six's 2015 Chevrolet SS Sedan 6MT

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six
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Re: six's 2015 Chevrolet SS Sedan 6MT

Post by six »

tankinbeans wrote:
six wrote:It's mine :)
Are you moist?
We're way beyond that, if you catch my drift. :lol:
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2015 Heron White Chevrolet SS Sedan 6MT
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Re: six's 2015 Chevrolet SS Sedan 6MT

Post by six »

The SS's clutch is light-ish, especially for its power-level, but certainly not super light. About the same as my Acura. The engagement point on the SS is about half-way to a smidge past half-way up from the bottom of travel. It is not as progressive as, say, a Honda Civic, but it's pretty generous given the car, not an on-off switch like the Mazdaspeed6.

The clutch feedback on the SS is not too great, though. You kinda just have to know where the clutch engages as the car doesn't give you much feedback when this happens. Thankfully, the clutch engages at about the same point as the Acura did, and the clutch travel is pretty much the same distance, so I pretty much hopped in and drove it without having to re-learn much of anything.
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2015 Heron White Chevrolet SS Sedan 6MT
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Re: six's 2015 Chevrolet SS Sedan 6MT

Post by tankinbeans »

six wrote:
tankinbeans wrote:
six wrote:It's mine :)
Are you moist?
We're way beyond that, if you catch my drift. :lol:
So THAT'S why you chose white.
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Re: six's 2015 Chevrolet SS Sedan 6MT

Post by Squint »

six wrote:The SS's clutch is light-ish, especially for its power-level, but certainly not super light. About the same as my Acura. The engagement point on the SS is about half-way to a smidge past half-way up from the bottom of travel. It is not as progressive as, say, a Honda Civic, but it's pretty generous given the car, not an on-off switch like the Mazdaspeed6.

The clutch feedback on the SS is not too great, though. You kinda just have to know where the clutch engages as the car doesn't give you much feedback when this happens. Thankfully, the clutch engages at about the same point as the Acura did, and the clutch travel is pretty much the same distance, so I pretty much hopped in and drove it without having to re-learn much of anything.
Nice. Glad you apparently enjoy it. Are the amenities decent? Are you going to write a full review (including FOSE) in a week or two?
'15 Mazda 3 iSport Hatch 6MT
'11 Ford Fiesta Hatchback SE 5MT
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six
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Re: six's 2015 Chevrolet SS Sedan 6MT

Post by six »

Squint wrote:Nice. Glad you apparently enjoy it. Are the amenities decent? Are you going to write a full review (including FOSE) in a week or two?
Thanks. And yes, the amenities rock. It has everything, leather and alcantara seats, dash and door trim, navigation, heated and ventilated seats, V8 power, electro-magnetic dampers, V8 power, nice meaty steering wheel, HUD!, nice meaty stick (get your mind out of the gutter), V8 power, plenty of room, gigantic trunk, awesome! Did I mention V8 power?? The sound of that LS3 V8 is mind-blowing. I will probably write a review once I get more seat time with this monster :)
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2015 Heron White Chevrolet SS Sedan 6MT
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Re: six's 2015 Chevrolet SS Sedan 6MT

Post by Jastreb »

Congratulations!

moar pics please
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Re: six's 2015 Chevrolet SS Sedan 6MT

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Thanks! More pics incoming after a few aesthetic changes.
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Re: six's 2015 Chevrolet SS Sedan 6MT

Post by tankinbeans »

six wrote:Thanks! More pics incoming after a few aesthetic changes.
Holden badging?
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Re: six's 2015 Chevrolet SS Sedan 6MT

Post by Rope-Pusher »

tankinbeans wrote:
six wrote:Thanks! More pics incoming after a few aesthetic changes.
Holden badging?
'08 Jeep Liberty 6-Speed MT - "Last of the Mohicans"
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Re: six's 2015 Chevrolet SS Sedan 6MT

Post by six »

tankinbeans wrote:
six wrote:Thanks! More pics incoming after a few aesthetic changes.
Holden badging?
No Holden badging, I decided to keep it a Chevy :) We don't need no stinkin' badges lol

Blackout trim for the grills, fog-light surrounds, and side-vents to remove a bit of the chrome. Black-powdercoat the wheels. Blackout the gold on the front bow-tie. Caliper paint for the Brembos (haven't decided on the color). Tint, 35 all around, 20 on the rear.
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Mini-Review!

