The fifth-gen Camaro SS (2010–2015 model years) left the factory loaded with power—425 ponies for a manual-trans car or 400 hp in a 6L80E automatic—making it the most powerful Camaro SS to ever leave the factory, if measured by modern horsepower standards. But even with all that power, the SS still has a lot of room to grow. Heads, cam, intake, even larger displacement will net an owner more power but involve major engine disassembly and downtime.
Adding boost is an easy way to squeeze 100 additional horsepower out of an engine without major/complicated disassembly. While superchargers add boost, they typically have negative impacts on driveability during everyday driving conditions when the extra power and boost isn’t necessary. When the blower starts making boost, it’s typically an all-or-nothing proposition, bludgeoning your senses like a shot of cheap tequila filtered through a pair of gym socks.
The advantage of turbocharging (either with a single or dual setup) is the more controlled and civilized application of boost when the turbo(s) spool up, easier tuning, no drivebelt slippage to worry about, and the lack of parasitic power loss to drive the turbocharger. While superchargers are driven off an engine’s crankshaft, turbochargers are driven by engine exhaust. This means no engine power is expended to create boost, as opposed to a supercharger/blower. Reggie Wynn of Turbonetics shared his thoughts with us on the recent rise in the popularity of turbocharging and the advantages offered by the exhaust-driven setup.
“Unlike blowers, which require you to run a belt and adds more strain to the engine, turbos run off generated exhaust gases/flow,” Reggie says. “It’s also easier to adjust boost on a turbocharged application. Turbos are the way of the future. That is why you see more and more car manufacturers produce vehicles that come turbocharged from the factory.”
In the past, many enthusiasts have avoided turbos because of the amount of fabrication typically required for the feed and exhaust pipes (including the need for a good pipe-bender and welder), along with mounting the turbo(s), intercooler, and making room for everything under the hood. Turbonetics has made this a non-issue with its new full system turbo kits for the Camaro SS. The system includes already sectioned and pre-bent inlet and outlet piping to match the fifth-gen Camaro, the necessary connectors/pipe clamps to link everything up without needing a welder, and the necessary accessories to relocate items in the engine compartment to make room for the turbocharger and its related piping. Best of all, the new kits are 50-state legal and come with a preloaded tuner, so you don’t have to find a shop for that later.
“This kit went through rigorous testing in the CARB Lab here in California, and it passed with flying colors. The key features that helped were keeping the factory cats, factory exhaust manifolds, and having the turbos get the exhaust after the cats. The kit comes as complete as you can get. It even comes with a tuner preloaded with an optimal computer tune for the car’s ECU.”
For this install, we borrowed a friend’s 2011 Camaro SS and took it to AntiVenom Performance in Seffner, Florida, where Greg Lovell and Kyle Miller installed the kit and handled the before/after dyno testing on the shop’s Dynojet chassis dyno. The kit we used from Summit Racing was PN 15192 and included larger fuel injectors, special turbo spark plugs, and a preloaded tuner for the ECU. After all was said and done, the table below shows the results:
Before
After
RPM
HP
Torque
HP
Torque
2,900
182.11
329.75
207.95
376.61
3,000
187.81
328.79
220.87
386.68
3,100
194.07
328.8
231.83
392.77
3,200
200.02
328.3
245.83
403.48
3,300
206.36
328.43
259.9
413.65
3,400
214.42
331.22
276.2
426.66
3,500
223.45
335.31
295.62
443.61
3,600
233.58
340.78
318
463.93
3,700
243.89
346.2
337
478.37
3,800
254.91
352.32
362.83
501.43
3,900
265.2
357.14
389.41
524.38
4,000
264.57
347.39
414.72
544.52
4,100
270.27
346.22
429.15
549.75
4,200
276.15
345.33
445.1
556.6
4,300
286.13
349.49
463.98
566.72
4,400
296.89
354.39
481.35
574.55
4,500
305.15
356.16
492.88
575.26
4,600
315.97
360.77
494.94
565.09
4,700
324.26
362.36
512.17
572.31
4,800
328.21
359.13
510.8
558.95
4,900
336.43
360.61
524.82
562.53
5,000
339.64
356.77
505.03
530.53
5,100
347.9
358.28
517.1
532.54
5,200
351.89
355.42
537.66
543.02
5,300
357.39
354.16
551.08
546.07
5,400
360.2
350.34
518.01
503.78
5,500
360.74
344.49
536.28
512.08
5,600
360.29
337.91
550.63
516.43
5,700
363.64
335.07
536.48
494.32
5,800
363.62
329.27
567.58
513.97
5,900
366.39
326.15
577.25
513.9
We picked up 211 hp and 213 lb-ft of torque at the rear wheels for 577 hp and 575 lb-ft of torque net result, easily putting this SS on the same level as a ZL-1 or even a stock C6 ZR-1. And considering that everyday driveability wasn’t compromised in the least with that massive horsepower and torque gain—and the power is smooth as silk when the turbo starts making its magic—it’s almost impossible to argue against a turbo in favor of a blower. And even better, it’s 50-state legal, so not even the California anti-performance stormtroopers can shut you down from having some tire-roasting fun!
