Hello!

I recently purchased a 2012 Camaro 2LS, last week actually. After driving the car awhile, and loving every minute of it, I couldn't help but wonder what types of upgrades are available engine wise. It must be the Tim Taylor in me grunting, "more power!"

Now, the Camaro I bought is only the second vehicle I own(well, that I'm buying, as it won't be paid off for 72 months yet), and the first ever sports/muscle car(or whatever you want to call it) I've ever driven. So my knowledge of engine upgrades and technical jargon is pretty much whatever I learned from Gran Turismo and Forza Motorsports.

Basically, what I want to know is, for the automatic V6 engines of the 2012 model, what types of upgrades are out there and available?

I've searched youtube, and have been looking at exhaust systems and cold air intakes. Would that be a good place to start? Most of the videos I've seen of exhaust upgrades make the Camaro V6 sound like a ricer. Are there any exhaust, intake, etc systems out there which give it a more mellow, V8 like sound?

And last question. Sorry for the long post, but this is all new to me, and we all started somewhere, right?

I read that the automatic Camaros are supposed to have a Sport Mode somehow, within the Manual mode, correct? What I read, for activating it, is you are supposed to shift into "M" for Manual mode, then hold either of the tap shift controls for about 2 seconds to toggle Sport mode. I tried that in my Camaro but nothing changed. Am I doing something wrong here? How does Manual mode truly work then?

Forgive me if this has been asked before, but like I said, this is a completely new experience for me, having a car like this. If anybody can help a fellow Camaro owner out, it would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

 

I bought my v6 11 years ago and she's still going strong. Unfortunately though, there really isn't a whole lot you can do to a v6 before you reach the point where you just should've got the bigger engine to begin with.

I'm pretty sure Chevy did all they could to the newer ones already though. I see you have 2 tail pipes, but if it's only cat-back, then you could get a true dual exhaust installed.

Other than that, perhaps a turbo charger? But then you're getting into the area where a v8 should've been your choice from the start.

Well good luck dude and have fun with it. Lol I'm jealous. I want a new one too!! Haha, damn chevy. If mine wasn't still running so good, I might have to join you

 

Personal opinion on exhaust matters obviously. you dont want it to sound wimpy or like a ricer, but you want it to get attention and be cool. My opinion is the flowmaster 40s sound the best on the 6.


Now that being said, it does add a small performance jump to the car, a cold air intake will help as well. If you owe on it, i would not go much further than that, but if you choose to do so the WS6store.com has tons of bolt on this/that stuff that can boost your performance. the most seat of the pants difference will come from differential beef ups, super/turbo charging/and actual motor builds.

Again I would recommend starting small with an exhaust kit of some kind, but make sure that you can pass emissions if you need to.

Sorry i cant answer more. I just dont know any more about the 2012s.

 

I wish more people would make their videos show not only revving the engine, but also a normal and hard take off. Those 40s sound pretty good, but I wish they would have filmed him driving away so you can hear what it sounds like driving too.

I found these, by ARK Performance, which I think sound a bit better:


That's the type of sound I'm looking for. I don't like how far the tips stick out though, they make a slant tip system as well, which fits the car better I think.

Does getting a cold air intake affect the sound? By how much? And as much as I would have liked to get an SS, I just couldn't afford it right now. Insurance right now is higher than I thought(maybe I was a bit naive, thinking I'd get a decent rate for a sports coupe, lol)

These upgrades I'm thinking of doing aren't for a few years yet, at least until my warranty expires(3 more years), I would just like to get an idea of the types of mods/upgrades I could get once I'm ready. Also to learn more about the car and it's engine/features, which is why I was asking about the Manual mode and how to activate Sport mode. Anyone know anything more about the Manual mode, maybe how it works and how you're supposed to use it?

 

i like that choice in sound as well,

the CAI will affect sound but not enough that you would notice at the rear. but it will give you 5-7 hp boost... (some people think more, i think you need a computer tune for more)

find a couple of guys who are 5th gen guys and link your thread to them in a pm... they may be able to help, but they just dont see the thread.