Post by six »

[Added Fuelly badge and my dismal 14 MPG hahaha]

Chevy SS Mini-Review

So, after driving my 2015 Chevrolet SS for a couple weeks, here are my initial impressions and mini review of this awesome sedan. You might realize that I compare with my Acura and Mazdaspeed6 a lot, but that’s because those are the only other manual cars I drove with a substantial amount of seat time.

Transmission and Clutch

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First and foremost, given that this is SS (the board, not the car haha), I have to start with the most important aspect, the standard transmission and clutch. Overall, I really like the transmission and clutch which I feel is a perfect combination for a car like this. For the SS in general, it seems like the clutch feel is love-it-or-hate-it as there are some people who actually opted for the automatic after test-driving the manual. They blame lack of clutch feel, abrupt engagement that also manages to be numb, etc. I somewhat agree with the lack of clutch feel, though.

The clutch has a long-ish throw, with a quick, but not abrupt, engagement around the middle of pedal travel. The engagement range is very short, but it is not an on-off switch like some other cars. Pedal weight is medium-light, heavier than something like a Civic, but lighter than other performance cars. Clutch-feel, however, is somewhat on the non-existent side. There is almost no feedback when the clutch engages; I don’t know if it is due to the awesome torque of the LS3 or not. You just kinda have to know where it engages. Couple that with the somewhat light pedal weight, quick engagement, and large amount of power on tap, you can see it’s not an ideal combination. Given that the engagement is very similar to my previous car, an 03 Acura CL Type-S, this was not a problem for me; but for new or inexperienced manual drivers, I can see this being an issue.

The shifter, though, is fantastic. It has a nice shift knob from factory, big and meaty, an appropriate amount of weight, medium-short throws that feels in-line with the size of the car, and a satisfying crunch/notchiness during shifts. The sound too, that bassy “thump” from the interior of the car when shifting, brings pleasure to my ears. It is the nicest shifter I’ve used; it makes the cable-driven shifter of the Acura feel like a bowl of yogurt in comparison (it is smoother than the SS though). Gears are appropriately spaced out, not too close, not too far, reverse is easy to engage without the need for a bypass, everything about it is great. No complaints whatsoever.

Hill-hold is a nice feature, the car holds the brake for an additional two seconds if it detects a hill-start (car in gear on grade, clutch-in) and releases once you hit the gas. However, there’s no way to turn it off, which I don’t like, since I am not fond of hill-hold. I like the roll-back. Oh well. The SS also has launch control, but I have not tried that yet lol.

Suspension

IT IS AWESOME. Can’t really describe it more, ummm, better. The Magnetic Ride Control makes this car the best of both worlds. Put it in Sport or Track mode, and you can tear up mountain roads and freeway onramps with no body roll whatsoever, but put it in Tour mode, and you get a cushy luxury ride for road-trips and commutes alike. No compromises. Provides plenty of feedback. This is a performance car through and through, and the suspension bits live up to it. But it’s also a car you can drive your parents around in without jarring their teeth off.

Since I am not a “performance driver” I cannot really give you any more input on the suspension, however. :( Read the awesome C&D and MotorTrend reviews for more input haha.

Performance

RWD, LS3 6.2L V8, close-ratio Tremec. Nuff said.

