Body. And this was more organic and ergonomic as were 90s cars like the SN95. Then the F-bodies died and we got the retro S197, Challenger, and Camaro in the mid-late 2000s.
I had a 95 Z28 back in high school (98) I sold it since I got my high school sweetheart pregnant. I had to sell it and use all my money on supporting her and my baby daughter. Fast forward 23years and my daughter is almost done with her masters, I’m still with my high school sweetheart and to make up for my car. I know have a C5 corvette and a 22 Camaro SS 1LE.
Had a 94 With optional gear 0-60 around 5.4 Stock which was awesome for that time period. Currently in a c63 amg s. Love fast cars and don’t care what name is on them.
$16,799 is about equal to $33,746 in 2022 Dollars. A new 2023 LT1 without too many options is about 38K, a 2023 2SS with a few options jumps to $46,490 and a ZL1 1LE will set you back $78,133.
gotta think compare the minimal options on a new lt1 to what was in the old lt1... $5k and you get all the new car stuff including safety and around 150hp more... what a deal! and a low end LT! has more comfort items than any 4th gen had.
@@tonymancuso1340 really.. So you're telling me that the Optispark unit in not under the water pump and when the water pump fails and begins to leak, it does not damage the optispark unit? I will argue that with you all day long sir because my comment is correct.
@@DropDMurphy Ive been through at least 3 waterpumps with 160k miles+ on a 95z and have never had the opti fail. The opti fails because of moisture and ozone building up inside from the high voltage spark causing corrision on the electrodes, which was addressed in the 95+ models by applying a slight vaccum from the engine to get air moving around it. Another common reason for opti's to fail is not aligning it properly with the cam dowel. The opti is also a sealed unit, - it can get wet, but if you have a bad water pump its a good idea to not sit on replacing it.
@@MarkBarrett For sure! I did full UMI suspension under my 96. Thing handles like crazy. Really lightened up the car too. Honestly for a street car it is quite violent lol. Love the deep throaty sound of a cammed 383 LT1 too
@@markovich3605 The growl came from the crossplane crank. The new flat plane crank engine I designed and gave to GM in the new Corvette is better, but lost the "Growl". I remember on gravel, my '96 Camaro screamed its ABS about being on gravel.
I got a mint 95 z28.. Currently building it to 400 hp as I Wright this.... LE 230\238 585\585 108 LSA CAM 1.6 scorpion rockers, ls7 lifters, Tick 650 springs, speed engineering 1\34 long tube headers off road y pipe, ported intake and full bmr SUSSPENSION... New petris opti, a\c delco water pump, msd coil, and much more..Sequential turn signals, light up camaro berg panel, one of a kind air brushing and every light in it is functional and led.. Even the light above the window switches is modded up with led lights..
@@Original_Edition well im not regretting them yet😁. I drove the car stock for a year and driving it now after all the mods still no regret. Why do you say that? What is there to regret?
I had the same car, even the same color when these were new. My car was an automatic and it ran a 14.2 at Atco raceway. If I remember correctly these car had some tire choices that made a difference how these cars performed, some came with touring tires while my car and others had Eagle GSC tires.
@@rwk673 that's pretty good for back then, I should have done the chip. I did eventually change the exhaust to a Borla cat back and tried it again, I got it down another couple of tenths to a 14.0 and something I can't remember. These days I went backwards to driving a 3rd gen, back then I getting out of driving one.
@@irocitZ I had the hypertech power programmer. ‘96 didn’t have the chip, it was OBDII. I firmed up the shifts to where it would chirp 2nd gear. My friend had a ‘95 Trans Am w a borla exhaust. He was faster on the highway than me
@@rwk673 that's right, power programer that's what I meant. Obviously I didn't go crazy with performance mods because at the time I was ok with the way my car ran, I wasn't losing to Mustangs as much anymore. However, a friend worked at a stereo shop, because of him I wound up doing a huge system. 4 12 in subs, 3 amps MB Quartz speakers, I wasn't the fastest, maybe the loudest for a time.