The complete Turbonetics kit has everything needed for the install, including pre-bent piping, large fuel injectors, and a DiabloSport tuner loaded with the Turbonetics-spec’d ECU calibration.The stock fifth-gen Camaro SS engine compartment is about as exciting as watching extreme shuffleboard on ESPN 8 (The Ocho!) while listening to Chuck Mangione and organizing your collection of pot holders.
To get started, the front nose/bumper cover is removed, along with the actual steel bumper behind it, and the driver-side headlight housing. It’s all held in with clips and simple bolts, so removal is a piece of cake.The factory airbox is removed and pitched to make space for the actual turbo. The filter and intake are relocated to the other side of the car.The main fuse/relay box is also unbolted for relocation, so you’ll need to disconnect the battery before you get started with the install. The actual relay block releases from its retainer box so you can get to the bolts holding it on the passenger inner fender.This elbow changes the position of the A/C pressure switch and is part of the kit.The fuel rail needs to be pulled so the included larger injectors can be installed. This ensures you’ll always have plenty of fuel even when full boost is applied, greatly reducing the risk of a lean situation that could lead to detonation and engine damage.
Part of the install is splicing into the engine’s oil and cooling system to feed the turbo a steady supply of both. All the necessary fittings are included, along with precise instructions on how to install them without harming anything.Coolant and oil are fed to the turbocharger to keep the bearings properly lubed and also cool, no matter how hot the body gets from the exhaust passing through it. This greatly extends turbo life and reduces maintenance, but it also means keeping up with your oil changes and regular cooling-system flushes—and using quality products for both.Because of the A/C and power-steering lines passing so close to the exhaust feed piping for the turbo, we installed some Heatshield Products Thermaflect Sleeve to protect these lines from ambient heat damage and keep the fluids inside them cool so neither would be adversely affected.The air-to-air intercooler installs in front of the core support, but will be behind the bumper. Everything in this area is a snug fit, but it fits without having to cut or grind anything.Time to install the purveyor of magic and powah! The kit uses a T76 ceramic ball-bearing turbocharger that’s controlled by two 35mm wastegates. It installs where the factory airbox used to be located.One of the keys to power is keeping the air being fed into the engine as cool as possible. Even with the main intercooler—because the intake piping passes closely to the exhaust piping—the intake pipes can be heated and transfer that heat to the air. We used some Heatshield Products Heatshield Armor to insulate the intake piping from exhaust heat. You can also use a high-temp exhaust wrap, but the Heatshield Armor is much easier to install.
The forward section of the exhaust system after the cats is cut away to make way for all the new turbocharger intake and exhaust piping. Everything is pre-cut and pre-bent for easy installation. The twin 35mm wastegates are located back here on each side of the car.The more exhaust heat you have, the faster the exhaust gas velocity, and thereby the faster the turbo spools up when it’s time for boost. That means keeping as much heat as possible on the hot side of the turbo housing is important. The kit comes with a standard turbo shield, but we upgraded to a Heatshield Products Lava Turbo Shieldt to keep even more heat in the system and also cut ambient underhood temperatures even more. Plus, it adds some visual pop as well.To protect the radiator hoses from the extra ambient heat of the turbo system and make sure that heat didn’t put extra strain on the cooling system, we installed some Heatshield Products HP Hose Sleeve to protect the radiator hoses.The stock washer fluid reservoir and radiator expansion/fill tank are removed, replaced, and relocated onto the driver-side shock tower using the included new tanks.The kit also includes new NGK TR6 spark plugs to replace the factory platinum plugs. When a turbo is used, plug gaps are tightened from factory specs to make sure when boost is applied the spark isn’t “blown out” by all the extra air being forced into the combustion chamber. These are non-platinum plugs because they have to be gapped. Using platinum plugs is not recommended here because of their small electrodes.We performed a fresh oil change to go with the install and upgraded to Royal Purple’s HPS 10W-30 synthetic oil and oil filter. High-quality oil and filtration are a must for any turbo-equipped engine, and Royal Purple’s materials are some of the best on the market.The last thing to do is plug in the included DiabloSport tuner and re-flash the ECU with the specially developed turbo tune optimized for this system. The unit stores a copy of the car’s factory/stock tune in case you ever need it as well.Once everything is all buttoned up, here’s how the engine compartment will look. Much more lively than before, the kind of engine compartment that will strip the paint off your house and give any bystanders a permanent orange afro. And until you open the hood, no one will have any idea the Hulk-level punch you’re packing because of the nice and quiet turbo versus an instantly recognizable supercharger whine.
