By now, you’re probably up-to-speed on Horsepower Wars: Pony Wars, where we pit our 2017 Chevrolet Camaro SS versus our 2017 Ford Mustang GT to compete against each other in a mano-a-mano series of events. Part of Pony Wars‘ agenda includes both cars competing in four sectors; braking, quarter-mile e.t., rear-wheel horsepower and road course lap times.
In this quick-hit-article, we strap our bone-stock Camaro SS down on the rollers of our in-house Dynojet dynometer for the tried-and-true horsepower lie detector test. After three back-to-back runs in Sixth gear – which is our Camaro’s 1:1 sweet-spot in our optional 8L90E eight-speed automatic transmission – the LT1-powered pony car put down a best of 408.62 horsepower and 425.47 lb-ft of torque at the rear wheels.
Naturally our additional dyno pulls yielded consistent results when we commanded our Camaro to tell the truth, but was this a surprise? “We made six solid pulls on the dyno in our 2SS equipped Camaro,” said Chase Christensen, editor of LSX Magazine.
“From our first pull to our last pull, our Camaro made more than 400 horsepower at the wheels on every pass. Not surprising to say the least, but we think the LT1 engine may be vastly underrated from the factory.”
Chase detailed that the Camaro features some of GM’s most favorable amenities which will help this pony car continue to be a contender in the later stages; such as the aforementioned optional eight-speed automatic transmission, and an optional magnetic ride suspension. Of course, having direct injection and variable valve timing doesn’t hurt the LT1’s power potential, either.
As we’ve noted previously in our introduction article, each competition will be worth a predetermined amount of points. Part of Phase 1’s points system includes the dyno competition, but will our Camaro take the crown on this round? How do you think our Camaro will fare at the drag strip during baseline testing? You’ll have to find out in the next installment of Pony Wars – but remember, there are a total of 18 points up for grabs – it’s anyone’s game, now.
Keep it locked here on LSX Magazine and Horsepower Wars for more details on the Pony Wars series. Horsepower Wars is backed some of the biggest names in the automotive aftermarket — including ARP, BMR Suspension, COMP Cams, DiabloSport, Dyna-Batt, E3 Spark Plugs, Holley Performance Parts, Mahle, Mickey Thompson, ProCharger, QA1, Royal Purple, Summit Racing, TCI, and others.