Ok so this is my first Camaro and I have a couple of questions. I'm used to mustangs( I know ) and these Camaros drive a little bit different than what I'm used to. It's a 1994 Z28 auto has 87,000 miles with catback and k&n filter(sorry I'll do my bio later). First question is when this car shifts it is noticeably, I mean noticeably firm. So firm that at WOT from a stand still when the car shifts into second the wheels spin and I went a little bit sideways(It's a stock car). I was thinking it has a shift kit maybe but I'm not sure. If it is normal I think I'm already lovin these cars haha. Also about the brakes, the previous owner said that the brakes were just redone with pads all around and rotors up front. When i press the brakes the car slows down fine but the pedal reaches a point when you try to stop hard you really have to press it down hard. Almost like I have drum brakes all around. That is it pretty much for now and thanks for your help everyone.

 

yep with a good trany they will get second gear rubber. my first z28 did. this one has a bad tourqe converter so the shifts are soft. u could have a kit in it though, also could have some performance fluid in it. had some of that in my last truck and changed it back to regular fluid. it banged into gear a little to hard for me. do u have the grooved rotors? they do help with the brake fade. yes they do fade a bit. still stop fast though.

 

A previous owner could have installed a Corvette servo, which firms up the shifts.
Could also be that your computer was altered with a Power Programmer and your car wasn't reset to stock. That would be a problem for you and whoever has the programmer (it works with only one car at a time). I've used one before, primarily to play with the shift firmness and to make the cooling fan turn on sooner. In stock form, my trans didn't shift very hard, or break the tires free. But it made a noticeable difference with the programmer.

 

Also at WOT the car seems like it stays in high rpm too long. Almost like it is slow to reach the shift point when reaching high rpms.

 

if it was programmed with a hand held programer that you dont have, you can get it fixed by pcmforless.com or any good mail order tune service

 

what rpm is it changing at? should be in the 5k range.

 

From a stand still it goes almost all the way to the rev limiter, which is odd. I thought in first gear it shifts earlier than the following gears. But no it doesnt shift at 5k.

 

i would say the trany has been modified

 

Sorry another thing, when I drive the car at highway speeds the steering is very loose and is seems like the car almost follows every groove in the road. For example if I switch lanes and if there is a groove or any road imperfection the car wants to follow that rather that switch lanes which makes me jerk around alot. This might help, the car has only been driven 10k miles in the past 9 years. So I'm thinking the driveabilty is poor because it has been sitting around for so long. Going to replace shocks, struts and springs soon. As with the radiator(has a leak), water pump, opitspark, plugs, wires coil. Already replaced PCV valve, fuel filter, oil, and oil pressure sensor. Any other suggestions because of it's in activity. Also my gas mileage is horrible. About a third of a tank in 75 miles. Is that normal driving at 70 mph?

 

tie rod ends. the outers. inners rarely go out. check the ball joints, thats another thing that will make em drive like crap. get someone in the car to bounce the steering wheel back and forth while u get under the front and see whats movin. leave the car off but u will have to turn the key off the lock position so it will bounce.