I want my 94 camaro back so bad. Bought it for $5000 and put 10,000 into it and my dad sold it to a guy at work because it was in his driveway :( all it needed was a coolant crossover pipe
Fuck yes! It was a Fun car ! Handled well too. Not as fast as a new gen ,but more fun! I have a 96 Trans am , very similar but I preferred the Firebird styling slightly more than the Camaros . They are both collectible and great!
Funny how the magazines had this same car at 14.00@101mph and even car craft ran a '94 Formula 6-speed to a 13.8. I love motor week, but when it comes to drag racing, they should be Motor Weak.😢
Lol. Lots of wheel spin, i.e. we can't drive and didn't try our best, or let's keep this mid 5s 14 1/4 Z28 as realistically low to not piss off Ford and their 94 Wustang GT.
The weight distribution was better than Mustang. The tires had more grip than Mustang. It had a more powerful engine than the Mustang. I personally did not find it as reliable as a Mustang after a few years, and the cosmetics didn't hold up at all. The were like 77' Trans Am's.
Alot of them ended up junk because it was affordable performance for the day. Big number of these cars had the shit beat out of them and ran out of them. So You had to search around for a good one even when they were 5 years old.
Imagine how fast it would be if you didn’t smoke the tires but burnout are sooooo fun with this car.
Seems they do it every review of the camaro.the ls1 Even lost to the mustang on one review due to just smoking the tires off the line.
@@VcArena reviews from that era and even occasionally today manage some of the worst times I've ever seen. They get a LOT of goodwill for being "professional drivers" but just because you get paid doesn't mean you're any good at it. Unfortunately these poor results end up in magazines and parroted by everyone so these cars will forever be crap in the eyes of many. My personal results with Z28s i've owned (all t-top cars).. 1995 Z28 Automatic 14.1 @ 97mph, 1996 Z28 Automatic (2.73 geared) 14.2 @ 98mph and 2001 Z28 M6 13.1 @ 108mph.
Cant blame em I love doing donuts and burnouts in my camaro. I also just like cruising listening to that LT1. I have a couple videos on my channel!
I would rather drive these '90s cars than today's cars.
Bold stance.
I really wish they’d give pony/muscle cars modern styling rather than this blunt ended retro garbage.
The F-body was _always_ styled for its era. 1st gen was blunt ended like most 60s cars. 2nd gen was more aerodynamic and round. 3rd gen more angular to fit in with the 80s like the Fox Body. And this was more organic and ergonomic as were 90s cars like the SN95.
Then the F-bodies died and we got the retro S197, Challenger, and Camaro in the mid-late 2000s.
I'd rather have the new LT1. And I daily drive a 97 LT1. Let's be real, the new car is 100 miles ahead of the old one...
Have you driven the new one ? I prefer the raw analog feel of my 1994 z28
6-speed.
@@calvinnickel9995But the mid 2000s was the era of retro, so it fit right in!
I had a 95 Z28 back in high school (98) I sold it since I got my high school sweetheart pregnant. I had to sell it and use all my money on supporting her and my baby daughter. Fast forward 23years and my daughter is almost done with her masters, I’m still with my high school sweetheart and to make up for my car. I know have a C5 corvette and a 22 Camaro SS 1LE.
Interesting story
Buy a t56 lt1 4th gen and revisit the old days B)
Classic story
Nice 🤟🏻
I had a 95 Z28 as well and man I wish I never sold it
Bought a new ‘96 Z28 in December of ‘96. Loved that car.
Had a 94
With optional gear 0-60 around 5.4
Stock which was awesome for that time period. Currently in a c63 amg s. Love fast cars and don’t care what name is on them.
$16,799 is about equal to $33,746 in 2022 Dollars. A new 2023 LT1 without too many options is about 38K, a 2023 2SS with a few options jumps to $46,490 and a ZL1 1LE will set you back $78,133.
gotta think compare the minimal options on a new lt1 to what was in the old lt1... $5k and you get all the new car stuff including safety and around 150hp more... what a deal! and a low end LT! has more comfort items than any 4th gen had.