Not really, but professional reviews have this covered. My impressions, however… I am blown away. This car is like a wolf in sheep’s clothing, and I’m not just talking about the looks. The performance belies its size; it handles as well as, or even better, than my Mazdaspeed6 did, and the MS6 was smaller, AWD, and 500 lbs. lighter. I can carve out off-ramps and the like comfortably at speeds that I would feel antsy about with the MS6. Although I was not able to give this a try, the SS pulls 0.96g’s on the skidpad, almost unheard of for a full-size sedan. The HUD has a g-meter though, so I can try my best haha.

The rest (Comfort, Convenience, Tech, etc)

This is a luxury sedan, after-all. A luxury sedan from 2015, so you’d expect all the techno-gadgetry and wizardry that would come with it, not to mention safety, and it does. Front driver and passenger multi-stage airbags, side impact airbags for both front and rear passengers along with side curtain airbags, side impact knee airbags for both driver and front passenger, ABS, TCS, VSC, etc. Also, frontal collision warning, side blind zone alert, front and rear parking assist, rear-view camera with side cross-traffic alert, and automatic parking assist (it parks itself). Not to mention heads-up display, 8” touchscreen MyLink infotainment system with navigation and Bose 9-speaker CenterPoint surround, 10-way power adjustable front driver and passenger seats that are heated/cooled… I am getting tired of listing it all lol

Fit and finish is great, not what you’d expect from a GM car (but frankly speaking, GM improved drastically post-bailout). This is also not technically American either, since it’s a Holden, designed and built in Australia. Leather seats with contrast stitching, 10-way power adjustable with 3-stage heating and cooling and alcantara trim, soft-touch materials for all touch-points, alcantara and leather appointed dash and door trim, dual-zone automatic climate control, huge rear seat and plenty of leg room front and back. The Bose system could use some bass (which will be remedied by the upcoming subwoofer install), and the Chevy MyLink system is a little sluggish at times, but it works decently. The navigation is nice, easy to read and understand, and prompts show up on the HUD so I don’t have to look at the screen actually. Also, I love all the customization options that I could control using the Config section of the system. Everything from how the lighting behaves when you enter/exit the car, to how the door locks behave, to even how fast a fan-speed the automatic climate control can use. It is amazing. Never was able to “customize” a car like this before! I was able to turn off the annoying horn beeps when I lock the car, able to turn off the annoying “turn on all the lights of the car when I approach” mode, turn on-off automatic locking and unlocking of the car when I turn off the car or park it. Wonderful! The single annoyance I have though is the automatic headlights. There’s no way to turn it off permanently. I park in a parking garage at work, and it’s bad to keep striking the HID headlights all the time when I’m just going to pull into daylight 30 seconds later and have them turn off. BAD.

The HUD, oh boy, the HUD. Every car should come with one, it is the single most useful thing I found in the SS. When I drive other cars now, it almost feels naked without the HUD display. I can almost literally not have to look away when I drive. I can display all pertinent information on it: speed, RPM, turn signal indications, frontal collision detection status, NAVIGATION PROMPTS, and even THE ARTIST AND TITLE OF THE CURRENT SONG WHEN IT PLAYS or the RADIO STATION I’M ON when I’m switching through them. I LOVEIT! And I’m able to control where the HUD displays on my windshield! WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN ALL MY LIFE?!

Frontal collision warning is kinda cool the first few times, but it got somewhat annoying. Luckily I am able to adjust the sensitivity so I set it to not go off until “OMG UR GONNA DIE” mode lol. Also, I am able to turn it off, but I see the value this might provide. If it prevents just one rear-end collision, then it’s worth it. Not that I wouldn’t see it coming, but there could be this one time, a perfect storm of brewing events that, if it wasn’t for the warning, it probably would’ve developed into a rear-ender. If this prevents that, golden. What’s cool is that it flashes the HUD red when it goes off. The side blind zone alert, etc. are all standard now in today’s cars; not useful to me since I set my mirrors to 90-degrees, so I don’t have blind spots.

