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2022 Chevy Camaro Gets Copper-Free Performance Brakes

In November of last year, GM Authority exclusively revealed that Chevrolet dealers in the states of Washington and California were no longer able to order SS or ZL1 versions of the 2021 Chevy Camaro for delivery after January 1st, 2021. This was due to state-specific restrictions relating to their muscle car’s copper brake pads. We have now learned that Chevy will offer a copper-free performance brake system for the 2022 Camaro.

The system also includes Brembo six-piston front and four-piston rear calipers. The system will be offered only in Washington and California, because those are the only U.S. states where it is required. Camaro historians will likely be discussing this for many decades to come.

It was never the case that Washingtonians and Californians were unable to buy a Camaro with copper pads, since the restrictions did not apply to vehicles in dealer inventories. Instead, it was forbidden only for the dealers to place an order for such a Camaro on behalf of a customer.

The new brake system was hinted at last year by Kevin Kelly, Senior Manager of Chevrolet Cars and Crossover Communications at General Motors. In a statement to GM Authority, Kelly said that the new system would be “compliant with the copper requirements.”

The Camaro will receive only minor changes and updates for the seventh model year of its sixth generation. SS models, which are comprised of 1SS and 2SS trims, will still be fitted with the naturally aspirated 6.2L V8 LT1 gasoline engine, rated at 455 horsepower and 455 pound-feet of torque. Meanwhile, the ZL1 will be powered by the supercharged 6.2L V8 LT4, which produces 650 horsepower and 650 pound-feet of torque. Both are currently offered with either a six-speed manual transmission or a paddle-shift ten-speed automatic. Both the SS and ZL1 models represent the range-topping variants of the sixth-gen Camaro range, from a performance standpoint.

Of the 2021 model year cars affected by the restrictions in Washington and California, the most affordable is the 1SS Coupe with the six-speed manual transmission, which is priced at $38,695 including $1,195 destination charge.

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David has been writing about motoring and motorsport since he was 13 and racing since he was 19. He is British, and therefore apologizes for taking up too much of your time.

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Comments

  1. Well in the USA, but we in Europe know that brake pads on cars have to be copper-free.
    What is crude about the USA and EU guidelines is that the ban on copper only applies to cars and small delivery vans, not to buses, trucks and trailers over 3.5 tons in weight!
    Environmental protection in the USA and Europe is always at the expense of car owners and the car industry!

    Reply
  2. I have always wondered where the brake dust and the rubber from the tires wearing go!

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  3. I have given the road dirt on the side of the road to a laboratory several times and the results are bad. There are also many heavy metals in it that also get into the lungs of humans and animals. The groundwater is also being poisoned, but the state has no interest. The heavy metals come from heavy traffic! Above all, tire wear is extreme, especially with ball tires!
    Such a laboratory analysis costs only 70 dollars and anyone can order it from 250g of dirt. Dann wissen Sie, welche Giftstoffe sich an Ihrem Wohnort aus dem Straßenverkehr befinden. Ob Politiker und Behörden dann reagieren, ist eine Frage des Glücks.

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    1. Any one care to translate??

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      1. Then you will know which toxins from road traffic are in your place of residence. Whether politicians and authorities react then is a matter of luck.

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    2. So, would you say that electric vehicles, with their high quantities of nickel and cobalt, would be extremely hazardous to the environment to recycle?

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  4. Really???

    That’s California government for you—using a sledge hammer to drive a thumbtack. As if there were hundreds and thousands of ZL1s polluting the air there with their horrible disc brake pads.

    Rather than worrying about such an insignificant issue as brake dust from mostly-non-existent vehicles, maybe state government there should turn their attention to the REAL polluters—the electricity providers and petroleum refineries.

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    1. OR the EPA could just charge the manufacturer a small fee to run copper brake pads on this very limited number of vehicles and use the funds for research on how to reduce large scale pollution? Instead any additional cost was just passed on to the consumer and there was very little reduction in pollution. Reminds me of a major engine manufacturer that introduced lead free bearings….you can guess how that went.

      Reply
  5. wake up..drop the dubbie..go fast Camaros…need stop fast brakes…lets see how they handle the electric car brakes…or will a few millions keep them silent?

    Reply

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