Adjusted for inflation, $16,799 in 1994 is equal to $35,343 in 2024. 😁
I absolutely love these F-bodys. People knock the LT1 optispark but those engines still have plenty of potential.😇
they have the potential t fry themselves once the waterpump goes bad
@@DropDMurphyyou don’t know cars buddy
@@tonymancuso1340 really.. So you're telling me that the Optispark unit in not under the water pump and when the water pump fails and begins to leak, it does not damage the optispark unit? I will argue that with you all day long sir because my comment is correct.
@@DropDMurphy Ive been through at least 3 waterpumps with 160k miles+ on a 95z and have never had the opti fail.
The opti fails because of moisture and ozone building up inside from the high voltage spark causing corrision on the electrodes, which was addressed in the 95+ models by applying a slight vaccum from the engine to get air moving around it. Another common reason for opti's to fail is not aligning it properly with the cam dowel. The opti is also a sealed unit, - it can get wet, but if you have a bad water pump its a good idea to not sit on replacing it.
@BCToby Naw, he's right. I had a bypass hose blow, and it took out my opti. I have a 95 with the vented opti, too.
The LT1 can easily hit 400HP NA naturally aspirated.
A dyno showed mine doing it at the wheels.
Mine made 460hp to the wheels with a 383 LT1 and a 24X swap. People keep sleeping on these old LT1s.
@@markovich3605 I loved those engines.
@@markovich3605 My Camaro had surprisingly good handling.
More than I could have expected.
It surprised me how good it handled handling.
@@MarkBarrett For sure! I did full UMI suspension under my 96. Thing handles like crazy. Really lightened up the car too. Honestly for a street car it is quite violent lol. Love the deep throaty sound of a cammed 383 LT1 too
@@markovich3605 The growl came from the crossplane crank.
The new flat plane crank engine I designed and gave to GM in the new Corvette is better, but lost the "Growl".
I remember on gravel, my '96 Camaro screamed its ABS about being on gravel.
Just blew the tires completely off and called it a day.
Murica!
I got a mint 95 z28.. Currently building it to 400 hp as I Wright this.... LE 230\238 585\585 108 LSA CAM 1.6 scorpion rockers, ls7 lifters, Tick 650 springs, speed engineering 1\34 long tube headers off road y pipe, ported intake and full bmr SUSSPENSION... New petris opti, a\c delco water pump, msd coil, and much more..Sequential turn signals, light up camaro berg panel, one of a kind air brushing and every light in it is functional and led.. Even the light above the window switches is modded up with led lights..
You will really regret half of these mods on these cars lol
@@Original_Edition well im not regretting them yet😁. I drove the car stock for a year and driving it now after all the mods still no regret. Why do you say that? What is there to regret?
I had the same car, even the same color when these were new. My car was an automatic and it ran a 14.2 at Atco raceway. If I remember correctly these car had some tire choices that made a difference how these cars performed, some came with touring tires while my car and others had Eagle GSC tires.
My ‘96 Z28 was auto, t tops and had the GSC tires, I programmed the computer. Ran 13.8 at 98 mph at Island Dragway.
@@rwk673 that's pretty good for back then, I should have done the chip. I did eventually change the exhaust to a Borla cat back and tried it again, I got it down another couple of tenths to a 14.0 and something I can't remember. These days I went backwards to driving a 3rd gen, back then I getting out of driving one.
@@irocitZ I had the hypertech power programmer. ‘96 didn’t have the chip, it was OBDII. I firmed up the shifts to where it would chirp 2nd gear. My friend had a ‘95 Trans Am w a borla exhaust. He was faster on the highway than me
@@rwk673 that's right, power programer that's what I meant. Obviously I didn't go crazy with performance mods because at the time I was ok with the way my car ran, I wasn't losing to Mustangs as much anymore. However, a friend worked at a stereo shop, because of him I wound up doing a huge system. 4 12 in subs, 3 amps MB Quartz speakers, I wasn't the fastest, maybe the loudest for a time.
