Here's one of the GSC T/A's...
Here's one of the GSC T/A's most beautiful features: a custom rear end, which allows dual tips to exit from both sides of the car. It's one of our favorites, too.
DiOssi stated, "I was excited to get the car out on the road course because the KW Suspension felt great. The ride felt excellent as I lapped the T/A around from corner-to-corner, but it was certainly a handful with the tires and all the weight throwing itself in your face when you turned. Thankfully, the suspension kept this to a level that was more fun than anything else and it was a blast to drive aggressively."
Braking
For our braking testing, HPP used a 700-foot straightaway at Gainesville Raceway's road course. The strategy was simple-accelerate the T/A to 70 mph, allow it coast to 60 mph, and then apply the brakes at full-force. The 2010 T/A retains its factory ABS system. DiOssi was the test driver. He made three consecutive passes. The results are shown below.
Testing Notes
Though the quarter-mile performance was about 3 mph better than a stock Camaro SS, with the addition of a supercharger, we felt the spread should be higher and e.t.'s should be lower. On the road course the times were higher than we had hoped, and the braking numbers were solid, but a bit longer than a stock Camaro SS. Here are some reasons why:
This 2010 T/A was delivered to us with a full tank of 87-octane fuel, which we don't recommend, especially in a supercharged application with 11:1 compression. (GM requires 91-octane fuel for the LS3 Camaro SS and 93-octane "for best performance.") The testing numbers we recorded were negatively affected by the car's 87-octane gas. Halfway through our testing, the GSC T/A was refueled from the half-full to full with 93-octane pump gas, but it was still not enough to allow the test car to operate at its full potential. Due to various factors, including the car's gas tank design and the limited time we had reserved for track testing, we were not able to siphon or drain the 87-octane fuel from the car and replace it with straight 93-octane for optimum testing results.
The wheel/tire package didn't help the dragstrip test, given the very short sidewalls and the fact that the tires are not high-performance spec. We feel that these tires also contributed to less stick on the roadcourse and in the braking tests. Speaking of braking tests, the GSC 2010 T/A retains the Camaro 1SS/2SS Brembo four-piston front calipers, but utilizes Camaro LS (V-6) rear calipers to work with the 22-inch wheel/tire package we tested, hence the longer stopping distances.
Another factor that affected overall performance is weight. This Gearhead T/A is more than 170 lbs heavier at the curb than a Camaro SS because of the supercharger (well worth a weight penalty), the 22-inch wheel/tire package (not so worth it), and prototype front and rear fascias (temporary weight penalty). These hand-fabricated, foam core, body-filler-topped parts that are on the car will be used to make the molds for the production pieces, which will be made from a much lighter composite resin.
Gearhead Street Customs' Response
Regarding the testing results, Gearhead had this to say, "Our goal with the GSC T/A was to manufacture an affordable Camaro-to-T/A conversion at a price point that the general public could purchase. We knew that we would be giving up some road performance vs. the 2SS Camaro due to our tire-and-wheel-size combination, but it was important for us to know what the performance specifications were for our entry level T/A [as tested with the optional supercharger]. We want to give our clients the options to choose high-performance tires, suspension upgrades, engine-horsepower options, interior color choices, and trim colors. By taking this approach, we give our clients the ability to choose the total performance desired and exterior appearance based on their budget. We also know that based on the testing, we fell short in a couple of areas but exceeded in others. In our opinion, the overall driving experience exceeds that of any 2SS Camaro, not to mention the look of the GSC T/A dwarfs that of the Camaro."