The rear-view camera is nice, since like a lot of new cars, visibility is not what it used to be. The big-ass (literally lol) rear of the car is raked high, and with the addition of the trunk spoiler, cars like a Miata disappear when they’re behind me. The cool thing is the guidelines in the rear-camera move according to where I’m steering, great for “fancy parking!” The front and rear parking assist sensors help a lot too, since with the V8, the hood is longer than I’m used to also. It has already helped me in countless parallel parking situations where I would be second-guessing myself if I was in the Acura or the Mazda (and forget the Crown Vic lol, that thing was a disaster to park in tight spaces). The one thing I wish I had in the Acura was rear-cross traffic alert, which the SS has. Since the Acura was a huge coupe with limited side-rearward visibility, backing out of parking spaces when I’m in-between two trucks/vans/SUVs was a dice-roll every time. I have yet to try the automatic parking assist haha. From what I’ve seen in videos, it seems to work pretty well, but I can park well enough myself, and the automatic parking assist is much slower than me in comparison. Not to mention, with the sensors and the rear-camera, parking is that much easier for me now than ever.

The interior “ice-blue” accent lighting is a nice touch, classy and not overdone. Just to mention. Also, the rear-seats are unbelievably comfortable! Just like a review I’ve read where the writer mentioned that he wish he could drive from the rear seat since it was so comfortable. I’m inclined to agree with him! Although the front seats are no slouch either, supremely comfortable and supportive. Best seats I’ve had.

Electronic parking brake. Indifferent. :|

The trunk is spring loaded! Opens by itself! Closing is another matter :?

The sound of the V8?!? OMG :twisted: :shock:

Memory seats! :mrgreen:

Overall, THIS CAR ROCKS. 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8)

This was supposed to be a mini-review, but it seems quite long now that I look at it lol. :lol: 8)
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2015 Heron White Chevrolet SS Sedan 6MT
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Re: six's 2015 Chevrolet SS Sedan 6MT

Post by potownrob »

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i'd be pissed about the electronic e-brake though
no doriftos ftl :cry:

looks like you've been hypermiling, based on your mpg meter there... :twisted:
ClutchFork wrote:...So I started carrying a stick of firewood with me and that became my parking brake.
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Re: six's 2015 Chevrolet SS Sedan 6MT

Post by theholycow »

If it wasn't for the electronic parking brake I'd suggest leaving the parking brake set one click before driving the car to prevent the HIDs from striking in the parking garage (and I assume the brake is already set when you start the car). Better to have it go "ding ding ding" until you're out of the garage than have the headlights come on, IMO.

Is there a temporary cancel procedure? On my 2002 GMC Sierra, there is a button switch to disable the dome light, and pressing it in and out 5 times cancels automatic headlights until the next time the ignition is turned off. To prevent the lights from coming on at all I just set the parking brake before turning the ignition on, then once the ignition is on I do the auto-headlight cancel procedure, and they never come on.

(Side note: For something like 7 or 8 years I've had a printout of the instructions for permanently disabling auto headlights, along with the parts needed for it, tucked in to one of the interior storage spots...never did get around to it and now this thing is at end of life anyway.)

That trunk is spring loaded, not electric? I'm surprised but impressed...electric trunk lid would be gratuitous and would annoy me waiting for it to slowly open/close.

Oh, and...

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Re: six's 2015 Chevrolet SS Sedan 6MT

Post by Squint »

A few notes from my reading:

- I know what you mean about hill assist. The Mazda has it and it can be nice, but it can also be disconcerting. I enjoy the challenge of getting as little rollback as possible in the Fiesta...

- Bose is known for not having a ton of low end sound. It's a company wide phenomenon rather than just in car speakers or home theater speakers, etc... Great quality sound but typically overpriced compared to what you can assemble from "cheaper" brands than Bose.