Chevy Camaro Z28 is my favorite. 5.7 V8
Good ok GM engineers! Put the Opti Spark distributer underneath the water pump!lol
I know right.. I ran a 125hp shot for 2 years tryin to kill mine. Bulletproof engines. Spark delivery is a bad design for sure…
Absolutely worst test drivers in history work at Motorweek... SMH. Always the slowest test numbers in the industry!!
Basically the average person
@@johncholmes643Eggheads and Bookworms…
I love Chevy Camaro. My favorite and my dream car
Ah back when there were no horrid red tow hooks
Or exhaust systems that sound like a gun shot, worst and dumbest add on ever..
i own one, and yes it’s the best car ever if you’re wondering
They are cool. I prefer my 1996 LT4 C4. But, I wouldn't kick a 4th Gen out of bed for eating crackers. They are VERY fun to drive.
I want my 94 camaro back so bad. Bought it for $5000 and put 10,000 into it and my dad sold it to a guy at work because it was in his driveway :( all it needed was a coolant crossover pipe
Fuck yes! It was a Fun car ! Handled well too. Not as fast as a new gen ,but more fun! I have a 96 Trans am , very similar but I preferred the Firebird styling slightly more than the Camaros . They are both collectible and great!
No air censor that was badass about it.
A set of BFG drag radial T/A’s properly warmed would give drastically different results.
They just don't make those Camaros like they used too! 😢
LT1,s and LS1,s were the last of the bow tie blocks.
TUNED DOWN Chevy did not want faster then the Vet
I know these videos are old but Motorweek's test drivers always seemed to butcher the launch on their 0-60 tests
Funny how the magazines had this same car at 14.00@101mph and even car craft ran a '94 Formula 6-speed to a 13.8. I love motor week, but when it comes to drag racing, they should be Motor Weak.😢
Do you know what isn’t a tough fact to follow? Motorweek’s drivers! absolutely no effort to make a good launch. You blow Motorweek!
I admit I'm not the best when it comes to launching manual cars but come on what was that 0-60 launch?
I find myself drawn to these old cars and trucks. More reliable and easier to fix.
I miss my black 94 Z28...
If you couldn't afford an exotic back then these were a great alturnative. Today we have crap. You'd be forced to buy a Hyundai
375Hp is still to this day not “mere”😂😂 my 06 Denali had the LQ4 and is around 340-345ish
275hp. I have the same 94 z28.
Lol. Lots of wheel spin, i.e. we can't drive and didn't try our best, or let's keep this mid 5s 14 1/4 Z28 as realistically low to not piss off Ford and their 94 Wustang GT.
I doubt that was the goal. If anything, it was to keep the numbers far from the Corvette.
It's all fun until the opti craps out lol.
0:37 looks like someone can’t handle the V8
My buddy had a 89 gt mustang gt. We got smoked.
Motorweek has weak drivers. They definitely need to get better drivers, their acceleration times are horrible.
The weight distribution was better than Mustang. The tires had more grip than Mustang. It had a more powerful engine than the Mustang. I personally did not find it as reliable as a Mustang after a few years, and the cosmetics didn't hold up at all. The were like 77' Trans Am's.
Camaro went down hill in the 80s and 90s
Too bad the rear differentials were junk and the cars pretty much fell apart in 5 years time.
This is rubbish.
Not if they were taken care of.
@@JoeSmith-tu7viIf that means more than basic maintenance than it’s junk.
@@Andyface79 I've owned three of them and none of them ever required more than basic maintenance, so they are fine by me.
Alot of them ended up junk because it was affordable performance for the day.
Big number of these cars had the shit beat out of them and ran out of them.
So You had to search around for a good one even when they were 5 years old.
The "Catfish " camaro
The '98 to '02 were referred to as the catfish Camaro.
Shark
Worst body style and by far the worst engine design. 67 thru 92 had the best styling.
You need your brain checked
That thing was ugly. The Pontiac was better
I find myself drawn to these old cars and trucks. More reliable and easier to fix.