Lingenfelter Performance has started testing the 2016 Chevrolet Camaro SS with a baseline dyno. This is rather important, since you need to know where your starting in order to accurately observe any performance gains.
Sure, one could just take the manufacturer’s specs, but every car is different, and the 2016 Camaro SS has proven to be slightly underrated in some cases. The final numbers for LPE’s dyno run were 409 rear-wheel-horsepower and, unfortunately, an illegible torque reading based on the screen shot provided.
That said, the rear-wheel-horsepower rating is below what Hennessey Performance observed with their 2016 Camaro dyno test. What HPE saw was actually higher than the recorded wheel-horsepower numbers of even the C7 Corvette Stingray, and continues to point in the direction that the 455 crank-SAE-rated-horsepower skews conservative. What LPE observed is actually more in line with a third 2016 Camaro dyno test done by Addiction Motorsports, which came in at 405 hp. But a fourth dyno test from HP Motorsports saw 422 hp sent to the rear wheels — just 9 hp less than what HPE observed (431 hp).
Our GM Authority calculators figure the average to be 416.75 rear-wheel-horsepower between the four tests. Furthermore, that average comes out to be just a 8.5 percent power loss from the official 455 hp rating. If we were to follow the notion that there’s normally an expected 15 percent power loss between the crank and the rear wheels, then what the 2016 Chevrolet Camaro SS is pushing to the rear wheels is closer to 520+ horsepower. If you adopt to the notion that 9-10 percent drivetrain power loss is acceptable, then the Camaro SS gives us 500 crank horsepower. Though being that the average between the four tests was 8.5 percent, that would still put the 2016 Camaro SS at 493 crank horsepower, when adding that 8.5 percent figure to the 455 hp rating.
And to think… this isn’t a Z/28, nor ZL1, nor 1LE. This is your standard V8 Camaro. The foundation and benchmark for all future variants to beat.
We’ve already seen what Lingenfelter can do with the LT1 in the C7Â Corvette, so we’re excited to see what they do with the Camaro SS. Aside from the performance expectations, perhaps a wide body kit like the one LPE designed for the C7 Corvette is on the way for the Camaro?
Watch the video and hear that mighty LT1 roar, then let us know what you’d like to see from Lingenfelter in regards to the 2016 Camaro SS by commenting below.
Comments
Not sure where the numbers are coming from above. If the SS makes 520hp, and 15% is typically lost, the dyno would read 520 * .85 = 442. The top dyno number was 431. Using the mean ~417hp with 15% loss, the SS might be 417/0.85 = 490.6hp.
The interesting thing is that the lowest dyno rating so far was 406hp. At 15% loss, this suggests the camaro is making over the rated output at 478hp.
Could it be that GM gave the SS LT1 more power so that it performs well, but then rated it lower so we don’t get stuck with insurance costs of a 500+ car?
Jeez, Louise… Wish one of these tuners would yank a motor out and put it on a more credible engine dyno. Bet it makes 455 hp 😉
They are SAE rated, so they are not under rated more than 1%. I had heard they tested it at 458 and decided on a 455 rating for unknown reasons, which is within the 1% tolerance for ratings.
It could be that the 458 without NPP and with it adds a few more ponies even though it’s not rated to, but that’s not more than a few HP.