- Your lights don't have a knob/dial that has "off - running lights - on - automatic?" Both of my parent's Fords have automatic lights but you have to select that spot on the dial/knob or else they are typical manually controlled headlights. My Mazda has auto running lights, but it's only in the higher options that you get auto headlights (and I don't have that).

- HUDs are pretty much the coolest thing I've recently seen in cars. A friend at work recently bought a few years used Camaro and it has a basic HUD that can only be seen from the driver's seat and has speed with a couple of other options and is vaguely customizable. It seems yours is a much better update on that tech. And it makes you feel like you're flying a jet or something. Woo!

Also, I just found (so am not going to amend my previous statement about lights) the owner's manual and it makes it seem like you can turn all lights to off if that really annoys you that they come on briefly. Here's a link - see page 136.
'15 Mazda 3 iSport Hatch 6MT
'11 Ford Fiesta Hatchback SE 5MT
'14 Giant Escape City 24MT
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six
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Re: six's 2015 Chevrolet SS Sedan 6MT

Post by six »

potownrob wrote:i'd be pissed about the electronic e-brake though
no doriftos ftl :cry:

looks like you've been hypermiling, based on your mpg meter there... :twisted:
Haha, I don't need an e-brake to drift this thing. Just stomp the gas! :lol: And if I hypermile, I might get 15 MPG :cry: BUT, I didn't get this car to get good gas mileage :P
theholycow wrote:Is there a temporary cancel procedure? On my 2002 GMC Sierra, there is a button switch to disable the dome light, and pressing it in and out 5 times cancels automatic headlights until the next time the ignition is turned off. To prevent the lights from coming on at all I just set the parking brake before turning the ignition on, then once the ignition is on I do the auto-headlight cancel procedure, and they never come on.

That trunk is spring loaded, not electric? I'm surprised but impressed...electric trunk lid would be gratuitous and would annoy me waiting for it to slowly open/close.
Your Sierra must work differently. First, yes, there is a cancel, you just switch to "Off" (which is spring loaded to return to "Auto" after you do this) to turn off automatic headlights until the next start. The thing is, the parking brake has no effect on the lights, the lights are tied to a light sensor. There is also no delay for me to switch to "OFF" before the lights strike since the lights strike immediately upon starting if it's dark (like in the garage), regardless of whether or not my parking brake is set (which it always is).

And yes, the trunk is spring loaded! I thought it was pretty cool. 8) Closing it takes more effort, but the spring-loaded opening has already helped me more than a dozen times and it's only been two weeks!
Squint wrote:- Your lights don't have a knob/dial that has "off - running lights - on - automatic?" Both of my parent's Fords have automatic lights but you have to select that spot on the dial/knob or else they are typical manually controlled headlights. My Mazda has auto running lights, but it's only in the higher options that you get auto headlights (and I don't have that).

- HUDs are pretty much the coolest thing I've recently seen in cars. A friend at work recently bought a few years used Camaro and it has a basic HUD that can only be seen from the driver's seat and has speed with a couple of other options and is vaguely customizable. It seems yours is a much better update on that tech. And it makes you feel like you're flying a jet or something. Woo!

Also, I just found (so am not going to amend my previous statement about lights) the owner's manual and it makes it seem like you can turn all lights to off if that really annoys you that they come on briefly. Here's a link - see page 136.
I've read the manual. The knob is actually reversed. It's Off/Auto/Parking Lights/On, but the sinister thing is that the "default" position is Auto, and it's spring loaded there. You can switch to Off, but it's a toggle, it bounces back to Auto and will say on the information center that auto headlights is off. BUT, the lights strike immediately upon starting, not giving me enough time to switch to Off before they come on. Undefeatable :( The only way to "defeat" it will be to switch on the parking lights before I start the car, then turn them off when I exit the garage, which is what I have resorted to.

And YAY FOR HUD!! It does feel kinda like flying a fighter jet haha
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2015 Heron White Chevrolet SS Sedan 6MT
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