With the old gang back in action, the American Muscle Car wars are back in full swing. One company supporting the return of performance icons such as the Chevy Camaro and Dodge Challenger is Prestolite Performance. Prestolite is the parent company of the legendary aftermarket companies Mr. Gasket, ACCEL, Mallory, Lakewood and Hays and they’ve got a plan to make this late model battle the best yet.
Just a few short weeks ago, Prestolite Performance purchased a brand new 2010 Camaro SS and Mustang GT as part of what they are calling internally Project Muscle. (A Challenger is also expected to be purchased.) The idea is to take these cars and use them as test beds for research and development for the many Prestolite brands to design their new products for these cars. “Over the coming several months, these vehicles will be serving as development mules for countless new products across all of our brands. They will also serve as company mascots to our industry, letting our customers know that Prestolite Performance is well positioned to be a leader in the Performance Automotive Aftermarket” explains Eric Scheinerman, CEO of Prestolite Performance. It also means you can follow along with project build updates, and testing information.
Check out the COMPLETE Camaro update below, and then be sure to visit
www.prestoliteperformance.com for even more information.
The Camaro SS was first taken down to Dragway 42 just outside of West Salem, Ohio. There the stock LS3 powered the new car down the 1320 in 13.25 at 108 MPH (Beating out the Mustang’s run of 13.65 @ 102 MPH). Back in the shop, Prestolite strapped the SS onto their DynoJet chassis dyno for some real world horsepower numbers. The numbers were 365 HP and 363 TQ at the rear wheels.
With the base line testing complete, the guys from ACCEL wasted no time developing a set of their Ceramic Wires for the 2010 Camaro. These are the same type of wires that you can order up ACCEL’s Wires Direct website where you can custom order a set of spark plugs for your application.
They were also able to check the fitment of their Silver Tip Spark Plugs. These shorty style plugs are designed for use with aftermarket headers - so we are sure that headers are in the future for this car. ACCEL claims that the silver center electrode not only allows for a wider heat range compared to conventional spark plugs, but the low ignition voltage requirement allows easier starting too. They are also extremely resistant to fouling and can be ordered one step colder in heat range for use with nitrous, superchargers, turbochargers, or high compression.
Speaking of the laughing gas, Nitrous Express was kind enough to supply nitrous kits for both the Camaro and Mustang for.. ummm... suspension testing. The plan is to install these kits for use with the ACCEL 1-step colder plugs, and to give these cars the kick in the pants from a nice shot of N2O.
From Mr. Gasket, They have confirmed the use of their Ultra-Seal Exhaust Gaskets. These are made with a high-temperature graphite facing which gives great heat resistance as well as helps with thermal conductivity that works to transfer heat away from the cylinder head. Underneath, a steel core exhaust material provides a stable base for torque retention. Overall, they work by conforming to and sealing minor surface irregularities.
Suspension wise, the Lakewood team has been spending a lot of time in the rear of the car. For the 2010, as many know, the Camaro uses a independent rear suspension compared to previous generation’s sold axle. This has present a unique challenge for the engineering team, but they are looking at the four main components of the system (Toe Link, Trailing Arm, Lower Control Arm and Stabilizer Bar), to see where upgrades are needed the most. They decided to start with the Toe Link, which controls the toe angle of the wheel.
Big things are planned for the rear of the 2010 Camaro, here are some photos just released of the new Toe Links. 
Lakewood is in the final testing stages of their tubular replacement for the stock stamped piece. They say this will really help beef up the rear suspension on this car. For those looking to adjust it as well, your in luck as an adjustable version is enjoying the same final stages of testing. These are going to be paired with shocks offered in the popular 90/10 and 70/30 ratios again from Lakewood.
Another big thing for the Camaro is an all new Strut Tower Bar. While we couldn’t show exactly how it mounts, according to our sources inside Prestolite, “The new strut tower bar for the Camaro will be something completely new and revolutionize how people are installing them of these cars.” We can tell you that there will no need to drop the struts out of the car and there will be limited to NO drilling or cutting needed to install it.
Other points the Prestolite teams are working on are trying to fit a decent sized drag radial under the rear fenders. The plan is looking like they will drop the wheel size from the stock 20 inch in favor of an 18 inch wheel. They feel that this car should be running deep 12s with the power and weight of the vehicle, traction seems to be the problem - and the clutch. After a few hard runs on the drag strip combined with dyno pulls and plenty of street testing, there are reports of a grinding noise from the transmission area when performing near redline shifts. Hays has already begun development of a clutch and flywheel package to solve this issue.
Finally, we have some of the first photos of a new Subframe Connectors. One thing that Prestolite has reported about the Camaro is the over abundance of wheel hop. Remember the 2010 uses an independent rear suspension that makes for a smooth ride and performance handling through corners, but fights the car out on the strip. To solve this, a 4-point subframe connector was developed to tie in the subframe rails on the main body of the car to the rear suspension.
Well keep updating you on this project as more information and parts are available, stay tuned!
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